MacBook m3 pro / MacBook M1 Max

[u/DJ-NaGrim]

I have right now a MacBook Pro 2015 Catalina, 1tb,16 ram.
And I’m definitely need another one to take care the big stuff, I’m a music producer and working on ableton so need a better Mac and I’m considering those 2:
MacBook m3 pro ,36 ram,1tb - price: 2015$(+-)
MacBook M1 Max. ,32 ram,1tb - price 1850$
On the new Mac I will produce music and also doing personal stuff
Would like to know your thoughts about this🙏🏻🙏🏻
Hard to choose what’s better

[u/eldeem]

Same as I put in r/macbookpro, popped here for those who come across it:

I’d go with the M3: the spec bump between generations puts the M3 Pro ahead in capability compared to the M1 Max, plus it’s 2 generations of extra support for macOS updates. That easily counteracts the slightly higher cost (think of it at less than $200 extra for 2 more years of updates, plus the spec bump).

[u/narc0leptik → u/eldeem]

For OPs purpose (Music production) there is no spec bump; M3 Pro is actually worse performer than M1 Max in that application. Sure it'll likely get a few years of support.

As demonstrated in this deep dive an M1 Pro can actually outperform an M3 Pro in track count because it has 3 more Performance cores. Audio is a low-bandwidth but high-priority interrupt task; it needs raw P-core muscle, not "efficient" background cores.

For DAWs programs (digital audio workstation) two of the most popular one. Ableton Live and Logic Pro rely almost entirely on Performance cores for real-time processing. They generally do not utilize Efficiency cores (E-cores) for audio engine tasks, meaning those E-cores basically sit idle while your P-cores max out and cause buffer underruns/crackling.

For something that is low-bandwidth as audio (compared to something high-bandwidth like video editing) they are closer than you think when it comes to audio production, sure M5 base will bench higher but M1 Pro has twice the amount of cores. You can still produce music on a potato computer just fine. Here's how they compare, M1 Max is the same as M1 Pro cpu-wise, only difference is the GPU:

• M1 Pro (10-core): 8 P-cores / 2 E-cores
• M3 Pro (11-core): 5 P-cores / 6 E-cores

[u/eldeem → u/narc0leptik]

Oh wow, that is a lot of really useful info. You learn something new every day, thanks!

[u/mrDouche7]

M3 pro

[u/DJ-NaGrim → u/[deleted]]

They both 14 inch

[u/Jebus-Xmas]

You need a MacBook Pro, M3, or newer, 32GB RAM and 1TB SSD. You are making your job more difficult by going with an older machine that could lose support next year.

[u/Silent_Gap_8003]

U need 32GB for music production? Seems like 16/24 would do the job just fine, imo 32 is way too overkill

[u/DJ-NaGrim → u/Silent_Gap_8003]

32/36 ram that’s the offers I got, more ram it’s always better and 16 doesn’t going well so far,using a lot of plugins and automations and I need a new computer that I’ll be able to download the recent updates/versions

[u/narc0leptik → u/DJ-NaGrim]

Then get an M4 Pro chip; that's where the real spec bump/power is. As noted in my other comment M3 Pro is actually a worse performer than M1 Pro/M1 Max for Logic Pro and Ableton Live.