M3 Pro vs M3 Max MacBook- Is the Max WORTH the Extra Cost for Editing YouTube Videos? 

Glad you found the video! Thanks for the comment 👊

Aww thanks for saying. You made my day 👊

I second this! What camera are you using? @@thesahdstudio

@@FrancescaCare My main camera is the Sony Zv-E1 with a G-Master 24mm F1.4 lens... but I just picked up a ZV-E10 to use as a b-cam. Time will tell if I keep that one!

So glad you found the video and it was helpful. Thanks for watching, and the comment! 👊

lol right? I figured if I was spending that amount of money I may as well just go for it. My other channel has been growing nicely so this will give me the tools I need to be efficient for growing both channels. I just wiped the screen to test it out and honestly it feels solid. Yeah maybe just bring a cloth to the store and start wiping down the displays to compare 😂 Nothing like spending that kind of money to realize or think you might have one that's not perfect eh? You happy with yours? Anything you aren't digging?

I had the setting 'Use proxies IF available'' ticked which is why you can see that indicator, but I can assure you I did not have any proxies being used during this video. Those computers are just THAT fast!

Glad you found it! Yeah the Mac's are great computers but finding the exact right one without overspending has proven to be a bit tricky. They want your money!

Aww yeah, welcome to the channel my friend! Haha, thanks for the comment. Really appreciate it 👊

Glad you found the video and LOVE helping people save that money 👊

Glad you found the video 👊

Thanks for the comment! I have another real fun one coming out about the M3 Max soon so stay tuned if you're interested in that.

Thanks for the comment! And it's a tough call man... I'm not sure how complicated the videos you make are, but if it's just a somewhat easy to use codec and you aren't stacking files or adding many VFX, then any of the M3 Pro's should be fine for you... especially if you go the Final Cut Pro route. IF you think you want to start creating more complicated videos then it might be worth considering the Max... the extra video encoders are just so nice to have it really feels worth it. I would probably upgrade to the extra GPU's if I were you at the very least. That will be a sick little laptop for years for sure. And if you are buying new, at least you can play around with it for a few weeks, then if you aren't satisfied, return it and upgrade at that point. I ended up going back to getting the M1 Max which I'm on right now and am happy with it still. Depending on what AMD/INTEL are upto over the next couple years we'll see what I do next. If these Mac's had graphics cards or the ability to add a eGPU it would be perfect. But it doesn't so I've been a tiny bit underwhelmed by the video effects part of video editing with the Apple stuff.

​@@thesahdstudio Thanks for the detailed reply!! Maybe the upgraded GPU/CPU M3 Pro might be the move. But at that point it's just a few hundred away from the M3 Max lol. Apple really makes it easy to upsell haha. I record audio for my videos. Then edit it on iMovie. Then create a new movie. Then drag and drop the necessary footage where it goes with what I'm talking about. That's the most of it. Other than that, I'll add just some texts here and there on top of certain parts. I record 4K with my iPhone and drone. AirDrop the footage from iPhone and connect micro SD from to my MacBook. I'm starting to go more towards vlog/sitdown style of video where it's wayyyyy easier to edit since it's just the footage I take and then some cuts here and there as opposed to recording audio, recording video, then making the video. But I can see myself adding more effects/cool elements to my videos in the future as well for audience retention, etc. Also, what's codec? Sorry if that's a dumb question

Oh it's all good. A codec is the type of file a video is recorded into. So our phones and cheaper cameras for example compress the footage into tiny files, and these files are actually quite difficult to work on because the computer has to decode (uncompress) the video footage then encode (compress) it on the fly. The Max chips have extra encoders/decoders which make working on those kind of files much smoother. Really good cameras don't compress the footage as much and those files are super easy to work on for the computer but they are HUGE files. I don't have experience with iMovie but in Resolve the Max was noticeably better... It's a tough call... at this point the M4's will be out in 6 months, so if you are paying full price you might almost want to wait unless you can get a deal or buy refurbed/used. Used might not be bad depending on your area... if you can buy one second hand with AppleCare then you might be able to save a lot of money! I ended up buying a used M1 Max with AppleCare. The seller actually got everything fully fixed under AppleCare before he sold it to me so it's practically brand new. I'd buy used again if it has AppleCare. Sorry, I'm not trying to confuse you. Like you said, it's so easy to spend the extra bucks. It's a tough call whether you need it or not. The Pro with the upgraded specs is probably more than enough for what you're doing and the battery/performance will be a bonkers upgrade. @@hewlittp456

@@thesahdstudio Okay! Thank you so much, I greatly appreciate your insight man!

@@thesahdstudio One last question! After looking at the refurbished M3 Max from Apple, I'd save about 15%. I've never purchased refurbished from Apple. Would it be safe to pull the trigger & purcahse it you think? I read on Reddit people haven't had any issues w/ refurb from Apple! And also your experience as you mentioned with the M1 Max. Is there a way to see how it was used or if it was a demo model or I shouldn't worry about that and just buy it?

Glad you found the video! I'm not sure. I can't imagine they would change the cycle... I guess it depends on the production of the 2nm chips. I know at this point when I get comments asking me if they should buy the M3 I'm like well just wait 6 months... Get the m4 lol. It's always a waiting game... Sometimes you just have to pick one and stick with the decision.

Thanks! I am rocking a Sony G-Master 24mm F1.4 with the Sony ZV-E1. Not the cheapest setup. I've invested everything I've made off RU-vid into my gear so here's hoping my channels continue to grow!

Thanks! And yes, a good step forward for sure. IF you are doing lots of 4k video editing, I think the extra encoders on the Max chips ARE worth buying. But if you aren't ever going to do much more than 1 layer then it's not a huge deal. The M3 Pro should be great. I ended up buying the M1 Max used which is better for video editing than the M3 Pro and is much cheaper than any of the other Max chips while still having great battery. Hope that helps and doesn't make it harder to decide lol. Save your money where you can. Really think about exactly how you will use it.

I agree with you. It'll be interesting to see how things progress. These are both awesome for editing in Resolve though I can say that with certainty. So you went with the iPhone first eh? Any regrets there? I'm still rocking the Android phone which makes it feel like I am not fully enveloped into the Apple ecosystem and benefiting from that.

Haha thank you! If you look closely each outfit I'm dancing in has a different piece of Fioboc clothing ;) My favourite clothes!

I have not since on the Zv-e1 shooting in this format is limited to 24/60 fps, whereas I prefer shooting in 30 fps. Maybe I'll try it for science. If I do I'll let you know what happens!

@@thesahdstudio they said that H.265 is much more taxing on the computer compared to the H.264 video codec. I’m looking forward to see that video.

@@louinekay Not sure if you caught the recent video I did talking about codecs but it's funny, I've actually gone in the exact opposite direction for this reason. I don't care about size of the files I just want the buttery editing experience so I'm filming in the most uncompressed codec possible on my camera lol. But yeah I'll try it out soon!

I can't say for sure since I had the 16" but it would basically get me through a 5-6 hour session editing 4k 60fps with no proxies etc... it was pretty nuts. I ended up getting gate M1 Max with a brand new battery instead of the M3 with and it's not close as good. Maybe 3.5 hours on the battery? Those new chips are nuts!

Ok, so, the Pro could color grade just fine. That's no problem. The problem it had was it was quite slow when applying magic masks, adding 3d fx, and stacking timelines. The Max can do all of those things much better. The editing is buttery smooth although to be fair, adding 3d fx aren't amazing... but that's where computers with dedicated video cards pull ahead. Really happy with the Max still, though I ended up getting the M1 Max!

@@thesahdstudio thanks again

Thanks for the tip! I was watching Tech Notice talk about how Mac utilizes ram and it was a bit confusing... Meaning that just because they are being used doesn't necessarily mean they are full. I'll have to do more testing out for myself though. 👊

Awesome! I am glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for the comment. I am doing my best to create the kind of videos I would want to see, knowing there are others out there in similar boats. I do my best to offer some type of tests or perspective that isn't usually done or talked about. So your comment really makes the effort put in feel worth doing 👊. Out of the box the Max froze up when I was updating it... then initially the testing wasn't very different But, once I got it purring, it feels like it's on another level. I still think the battery feels significantly worse using the extra power but in my case it's worth it. I DO wonder what's right around the corner with the Intel stuff though... Is there any chance you would go in that direction or will you get the new Studio for sure?

@@thesahdstudio I don't think I wanna go to old school x86. Going for the Studio when the M3 Max helps a lot as it's a workstation on my palm that I can transfer everywhere easily especially when I go away from my region. So it's not really 100% a laptop, and I hate them, but also pretty much portable. Guessing in the future I might get offers outside the country. Who knows, might just get none but I like to be prepared.

Oh yeah... I've tried to drain the power as fast as possible for maximum performance. I think the battery health has gotten a lot worse over the years. Even still, when it was plugged in it locked up once it got hot. Would love to try a newer Windows laptop though in this kind of side by side testing.

Oh man that would be SO fun! I wish I had access to one. Sadly I'm not quite at that level yet. Hopefully one day!

Yeah going from the Pro to the Max in any version of the chip is a big difference when it comes to video editing, so that's great you were able to up your game. The m3 max is awesome! How exciting 👊 And thanks for the support! Edit: It looks like you talk about MMA on your channel. Nice! I love MMA also. Too bad I can't understand you 🤣

Ehehhe I Speak about traditional martial arts (specifically the Japanese ones) and about Japanese and Korean History ^_^. This said.. it is always awesome to find people like you and been able to subscribe to your channel. Why? In the future when you will become like Max Tech.. I can say that I was one of the first ones eheh @@thesahdstudio

@@KankukanAiki What a great comment to start my day with! Thank you for the kind words. I'm going through a dip right now with my RU-vid efforts and your comment is a big boost. I really appreciate it. All the best with your efforts also 👊

@@thesahdstudio I understand what you are saying ! I have often the same dip with my own channel.. I dream to speak of tech but my audience love what I do..so my fantasy runs but I am stuck with what I started with. Please do not surrender. You have already a great channel and I really do think that someday in the near future I will be writing to a new Max Tech level channel!

I think what I'm learning about after all of this is that any one of those will be amazing for normal edits... However if you want to start playing around with Effects, that's where they struggle. I think it really depends on what kind of video editing you're going to be doing and what kind of codec you're going to be shooting in with your camera. Shooting an uncompressed files certainly makes the editing process a lot smoother but there are obvious disadvantages to that like storage size transfer speeds etc. These are the first max I've ever used so I don't have a ton of experience. However I am going to be returning this and getting the M1 Max at the end of the year so I will have videos up early next year comparing the M1 Max to the M3 Max so I'll have more information then. At this point though I think any one of them should be more than capable for you but I do like the saying a lot of people have mentioned... Buy once cry once. Lol. The max with the 1640 which is the one I've been using has been awesome I will say that and it smoked the pro in my testing but again I barely know what I'm doing!

Thank you for the response and all the information. I hope I'll manage to make the right decision for what I need. @@thesahdstudio

@@ann_ta Good luck. Let me know what you decide!

Ok, so I haven't really edited with that Video Codec but either way, I think any of the MacBooks would be enough. The only suggestion I would have is that you opt for at least 32gb of ram. I am personally considering downgrading from the M3 Max to the M1 Max. But again, the codec you record in makes the biggest difference at all. If that codec is easy to edit OR you quickly convert it to, say, prores, it will make your editing experience so much smoother regardless of what computer you have. Have you considered refurbished ones from Apple?

Thanks for watching 👊 appreciate the comment.

Screen recording made no difference on either of them! I did use the low power mode but like you said it made the video editing experience worse and since that's what this video was about I didn't feel like it was necessary to talk about it. When I'm just using it at night time though I will probably keep it in low power mode keep the battery from draining because this computer definitely sucks back the battery faster. Like it seems like quite a lot faster. Having all the power available though is really nice. I'll talk more about the battery after I've had it longer and can use it more in low power mode... But yeah if you can afford it I don't think you'll regret it. They're both sweet but I just like having the extra horsepower for when I need it.

@@thesahdstudio yeah my wallet is shaking in its boots but it's gonna be a splurge. I kept my mid 2014 MBPr all this time, and I'm sorta impressed with it still- nearly a decade of daily heavy use later and the trackpad is pristine, that in itself is insane. No wobble in the hinge, not a squeak, even the design looks great imo. But gosh that old intel chip is a problem, I was only doing some little home movies and it was such a pain to edit that I just didn't finish projects and have a lot of footage untouched. Yeah, totally get that about low power mode. I wasn't sure how low power it would be- like does it negate any max advantage entirely, or just dampen it a bit? cheeky question while I have you here- I have some ooooold version of final cut, I'd have to either stick to iMovie (meh), get the new final cut, or... is the free version of DaVinci Resolve okay?

@littlefootfeet that's amazing you got such long life out of that original computer. A testament to how good their products are. The free version of DaVinci resolve is fantastic! Absolutely give it a try.... I honestly can't really compare it to anything else... But I've watched a lot of comparison videos and it definitely seems comparable to any of the others. I love that it has hardware you can buy if you want to really take things to the next level. Plus there are some really awesome creators doing resolve tutorials out there. Good luck with your purchase and do let me know when you get it what you think! I'll talk more about it a lot in future videos I'm sure!

@@thesahdstudio thank you, you're very kind to take the time. I figure if I have to adapt to a new thing anyway, might as well be one that has a decent free version, which frankly will probably be enough to start with anyway, seems like even the paid version isn't that outlandishly expensive. I shall! I've been itching to update since m1 came out but now it's finally time. probably. My friends are so fed up with this topic at this point XD

I believe it was the 12/18 with 18 gb Ram. I wanted to get it right away and it was the only one available when they first launched in my area. It was nice but ultimately didn't work out for my needs. The Max was the 16/40 with 48gb ram.

I bought it from a seller on Marketplace. Actually he sold me a camera lens months ago, then when I saw he was selling the laptop we actually became friends through messaging. I have a lot of great experiences buying things used, but this seller in particular went out of his way to make sure the laptop was in the best condition possible for when I got it (thanks to AppleCare). I think having AppleCare made me a lot more comfortable with the purchase. I considered Refurbed but this seemed a better deal.

Honesty the Max makes video editing an amazing experience. The Pro is solid too but if you can afford the extra bucks, get the Max... any version of the chip. I had the M3 Max which was fantastic but I ended up buying the M1 Max... a few months have passed so you could probably get a good deal on a used M2 Max. Make sure you get at least 32/36gb ram and 1tb if possible. You'll love it! The battery is nuts.

Did you find the 16" was just too heavy and cumbersome? I am a big screen guy so am always curious that people like/enjoy/prefer the smaller screen. With that being said I feel like these Apple screens are a little taller which make them feel better than their Windows counterparts. Thanks for watching and chiming in! I'm excited to add the rest of the stuff sooner rather than later but not sure I'll be able to make that happen lol.

@@thesahdstudio Yeah, for me it was just to cumbersome. I'm in and out of customers stores all day and spend a lot of time working out of my truck. I was using a 12.9" iPad for my job and just go tired of fighting iPadOS. iPadOS has come a long way (I had the original) and I still have a spot for the iPad in my life, but iPadOS doesn't compare to MacOS for getting work done. I'll always fondly remember the 16", but it just sat on my desk. The 14" is my Mama Bear. It's hooked up to a Samsung 43" and a 24.5" LG Ultra Fine at home and the screen is big enough for the day job. I can even tether the 11" iPad Pro in the field if I want a 2 display solution. Looking forward to your next installment! 😀 Welcome to the world of Mac (made the same move in '09)! Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

@@jimtipton8888 That's interesting, thanks for sharing. Now I just have to return all the stuff I'm not going to keep 😂 (iPad Air and m3 Pro - fyi I bought a used iPad 10th gen with a pencil for half the price of the air. The air was better but... value). Almost done and back to "new" normal for me. Can't wait for the dust to settle and get comfortable with all this stuff. Appreciate the support 👊

@@thesahdstudio 👊

the 14 is junk...how can you be this much ignorant?? Unless you get the Mx Pro version dont buy a 14. All these weak people complaining about half a kilo weight difference be🤡🤡

It's funny, export times don't mean anything to me so that's not a test I would ever do. It's all about the video editing experience for me... but I find that the computers which are usually good at that have good rendering speeds too. Any new Apple computer or Windows machine with a decent video card will be good for render speeds, especially if you aren't using effects. If you DONT'T have a gpu on a Windows machine then..... that'll suck lol

What will you be using the machine for exactly? I definitely don't think it's worth getting the Max unless you need it. The Pro is still fantastic. But since I do video editing and want the very best experience the extra video encoders on the max chip are noticeable for me.

I think the M3 Pro Max with 48 gigs of RAM 16/40 is the way to go. The performance on battery is just so unbelievable for that reason alone I just love it and wouldn't go to a Windows PC. If you don't mind your computer getting loud and hot then yeah you could probably get better value from the windows stuff though. The performance and the graphics card would be nice for effects but for overall editing the Mac is sick and I would recommend that. Please keep in mind though I am no Pro I'm just a regular consumer trying this stuff out for myself.

Hahaha awww yeah 👊 Thanks man welcome aboard :)

Thanks for the comment! It's a tough call. I'm still learning about this stuff as I go as well. I think apple is really trying to keep separation between the models... They don't really want the one computer to rule them all in the mid-tier price point. But with that being said I think for most people's workloads the smaller bandwidth is more than enough. I really wish I had more access to computers so I could run the tests myself because I have to buy this stuff with my own money and being a stay-at-home dad I don't have the biggest budget!

@@thesahdstudio Yeah, I hear you. My first Mac was a G3 which I specifically bought for video editing when mini DV cameras first came out. I've upgraded every 4-5 years or so. Each upgrade had good points, but there were always some bad moves by Apple for each updated computer that left me scratching my head. The reason I haven't moved back to Windows (which at the time was 2000 pro I think) is the OS. I just love Apple's OS. It's the hook inside the worm that gets me every time. I'm looking to upgrade again, so I really appreciate your review. Thanks for your reply.

Hey thanks! Yes the name looks familiar but I cannot remember what we talked about. How's it going?!!

Aw thanks for saying, I really appreciate it! I hope so too. It's tough being a stay-at-home-dad with a very limited budget and convincing my wife I need it... but between this and my other channel (TheSAHDLife) things are starting to happen so she gets it. Are you team Apple?

Definitely on team Apple. I have been using it since College. And while I'm very much a Windows user for work. Even there I'm on a Mac Studio. I really don't like the Windows OS, even though it pays the bills. I started life as a DJ, and when I went to College for Audio Engineering. Everything was running on Mac. So, System 7 was my starting point. Apple isn't perfect, but I do find that the system gets out of your way more, and you stop worrying about things that you would on a Windows computer. You just get to work. Get the best one you can afford. And you will most likely have it for many years. Also I really enjoy when people try a Mac when they have been heavy Windows users forever. Many for a very long time just ignored the platform without giving it a fair shot. I don't ever expect folks to give up Windows entirely, it does work and in some cases there are only Windows versions of an application. But, i'm seeing those that do try it, tend to appreciate it and really like the Mac and macOS. The learning curve can be a pain. But, most of it is customizable to get it closer to what yoru used to. It tends to just work with devices (with exceptions to docking stations). And they are shockingly fast at things with these M chips. keep posting videos, they are enjoyable. @@thesahdstudio

On the Macs everything was on battery... pretty sick eh!?

It's just a cheapie one I bought on Amazon. To be honest it's not good enough that I would recommend it. It's fine but it's a cheap plastic which is ok since the MacBook doesn't heat up much, but it would get hot with my Windows laptop and would flex. If I had to buy another one I would probably spend a few more bucks (this one was like $25-30) and get something a little beefier.

@@thesahdstudio thank you, I just bought the mb pro m3 max. Definitely nervous i overpaid and is too much for my needs but still excited to have such a big upgrade

@@charlesstuartphotography Haha I know that feeling too well my friend! It's a sick machine there's no doubt. What are you upgrading from? I plan on returning this M3 Max as I have a mint M1 Max lined up (with AppleCare) which I think SHOULD be good enough for my needs. But if you can make it work financially then it should last you.

@@thesahdstudio oh it was a 2019 msi. horrible

It doesn't handle the task as well. The fans will come on when it's rendering for example... And it will go way faster with the max then the pro. The pro still does a really good job but you just have little split seconds that you'll be waiting around for. But it still handles 4K video editing pretty easy in the right codecs. For most people I think the pro is the way to go... But if you want to get better at video editing in 4k and have multiple stacked videos the max is the way to go for sure

Interesting. I don't know enough about the use of the Neural Engine yet... looks like I have my night planned lol.

Sick! That'll be an awesome machine. If you remember you'll have to let me know what you think about it when you get it! Do you have a Mac now?

@thesahdstudio I used to have a windows laptop but honestly I want to get the latest macbook pro with the specs I mentioned earlier because I need it for my workflow and mainly with editing. I want something accurate for coloring as well.. I feel it's the best out there What do you think?

@sikaprika4741 ok...honestly, because you said you need it mainly for editing (I'll assuming video editing) you should really consider the Max chip. It has extra video encoders on it which make a huge difference. If you look back at my recent videos you will see I started with the m3 pro but eventually got an older max because I just use it mainly for editing and even the older max is better than a newer pro for that purpose. I know it costs more but any of the Max chips are better but of course the newest one Is the best. If the price is too high off the m3 max perhaps look into the returned Max's on Apple's refurbed page.

Honestly, you definitely do not need it... the ONLY reason I would say get it is if you know you'd be doing complicated video editing in the near future. The M3 Pro is still good enough for that... you could grow a MASSIVE RU-vid channel on the Pro it's that good. The M3 Pro alone is probably overkill for you lol. If I were you (and in the window of returning the M3 Pro), I would consider the M3 Air which I think will very likely come out in the next month or so. But even still, the extra horsepower of the Pro might be nice if you don't mind the size.

I just released a video this morning not sure if you got a chance to see it. I stack some 8K red footage on the timeline so you can see how it performs

@@thesahdstudioI will. Check it out.

Hmmm, are you talking about the Logitech Options + app? I can't remember what I showed in the video. It's a great app though and allows me to program the mouse for each app. For example I have the back/forward side buttons on the mouse programmed for undo/redo and it really speeds up my workflow!

@@thesahdstudio sorry meant on the right of the outside of the laptop you had your mouse laying on, on the couch

@@x7judy lol! That is just a cheap laptop desk I got from Amazon. Similar to this: www.amazon.ca/PrimeCables-Cushion-Laptop-Cellphone-lapdesk/dp/B09LM34JGP/ref=sr_1_14?crid=11T9ELAXUMAU7&keywords=laptop+desk&qid=1701795945&sprefix=laptop+des%2Caps%2C134&sr=8-14

You're just responded to your other message hopefully you got it! What's the price difference? Can you afford the better specs? You could always do what I did and just buy an older M1 or M2 and save a few bucks.

Glad you found the video and thanks for the comment 👊

Interesting take. I assumed it was from the lack of ram since I was really pushing it but I really don't actually understand exactly how it works. What you said makes sense also.

@thesahdstudio yea when the system is alternating from ram to swap for sure. How much memory average does da vinci use for your typical editing now, at any given time?

@@Charles-qw4hv I'm on the M1 Max and it uses about 24gb out of 32 on average. It doesn't have too many blips on this unless I'm pushing it (stacking 4k) hard.

@thesahdstudio its usage is 25gb total while video editing on resolve? Have you compared real time ram usage of different codecs? It might be the case that the ram usage is much more on the compressed codecs over the all intra and prores codecs

@@Charles-qw4hv I haven't played around with that lately but I'll tinker in the future. Thanks for the idea! 👊

Awwwww yeah!! You going for the yolo FULL load eh?! Dam!! Jealous. What a beast of a machine. Wild! Let us know what you think. Do you mind if I ask why you need that much storage? Would it be worth considering external storage for the stuff you don't need as much? I mean it would be great of course if you can afford it, but if it's not necessary you might be able to get the 1-2tb and plug in an external for when you need it. Enjoy!

I just bought one too. Waiting for it to arrive. Bitting my nails, watching videos asking myself if I made a mistake. Your Video helped me out! I’m a subscriber now 🎉😊-thanks!

Haha that's exciting! You'l have to let me know what you think once you've had a chance to use it. Best laptop I've ever used no question!@@lucianoaldanaii4664

😂😂

Oh man, that's what I want to do... I don't even know what would happen! A 4090 would crush certain things but I wonder how it would compare in the overall editing experience. If I get the chance I will. Thanks for watching 👊

It is! I forgot to mention it. So much going on I'm not used to a little more slower pace live using of the computers. I'll do my best to mention this in future videos 👊

You mean why do I need the extra horsepower? Just for the performance. It really makes video editing extra nice. Maybe I'm feeling a little entitled but I rarely spend money on myself... I've been a stay at home dad for 9 years and have been working my butt off on growing my channels (TheSAHDLife is my other) for the last 3, using the wrong computer and being frustrated while editing. May channels are starting to gain momentum and I'd like to have the best tool to help me expand my abilities and creativity. I could get by with the Pro, but the Max really feels exciting and makes me want to use it... and to push it.

@@thesahdstudio Thanks for the reply. In your video it actually show the gpu and ram being at higher usage while you were testing out the same video work on the max. Apart from this, how long do you think the software/system can be updated for the current MacBook Pro. Cause I know some old MacBooks are not able to use the new OS anymore. I would like to use the laptop for around 8-10 years if I’m gonna spend so much.

Glad you found the video. The Windows laptop was a 2020 Asus Zephyrus G15. It had the AMD Ryan 7 4800HS with 16gb Ram, 1 TB hdd, and a Nvidia RTX 2060. I really miss having a graphics card and the higher refresh rate screen was awesome, but the power and battery life for everything else is just next level with the Apple stuff. Hard not to recommend any of the new Silicon chips Apple has been putting out. The M3 Pro is sweet.

Thanks for the reply. I will have to do more research before I jump. I will say, my 10 year old MacBook Pro has been rock solid... and having looked at some new laptops in my price range, the Retina display would be hard to give up.@@thesahdstudio

I think some of the OLED displays you can get now on the Windows machines would make you quickly forget about the Retina display hehe. Every modern laptop in the Mac price point is pretty dang juicy to be honest. It's just about finding those little features you actually use that will decide which laptop is best for you. Ecosystem does matter too a bit but not as much as I thought it would.@@danvanderknaap3401

I haven't really looked at OLED dislpays yet...still a little weary with talk of screen burn in. To my eye, my old Retina display looks as good as the day I bought it. I had been leaning towards PC with the intent of doing some gaming, but realistically, I don't see having much time for that. Decisions, descisions...lol @@thesahdstudio

I just took a brief look at your videos list...I see you do camera/lens reviews to, so I subscribed to your channel as I shoot Sony and am planning to start a RU-vid channel for my Overlanding/Offroading adventures.@@thesahdstudio

It sounds like you went with a logical thoughtful decision. Not sure if you followed along with the videos but I eventually returned the M3 Max and bought a used M1 Max (with AppleCare) for half the price. So far, it's been great! I don't really notice it being slowed than the M3 Max/Pro but the battery is noticeably worse while video editing. For normal power it's still fantastic though. What monitor are you rocking, anything special?

@@thesahdstudio I haven't been following along very effectively, but I'm glad you got the device that works for you. For my use case the M2 and M3 chips just don't offer enough of a performance boost to justify the cost, so of course I think you made a wise choice with the M1 Max. Regarding the monitor, I can't justify the cost of the Studio monitor, especially after I got the M1 Studio Max. After watching another RU-vidr (I'm pretty sure it was Kyle Erickson, another of my subscribed channels) review the 27" 2K ASUS ProArt I purchased one from Amazon for ~$300US. It's an excellent monitor and it scales perfectly with my Studio Max. I highly recommend it for folks on a budget. Can I get a link to the video where you picked up the M1 Max?

I found the link :-)

@@bryans8656 Ok great! I'm out and about and it's a pain to share on mobile lol!

In the short time I had both I felt like the Pro battery lasted longer for daily use. BUT, with that being said I was pushing the Max harder so it's tough to say for sure. They both are incredible batteries and I wouldn't let that be the point to get one over the other. It's more about whether or not you need the extra encoders etc that make the Max better for more hardcore usage. And if you don't need it, then don't get it.

Not sure if you've considered working with Proxies but that is definitely something you might want to consider if you'll be continuing to work on the M1 Pro. It's super easy to do once you get the hang of it.... super easy, AND, makes working on any file such a breeze. Just wanted to throw that out there... otherwise yeah, the M3 Max makes any file like working on a Proxy file... it's nuts.

@@thesahdstudio a technique I used to do was rendering out the timeline if I saw dropped frames all over the place. I use premiere pro. I set the start and end points, then render that out, it takes time to do, but once its been rendered out, the dropped frames stopped and it plays back smoothly. But no one wants to do that though. Including me, it takes too much time to do extra steps. No one is going to drop huge amounts of money on a MacBook Pro with a M1 Pro or whatever chip Apple puts on these MacBook Pros to get performance issues when editing videos and having to do computer tricks to optimize performance. For some people, its what they do to make money, things have to be done fast. People are paying an arm and a leg to get one of these and there's an expectation on what they're expecting out of these MacBook Pros. I switched to using a MacBook Pro exclusively in 2020.

@@thesahdstudio I ended up with the M3 Pro, I bumped up the RAM to 36GB. The bottlenecks I got while working with DCI 4K60 videos were gone that I was getting on M1 Pro. I found out premiere pro was using 18GB of RAM, that system had only 16GB of it. No wonder why it was dropping frames like crazy. Not enough memory and it was using swap. I wasn't doing any kind of crazy effects or color correction. All I do is simple cuts, transitions, and voiceovers. I don't do much layering on videos. You'll want the M3 Max with more RAM for that.

Nice! Yeah that should be enough right? Battery on that thing should be bananas too which is nice. The best part!

@@thesahdstudio since I got the 16" one, it'll be a massive upgrade there, 14" one is ok on that. A lot of places don't allow for people to charge laptops anymore. I'll have no problems doing DCI 4K60 videos and maybe even 5.8K now, I shoot open gate on that for shorts on RU-vid.

It's a 2020 ASUS ROG Zephyrus 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Black (AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS/1TB SSD/16GB RAM/RTX 2060)

That's awesome... the Pro is fantastic. I ultimately caved in to the thought of 'More ram!' and 'More cores!' but did notice an improvement based on my usage. But I agree with you and I don't think most people would even notice the boost of ram and cores in their daily usage. Can't wait to keep using it and seeing what it can do!

Thank you this helped me

Haha you made my day! 👊♥️

I think it depends whether or not Battery life is important to you. It'd be nice to have a video card but that will come at a cost of a worse battery. The M3 laptops battery is incredible. But the lack of gaming does suck a bit. You should be able to do all the stuff you mentioned on any of the laptops well. I do miss having a Windows machine at times but it's also nice not having to charge my laptop for days at a time. The new Snapdragon laptops will be worth considering. I think I'm hearing they are coming out this summer? Have you considered any refurbed options? You might be able to save a few bucks.

@@thesahdstudio Honestly? I prefer pay for something new, and my choice will go on a stable laptop... for now I am focused on the 16inch Macbook m3 Pro... because of all the ports, battery life and screen... and I guess apple devices are healtier than windows... but who knows

The pro is fantastic! You will love it. If you can afford the extra Ram I do recommend that if you're going to be doing video editing.

@@thesahdstudio do you think the MBP 16" 18ram/512sdd isn't enought?

@FrancoStrong92 that's a tough call man. If I was to buy it again myself I would get at least one terabyte and the 36 gigs of RAM. If you know you're going to have it for years you don't want to regret not having enough. The extra Ram is huge for video editing and the extra space is just nice to have in case you work on a big video project. Some of my projects get at least to be a few hundred gigabytes

Really appreciate the comment 👊

Compared to my Windows laptop with the graphics card the fans on the Max sounded like they were barely spinning. And since pushing it a couple days ago I have yet to hear the fans again even though I've done less intensive video editing while playing Hearthstone at the same time.

What do you mean I can't compare them and expect realistic results... I didn't know WHAT to expect, that's why I needed to compare them! I've never had a Mac before, and I had no clue which model is capable of what and couldn't find anyone doing tests like this. So how else are we supposed to know which laptop is right for us unless we see real world examples of the programs we actually use? These are the kind of tests I think need to be out there and will always do on my channel. That's great you found the right model for you. I haven't yet.

Except they use ssd not old and slow hdd.

m3 pro with 36gb ram and 1tb ssd is a 400$ upgrade from 18gb ram 1tb ssd and another 400+ upgrade would be to the base m3 max with more ram so why spend 400$ on a m3 pro to upgrade to the 36gb ram when you can use 400$ and upgrade to a whole level chipset get more ram and more storage?

@@johnnynguyen9449 I was of that mind myself. The extra encoders were a big deal which is why I splurged on the Max. I found the battery life on the Max fantastic but I hear other people saying the less powerful Pro would have better battery since it uses less power. That seemed true in my user experience with both machines but maybe it was just based on the programs I was using. I guess it depends on what you need the computer for. Throwing extra power at simple programs might not be worth $400 for some?

@@johnnynguyen9449 I just did this as I’m a potential buyer and I can confirm that that is how they get you! What you are saying is going to cost 200 more than spending 3199 which is what I want to spend even though it’s a pro but I get 1TB and 36gbs which I will notice more then the benefits of having max in comparison to pro, I edit in 4k but if I need extra horses I can use my behmoth system which has 5900x 3080ti and 64Gbs and several tbs, I only want a laptop 😂

Amazing! What codecs were you working with? Yeah it wasn't until I really started pushing the layers with a tricky codec did the Max start to pull away... but I don't really edit like that often so, like you said, why spend the extra money for something you don't need?!

@@thesahdstudio so I mostly edit HEVC, MPEG-4 AAC codecs. The noticeable difference I saw when layering multiple clips that had many corrections/ luts and neat video applied was that the m3 max played back slightly smoother. It was still choppy if not rendered but it handled better. I also noticed that less memory was used on the m3 pro and the max was using more memory. I've also noticed in lack in battery life with the max. It burns through faster. I think for my needs which is primarily wedding video edits and commercial work, the M3 pro is more than sufficient. I'd be saving my self close to $1000. I may just use the extra cash and splurge on a mac studio monitor. Anyhow, your videos are fantastic. Amazing work brother.

@@Domerfly That's awesome you found the right machine man! Like you said, you just saved yourself $1,000! That's HUGE. And ooh baby, that monitor would be JUICY! Appreciate your support 👊

@@thesahdstudio out of curiosity, which monitor are you using?

@@Domerfly Oh I just recently bought a 32" LG 2k monitor off marketplace for a killer deal. It's nothing special. I wouldn't mind bumping up to a 4k one soon. I've considered the Mac Studio Display but it's a bit past what I can afford at the moment.

Hey buddy! Thanks for watching eh! 👊

Just got a new M3 MAX MacBook Pro, and love it even though my last MacBook Air was the M2, it only had 8 GB RAM and I'm still in college for networking and IT, so it just didn't cut running virtual machines and a boatload of professional / educational grade softwares. Cheers EH!@@thesahdstudio

As a first time Apple buyer I might not be the best person to ask BUT if I were you I might want to bump up the ram to at least 16/18. The CPU and speed of it for everything else should be awesome though for normal projects and daily usage, etc!

@@thesahdstudio thanks sahd

So what are you gonna get!?

@@thesahdstudio i think max as it has 36gb ram .

Oh snap! That's a big jump from the original with 8. Have you considered the Pro with 18? It's really good and has better battery life.

Yeah man launch prices were Not cheap! I think the prices scale compared to the wages etc are here but yeah... They ain't cheap!! That's sweet that you got it though very exciting 👊 how do you like it?

It was: ASUS ROG Zephyrus 15.6" Gaming Laptop - Black (AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS/1TB SSD/16GB RAM/RTX 2060)

@@thesahdstudio Thats crazy..... I might sell my macbook and get a windows. I use my laptop plugged in most of the time anyway. And defintely seeing the m3 pro struggle using 3d effects and fusion in davinci resolve. im constantly having to use Render Cache to playback smoothly.

@SharrodVisuals yeah if you like using VFX etc there's just no substitute for a graphics card. They get so hot and loud but still. But at that point I almost would rather build a little desktop if you're just leaving it plugged in all the time. Tough call. For me I realized I really don't use that many effects, and the upgrade to the main video editing was just so big it was worth sticking with the Mac. Not to mention the portable power performance. I guess my main takeaway was that we're just not fully there yet. Maybe in a couple more years.

@@thesahdstudio Ah I see, yeah I actually sold my big gaming rig with a 7900XTX and Ryzen 7800X3D for the portability since my soon to be born 2nd child will be kicking me out of my office. I might sell my MacBook and buy a 4070 zephyrus or Alienware.

Yeah kids will do that lol. What MacBook do you have now?

Honestly, it's nothing at all. I've only heard them come on once when I was really pushing it and it was super quiet especially compared to a Windows machine. Very impressed with the sound of this thing and how quiet it runs.

@@thesahdstudio im getting mine M3 Max Friday. I can’t wait !! :)

@@thesahdstudio Hey my friend what video/photo editing application do you use if you don’t mind sharing

Ohh snap! How exciting. Enjoy 👊@@AnilSingh-pn9vz

@@AnilSingh-pn9vz I use DaVinci Resolve for video editing. I am going to play around with Final Cut Pro since I have a Mac now but I'm not sure I'll switch over. We'll see! For photos I use Photoshop. I've tried other ones but I'm just too comfy with Photoshop. There's a free one online (PhotoPea) which I use in a pinch. It's decent! Resolve is free though which is great for when you are starting out. Do you know which one you will try?

Who buys two laptops!? I sure hope I'm able to return one lol

Most likely high power mode? lol. Well I had the Pro for a week or so of daily usage, and it was great... the first day I got the Max I was pushing it to the limits. Now that I've had it for a few days and am using it for daily usage it's great too. Really solid! I would probably trust them over me as I'm not testing them directly, it was more anecdotally... I think because it has more power I was more curious about testing it with gaming and editing etc so it made my usage change... but now that I'm keeping it in lower power mode, as well as adjusting the brightness throughout the day this battery seems fantastic!

I don't think so, where are those test? M3 Pro should last longer on battery.

It's really seeming like I will keep the Max.... it's great. I don't think I'll regret it though I will forever have a hard time believing I paid that much for a laptop lol. What computer are you rocking?

Hahaha thanks my man! I don't get many opportunities to bust out the moves as a 40 year old man anymore 😂

I love comments like this... They are both good in their own ways right? For video editing nothing is going to compete when it comes to graphics and adding effects like a video card... But as far as battery life and portability goes and power on the run.. Apple is on another level. They're like when Volkswagen was cheating and nobody could touch them, that's how far ahead they feel. My friend you should sell some of your old hardware! Haha. Get some money back while you can and help someone save a few bucks. Heck I'll buy one off you! I've been adding more effects my new videos and that's still a bit of a struggle with the M3 Max but everything else is great.

@@thesahdstudio this is great! the same conclusion i got to. i got the base m3 max mbp 16 inch with 14/30 and 36gb ram after I tested the base M3 14 inch with only 8gb ram. it's light and day difference. But still my PC desktop Ryzen 9 5950x 128gb Ram and rtx 3090ti with 24 gb RAM crunches faster at many tasks than the M3 Max, especially in the Adobe Creative Suite. Denoise is faster on the PC than on the Max. I could have gotten the 16/40 Max 48tb Ram but it just was not worth it for me since i've seen reviews that that model is less power efficient and sometimes throttles due to more cores. Apple is still king in efficiency versus performance, but not in price/performance. So the PC with a great GPU is sometimes better for some tasks, while the Max is better with apps optimised for it such as FinalCutPro.

Nice! Yeah I didn't know enough about the cpu/gpus on the Max, so since I was upgrading from the Pro I wanted to push it and see what the big one was capable of you know? @@octny

The m3 Pro was the base model with 18gb ram and 512 ssd. The max was the unbinned 16/40 with 48gb ram and 1tb ssd

Yeah good reminder! Can't wait to keep using this thing.

This absolutely is NOT a thing what are you evren talking about?? There is no change this isnt intel to apple silicon its just a new generation software is already set.

@@frostgodx hehe. I know on my Windows/Desktop, the Nvidia Experience app was always updating itself for newer software / newer hardware etc... I assume they commenter was just saying if there's tweaks companies can make to their software/games etc to make them run smoother on the M3 chips that might happen in the near future. But hey, it sounds like you might actually know what you're talking about where I certainly do not!

Exactly. That's pretty much how I feel. The Pro is dam awesome until you really push it. Most people won't push it and for them it will be dam awesome!

really loving the content glad you are enjoying both machines and seeing the difference I think after watching a lot of videos people need to realize once you go professional its expensive for that standard on machines. the pro being 2500 its already expensive with the max its that 3k range you spending some real money to dedicate towards the craft. @@thesahdstudio

In My experience Even the Max is limited for a real professional workflow, and it is because when production scale up You need something that can connect to a fast server to edit, and the dongles and adapters available for M1,2 and 3 are just unreliable and tend to disconnect. For example I'm now editing a show that is eating 96TB of space and I just cant use my MBP to edit since I don't want to spend $300 every three months on dongles that end up in the trash can. So I would keep the most affordable laptop and get a Mac Studio, you'll have Best of both worlds and still have another thousand bucks for a good monitor or a Big hardrive.

@@sergiosanchez2012 Yeah that's interesting. And 96tb DAMM!

@@thesahdstudio yes, projects tend to get bigger as you go deeper into the postproduction rabbit hole.

Yeah that's what it sounds like to me too from what I've been researching. I sort of get it from a marketing perspective... Maybe it's easier for people with normal needs to watch the videos and get a real idea of how well they will work. I need to see videos of all these computers doing exactly what I'm doing so I can really see which ones are better than the others... That's what I'm trying to do with my videos anyway. Hopefully it helps some.

Do your fans kick in and does your Max get hot while gaming? I'd love to get a few more games working on here. Path of Exile works decent but it's not great. I might try Diablo 4 just to see how it runs but sadly I don't even want to play more Diablo 4 :( You playing anything fun?

@@thesahdstudio i'm mostly playing emulation like PS3 , dreamcast; Xbox titles that i loved but i've tried God Of War Ragnarok with game porting toolkit and despite the fact that it is some sort of virtualisation( but made by Apple to play windows games and see how they behave ) it is quite good if you play at 1800p in medium to high , B ut of course you'll have way better results playing native mac games like Lies of P, Baldur's Gate 3, RE Village , FF XIV or no man sky and so on ,. Apple is focusing on GPU more and more i think to bring more gamers and 3D artist on the mac who need a powerful GPU , on the 16 it is way less noisy or hot than on the 14 inch , No fans on any emulators, no fan nor heat playing native mac games, but Playing with game porting toolkit , fans can go near 3600rpm and it's a bit hotter , but nothing like the 14 inch M3 max . some games have glitches but overall most of the windows big games are playable . of course a native port would allows those titles to run at higher res + quality but it's already quite amazing that they run even not plugged without perfomance loss... that is my experience so far, i have kept the 16 inch and sent back the 14 inch for various reasons. i do not mind the size.

Yeah for sure. I'm still learning what it all means myself so figured I would share it for people who actually know in case they're interested in the results.

I’m in the same boat brother, great content. Tired of benchmarks, rather see how it drives. I got a m3 pro 16 and torn on if I need to upgrade to either the 36 gb or jump to the max.

@@veelack Yeah I hear that man. What are you using it for mostly?

All good! I have not had one single issue with heat or battery with the max. The M3 Max in particular had an insane battery... I could Video edit a whole afternoon and not even worry I would end with 60 plus percent... On my m1 Max after the same few hours of heavy editing I might be down to 35%... So while the performances almost as good as the M3 the battery definitely isn't as good... And I never notice it heat up either or hear it... So unless you're working on some crazy codec or having super stacked timelines the heat isn't an issue. I use h.264 usually in 4k and often have at least multiple videos stacked.

@@thesahdstudio That’s good to hear, I’m looking at a 16” 1tb 36gb ram pro and a refurbished 16” 1tb 48gb ram max, I need it for both school, and video editing. I’m just trying to make sure if I’m running simple applications at school it won’t get loud or get warm. The channel I edit for does commentary/documentary content on competitive gaming and would like to be able to keep up with the work flow there and also have a comfortable experience during lectures. There is nothing only a + $300 difference for the max so nothing crazy for me.

@@thesahdstudio I’m not sure if you have used it for casual work, did it’s battery/heat remain solid then too if you have?

@@LeebobVGC oh yeah it lasts for days. It's bonkers. Never noticed the heat even once. Cool as a cucumber.

@@LeebobVGC Yeah I mean the Max is going to be the best when it comes to editing without hiccups so it's hard not to recommend that if that's something you need it to be good at. It'll be awesome for the rest of the stuff you mentioned too. You could maybe get away with the Pro but if you want the best editing experience get the Max. It's just awesome.

My dude I wish I could help you with this answer but I have 0 experience with those apps/uses :(

Yeah that's a nice setup. I find the extra video encoders from the Max lineup noticeable while video editing in Resolve so for me it was worth it. But for most and those who edit in Final Cut the Pro should be more than enough. That battery life too right? Sick.

Both great machines! There are reasons why they are different... it's just tough for people to figure out exactly where they fit into the lineup. The Max really is overkill unless you have a specific program you know you need it for. For me, the extra video encoders make it absolutely worth it, but if it weren't for that, I'd be more than happy with the Pro.

Yeah I think the pro is good enough to for sure. I mean I'm not a professional RU-vidr but I definitely enjoy having the extra power of the max chip for my workflow... And I'm a little older so I don't mind paying a few hundred extra bucks for it. Could I still grow my Channel with the M3 pro? Definitely

Yeah that's not bad advice at all. What monitor will you get with your Studio?

@@thesahdstudio I own the Studio Display and the Mac Studio M1 Max. Now im getting the MacBook Pro for traveling or light editing

Have you been happy with that monitor? I've been monitor shopping and it's not as straight forward as you think with resolutions etc @@gsanchez922

@@thesahdstudio I love it. Color matching between my devices is easy, the speaker are really good for must video editing. I own print some of my photos and color accuracy has been great not complaining

I know... me too. I wish I had more resources to test this kind of stuff on multiple machines but I'm still a small 'tuber doing it out of pocket! I just picked up a used M1 Max so will be comparing that one vs the M3 Max shortly.

@@thesahdstudio I feel you! Keep up the great work.

I returned my 14” M3 pro, the $2000 model the other day. Looking to get the 16” M3 pro with either 18 or 36gb ram. Too bad Best Buy doesn’t offer the pro chip with 1tb of storage. Have to do the 512 one. I think for longevity it might be better to get the 36gb ram model. That way I might not have to worry about memory swap. I’m also running windows 11 pro with parallels for the gaming. The extra ram should help.

I think the extra ram is the right choice. 1tb would be nice though. @@abdurrahmankhan129

@@thesahdstudioFor what I’m doing, which is practically nothing, it’s a wonder if upgrading to the $3500 max model would be better. Except for trying to get into swift and doing some gaming on windows 11 with parallels, do you think the price jump might be worth it? I’m concerned about the max with the heat and the extra fan noise.

Wow, what kind of files/codecs are you working on!? Professional work? I just have no idea what kind of workflow you've got going on over there and what/why it's stuttering. I'm not sure if you watched the Tech Notice channel (you should, it's awesome!) but he def recommends at least 64gb ram if not more, so perhaps that's the problem... Jeez, I guess proxies etc would be a gigantic pain eh? I wonder what the Pro's use for computers.

@@thesahdstudio I recorded a 4 hour video in Apple VT ProRes Hardware Encoder (ProRes 422) it creates very huge video files and when I try to open the file it takes quite a few tries to get it open 😅 sometimes it won’t open at all. Especially if I used an external hard drive (LaCie) as a pathway for my recordings. Man I was told this type of stuff was “light work” for this type of computer lol

@daquanwright4652 lol yeah that could be frustrating... I can't imagine anybody saying 400 GB files would be easy to work on though, that's pretty nuts! I'll type itself shouldn't be difficult for the computer to work on... Like if you had a smaller file do you have any issues? Is it possible to break a piece like that into smaller chunks?

@@thesahdstudio I guess I could try but is video files of that size not the norm for wanting record and edit in high quality? I was recording in ProRes (422). Maybe I should have just went with regular 4K? Sorry for all the questions , im just new to this streaming , recording and editing stuff😅

No that's cool man I'm learning as I go too. Yeah there are benefits to shooting with compressed files. I don't think working on files that massive are the way to go even though ProRes is generally ideal for video editing. That's just too big. You might want to try shooting in a compressed format... they are generally smaller and more manageable file sizes that are harder for computers to work on. BUT, your computer is so dam good it should be able to edit without needing proxies or anything. Let me know if you give it a go. @@daquanwright4652

Canadian prices!

After I commented I was thinking maybe you're from Canada. Damn!!! @@thesahdstudio

I am planning to get the 64 RAM and 2 TB with Final Cut Pro and it's still cheaper than that!

@@WesShoots Hehe. Yeah that's a sick setup man. Should last you a long time! I'm tempted to try out FCP myself.

Haha yeah eh? What did you upgrade from?

@@thesahdstudioif I can recall, I only had a core i7 with about 256gb MacBook Pro with the touch bar….. and i remember because it was my college laptop 😭 like the basic of basic and I began filming in 4k 60fps and it was taking me HOOOUUUURRRRRSSS TO EDIT in Final Cut Pro and it would get so hot and the fans were screaming at me it was helllllllll. Im so grateful for the upgrade but it was my fault for waiting so long because I had built a PC in between time.

@@AliceDaedric yeah that sounds like a HUGE upgrade. Nice! That's exciting.👊

Yeah wow what a beast! How do you like it so far? What did you upgrade from?

@@thesahdstudio lol …. … here it goes: saturday i picked a silver 36g/m3 max at apple store… tested it yesterday, but last night saw the online deal for the 96gb at just 100 more than the 36gb at apple. bought it at 2345 (non-apple deal, until 03/17 only) and email said i can pick it up in 2 days. will return the 36gb to apple when i get the 96gb. testing the 36gb yesterday using safari (~50 tabs open) + docker + vscode + xcode, it sometimes started to swap (docker alone was at times claiming 15gb). before i tried the air m3/16gb/1T for 1 week+1d (have been using a loaner air m2/16gb since january). it was a dream machine, except for the heavy swapping (never tried docker on it)… was Really bummed as I was testing it at 16gb (store pickup) before i was going to order online a 24gb/1T to wait until m4 pro and only then commit to a “bigger”-but-midrange machine. my last machine was an m1 pro 32g from work for 2 years. as new job only gives me a heavy 32gb lenovo with a nvidia 4060, I wanted a base m3 to have access to hw ray tracing, with view to replace my own mini 2018+egpu (has 64gb ram and still does better at 3d rendering than all the m2 gpus) with a m3 studio max/ultra when it comes out in june while using the m3 air laptop for just 1y… that plan died with the really heavy swapping, even for just 1 year. so the plan is all changed and I think i will keep the max/96gb in parallel with an itx pc with 7900xt (bought the card for below msrp and will get a 16core/32th AMD mobile cpu with 64 or 128gb) until i do get a studio max/ultra, i guess m5, to be all apple again…. … …. but I have 2 weeks to decide that.

lmao thanks man!

Yeah that's probably a smart thing to do, but I just loved the editing experience so much it's hard to go back to anything less, hehe. We'll see, I have some time to think about it, but I appreciate you weighing in 👊

Naw the M3's don't really overheat. The only time I noticed the fans continually was when I was playing a game that wasn't optimized for the chips. I wouldn't even worry about that one bit.

Yeah I think the CPU/GPU really allow the Max to soar. But to be honest, I'm starting to think the Max is a little overkill for me. It is incredible but it just costs so much money. I think the Pro with more ram would be great to have.

@@thesahdstudio why not the base Max with 14 cores CPU/16 cores GPU and 36gb RAM and 1tb SSD? i got it and love it. no need for the M3 16/40. My PC with a 3090ti beats the Max GPU by far....

Yeah that's STILL a lot of money... but yeah that way you still get the encoders of the Max chip without as much overkill everything else. I'm happy with this M1 still, especially for the price! @@octny

Haha right? That was when I really started to safeguard Apple Silicon chips.

You know, I kinda love your comment. Right now, I REALLY love using the m3 max, but I'm waffling. It's so much money... I've never spent half this amount on a computer before. But when I'm editing I'm happy, it does what I want it to do. If I return it though I can get so much for the cost... I'm not sure what to do yet. But thanks for this message. I really appreciate it.

Buy it nice or buy it twice. The pro will still do everything you want just a little slower. Also I highly suggest to save space and everything by using solely hevc / xavc hs there’s no reason to use si in reality. I’m sure you’ve done a bunch of testing. The easy middle ground should be the m3 pro 16” with 36gb ram spec that’s in stock everywhere as a base spec. The max pumps but it’s soooo much more money it’s not worth it and less battery. When you clean up your workflow to h.265 the hardware does great. For a grand + less

@@frostgodx yeah good call. Lots to think about here so I always appreciate comments like yours. Thanks!

@@thesahdstudioI’m going to be honest at the section of you sitting on the couch you said “my usual video style” and frequently said in your example test that you rarely if ever edit like this so to then choose the max at the end “because it makes more sense” literally doesn’t make sense with the entire rest of the video being the context.

On my other main channel, in those videos I put a lot more effort into effects and things like that. On this channel it's a little bit more me talking at the camera with basic edits. But yeah I'm returning the M3 Max and I have a used M1 Max lined up. It should be enough to cover my bases for the main editing I do, and I'm trying to figure out some workarounds to handle the effects or motion graphics etc for when I want to use that because the max can't even handle it and I don't want to pay that much for basic edits.