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MacBook Pro M3 Max vs M1 Max Full Spec Models Compared

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Startup tests, Geekbench scores, Premiere Pro, Lightroom Export, and much more tested on my two-year-old M1 Max and my new M3 Max MacBook Pros.

Best M3 Max MacBook Pro pricing:
BHPhoto:
Amazon: a

Best M1 Max MacBook Pro pricing:
BHPhoto: https://jerad.link/m1maxmbpbh

M3 Specs: Apple M3 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine, 128GB unified memory, 4TB SSD storage
M1 Specs: Apple M1 Max chip with 10-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, 64GB unified memory, 4TB SSD storage

📷📸🎥
Gear I Use to Make Videos: https://kit.co/jeradhill/youtube-video-production-kit

Timestamps:
0:00 – Intro
2:08 – Startup Test
3:56 – Geekbench CPU Test
5:56 – Geekbench GPU Test
6:45 – Premiere Pro Export Test
14:12 – Final Cut Pro Playback and Export Test
15:52 – Lightroom Export Test
16:45 – Battery Usage Update
17:28 – Final Thoughts

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⚠️⚠️ Disclaimer:
The content of this video is intended for viewers ages 13+.
Jerad Hill Tech (Jerad Hill) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites, which means I may earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no extra cost to you.

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47 Comments

  2. 🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation:

    00:00 *📱 The video compares the M3 Max and M1 Mac, both fully speced units with 4 TB storage. *
    02:06 🔍 Both systems are restarted to compare their startup times.
    05:39 *🏁 In running a geekbench test, it's found that the M3 model has better performance scores than the M1. *
    08:09 🔄 A Premier Pro project is rendered on both devices, revealing that the M1 finished slightly ahead of the M3.
    11:57 🔋 Checking the battery usage during rendering, the M3 trailed behind the M1.
    13:44 🆚 The render test for a Final Cut project resulted in an indistinguishable difference between the two models.
    16:00 📸 For exporting high-resolution images from Lightroom, the M3 performed significantly better than the M1.
    18:56 💵 The considerate factor for choosing between M3 and M1 can be the resale value, as retaining that resale value could justify the added cost of the M3.

    Made with HARPA AI

  3. I just bought a used M1 Max w 32G RAM and 1TB drive for $1750. From your video I think I got a great deal compared to what an M3 of those specs would cost. Probably double

  5. For the resale value of the M1 max and how minuscule the differences are, it's not at all logical to make the upgrade unless you really need 3 extra seconds of free time in your life. It's really just marketing and FOMO.

  6. Can you compare the M1 with a intel core ultra laptop? That maybe uses the rtx 4060 gpu? They come close in price to the m1 max. Not sure which one to choose.

  7. Why didn't you run the tests while plugged in and in high-performance mode? That's where you can really see the effects of the M3 vs the M1. This is a bad video.

  9. I have the 2021 16”MBP M1 Pro (16GB RAM/1TB SSD) and I mainly use it for video editing on Final Cut Pro X. However, when I use lots of plugins on a 1080p animation, FCPX will sometimes crash. So, I ordered the M3 Max MBP (64GB RAM/2TB SSD) to give it a try. As expected, I experienced absolutely great performance with the M3 Max and no crashes- I’m assuming, because of the greater RAM. But, I just couldn’t justify the price, so I returned it. A month later, I ordered a refurbished M2 Max MBP (64GB RAM/2TB SSD) and experienced the same great results as the M3 Max, but at $1000 cheaper. Still, I wished there was just a way to add extra RAM to my M1 Pro device and still found the M2 Max as being too expensive and sent it back to Apple. So, I decided to just suck it up with my M1 Pro, because Apple is likely going to stop offering OS upgrades in the very near future, rendering my plugins useless. If that happens, I’ll consider switching to a PC for video editing.

  12. The reason both are rendering same is because both have 2 hardware encoder decoders. If you use those, then not much difference. Turn them off and export using software encoders and you will see the difference . The GPU on the max is almost 3x faster than M1 max from what I saw. For 3d and GPU apps , it's huge. Also some software are not optimized for m3 at the moment.

  13. You just helped me cancel my sell on “It’s Worth More.” Basically, what’s going on is not that the M3 is not powerful, the software has still not caught up to the performance of these machines. You really don’t need anything more than a decently spec’d M1.

  16. Really not a good true comparison as your M1 is a lot older and obviously there's a lot more on it hard drive wise so it's obviously going be much slower versus a brand new machine.

  17. I just recently purchased the M1 Max 64GB, 4tb of ssd on a great sale! and it’s been amazing! Granted I’m coming from an old windows laptop but I feel like the M1 is still gonna be good for the next few years. I’ll maybe upgrade when M6 comes around.

  20. Ssd performance and life as well as battery goes down over time, i suspect this here as well please do a long ssd copy test not just quick ssd speed test which often is just cache reading, from memory?

  21. Ssd and ram combo really can help with photos loading etc.
    The m3 extra cores are not really being utilized for some reason may be not getting enough power or software not being able to take advatage of them.
    I think audio apps would be a better test and ssd speed tests.

  25. Thanks for this test. I was pondering whether to upgrade from my M1 Studio to a M3 Studio when they are released. This definitely gives me some food for thought. I have the 14" MacBook Pros – both M1 for admin work and M2 for field video work. I have the Mac Studio back in the office for the heavy lifting. It was so cost effective with a trade-in of my Mac mini.

  26. My M1 Max Used to boot up very fast too. Now it became very sluggish, it got slower with time. I think more fair if restart both M3 Max and M1 Max where they both are mint condition unused.

  30. Coming from a Windows PC, I recently got the 14'' M1 Max MacBook Pro with 64Gb RAM and 32Gb GPU. While it is overall a nice machine, the performance so far has been underwhelming for me, to say the least. I'm editing 4K H.265 4.2.0 footage in Adobe Premiere. Timeline performance becomes a bit choppy as soon as there are two clips, on top of each other. Export times of the m1 max are also underwhelming, lacking behind my old 9th generation i9 intel PC with NVidia 1080ti GPU (which I was hoping to replace with a better-performing machine): It takes 57 minutes to export a 19-minute long video with Adobe Premiere.
    Same deceiving performance when exporting 1000 pictures from Lightroom. It takes forever.
    Even taking into account the 14'' throttling, I am really wondering why this performance is so much different from what YouTube export and performance tests suggest.
    I am either editing on the internal SSD, which is blazing fast or on a Thunderbolt 4 external SSD (Acacis enclosure), which is also as fast as it gets for an external SSD.
    I am aware that Adobe Premiere is not the most optimized software for Mac, but still, this looks problematic. Do you have any suggestions?
    Thank you very much

  34. Thanks for the interesting video and helpful comparison. Are those two 14” MBPs? I think this is something that you should specify in the title or description of your video.

  35. My 16" M1 Max runs amazingly well. It never gets in the way of me making anything. Unless I rendered multiple videos a day, it doesn't seem worth an upgrade. Especially since most software isn't fully optimized for the new GPU architecture. The extra UI snappiness seems minimal, and you'd never notice it unless you compare side by side.

  36. There is no way or reason to replace my M1 Max, 64GB of RAM, 32 Core GPU, 4 TB SSD, for any M2 Max or M3 Max. As well as the M3 performs, the M1 Max is a fantastic Mac, with Blazing Performance and Incredible Battery Life. I have 3 years of Apple Care+, and My M1 Max is going to be one year old on Christmas 2023, I cannot justify an upgrade, but it will be great for those with Intel Mac Book Pros.

  38. Did the M1 run that slowly when you first bought it? I'm curious if all those test still come out the same as when the M1 was brand new.

  40. The one thing that would make me consider upgrading my M1 Pro to an M3 Pro is, as you highlighted, to benefit from the better residuals on a trade in.

    But I'd still be looking at funding a gap of something like £1,500, which is a heck o f a lot of money for a small bump in performance upgrades.

  42. but it's only about final cut and premiere. yeah, almost no difference in performance. i think we should wait for these software updates and after test it again.
    but for music production and 3d graphics – difference between m3 max and older chips is HUGE.. almost 1.7 – 3 times faster!

  43. Found a deal on the M1 Max 16" MBP (10c/32c/32GB/1TB) sealed, brand new for $1800 at my campus store. Should I go for it? I'm using M2 15" MBA for everyday carry and am looking for a workstation at a reasonable price. There's also M2 Max 16" MBP (12c/38c/32GB/1TB) sealed, brand new for $2500, but does the M2 Max justify $700 extra over the M1 Max?

  46. I went from an M1 Max 16" to a M3 Pro 14". The size was the only reason I did it, Something interesting though, I ran the Affinity Photo II benchmark on both and the M3 won decisively. I was pleasantly surprise. Digging the smaller size (and the Space Black)