A very honest take on the M3 line ups. And a big help to buyers deciding what spec to get. That "endless feeling of missing out" is sooooo true when checking that macbook config page. You just earned my sub, kind sir 👌
Indeed! I keep telling myself "I know it's expensive, but I'm future proofing it" Then realization sets in. "No way should I be paying so much for these specs". Lol!
@@WhittyPics Every time someone says that I doubt they have anything to do with IT tech or they just lived under a rock for over a decade. Quality costs. being at peak of tech also costs. developing and leading that peak will not be cheap. In the end all benefit. For example the absiluteyxl breakthrough in the M chip changed to whole industry. Although it takes some time until those changes can be seen by most people especially on the PC sector, where companies tried to avoid acknowledging the existence of the M SOC everyone in the industry knows what a hard hit that was and that there is nearly no company out there not actually working on a similar approach
Gave up on buying Macbooks as soon as I figured out that the memory is soldered onto the mainboard and not upgradeable. Apple's corporate greed continues to hinder sales of Macbook.
The most costly upgrade to M3 will still be necessary for heavy 3D architectural rendering. Apple has a devoted hardware fan base -- millions of users are still operating older machines, ofter 2014 or earlier. I've had two third party chips fail on my 2017 iMac (64 gb ram, four chips, two being the import chips meant to up the ram from stock specs), but has since been a reliable workhorse for graphic design and 3D architecture. The GPU is a 580 i7 8 gb ram and handles 3D operations (Blender and SketchUp Pro) well, but will no doubt lag on the rendering process involving ray tracing. The loyal Apple fan base suffers when NVIDEA is still boasted as the the top performer in PCs, but the M3 series in Apple closed the gap a bit, but it's not there yet. Full scale 3D architectural rendering is now possible on the M3 Pro, and this group of creatives will be taking a harder look at Apple after too many of their cheaper PCs broke down over the years. Running a design firm using 3D rendering allows most companies to write down their hardware upgrade costs against taxes, so the higher cost may not be a dealbreaker. Independent or retired Apple creatives using 3D rendering will just have to save up longer and see what M4 offers, then consider the M3 Pro sale prices once M4 hits the sales desks. And once up and running, they'll just keep the machines longer until the OS won't be supported any longer, probably the better part of a decade.
@ub59 I am in the old users' camp, planning to upgrade from a 2015 MBP. I don't need the very high-end because I'm just a software developer with casual video editing needs. This still implies 32/36GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, so most of my options end up being the Max version (In my local market, ready setups with Pro offer less memory, and upgrading is not that popular and comes with a premium). I'm considering M1 Pro/Max as well, as there are decent discounts available.
Great stuff Josh! It would be great to see an overview "slide" when you wrap up: which configuration to buy for which purpose, given the shear volume of good information that is given. Easier to pause and look instead of re-listening
Even worse, Apple has gotten worse. Their primary focus is now to leverage the cult like thinking of of 90% of its customer base. Greed exponentially accelerated, human rights abuses at FoxxConn too. Cult of dummies on one end, suffering slave workers on tne other end, gaggle of billionaires sitting in between. Apple is the worst that corporate humanity has to offer. Their machines are underperforming status symbols that are incmpatable with the rest of the world. And at this moment, I’m an Apple user. But not for long, I’ve had enough.
@@dgillies5420 they’ve been doing it since the beginning of the Mac in 1983. It was easy because there was no competition, but when it really ramped up to cult status was with the instruction of laptops, the MacBook. For a long time you could walk into any coffee shop and see 90%+ MacBooks. It because a cult of status, and until XP, the windows OS was terrible. But the theme had been established, and from there forward Apple has leveraged this who manufacture Apple product to the degree of human rights abuse, and their customer base who’ve been groomed to spend obscene amounts of money just to be identified as an Apple Cadet. I used to work in retail, and to the degree that markup formulas in the late 90s match those of 2024, I would guess that Apple pays about $60 delivered for current Airbook 64/1024. Nothing wrong with that, they can charge what they want. Legally they’re allowed to build incarceration sweatshop camps in Asia with suicide netting surrounding the lock-in “dormitories”, the employees working 70 hour weeks for $16 a day, stacked one top of the other in squalid buildings, etc. Of course Apple, as “good guys” could improve all of that for their manufacturing employees, but they don’t and won’t because they dnt have to. Apple began and remains an entity that modeled on the mind of 100% Steve Jobs.
Better overview than any review I watched! No one mentioned that most of the difference comes from core count, although it is obvious. Peak power draw is also way up as a consequence, which results in the lower battery you showed. Everyone just seems to be concerned about the performance, neglecting any downsides! It's ridiculous to me that everyone was praising the first apple silicone MBP for being virtually silent and now they all say that the new one runs way cooler, completely neglecting the fans!
I had been waiting for a review like this. I'm so glad I chose a discounted M1 Max over an M3 Pro with less RAM and memory for around the same price. I do video editing and CC work, so the double media engines + graphics cores were a huge plus for me, but I wasn't sure how they'd fare over the M3 alleged efficiency boons, like dynamic caching. It's nice to see an objective review from a clearly knowledgeable source. Subscribed.
So even though the m1 max is now 3 years old would you still recommend it over a m3 pro. Ive been looking at a 16" M1 max 10-core and 32-core GPU - 32GB RAM - SSD 1000GB or a 16" M3 Pro Chip with 12‑Core CPU and 18‑Core GPU 36GB ram - SSD 1000GB both refurbished. Ive watched so many videos, read loads of reviews and now more confused then ever
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This dude knows his stuff! Thanks for being clear on the memory bandwidth downgrade because people don't understand how important that is for rendering work.
Seeing the HP Pavilion Plus smashing many of your graphs, while being a fraction of the price, make it seem like a fantastic price to performance choice.
My HP Pavilion was slow when video editing. It wouldn't play my clog 3 videos from the desk either. I'm going to Apple. Every video editor I know use Mac Pro. PR ran very slow on the Pavilion at times.
@@lyndonjames6485 99% of people & professionals have never edited a video in their lives, so it's not a good gauge of a laptop's overall performance in isolation.
A new HP will run Windoze 11: the MS master plan of turning the customer into a spyware product is 95% complete in Windoze 11. In addition, the charts don't show "real world perception of performance" but show isolated cases of running a single specific type of specialised algorithmic task without other programs running simultaneously. Finally, the crappy build quality, loss in resale value, and expected longevity of an HP Pavillion give it a HIGHER cost of ownership than a Macbook Pro. (With the exception of the 8GB models which are similar to PCs in losing 40% of their value the minute you 'drive them off the lot.') Most Windows laptops you can think of as disposable, they will probably fail long before you ever do a trade-in or resale on them.
You honestly don't even understand how much you've helped me. Wanted the M3 Pro for video editing on Premiere Pro but so many were complaining about this years model under performing. You explained it so well and then backed it up with knowledge 👏🏾
Earned a sub from me. I bought an m1 16 pro 3 days ago and I was very close to buying an m2 and even considered the m3. This has reaffirmed my thought process
I hope I get a response before this day gets started. I bought the 14inch MacBookPro M3Max with the following specs! 14 Core CPU, 30 Core GPU, 36GB of unified memory. I believe = max 300GB/‘s memory bandwidth. My question is this.,. I will ONLY use this laptop for editing 1080p and some 4k files (drone footage) maybe some 4k DSLR footage as well with a lot of 3rd party plug in’s for Final Cut Pro X like Titles, Generators, Effects and transitioning etc… should I return this product and upgrade to 64 GB of unified memory with 16 core CPU and 40core GPU? Which by the way would = Max 400GB/s memory bandwidth! OH and does 14” vs 16” make a difference with the same exact specs? Thank you in advance.
The way they specced these laptops is criminal. Glad you finally saw the Apple FOMO effect. Isn't "memory bandwidth" just another version of the "frontside bus" issue?
I'm an INFOSEC specialist and I run a lot of Virtual Machines. I did a lot of research on the M3 line and decided on the Mac Pro with wit 32 Gb RAM would be the best value for me. I get a small Veteran's discount. So, after everything, it is costing me about $2400 dollars to get a machine I will probably be using for the next 5 - 10 years. I will see a vast improvement over the 9 year old Pentium machine I am currently using.
The sad thing is - these processors, even the original base M1 in the fanless air, probably would have MANY more years of longevity in them if they were paired with at least 16GB.
My 3-year-old MB Pro 13 M1 with 8GB/256GB is as fast as when new and handles all my workload without missing a beat. I bought it because 8GB is all I need and got it for under £1000 because Amazon regularly has deals on these. If you need 16GB, just buy it and forget about the extra cost, as you would be a fool to buy any laptop with 8GB of RAM if you need 16 GB.
When I saw the 8GB RAM I was like no way! My M2 MacBook Air has 1TB SSD and 24GB Unified memory, and it runs buttery smooth. I upgraded from my 2019 Intel 15 inch MacBook Pro to an M3 Pro 16 inch MacBook Pro and it is a great upgrade. I got the 512GB SSD (Use external 2TB SSD) and 36GB Unified memory.
So...here's a question not addressed. Let's say, like me , a user doesn't have a Mac laptop and would like to enter the Mac ecosystem for use of Photoshop, Lightroom, etc; No 3-D rendering. Which of the new configurations would be the best choice for the money? Which refurbed M2 would be the best configuration if it could be found? Thanks for a great review and your consideration.
M2Pro or M2Max seem to be the bang4buck sweet spots for what you describe. 1 or 2TB SSD. 32 or 64GB RAM. Should give great performance for all your Adobe needs.
This whole idea of "buy the whole cow when you just want a steak" is absolutely ludicrous. Thank you for articulating my frustrations in a way I was unable to. Subscribed and thumbs up! Thank you, sir!
An almost maxed out M1 Max with 64GB RAM is the best deal you can get right now independent of the kind of work you do. That M1 Max is just too good for literally everyone.
I'd worry about heat dissipation in a 14" chassis. I just saw an amazing price on a 14" with 32 GB, but... is it going to overheat. Scared. Also, at that price point, there is some argument that, depending on what you are doing, a dedicated gpu is going to provide you better performance. Feeling very Linuxy today.
@@alexfvcruz What he's saying is that it's not a good deal for everyone because it will not benefit everyone. You forget that 90% of people's tasks are browsing and mailing. And even if you do video editing, photoshop or design stuff, 16GB will do just fine. Paying for an overkill machine isn't a good deal.
Great review! Really helpful and learned a bunch about memory usage. I’m a software engineer & really happy I got the 14” with M3 pro chip and paid for additional memory going with 36gb
So, you know how there's not much competition in the tech scene right now? Hoping Snapdragon, Nvidia, and AMD can step up their game with some killer ARM processors to give Apple a run for its money on battery life. And hey, Intel's Meteor Lake is rumored to be a game-changer too. But here's the thing - laptops aren't just about processors. PC guys really need to up their game in the basics. Apple nails it with stuff like screen brightness, color accuracy, sweet speakers, and a top-notch trackpad. Meanwhile, some PC laptops in the same price range as the MacBook Air just don't cut it when it comes to these everyday things. Apple's got the basics down pat, and PC manufacturers need to catch up for a better user experience.
We are probably a few years away before AMD and Nvidia come out with their arm mobile processors and the Qualcomm elite won't be out for a almost another year and by that time its only a few more months before the M4. From some people talking about meteor lake say it won't be as crazy as most people think... So I don't think Apple has to worry to much until around 2025.
@@1eyedwilli3 The new snapdragon benchmarks are pretty amazing no doubt about that. But comparing the X Elite against the M3 max is where it's really at. In fact the charts they should for the X Elite Gpu side is pretty short of the M2 let alone the M3. They have some catching up to do because by the time they ship these in consumer products apple will be releasing the M4 a few months later.
For music production, M3 Pro and M2 Pro chips is a no go for some ProTools, Ableton, Logic X, and Studio One users. I don't understand why the latter generation of Macbook Pros have less Performance cores than the original M1 chips.
Josh: Thank you for speaking the truth. It was exactly what I thought: Greed, no need! That Apple tax, what seems to be funny to some, will cause customers to reconsider upgrading their current machine. I will be hanging onto my MacBook Pro M2 MAX for the foreseeable future. If I ordered an M3 with the same specifications, I would be paying CAD $650 dollars more.
This is indeed a better and more detailed review than what I have seen on LTT. Good job. Although I am a web designer with front-end development exp and entry level skills in 3D I am really wondering what to go with? I should mention, I am coming from a MBPro 13" 2017 model (3.1 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 w/ 8GB of ram).
I own an MBP 14 M1 pro and was confused after watching other reviewers. Thank you Josh for clearing up all my confusion. I don't plan to upgrade for at least 2 more years cos my M1 pro-Mac is functioning perfectly. Best M3 Macs review I've seen so far.
I also have an M1 pro pro, with 32gb RAM and 4T ssd. I was hoping the M3 chip would buy me better battery life. (And also I'm thinking i want to upgrade from 14"to 16".) But the reviews have been disappointing. Maybe next year?
im upgrading to a macbook pro from my 2014 Mac Mini. Its been months trying to figure out which configuration i need. This is the ONLY video ive watch after countless hours that explained EXACTLY how frusterating their customer journey was. Before I knew it what i expected to be a $1500-3k purchase turns our to be like $6k with all the upgrades and stuff. This video is SUPER accurate and helps me feel confident in the decision I made last night with a m3pro chip yesterday instead of getting a more expensive m4 with less
Subbed! This was very educational for me. My 16” M1 MBP continues to give me absolutely zero reason to upgrade, but Apple’s latest tech always tempts me. Great to have an ally against their marketing machine!
I can't get a new laptop right now, but for later.... I'm subscribing. I appreciate your quick and thoughtful delivery, even if a lot of it was over my head as I'm not doing high-level stuff on my laptop. You have an excellent teaching delivery.
My 2015 MacBook Pro with touchbar just died after 8-9 years, it had the black screen of death. I purchased the 16inch with m3 pro… I’m still indifferent. I do use VMware virtual environments for programming etc for my masters courses. This was helpful
This video is really informative, it's rare to see a video this comprehensive that exposes Apple's scammy tactics, something I'd expect from a bigger channel like LTT or gamers nexus which often covers tech news on top of their tech reviews, great work on the video! I believe that if more of these videos release and more people are aware of what Apple is doing, maybe, just maybe, Apple will change
I truly wish what you hoped would happen. But judging from the buying habits and responses of millions of consumers on many other products from different industries, there is an overarching willingness to forgive companies for taking blatant advantage of them, taking them for granted, a simply cheating every buck out of them they can. I never seen it so bad in all my life and I've been around. Heavens forbid you should try and point things out, there now exists some twisted mindset that corporations are really their friends, that what they do and why they do it is to make their lives better and have their best interests at heart. For that is supposedly the very expectation behind capitalism. I don't know what they are teaching in Business 101 these days, but it must radically be different from when I earned my degree decades back. That there is even an unwillingness and refusal to acknowledge let alone accept that there is a dark cycle to capitalism shocks me. Not a dark "side", but an actual dark cycle. A side suggests it may or may not take place provided certain steps are taken (regulatory). However, we are averse to regulations, second it wouldn't matter. There are cycles in everything, and capitalism is not immune to its own. Yet here we are in the land of la la where belief now trumps facts and fantasy reigns supreme. It's really the result of social and cultural programming. Its origins are from the commercial sector as well as from the political, but even more so its ultimate origins are from the wealthy top 8% who own and control the corporate structures as well as the political one. It didn't happen all at once, nor even in the last ten years. But entire courses are taught on this, so it isn't anything that can be fullly explained in five seconds.
I fully agree with your conclusions. And yes - new buyers are more or less badly screwed by Apple. The M2 Pro was one heck of a deal for programmers like me while the M3 Pro is a let down compared to the Max. But I can’t agree with your recommendation to buy a last year model as you are missing one huge factor - longevity of support. I mean - usually Apple support their laptops with OS updates for about 5 years. Investing in such an expensive device and losing one additional year of support is a no go, imo.
I 💯 agree with you on this. The answer going backwards in time to purchase really doesn't fit. I'm coming from a very old model and I need every day of updates I can get as this new one needs to last as long as this one did. The ending left me a little hanging.
@@Mandy7D7i’m currently using my old 2012mid mbp, chrome forced me to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina recently, it dramatically slows my macbook down, and I have to use 2013version pages, keynotes and numbers cuz the new versions don’t support Catalina😅the price for m2 pro and m3 pro is pretty close, I think I will pick the latest version for battery and support longevity too
hopefully linux is viable on these M chips in 5ish years... I run linux on the mid 2012 mbp and it runs great... not having updates for macos on that old machine is just not secure... I can't even use some security features on my apple account unless I remove that mid 2012 mbp from my device list lmao.
Return that asap if you can. Go get a maxed out M1 on 16” for half the price and buy some additional SSDs. You don’t need the core upgrades you just need the ram. (Coming from a full time video editor routinely working with 4k footage and motion graphics). Battery life and heat distribution will be your friend over cores.
Thank you Josh always for standing up and not being afraid to dish out the harsh truths unlike so many bought-out tech you tubers out, always keeping it real, appreciate it
I agree. They should have released a Gamer edition of the M3 Max. It would have even been better marketing for them to formally announce they are actively entering the gaming market.
Battery life saw me order my first ever MacBook (Base Pro with 32gb ram & 2TB hard drive). I do photo editing and use the internet while I travel. Most of the time I'd be in Lightroom culling, cropping and making small adjustments. For that, longer battery life is way more important than peak performance. Even though Apple cops a lot of criticism because it feels like they're trying to suck you in to upgrade after upgrade, I actually think people who don't know that 8gb isn't enough, probably don't need that much memory, and on the other end, people who need high memory bandwidth were probably always going to get the Max chip anyway, so they've probably got the balance about right.
Was planning to buy a Macbook 14 M3 Pro today just to get a new laptop and decided to check out some reviews. Came upon this channel and now will not be buying this particular laptop. Thanks for the good info Josh!
Hey Josh, how do you feel about the 14 inch Max with 14/30? The memory bandwidth isn’t the same as the 16/40 but maybe it runs cooler? Plus it’s “only” a $700 leap from the M3 Pro which seems like the most reasonable for the performance gains.
Yeah, I wonder too, because for me, I would HAVE to get the M3 Max because I sometimes use two external monitors plus a drawing tablet with a screen. This would not be possible with an M3 or M3 Pro. Most PC laptops have no such problem.
He has said in other lives/vids that you absolutely should NOT buy the Max chip in a 14 case as it runs much too hot. Only get the Max in a 16inch, it runs cooler.
@@Mandy7D7 I (personally) would HAVE to buy the M3 Max because if I wanted to use more than 2 external monitors, there's no other option, and I have 3...
Me too, I'm also buying the Max but due to Josh's statements on the heating issues in the 14 inch I'm getting it in the 16 inch case. 👍@@cameronbosch1213
I am coming from a baseline MacBook Air M1 that’s malfunctioning (it fell) also I do a lot of work and have a business. So I was gonna get a MacBook Pro. I which one is better? The M2 or M3?
My worry is not the memory bandwidth. Most people don’t really need that. The problem is the M3 pro didn’t get much better than the previous pro M chip. It’s essentially a really bad buy. It was probably on purpose to get you to buy the MAX chip. Which is considerably improved. But much more expensive. So their options are really pushing you up to spend more money.
For running large language models memory bandwidth and sufficient memory capacity (64GB+) is the absolute requirement, and core counts matter less. I am disappointed by this generation because I was in the market for a higher spec mac to run LLMs locally (want to have an LLM listening in my living room and don't want to send that to the cloud), but now I'm just not sure whether I'm buying any new hardware at all. I may just go with a refurbished or secondhand M1 max. For every other use case that I have those machines already will last me many years, and for LLMs if I can find one with enough RAM they should outperform everything but the unbinned M3 max config.
When everyone thinks they are a creator just because they use a Mac and use iMovie…Apple can get away with sort of stuff. This was an excellent video and something not a single other reviewer has mentioned.
Wow great video, way more informative than Maxtech. But you forgot to link the video below mentioned at 6:43 maybe that could be automated from your script when you say link?
Completely agree, purely selfish and greedy move by Apple. Thought that as soon as I saw them release, the specs and that they had discontinued the M1 & M2 . They are making much more money with these machines, and not offering the others. They know the others are much better value , better specs and based on some of the recent reviews, the performance too ( I hope that makes sense). And noticed someone mentioned something about a mistake you makes- don’t worry! It happens! This is a seriously fantastic video and I hope many people watch it!
They still offer them as refurbs on their website however, it would make no sense to continue to make new M1 & M2s. They've moved on in technology there is no reason. Most people who have an M1 or M2 are not looking to upgrade to an M3 anyway. Your laptop should last you more than a year or two.
Great video, Josh. I've been researching opinions on the M3 line-up and it's refreshing to finally hear someone speak to me as a consumer instead of listing off the product specifications and benchmarks over some B-roll. I am considering purchasing the M3 Pro MacBook Pro. I understand that having 150GB/s of memory bandwidth instead of 200GB/s means equal or lesser performance on some tasks (i.e. video rendering) relative to the M2 Pro MacBook Pro. But can you please say more about what this difference means in practical terms? Are we perhaps talking about a few more minutes of processing time here? If the absolute performance of the M3 Pro MacBook Pro is still top-of-its-class, then I will be more confident in my purchase.
M2Pro vs M3Pro gets you almost no performance benefits. Instead, you get slight battery benefits under light load for minor level tasks and more significant battery benefits under heavy load. But performance is generally 5-10% better for 20-40% higher price (when you realize M2Pros can now be bought for deep discounts).
Came here via feed as chance. Loved the review, finally someone talking correct basis and away from buzz words. Remember when we used to talk about RAM speed, Cache Capacity and Memory Bandwidth. Liked and Subscribed!
Great video, I agree that the configuration options and pricing for the M3 line can be confusing and lead people to over spend. I have a16” M2 Max with 32GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. Similar specs on M3 Max is $500 price increase. It does come with 48GB of RAM, but I don’t need that.
Did you notice you said DDR6 not GDDR6? Its could be misleading because it may make some people confused about what exactly memory speed it by looking for DDR6 WHICH DOES NOT EXIST. (Yet) Also, 512 for a $2000 config is just as crazy as 8gb on a $1600 laptop. God, it costs barely $30 to upgrade a m.2 from 512 to 1tb
It is not "crazy", as Apple has been doing it forever. Every year, the same people complain about Apple's prices despite knowing this; "Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting change."
Loved your video, so detailed and thoughtful! Just one nerdy comment/ask, please place the edits a tad "after" your sentences have a cadence, so we can pause after "each idea" is explained and we can look at the numbers in question (they go quite fast!)
I'm glad somebody is actually saying out loud what most of us are thinking. The amount of greed from Apple has gone too far to the point that I am probably going to switch to a framework and I have always bought macs. No wonder Mac sales are down 40%. They make great products but dang - soldering the storage, forcing you to upgrade CPU and GPU at the same time, including paltry amounts of non-upgradable ram, all add up.
Maybe you should look at the choices we get in the UK for Samsung and then realise that Apple does far more than they have to in a market that is in longterm decline as people hold onto devices for longer and longer. Samsung doesn't even sell many models and the ones it does have restricted specs. Without perspective, slamming Apple all the time is very unfair and not at all helpful for the bigger picture.
@@andyH_England Of course they aren't the only crappy company out there but they are the richest and that's why they get the most flack. And they should; they treat the environment like a dumpster and claim that they love it. They also use chinese slave labor to make their devices and claim they love human rights.
10:45 So true! 100% true! 😂 Seriously, I wouldn't buy a new MacBook, not because I can't afford it, but because macOS has become so bloated and buggy (especially with extremal displays) and the hardware is so locked down and anti right to repair.
Well. It’s an SOC. Everything is integrated. The lower end M3s come from binning. It’s a byproduct of the 3nm process yield. Offering more chips with more configurations would increase the prices even more.
I'm considering the binned M3 Max in the 14" chassis. I'd like to think the 2 fewer performance cores and 10 fewer GPU cores would make the thermals more manageable, but I haven't seen anyone test this yet. My use-case is software development, primarily full-stack webdev with some ML workloads. Admittedly, I'm not super versed in what specs impact ML work the most (e.g. memory capacity vs. bandwidth) which is making me wonder whether my money would be better spent getting more RAM on an M3 Pro, or if doubling the memory bandwidth would be more important. Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated!
This is not really an answer to your question but personally for i feel like being able to use more monitors improves my productivity way more then any difference in multi-core speed. I do not do many big native compiles or any machine learning dough. Only web development. I really do not care that much for a couple of % in multi core speed or if it throttles a little. Main benefit of stepping up to a max from pro is the third monitor and the higher base ram for me. I would definitely get a binned chip. That being said. I will keep my m1 pro 14 base model for this generation unless i really need more ram. A third monitor would be nice though.
There's a couple of tests on RUclips but they test the unbinned M3 max 14" with 14/40 and that things is just too much power for that small of a chasis so battery and thermals are going to suck. I'm looking at the M3 max binned as well and it does seem based on reddit research that people are getting good battery / thermals on it when doing normal tasks. Someone told me they got 14-15 hours of basic coding on it. When people test these computers they put them on high performance mode and run crazy benchmarks that push them way over what you will be doing on it 90% of the time, so it doesn't give a good real world assessment on battery / thermals. If I were you I'd do research for your use case if bandwidth is important, and if so M3 max or m2 chips will be great. If not, then you should be just as good with a custom 14" m3 pro (or m2 pro equivalent) with 36gb ram since it looks like you're not doing anything GPU intensive.
Look up for someone testing M2 Max 14". The chassis is exactly the same so don't expect the thermals to be any different in M3 Max either. I've already watched a few so here's the result: It's trash for 14", get 16".
You are the best! Thanks for the video. I really tried to understand all (I am not into tech), you are talking a little bit fast so, I will see the video once more to be sure!
I need to upgrade for music production. I currently have a 2019 13 inch Mac with 250.69GB of storage, 1.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 1536 MB, 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3. I use a lot of virtual instruments, third Party plugins and I often get the overload error and sample rate warnings etc. so I'm currently looking for a new one myself.
Thank you for the video really made me appreciate my upgrade from a 2016 to a M3Pro… after real case use my only “regret” was getting the 16 instead of 14
@@shaunkukla1846 It's rather heavy and bulky for people that travel and work remote moving around. Besides that it is an incredible computer. Just didn't need to go as big for display and weight matters for me too.
Great video! and you earned a sub. I'm looking to buy my first Macbook. I edit a lot of 4k videos for RUclips/film projects and edit with LightRoom and PhotoShop. Would you recommend the Pro 14 inch 16ggb or the 16 in 2023 Macbook Pro?
All great points. I've tried explaining similar to a few friends but I lack the NON-technical skills to do it. So I just forwarded them this video. Thanks!
$400 to take one up to 32gb? Yeah misled is being kind lol. But consumers seem to love being misled. Trillion dollar company. I love my iPhone and iPad but no way would I buy one of their computers. The pain I've seen with folks who didn't have applecare and needed repairs on their mac. Yike$.
@6:43 I don’t see the link for “how much memory you need” in a new MacBook Pro ??? 🤷🏻♂️ Can someone please direct me to this link or repost it? I’d really appreciate it. 😀🙏🏼
This is the complacency phase. Apple thoroughly defeated the competition with M1 which allowed them to essentially stagnate with m2 and m3. Now nvidia and Qualcomm are gonna kick Apple’s ass and force Apple to offer a good lineup again with m4 gen.
@2:50 "Which may tech you just don't need" Invalid argument. Ray Tracing is available on all of the new M3 chips, not just the Max. I literally says so in the screenshot.
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you're once again showing you're loyal to buyers and not to any brand! very helpful review
or maybe he is loyal to other brands than apple
@@robertocoladomenico5426 he has practically recommended macbooks for most people ever since M1 dropped
Exactly, this guy is anti Apple, it’s seriously pathetic to watch
@@robertocoladomenico5426Really? Don't make me laugh
@@NarutoUzumaki-og1ge it's not difficult to believe, if apple doesn't pay him he has all interest in don't speaking well about
A very honest take on the M3 line ups. And a big help to buyers deciding what spec to get. That "endless feeling of missing out" is sooooo true when checking that macbook config page. You just earned my sub, kind sir 👌
agree
Indeed! I keep telling myself "I know it's expensive, but I'm future proofing it" Then realization sets in. "No way should I be paying so much for these specs". Lol!
"An absolute mess that stinks of corporate greed", well said... 👍
Apple Tax
@@WhittyPics Every time someone says that I doubt they have anything to do with IT tech or they just lived under a rock for over a decade. Quality costs. being at peak of tech also costs. developing and leading that peak will not be cheap. In the end all benefit. For example the absiluteyxl breakthrough in the M chip changed to whole industry. Although it takes some time until those changes can be seen by most people especially on the PC sector, where companies tried to avoid acknowledging the existence of the M SOC everyone in the industry knows what a hard hit that was and that there is nearly no company out there not actually working on a similar approach
Gave up on buying Macbooks as soon as I figured out that the memory is soldered onto the mainboard and not upgradeable. Apple's corporate greed continues to hinder sales of Macbook.
As if other PC manufacturers don’t make profit when selling you a crappy PC that weighs a ton and need fans to cool CPU.
Now memory is built-in to the CPU so absolutely no updating. You just have to buy the one with the amount of memory you need.
I've watched about 50 macbook M3 review videos - this is the only one you need to see
The most costly upgrade to M3 will still be necessary for heavy 3D architectural rendering. Apple has a devoted hardware fan base -- millions of users are still operating older machines, ofter 2014 or earlier. I've had two third party chips fail on my 2017 iMac (64 gb ram, four chips, two being the import chips meant to up the ram from stock specs), but has since been a reliable workhorse for graphic design and 3D architecture. The GPU is a 580 i7 8 gb ram and handles 3D operations (Blender and SketchUp Pro) well, but will no doubt lag on the rendering process involving ray tracing. The loyal Apple fan base suffers when NVIDEA is still boasted as the the top performer in PCs, but the M3 series in Apple closed the gap a bit, but it's not there yet. Full scale 3D architectural rendering is now possible on the M3 Pro, and this group of creatives will be taking a harder look at Apple after too many of their cheaper PCs broke down over the years. Running a design firm using 3D rendering allows most companies to write down their hardware upgrade costs against taxes, so the higher cost may not be a dealbreaker. Independent or retired Apple creatives using 3D rendering will just have to save up longer and see what M4 offers, then consider the M3 Pro sale prices once M4 hits the sales desks. And once up and running, they'll just keep the machines longer until the OS won't be supported any longer, probably the better part of a decade.
ok he's paying you to say this...
what did you end up buying?
@@ee89199ended up buying a new 16”M1MAX 64GB 4TB for $2700 at B&H - it’s a monster
@ub59 I am in the old users' camp, planning to upgrade from a 2015 MBP. I don't need the very high-end because I'm just a software developer with casual video editing needs. This still implies 32/36GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, so most of my options end up being the Max version (In my local market, ready setups with Pro offer less memory, and upgrading is not that popular and comes with a premium).
I'm considering M1 Pro/Max as well, as there are decent discounts available.
Great stuff Josh! It would be great to see an overview "slide" when you wrap up: which configuration to buy for which purpose, given the shear volume of good information that is given. Easier to pause and look instead of re-listening
The 8GB of RAM on the base model is absolutely insane.
So Apple. Just like the base and plus iphones with 60hz in 2023 (not even 90hz).
And 200$ for 8gb. Just insane.
Don't listen to him.
He is an apple hater
Just how
iPhone 60Hz > Android 120Hz
Similarly
MacBook 8GB > Windows 16GB/32GB
@@99Teutonsdumb
@@99Teutons and you know nothing about tech to say that.
I always wanted a MacBook and I finally bought the 16in M1 Max 64gb memory and 1TB. I plan on using that MacBook till at least 2027. Love your video!
where did you buy it?
Finally a proper review calling out Apple for their corporate greed and confusing configurations. Well done sir!
Even worse, Apple has gotten worse. Their primary focus is now to leverage the cult like thinking of of 90% of its customer base. Greed exponentially accelerated, human rights abuses at FoxxConn too. Cult of dummies on one end, suffering slave workers on tne other end, gaggle of billionaires sitting in between. Apple is the worst that corporate humanity has to offer. Their machines are underperforming status symbols that are incmpatable with the rest of the world. And at this moment, I’m an Apple user. But not for long, I’ve had enough.
They've been doing it since Steve Jobs died you just didn't notice ...
@@dgillies5420 they’ve been doing it since the beginning of the Mac in 1983. It was easy because there was no competition, but when it really ramped up to cult status was with the instruction of laptops, the MacBook. For a long time you could walk into any coffee shop and see 90%+ MacBooks. It because a cult of status, and until XP, the windows OS was terrible. But the theme had been established, and from there forward Apple has leveraged this who manufacture Apple product to the degree of human rights abuse, and their customer base who’ve been groomed to spend obscene amounts of money just to be identified as an Apple Cadet. I used to work in retail, and to the degree that markup formulas in the late 90s match those of 2024, I would guess that Apple pays about $60 delivered for current Airbook 64/1024. Nothing wrong with that, they can charge what they want. Legally they’re allowed to build incarceration sweatshop camps in Asia with suicide netting surrounding the lock-in “dormitories”, the employees working 70 hour weeks for $16 a day, stacked one top of the other in squalid buildings, etc. Of course Apple, as “good guys” could improve all of that for their manufacturing employees, but they don’t and won’t because they dnt have to. Apple began and remains an entity that modeled on the mind of 100% Steve Jobs.
This yt channel is one of the best when it comes to tech. Others just make you buy stuff you don`t need. Simple as that.
Josh is honest, and a pro.
Better overview than any review I watched! No one mentioned that most of the difference comes from core count, although it is obvious. Peak power draw is also way up as a consequence, which results in the lower battery you showed. Everyone just seems to be concerned about the performance, neglecting any downsides! It's ridiculous to me that everyone was praising the first apple silicone MBP for being virtually silent and now they all say that the new one runs way cooler, completely neglecting the fans!
Big tech reviewers spent most of the time talking about the new black color. You know who I'm talking about.
To be fair most were talking about not being huge fans of the matte black
I've given up buying stuff with fans. Silence is golden :)
I had been waiting for a review like this. I'm so glad I chose a discounted M1 Max over an M3 Pro with less RAM and memory for around the same price. I do video editing and CC work, so the double media engines + graphics cores were a huge plus for me, but I wasn't sure how they'd fare over the M3 alleged efficiency boons, like dynamic caching. It's nice to see an objective review from a clearly knowledgeable source. Subscribed.
Me to. I got an 16” M1 Max at half price (same price as a base model 15” M3 air), it’s a fantastic laptop, and it rips through anything I throw at it.
@@TheRunpoker Is the keyboard okay? I think the improved (non butterfly?) keyboard is only per M2 series ?
@@henqI love mine! I got it open box from Best Buy and it’s an absolute beast for my photo and video editing.
@@henqmagic keyboard replaced butterfly since m1
So even though the m1 max is now 3 years old would you still recommend it over a m3 pro. Ive been looking at a 16" M1 max 10-core and 32-core GPU - 32GB RAM - SSD 1000GB or a 16" M3 Pro Chip with 12‑Core CPU and 18‑Core GPU 36GB ram - SSD 1000GB both refurbished. Ive watched so many videos, read loads of reviews and now more confused then ever
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Say no to Crapple!!!!
Thank you, Josh. I never would have understood the memory bandwidth issue if it hadn't been for you making this video.
This dude knows his stuff! Thanks for being clear on the memory bandwidth downgrade because people don't understand how important that is for rendering work.
Thank you for calling Apple out for their predatory business practices against their own loyal customers.
Seeing the HP Pavilion Plus smashing many of your graphs, while being a fraction of the price, make it seem like a fantastic price to performance choice.
My HP Pavilion was slow when video editing. It wouldn't play my clog 3 videos from the desk either. I'm going to Apple. Every video editor I know use Mac Pro. PR ran very slow on the Pavilion at times.
@@lyndonjames6485 99% of people & professionals have never edited a video in their lives, so it's not a good gauge of a laptop's overall performance in isolation.
But you do need it plugged in, correct?
A new HP will run Windoze 11: the MS master plan of turning the customer into a spyware product is 95% complete in Windoze 11. In addition, the charts don't show "real world perception of performance" but show isolated cases of running a single specific type of specialised algorithmic task without other programs running simultaneously.
Finally, the crappy build quality, loss in resale value, and expected longevity of an HP Pavillion give it a HIGHER cost of ownership than a Macbook Pro. (With the exception of the 8GB models which are similar to PCs in losing 40% of their value the minute you 'drive them off the lot.') Most Windows laptops you can think of as disposable, they will probably fail long before you ever do a trade-in or resale on them.
You honestly don't even understand how much you've helped me. Wanted the M3 Pro for video editing on Premiere Pro but so many were complaining about this years model under performing. You explained it so well and then backed it up with knowledge 👏🏾
What did you end up choosing?
Earned a sub from me. I bought an m1 16 pro 3 days ago and I was very close to buying an m2 and even considered the m3. This has reaffirmed my thought process
I hope I get a response before this day gets started. I bought the 14inch MacBookPro M3Max with the following specs! 14 Core CPU, 30 Core GPU, 36GB of unified memory. I believe = max 300GB/‘s memory bandwidth. My question is this.,. I will ONLY use this laptop for editing 1080p and some 4k files (drone footage) maybe some 4k DSLR footage as well with a lot of 3rd party plug in’s for Final Cut Pro X like Titles, Generators, Effects and transitioning etc… should I return this product and upgrade to 64 GB of unified memory with 16 core CPU and 40core GPU? Which by the way would = Max 400GB/s memory bandwidth! OH and does 14” vs 16” make a difference with the same exact specs? Thank you in advance.
The way they specced these laptops is criminal. Glad you finally saw the Apple FOMO effect. Isn't "memory bandwidth" just another version of the "frontside bus" issue?
I'm an INFOSEC specialist and I run a lot of Virtual Machines. I did a lot of research on the M3 line and decided on the Mac Pro with wit 32 Gb RAM would be the best value for me. I get a small Veteran's discount. So, after everything, it is costing me about $2400 dollars to get a machine I will probably be using for the next 5 - 10 years. I will see a vast improvement over the 9 year old Pentium machine I am currently using.
now this is the kind of information I've been looking for! Thank you so much, happy to subscribe
Love my 14 Pro M3 Pro. It’s been great for all of my task so far.
The sad thing is - these processors, even the original base M1 in the fanless air, probably would have MANY more years of longevity in them if they were paired with at least 16GB.
Yes, that’s the thing stopped me from getting that laptop. No way 8GB is enough for several complex google spreadsheet tabs.
My 3-year-old MB Pro 13 M1 with 8GB/256GB is as fast as when new and handles all my workload without missing a beat. I bought it because 8GB is all I need and got it for under £1000 because Amazon regularly has deals on these. If you need 16GB, just buy it and forget about the extra cost, as you would be a fool to buy any laptop with 8GB of RAM if you need 16 GB.
I got the 8gb m1 air and the only thing I'm missing is that extra ram not gonna lie, that's the only thing I would like to upgrade!
darn fruitin right
When I saw the 8GB RAM I was like no way! My M2 MacBook Air has 1TB SSD and 24GB Unified memory, and it runs buttery smooth. I upgraded from my 2019 Intel 15 inch MacBook Pro to an M3 Pro 16 inch MacBook Pro and it is a great upgrade. I got the 512GB SSD (Use external 2TB SSD) and 36GB Unified memory.
Problem is lack of competition. As always.
So...here's a question not addressed. Let's say, like me , a user doesn't have a Mac laptop and would like to enter the Mac ecosystem for use of Photoshop, Lightroom, etc; No 3-D rendering. Which of the new configurations would be the best choice for the money? Which refurbed M2 would be the best configuration if it could be found? Thanks for a great review and your consideration.
M2Pro or M2Max seem to be the bang4buck sweet spots for what you describe. 1 or 2TB SSD. 32 or 64GB RAM. Should give great performance for all your Adobe needs.
This whole idea of "buy the whole cow when you just want a steak" is absolutely ludicrous. Thank you for articulating my frustrations in a way I was unable to. Subscribed and thumbs up! Thank you, sir!
An almost maxed out M1 Max with 64GB RAM is the best deal you can get right now independent of the kind of work you do. That M1 Max is just too good for literally everyone.
I'd worry about heat dissipation in a 14" chassis. I just saw an amazing price on a 14" with 32 GB, but... is it going to overheat. Scared. Also, at that price point, there is some argument that, depending on what you are doing, a dedicated gpu is going to provide you better performance. Feeling very Linuxy today.
@@osoiii 2 grand for a beefed up M1 Max or 2 grand for a base M3 MBP. I know which I’d choose tbh.
@@alexfvcruz What he's saying is that it's not a good deal for everyone because it will not benefit everyone. You forget that 90% of people's tasks are browsing and mailing. And even if you do video editing, photoshop or design stuff, 16GB will do just fine. Paying for an overkill machine isn't a good deal.
@@osoiii 200 % correct.
except machine learning training LLM
Great review! Really helpful and learned a bunch about memory usage. I’m a software engineer & really happy I got the 14” with M3 pro chip and paid for additional memory going with 36gb
did you get 11 or 12 core
So, you know how there's not much competition in the tech scene right now? Hoping Snapdragon, Nvidia, and AMD can step up their game with some killer ARM processors to give Apple a run for its money on battery life. And hey, Intel's Meteor Lake is rumored to be a game-changer too.
But here's the thing - laptops aren't just about processors. PC guys really need to up their game in the basics. Apple nails it with stuff like screen brightness, color accuracy, sweet speakers, and a top-notch trackpad. Meanwhile, some PC laptops in the same price range as the MacBook Air just don't cut it when it comes to these everyday things. Apple's got the basics down pat, and PC manufacturers need to catch up for a better user experience.
We are probably a few years away before AMD and Nvidia come out with their arm mobile processors and the Qualcomm elite won't be out for a almost another year and by that time its only a few more months before the M4.
From some people talking about meteor lake say it won't be as crazy as most people think... So I don't think Apple has to worry to much until around 2025.
The new spapdragon is faster than the new Flagship iphone pro cpu and gpu. Apples lead was way ahead when apple silicon hit. But now its.....not.
Thank you. So few people (and PC manufacturers) seem to understand this.
@@1eyedwilli3 The new snapdragon benchmarks are pretty amazing no doubt about that.
But comparing the X Elite against the M3 max is where it's really at. In fact the charts they should for the X Elite Gpu side is pretty short of the M2 let alone the M3.
They have some catching up to do because by the time they ship these in consumer products apple will be releasing the M4 a few months later.
For music production, M3 Pro and M2 Pro chips is a no go for some ProTools, Ableton, Logic X, and Studio One users. I don't understand why the latter generation of Macbook Pros have less Performance cores than the original M1 chips.
What is a good older model for recording guitars?
I have Logic on my m2pro Mac and it works fine
@@d.e.harris3621 Good for you.
Josh: Thank you for speaking the truth. It was exactly what I thought: Greed, no need! That Apple tax, what seems to be funny to some, will cause customers to reconsider upgrading their current machine. I will be hanging onto my MacBook Pro M2 MAX for the foreseeable future. If I ordered an M3 with the same specifications, I would be paying CAD $650 dollars more.
And how many Polish Zloty more?
Why would anyone be even thinking about upgrading an M2 Max? 😳
@@jackdominiak445 same way people last year immediately upgraded from the iphone 13PM to the 14PM
@@jackdominiak445 same way people last year immediately upgraded from the iphone 13PM to the 14PM
@@jackdominiak445lol ikr
This is indeed a better and more detailed review than what I have seen on LTT. Good job. Although I am a web designer with front-end development exp and entry level skills in 3D I am really wondering what to go with? I should mention, I am coming from a MBPro 13" 2017 model (3.1 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5 w/ 8GB of ram).
I own an MBP 14 M1 pro and was confused after watching other reviewers. Thank you Josh for clearing up all my confusion. I don't plan to upgrade for at least 2 more years cos my M1 pro-Mac is functioning perfectly. Best M3 Macs review I've seen so far.
I also have an M1 pro pro, with 32gb RAM and 4T ssd. I was hoping the M3 chip would buy me better battery life. (And also I'm thinking i want to upgrade from 14"to 16".) But the reviews have been disappointing. Maybe next year?
im upgrading to a macbook pro from my 2014 Mac Mini. Its been months trying to figure out which configuration i need. This is the ONLY video ive watch after countless hours that explained EXACTLY how frusterating their customer journey was. Before I knew it what i expected to be a $1500-3k purchase turns our to be like $6k with all the upgrades and stuff. This video is SUPER accurate and helps me feel confident in the decision I made last night with a m3pro chip yesterday instead of getting a more expensive m4 with less
Subbed! This was very educational for me. My 16” M1 MBP continues to give me absolutely zero reason to upgrade, but Apple’s latest tech always tempts me. Great to have an ally against their marketing machine!
I can't get a new laptop right now, but for later.... I'm subscribing. I appreciate your quick and thoughtful delivery, even if a lot of it was over my head as I'm not doing high-level stuff on my laptop. You have an excellent teaching delivery.
I hope your channel grows. Thank you for explaining all of this for us
This is the best video guide for the m3 macbook pro, hands down
Hey Josh, I would really appreciate if you make a video on how to choose a laptop for students who are studying Data Sciece and Machine learning.
I'm still confuse 😂😂.. I'm using it mainly for lightroom classic and fcpx. I should get the 14 inch m2 pro?
Excellent, intelligent expert analysis drawing from your years of expertise - amazing and so supportive of consumers. Thank you!
My 2015 MacBook Pro with touchbar just died after 8-9 years, it had the black screen of death. I purchased the 16inch with m3 pro… I’m still indifferent. I do use VMware virtual environments for programming etc for my masters courses.
This was helpful
This video is really informative, it's rare to see a video this comprehensive that exposes Apple's scammy tactics, something I'd expect from a bigger channel like LTT or gamers nexus which often covers tech news on top of their tech reviews, great work on the video! I believe that if more of these videos release and more people are aware of what Apple is doing, maybe, just maybe, Apple will change
I truly wish what you hoped would happen. But judging from the buying habits and responses of millions of consumers on many other products from different industries, there is an overarching willingness to forgive companies for taking blatant advantage of them, taking them for granted, a simply cheating every buck out of them they can. I never seen it so bad in all my life and I've been around. Heavens forbid you should try and point things out, there now exists some twisted mindset that corporations are really their friends, that what they do and why they do it is to make their lives better and have their best interests at heart. For that is supposedly the very expectation behind capitalism. I don't know what they are teaching in Business 101 these days, but it must radically be different from when I earned my degree decades back. That there is even an unwillingness and refusal to acknowledge let alone accept that there is a dark cycle to capitalism shocks me. Not a dark "side", but an actual dark cycle. A side suggests it may or may not take place provided certain steps are taken (regulatory). However, we are averse to regulations, second it wouldn't matter. There are cycles in everything, and capitalism is not immune to its own. Yet here we are in the land of la la where belief now trumps facts and fantasy reigns supreme. It's really the result of social and cultural programming. Its origins are from the commercial sector as well as from the political, but even more so its ultimate origins are from the wealthy top 8% who own and control the corporate structures as well as the political one. It didn't happen all at once, nor even in the last ten years. But entire courses are taught on this, so it isn't anything that can be fullly explained in five seconds.
You are a legend! Thank you for this. Best review I've watched so far
Thank you for calling out Apple's greed. You just earned a subscriber.
Thanks!
Thanks Gabriel
I fully agree with your conclusions. And yes - new buyers are more or less badly screwed by Apple. The M2 Pro was one heck of a deal for programmers like me while the M3 Pro is a let down compared to the Max. But I can’t agree with your recommendation to buy a last year model as you are missing one huge factor - longevity of support. I mean - usually Apple support their laptops with OS updates for about 5 years. Investing in such an expensive device and losing one additional year of support is a no go, imo.
I 💯 agree with you on this. The answer going backwards in time to purchase really doesn't fit. I'm coming from a very old model and I need every day of updates I can get as this new one needs to last as long as this one did. The ending left me a little hanging.
There’s the M2 Pro that came out in January of this year you could get
@@Mandy7D7i’m currently using my old 2012mid mbp, chrome forced me to upgrade from Mojave to Catalina recently, it dramatically slows my macbook down, and I have to use 2013version pages, keynotes and numbers cuz the new versions don’t support Catalina😅the price for m2 pro and m3 pro is pretty close, I think I will pick the latest version for battery and support longevity too
Interesting observation.
hopefully linux is viable on these M chips in 5ish years... I run linux on the mid 2012 mbp and it runs great... not having updates for macos on that old machine is just not secure... I can't even use some security features on my apple account unless I remove that mid 2012 mbp from my device list lmao.
Just ordered a 16 inch M3 MAX 30 core GPU with 96 gb memory 1 TB for over $5000. Heavy video editing and music production. Is it overkill?
Personally I would 100% wait for the M4 version. It is likely alot better. I would cancel it asap
Return that asap if you can. Go get a maxed out M1 on 16” for half the price and buy some additional SSDs. You don’t need the core upgrades you just need the ram. (Coming from a full time video editor routinely working with 4k footage and motion graphics). Battery life and heat distribution will be your friend over cores.
@@JustJoshTechdo you have any idea when the M4 Mac’s might be releasing? I’m in the market from a 2019 MB Pro so if it’s worth the wait then I will
@@joshuathomas7702 We are expecting first week of November
Thank you Josh always for standing up and not being afraid to dish out the harsh truths unlike so many bought-out tech you tubers out, always keeping it real, appreciate it
This is the best review I've found explaining in detail the new M3 chips. Thank you and you've got a new subscriber for this high-quality video.
I agree. They should have released a Gamer edition of the M3 Max. It would have even been better marketing for them to formally announce they are actively entering the gaming market.
Love that idea. I know it's somewhat antithetical to Apple's aesthetic, however, carving out that segment could be cool in its own way.
@@daviddicicco3940 I think if Apple is serious about capturing market share in the game Industry, this is what they have to do.
I recently chose a refurb 16" M2 Max Macbook with 96gb ram and 1tb HD over a new M3 Max with 36gb Ram and 1 tb HD for $1000 less
As always, the best apple "product" to "spend" your hard earned money on continues to be their shares.
Literally the only one on RUclips that actually understands these nuances. Keep up the great work!
Battery life saw me order my first ever MacBook (Base Pro with 32gb ram & 2TB hard drive). I do photo editing and use the internet while I travel. Most of the time I'd be in Lightroom culling, cropping and making small adjustments. For that, longer battery life is way more important than peak performance. Even though Apple cops a lot of criticism because it feels like they're trying to suck you in to upgrade after upgrade, I actually think people who don't know that 8gb isn't enough, probably don't need that much memory, and on the other end, people who need high memory bandwidth were probably always going to get the Max chip anyway, so they've probably got the balance about right.
you get to yourself a lot of enemies :D, thanks for your transparency BTW
Meanwhile Max Tech on every new Apple products: "Wow.. this is insane 🤯"
Was planning to buy a Macbook 14 M3 Pro today just to get a new laptop and decided to check out some reviews. Came upon this channel and now will not be buying this particular laptop. Thanks for the good info Josh!
Hey Josh, how do you feel about the 14 inch Max with 14/30? The memory bandwidth isn’t the same as the 16/40 but maybe it runs cooler? Plus it’s “only” a $700 leap from the M3 Pro which seems like the most reasonable for the performance gains.
Yeah, I wonder too, because for me, I would HAVE to get the M3 Max because I sometimes use two external monitors plus a drawing tablet with a screen. This would not be possible with an M3 or M3 Pro. Most PC laptops have no such problem.
He has said in other lives/vids that you absolutely should NOT buy the Max chip in a 14 case as it runs much too hot. Only get the Max in a 16inch, it runs cooler.
@@Mandy7D7 I (personally) would HAVE to buy the M3 Max because if I wanted to use more than 2 external monitors, there's no other option, and I have 3...
Me too, I'm also buying the Max but due to Josh's statements on the heating issues in the 14 inch I'm getting it in the 16 inch case. 👍@@cameronbosch1213
I am coming from a baseline MacBook Air M1 that’s malfunctioning (it fell) also I do a lot of work and have a business. So I was gonna get a MacBook Pro. I which one is better? The M2 or M3?
My worry is not the memory bandwidth. Most people don’t really need that. The problem is the M3 pro didn’t get much better than the previous pro M chip. It’s essentially a really bad buy. It was probably on purpose to get you to buy the MAX chip. Which is considerably improved. But much more expensive. So their options are really pushing you up to spend more money.
That is what was said in the video. ..and the chip did improve but the core ratio was changed and bandwidth reduced, resulting in a net loss.
For running large language models memory bandwidth and sufficient memory capacity (64GB+) is the absolute requirement, and core counts matter less. I am disappointed by this generation because I was in the market for a higher spec mac to run LLMs locally (want to have an LLM listening in my living room and don't want to send that to the cloud), but now I'm just not sure whether I'm buying any new hardware at all. I may just go with a refurbished or secondhand M1 max. For every other use case that I have those machines already will last me many years, and for LLMs if I can find one with enough RAM they should outperform everything but the unbinned M3 max config.
just dual fan and single heatpipe , great chip bad thermal, it throtle because reach 106c
When everyone thinks they are a creator just because they use a Mac and use iMovie…Apple can get away with sort of stuff. This was an excellent video and something not a single other reviewer has mentioned.
iMovie is all most of the clown tech channels need but they use all the fancy software
Wow great video, way more informative than Maxtech. But you forgot to link the video below mentioned at 6:43 maybe that could be automated from your script when you say link?
Completely agree, purely selfish and greedy move by Apple. Thought that as soon as I saw them release, the specs and that they had discontinued the M1 & M2 . They are making much more money with these machines, and not offering the others. They know the others are much better value , better specs and based on some of the recent reviews, the performance too ( I hope that makes sense).
And noticed someone mentioned something about a mistake you makes- don’t worry! It happens! This is a seriously fantastic video and I hope many people watch it!
Thanks Paige. It helps to hear that.
@@JustJoshTech welcome! Your videos are incredible and you deserve even more subscribers!
Why would they not discontinue the M1 & M2 Pro and Max chipped machines?
They still offer them as refurbs on their website however, it would make no sense to continue to make new M1 & M2s. They've moved on in technology there is no reason. Most people who have an M1 or M2 are not looking to upgrade to an M3 anyway. Your laptop should last you more than a year or two.
The best review of M3 Macbooks in RUclips right now
Great video, Josh. I've been researching opinions on the M3 line-up and it's refreshing to finally hear someone speak to me as a consumer instead of listing off the product specifications and benchmarks over some B-roll.
I am considering purchasing the M3 Pro MacBook Pro. I understand that having 150GB/s of memory bandwidth instead of 200GB/s means equal or lesser performance on some tasks (i.e. video rendering) relative to the M2 Pro MacBook Pro. But can you please say more about what this difference means in practical terms? Are we perhaps talking about a few more minutes of processing time here? If the absolute performance of the M3 Pro MacBook Pro is still top-of-its-class, then I will be more confident in my purchase.
M2Pro vs M3Pro gets you almost no performance benefits. Instead, you get slight battery benefits under light load for minor level tasks and more significant battery benefits under heavy load. But performance is generally 5-10% better for 20-40% higher price (when you realize M2Pros can now be bought for deep discounts).
An explanation in practical terms would benefit from knowing what tasks and programs you plan on doing and using.
Came here via feed as chance. Loved the review, finally someone talking correct basis and away from buzz words. Remember when we used to talk about RAM speed, Cache Capacity and Memory Bandwidth. Liked and Subscribed!
Great video, I agree that the configuration options and pricing for the M3 line can be confusing and lead people to over spend.
I have a16” M2 Max with 32GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage. Similar specs on M3 Max is $500 price increase. It does come with 48GB of RAM, but I don’t need that.
That's almost a normal amount of extra money that Apple would charge you for the extra 16 GB's, only $100 more lol.
Amazingly honest review, as an Australian I appreciate you being so highly rated up on my search page, good job mate!
Did you notice you said DDR6 not GDDR6? Its could be misleading because it may make some people confused about what exactly memory speed it by looking for DDR6 WHICH DOES NOT EXIST. (Yet) Also, 512 for a $2000 config is just as crazy as 8gb on a $1600 laptop. God, it costs barely $30 to upgrade a m.2 from 512 to 1tb
My bad, but I think you get the overall point i'm trying to make
It is not "crazy", as Apple has been doing it forever. Every year, the same people complain about Apple's prices despite knowing this; "Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting change."
Great video, subbed. I noticed this memory bandwidth change in the M3 and just bought a refurbished M2!
great time with black friday 😄
Loved your video, so detailed and thoughtful! Just one nerdy comment/ask, please place the edits a tad "after" your sentences have a cadence, so we can pause after "each idea" is explained and we can look at the numbers in question (they go quite fast!)
I'm glad somebody is actually saying out loud what most of us are thinking. The amount of greed from Apple has gone too far to the point that I am probably going to switch to a framework and I have always bought macs. No wonder Mac sales are down 40%. They make great products but dang - soldering the storage, forcing you to upgrade CPU and GPU at the same time, including paltry amounts of non-upgradable ram, all add up.
Maybe you should look at the choices we get in the UK for Samsung and then realise that Apple does far more than they have to in a market that is in longterm decline as people hold onto devices for longer and longer. Samsung doesn't even sell many models and the ones it does have restricted specs. Without perspective, slamming Apple all the time is very unfair and not at all helpful for the bigger picture.
@@andyH_England Of course they aren't the only crappy company out there but they are the richest and that's why they get the most flack. And they should; they treat the environment like a dumpster and claim that they love it. They also use chinese slave labor to make their devices and claim they love human rights.
This is the best and clearest advice I’ve seen in ages!! Thank you sir.
Thanks for the nice note
This is genuinely best and most honest review I've seen. Perfectly explained for a layman, thanks 🙏 👍 great great review!
Do you recommend a m2 pro refurbished or the m3 pro for a cyber security student. I like your videos and opinions
10:45 So true! 100% true! 😂
Seriously, I wouldn't buy a new MacBook, not because I can't afford it, but because macOS has become so bloated and buggy (especially with extremal displays) and the hardware is so locked down and anti right to repair.
Well. It’s an SOC. Everything is integrated. The lower end M3s come from binning. It’s a byproduct of the 3nm process yield.
Offering more chips with more configurations would increase the prices even more.
I'm considering the binned M3 Max in the 14" chassis.
I'd like to think the 2 fewer performance cores and 10 fewer GPU cores would make the thermals more manageable, but I haven't seen anyone test this yet.
My use-case is software development, primarily full-stack webdev with some ML workloads. Admittedly, I'm not super versed in what specs impact ML work the most (e.g. memory capacity vs. bandwidth) which is making me wonder whether my money would be better spent getting more RAM on an M3 Pro, or if doubling the memory bandwidth would be more important.
Any advice you can offer would be much appreciated!
This is not really an answer to your question but personally for i feel like being able to use more monitors improves my productivity way more then any difference in multi-core speed. I do not do many big native compiles or any machine learning dough. Only web development.
I really do not care that much for a couple of % in multi core speed or if it throttles a little. Main benefit of stepping up to a max from pro is the third monitor and the higher base ram for me. I would definitely get a binned chip.
That being said.
I will keep my m1 pro 14 base model for this generation unless i really need more ram.
A third monitor would be nice though.
There's a couple of tests on RUclips but they test the unbinned M3 max 14" with 14/40 and that things is just too much power for that small of a chasis so battery and thermals are going to suck. I'm looking at the M3 max binned as well and it does seem based on reddit research that people are getting good battery / thermals on it when doing normal tasks. Someone told me they got 14-15 hours of basic coding on it. When people test these computers they put them on high performance mode and run crazy benchmarks that push them way over what you will be doing on it 90% of the time, so it doesn't give a good real world assessment on battery / thermals. If I were you I'd do research for your use case if bandwidth is important, and if so M3 max or m2 chips will be great. If not, then you should be just as good with a custom 14" m3 pro (or m2 pro equivalent) with 36gb ram since it looks like you're not doing anything GPU intensive.
Look up for someone testing M2 Max 14". The chassis is exactly the same so don't expect the thermals to be any different in M3 Max either. I've already watched a few so here's the result: It's trash for 14", get 16".
@@mightymallet5474I think the heat sink is much bigger on the M3.
You are the best! Thanks for the video. I really tried to understand all (I am not into tech), you are talking a little bit fast so, I will see the video once more to be sure!
Buy a horse cuz its faster than walking 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Too right it's not right 😢
I need to upgrade for music production. I currently have a 2019 13 inch Mac with 250.69GB of storage, 1.4 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5, Intel Iris Plus Graphics 645 1536 MB, 8 GB 2133 MHz LPDDR3.
I use a lot of virtual instruments, third Party plugins and I often get the overload error and sample rate warnings etc. so I'm currently looking for a new one myself.
Thank you for the video really made me appreciate my upgrade from a 2016 to a M3Pro… after real case use my only “regret” was getting the 16 instead of 14
Why?
@@shaunkukla1846 It's rather heavy and bulky for people that travel and work remote moving around. Besides that it is an incredible computer. Just didn't need to go as big for display and weight matters for me too.
Great video! and you earned a sub. I'm looking to buy my first Macbook. I edit a lot of 4k videos for RUclips/film projects and edit with LightRoom and PhotoShop. Would you recommend the Pro 14 inch 16ggb or the 16 in 2023 Macbook Pro?
Apple has been trying so hard to avoid the terms such as Integrated Graphics, and Shared Memory...which is what Apple Silicon really is.
All great points. I've tried explaining similar to a few friends but I lack the NON-technical skills to do it. So I just forwarded them this video. Thanks!
$400 to take one up to 32gb? Yeah misled is being kind lol. But consumers seem to love being misled. Trillion dollar company. I love my iPhone and iPad but no way would I buy one of their computers. The pain I've seen with folks who didn't have applecare and needed repairs on their mac. Yike$.
@6:43 I don’t see the link for “how much memory you need” in a new MacBook Pro ??? 🤷🏻♂️
Can someone please direct me to this link or repost it? I’d really appreciate it. 😀🙏🏼
You’ve earned my follow 👍🏽 very well done review and showcasing the level of greed Apple has been getting away with
Thank you!
Thank you for all the details. You really helped me deciding which one to get.
Awesome video ❤
Thanks, you explained everything very well!
This is the complacency phase. Apple thoroughly defeated the competition with M1 which allowed them to essentially stagnate with m2 and m3. Now nvidia and Qualcomm are gonna kick Apple’s ass and force Apple to offer a good lineup again with m4 gen.
The M3 is 30% faster than the M1 for both single core and multicore in Geekbench 6. How is that stagnation?
@@ShowsOnapparently "stagnation" is when you don't gain %80 gen over gen
Apple deserves the "rest". They will have to recap massive costs from the Mx development, including Rosetta II.
Sticking to my M1 pro 16' for years to come. It's more then enough for my needs and I didn't have any problems with it since I got it.
Great channel, congrats, helping me with my next business laptop
@2:50 "Which may tech you just don't need" Invalid argument. Ray Tracing is available on all of the new M3 chips, not just the Max. I literally says so in the screenshot.
I was referring to the jump from M2 to M3