MacBook Pro Review: M3 Pro Vs M2 Max in 2024

Місяць тому

I've been through a journey trying to get a good laptop for my channel and I think I finally found it! Let me tell you what led me through all these changes and how I ended up with the laptop I have today.
My review is not a Tech Review, it's a review from a users perspective. I'm a Marketer and I do a lot of video editing.
What I recommend:
For heavy video editing :
- Budget Choice, Apple MacBook Pro M2 Max (what I use): amzn.to/4azQ0oG
- High-end Choice Apple MacBook Pro M3 Max: amzn.to/4cu4VTg
For professional office work and light video editing:
- Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro: amzn.to/3PDUh2D
- Apple Macbook Air: amzn.to/4afFe7o
For the mouse, I got the Logitech MX Master 3s and love it: amzn.to/49mGt3j
And the Keyboard is Keychron K7 Ultra-Slim. Made me want to type more! amzn.to/4acK9G5
My camera is a Sony ZV-E10 and it's been great: amzn.to/3xodkaF
What I love about it is recording in LOG2, not time limit for recording, and that it does not overheat with long recording sessions. I have it plugged in with this power supply adaptor: amzn.to/43GGMEU
The lens I use with the camera is the Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary Lens for Sony E-mount: amzn.to/4cAQWew
It's beautiful, improves so much the quality of the recordings.
And the mic is a simple but so good RODE VideoMicro II: amzn.to/3VDiB8o
I prefer the Rode over the Deity because it's has a little more body in the sound. And it's mounted to this simple Mic Arm: amzn.to/43FmeNh
Special thanks to:
On this journey, I reviewed many videos from other channels and they are amazing and if you're not following them, I recommend you do:
@TheSAHDLife
@MaxTechOfficial
@mkbhd
_
Join me on LinkedIn: / andrewreitze
Or visit my website: www.jsmmpartners.com
_
Andrew is the Founder of JSMM Partners. He has a robust track record of 14 years in marketing working with start-ups, SMB’s, and Fortune 500 companies. He studied journalism and then obtained a diploma in strategic marketing. In 2010 he started his first venture as an entrepreneur with Pantalla digital marketing agency, and in 2019 he started working with Zift Solutions where he worked with repeated success enabling clients’ partners and internal teams to leverage tools and platforms (PRM, CMM, LMS, et. al.) to drive sales and marketing performance.
JSMM Partners was incorporated by Andrew in 2024 in leu of the ever-pivoting tech industry where companies need to be lighter to stay agile by outsourcing SME services and focusing on their core business. The experience of managing cross-functional, multinational teams (AMER, EMEA, and APAC), with a data-driven focus on commitment leveraging analytics & automation to direct marketing strategy development, is at the heart of everything.
SMB’s and Enterprise alike require support for marketing programs in areas such as marketing strategy management, software platforms for strategy implementation, and dedicated team enablement for execution. The success of these programs hinges on partners having access to these resources.
• Since 2010, Andrew has had the privilege to work with many companies, from startups, SMB’s, to Fortune 500. All required different services and approaches. A few of these are: Google, AWS, Oracle, Rebook, adidas, Dell, Siemens, among others.

КОМЕНТАРІ: 45

@StashiaMass Місяць тому

Thank you for the video! Hit it right on the nail. Noticed same thing with my laptop, Asus x13. As you start trying out new tools you hit the ceiling of the laptop's performance real quick.

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

It's incredible. I wanted to save money and ended up spending more!! But I think it's worth it in the long run. My M2 Max is a beast and as speced it will be work worthy for at least 3 more years. Thanks for the comment!

@joshkny Місяць тому

These new M chips need so much ram. If you're editing, the bare minumum is 32G

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! I'd say 32gb is the right amount for Video Editing. More is great, but not necessary. If you pull up the task monitor, you'll be able to see that with that amount of memory and good memory bandwidth, there is virtually no memory swap. Thanks for the comment!

@stroke1516 Місяць тому

You went to the BIN model of M3 Pro., I use that for my light YT editing .. You can't compare a Max M2 to BIN M3 .. especially with less RAM !! LOL! A CPU cannot overcome a lack of RAM..

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! Yeah, I hear you. I did the homework to check if I would go for the upgrade to the maxed out M3 Pro, and as I commented below, the results would have been the same, the M3 Pro loosing to the M2 Max. The specs on the M3 Pro, base or top, just don't compete. Especially for the price point. In my personal case, the M2 Max made more sense. Now, having that said, I still LOVE the M3 Pro. It is a solid laptop. For general light video and photo editing, coding, processing tasks, it's a fantastic machine. Plus, Great Battery, better than M2 Max. And the color is really sexy. Congrats on that machine, and thanks for the comment!

@keishaunjulien 12 днів тому

Hi which LG monitor are you using?

@MrNemis2003 Місяць тому

great video! wonder what the outcome would have been if you used a M3 Max w/48gb memory...

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! I just kinda answered this in another comment here. lol. The M3 Max maxed out model will be slightly superior to my M2 Max, but cost $4,000.00 My M2 Max is $2,599.00 right now. If we use the Base M3 Max, my M2 Max would be the same or slightly superior in my humble opinion. Just because it has that extra 400gb/s memory Bandwidth. But would you pay the $3,500.00 for that base M3 Max when you can get the same performance or maybe better with the cheaper model? If I do the same exercise with the M3 Pro, but the 32gb ram model that costs $2,900.00 (Same as mine did a few months ago), it would only have 18 GPUs and 6 performance CPU cores from the 12 CPU cores. Plus, the memory bandwidth would still be 150gb/s. So the struggle would still be there. The M2 Max is still far superior. Same 32 Gb ram, but, 8 Performance CPU Cores, 32 GPU cores, and 400gb/s memory bandwidth. And all that with a cheaper price tag. Thanks for the comment! :)

@sweealamak628 Місяць тому

I'm watching intently to gather info as I am helping my partner who is into photo/video editing professionally. She is thinking of going all the way with a Max chip and 64GB RAM. Read online that M1 Max chip could be good enough cos it has the encoders needed. Gonna use Premier Pro, After Effects and Cinema 4D. Any thoughts on whether a refurb M1 Max is worth it? Or should consider M2 Max at the very least? Thx

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi!! The M1 Max and M2 Max are both solid choices! I just chose the M2 Max to get a little extra longevity, but the M1 will do the job just as well. What I would focus on is pricing. As you can see on the links above, the M2 Max I linked, is now on sale, so might be a good opportunity to jump to the M2 Max instead if the difference is just a couple hundred. Thanks for your comment! Good luck!

@Lentrail Місяць тому

exactly the video i was looking for , currently on an m3 pro as a video editor , but i need more ram and gpu horsepower for my workflow , i know the max chips have more graphics, even m2 max vs m3 pro , i

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

The pros are great chips, don't get me wrong, but if you are looking to grow in video editing, then definitely look for a Max chip. M1, or M2. and 32gb ram or higher. Thanks for the comment!

@Lentrail Місяць тому

i am also on m3 pro, 18gb ram model and 512gb ssd , at first it was ok, but i am definetly starting to push the limits of this laptop , mostly because of the ram , 18gb is way too little , i need 32gb minimum

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Yep, that's the reason why it would be better to get the extra headroom with an M max Chip. Hope it works out!

@Jacked2theTs Місяць тому

I wonder if this is really an issue in the difference of available memory bandwidth, between the Pro and Max chips?… Edit: I just read some of your comment replies, and seems that is what you determined. Good to see a real life example of these differences. I’m toying with getting a renewed M1 Max off Amazon, because it would still be plenty for my wants and you can grab them for less than $2K.

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Thanks!! go checlk the links of the laptops I set for recoemndations, I added an M2 Max that is at a really good price. Might be gone by now, not sure. The M1 Max is still a great option! All M chips leaps ahead of any intel. Thanks for the comment!

@ExplorerOfTheGalaxy Місяць тому

You were talking too much until going to the point.. buuuuuut when I see your editing about the beauty filter.. I laughed hard and gave a huge thumbs up hahah

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Thank you!! 😊. Yeah my wife says I talk too much. That’s why she has me doing these videos. 🤣 thanks for the comment and the like!! 👍

@Michael-fr2xn Місяць тому

Hello nice video , I'm trying to decide if I should go for Macbook Pro 14 with an M2 Max 32Gb Ram or an M3 pro CPU 18Gb Ram? my concern with the M2 Max is the thermal means fan noise and the battery life. for sure it might not as good as an M3 pro , but is it so so different ? will be great if you could give me your feedback .. is the issue you go trough could be an optimisation issue due to new M3 architecture , than software update could solve . thank you so much.

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! both are great options, but if you want to do hard video editing, the M3 Pro will have issues. I was just starting and needed the head room. Today my latest videos have so much more effects and techniques that make the timeline heavier, and the M2 Max just flows through like nothing. The M3 Pro was getting stuck on much less complex timelines. The main issue is the speed in which you can access the ram. it's called Memory Bandwidth. If you search youtube you can find great videos about it. The M3 Pro lowered the speed to 150gb/s. The M2 max is at 400Gb/s. The M3 max is 300 and 400 gb /s depending the model, but it's $4k. On the Issue of the thermal throttle, It is an issue. Any 14" laptop will have issues with thermals. The M2 is hotter than the M3, but because of the memory bandwidth, I'd favor the M2 and if you can, in a 16". I'll post soon a follow up on how it's been going with my M2 Max. :). Thanks for the comment!

@maksymandrzejdrzyzgiewicz5096 27 днів тому

@@AndrewReitze Hey Andrew! I love these videos. I'm also in Resolve and currently being held back by my machine. I'm taking the leap into a Macbook Pro. I thought I wanted the M3 Pro because 'I'm not a super heavy user' and 'It should be enough for 4k videos right?', but this is making me rethink. What do you think about a 16" M1 Max with 2TB and 64GB RAM vs a 16" M3 Pro with 36GB RAM?

@AndrewReitze 25 днів тому

@@maksymandrzejdrzyzgiewicz5096 Hi! Among those 2 options I’d go for the M1. The M3 Pro pricing is not justified if you want to do 4K heavy video editing. M1 even M2 Max are cheaper or very similar. Look for Apple refurbished or Amazon refurbished. Good Luck!! Thanks for the comment.

@maksymandrzejdrzyzgiewicz5096 25 днів тому

@@AndrewReitze Thanks! Really appreciate your advice!

@tomsun3159 Місяць тому

So what is your conclusion what is the root cause? Memory size, memory bandwidth, cpu core count, gpu core count, storage size (more NAND Chips in parallel access), the comparison to M3 Pro with extended memory, or the comparison between M3 Pro and M2 Max with almost the same memory, or the comparison between an M2 Max in base config compaired to upgraded M2 Max (one in Memory, one in GPU cores, one in GPU cores). My first impression is, in your case the memory size and therefore less swapping is the major improvement seconded by a higher meory bandwidth. Memory as always is king, depending on the software more cpu cores and gpu cores can be beneficial.

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! that's a great observation. My particular case was the memory bandwidth and memory size. So If I take that into consideration, and do the same exercise with the M3 Pro, but the 32gb ram model, it would only have 18 GPUs and 6 performance CPU cores from the 12 CPU cores. Plus, the memory bandwidth would still be 150gb/s. So the struggle would still be there. The M2 Max is still far superior. Same 32 Gb ram, but, 8 Performance CPU Cores, 32 GPU cores, and 400gb/s memory bandwidth. And all that with a cheaper price tag. Thanks for the comment! :)

@flaviogfranca 26 днів тому

Andrew, you got 5899 points as a GPU Cinebench score on a M2 Max Macbook Pro. I’ve a M2 Max Mac Studio and just got a 5130 points GPU score. I’ve 32GB RAM and 512 GB SSD, 12 core CPU and 30 core GPU. How can we explain such a difference? How many CPU and GPU cores your M2 Max laptop have? Great video by the way. keep the good work 👊

@AndrewReitze 25 днів тому

Hi! Not sure this is the answer but would seem the different is the number of GPU cores. My machine comes with 38 gpu cores. 12 core (8 performance 4 efficient). I see you mention 30 gpu? Not sure if that is correct. But having that said. I’m not really sure. I run it a few times to be sure there was no error in the results and it was consistent. But these synthetic benchmarks are not real life experiences. Your machine should be more than enough for 4K video editing. Thanks for the comment.

@flaviogfranca 25 днів тому

@@AndrewReitze I’m pretty sure the 8 additional GPU cores you have are responsible for the difference in performance between your M2 Max MacBook Pro and my M2 Max Mac Studio desktop machine. I edit 4K content in an almost daily basis and 30 core GPU works like a charm 👍 Thank you for the attention.

@michaelchiguil5162 28 днів тому

I'm coming from a windows laptop, 8GB of ram and dies really quick. I was going to purchase an M3 pro on FB marketplace. The seller backed out on me last minute. So I found an M2 max with 32GB and 1TB of storage for $1650. Lightly used, 98% battery. Man, it's a great deal but its a bit too overpowered for me, as I mostly do office work and light editing. I'm looking to downgrade for the M3 pro, but I really like the deal i got. Thank you for your video

@AndrewReitze 25 днів тому

That’s a great deal! Mine was more expensive refurbished from Apple. If you need to downsize then of course, you need to do what you need to do. Don’t be overspending if you can’t. But if if that’s not the case, I wouldn’t mind having a future proofed machine for years to come! Thanks for the comment.

@AurelianIrimia 18 днів тому

Give a try to Final Cut Pro, much much better than Davinci on Mac.

@akin242002 Місяць тому

Alienware was built for gaming, not video editing. Dell XPS 17 or Dell XPS 16 are better suited for video editing, and includes Windows Pro OS. That OS is more stable, secure, and has far less bloatware than Windows Home. With that said, M chip Macbooks are the best in the industry for video editing.

@AndrewReitze 25 днів тому

Hi. I can’t really say. Many of the reviews I’ve seen were that those machines would work great for video editing. But the issue was never the machine. It was the driver issues with windows. I’ve used Lenovo and Dell laptops in the past for other things, and they have been great. But never one with a dedicated graphics card like this and the experience was not good. And I’m not alone, so many people in the official support channels/ forums/ discords. With the Macs I’ve never had an issue. Power was the focus. Thanks for the comment!

@thatkiraiguy2169 Місяць тому

Were both laptops a 14 inch or 16 inch?

@tomsun3159 Місяць тому

i don't think that the size matter at the base configs, if going to higher tier Max chips the better heat dissipation might matter (but than we are in 6k+ areas

@thatkiraiguy2169 Місяць тому

@@tomsun3159 fair, thank you! I was debating on getting a new M3 Pro 14 inch Pro or a refurbished M2 Max 14/16 inch but considering 6k is quite a lot, I suppose M3 Pro 14 inch would be the way to go. Though the big question is if that can handle video & photo editing such as adobe premiere pro & photoshop. I have to take in storage of course. And overheating, though as you say, i wouldn’t have to worry about that with the pro chips.

@tomsun3159 Місяць тому

@@thatkiraiguy2169 i'm the wrong to answer that question, I'm on the level MBA M1 16 GB. The real question is does any perfomance issue matter or just annoy, if you earn money with the device on regular base, you depriciate the device and money does not matter (its just a business calculation), if you do it hobby wise take the cheapest solution and it takes as long as it takes. Other wise my assumption First get enough RAM, second get enough cores, I don't think that the differnces if M1 Max , M2 Max or M3Max don't really matter, its more the question from the cas colour, (Black is only available with M3). If professional perhaps first rent the desired configuration and test if it fit your needs, yes that cost money but will be much cheaper than buying the wrong configuration, sell it and buy new.

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! Both laptops were 16". I wouldn't recommend the 14" for heavy editing because thermals get tricky and you might suffer thermal throttling. There are a few videos of that. Same spec MacBooks and the difference is only the 16" vs 14" and the 16" was always on top. Thanks for the comment!!

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

My laptop has been amazing. I ended with the Refurbished M2 Max 16" that you see on the link in the description. That was about $2,899.00 at that time. Today I think I just saw it in the same link at $2.599.00. a very good deal. It's cheaper than the M3 Pro 16' with 32 gb. For me it would be a no brainer. You get the full power of the M2 Max with 32 gb, 1 Tb ssd, 32 GPU cores.

@puffy4122 Місяць тому

You din tell RAM in ur M3 pro and M2 max

@AndrewReitze Місяць тому

Hi! The M3 pro had 16gb vs 32gb on the M2. But if you do some researchm you'll see that you can still do the video edit work with 16gb ram. The issue is the speed in which you are able to access it. I loved the M3 Pro, but that speed is so noticeable. I'll post soon a follow up on the M2. :). Thanks for the comment.