Is an M1 Max complete overkill for photography?

[mollyc]

I am primarily a stills photographer. I do a little bit of video work for some classes I teach, but I edit those in iMovie only and then compress in handbrake. I currently use a 27" 2017 i7 iMac, and my husband told me yesterday I can get a new computer as a mother's day present. I've been wanting a regular M1 Pro MBP, but with supply chain issues, I am thinking I will get a base model M1 Max sooner.

I currently have 40GB ram and a 1TB SSD in my iMac, so I would spec 32GB ram and also a 1TB hard drive in a laptop; if I choose the Max, that's a standard configuration. I really don't think that I need the Max, but the wait times are a couple of weeks shorter if I go for a base model vs custom. Other than price, is there an inherent disadvantage to me if I get the Max?

 

[Cmaier]

There is no inherent disadvantage other than price. Max probably has only a slight advantage for apps like photoshop CC or lightroom, other than maybe for filters, but since I have a max and no pro to compare it to, I am not sure. Long term, max should have better resale/trade-in value, so the price difference may be compensated for somewhat. Battery life and heat are likely not going to be much different.

 

[Renzatic]

Other than price, is there an inherent disadvantage to me if I get the Max?

Much like RAM, there's no such thing as too much GPU and processing power. Even if you're not regularly taking advantage of your computer to it's fullest extent, it's still there for you on those rare occasions that you might, and provides you a slight buffer of future proofing.

So if price isn't a concern, there's no disadvantage.

 

[Eric]

For me this has been an excellent upgrade for my photography, also coming from the older 27-inch iMac, where in some cases it would take a minute or two to load LRC or PS, to the point it was painful. Now they load right up and the M1 Max (with 32 MB RAM) handles it all really well, this was also my main reason for upgrading as well. It was time.

 

[mollyc]

thank you guys! i've been waiting since christmas for the approval of this purchase, so at this point any time i can shave off will be worth it.

 

[Eric]

thank you guys! i've been waiting since christmas for the approval of this purchase, so at this point any time i can shave off will be worth it.

Done. Now go get it!

 

[Roller]

I recently went from a 2017 iMac to a Mac Studio Ultra. I use it for a variety of things, including photography in Lightroom and Photoshop, video editing in Final Cut Pro, and a lot of remote access to multiple work apps. The difference has been remarkable — everything is much faster, and I just keep all the apps I need open. Admittedly, this is different from what you're looking at, but if I were you I'd go with the M1 Max if you get a laptop.

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the display. My Studio Ultra is connected to a 27" 4K monitor while I wait for my Apple Studio Display, and the comparison with my iMac is immediately noticeable. If you're OK with a smaller screen, you'll be OK, but I find the larger size indispensable. Unfortunately, there are only two Mac-compatible 5K monitors I'm aware of — the ASD and LG's 5K display, both of which are expensive.

There's been some chatter about Apple yet releasing an M-series 27" iMac. I tend to doubt it, but it may be worth waiting until WWDC next month. You also may want to evaluate the 24" iMac, which has a larger screen than any laptop, though the CPU is older and the memory is limited to 16GB.

 

[Citysnaps]

Done. Now go get it!

Can I get an APPROVED for the pony I always wanted as a child?

 

[Eric]

Can I get an APPROVED for the pony I always wanted as a child?

Yes, @citypix has agreed to pick up the bill.

 

[Eric]

I recently went from a 2017 iMac to a Mac Studio Ultra. I use it for a variety of things, including photography in Lightroom and Photoshop, video editing in Final Cut Pro, and a lot of remote access to multiple work apps. The difference has been remarkable — everything is much faster, and I just keep all the apps I need open. Admittedly, this is different from what you're looking at, but if I were you I'd go with the M1 Max if you get a laptop.

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the display. My Studio Ultra is connected to a 27" 4K monitor while I wait for my Apple Studio Display, and the comparison with my iMac is immediately noticeable. If you're OK with a smaller screen, you'll be OK, but I find the larger size indispensable. Unfortunately, there are only two Mac-compatible 5K monitors I'm aware of — the ASD and LG's 5K display, both of which are expensive.

There's been some chatter about Apple yet releasing an M-series 27" iMac. I tend to doubt it, but it may be worth waiting until WWDC next month. You also may want to evaluate the 24" iMac, which has a larger screen than any laptop, though the CPU is older and the memory is limited to 16GB.

This is a great point, coming from the iMac it's a noticeable difference as the monitor on it is so big and beautiful. I struggled with this at first but ended up with the LG 27UL650-W Monitor 27" 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) IPS Display, VESA DisplayHDR 400, to my eyes it's almost as good and is reasonably priced. The cost of the Apple Studio Display is as much as the computer itself, I just didn't have the budget for that.

 

[mollyc]

I recently went from a 2017 iMac to a Mac Studio Ultra. I use it for a variety of things, including photography in Lightroom and Photoshop, video editing in Final Cut Pro, and a lot of remote access to multiple work apps. The difference has been remarkable — everything is much faster, and I just keep all the apps I need open. Admittedly, this is different from what you're looking at, but if I were you I'd go with the M1 Max if you get a laptop.

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the display. My Studio Ultra is connected to a 27" 4K monitor while I wait for my Apple Studio Display, and the comparison with my iMac is immediately noticeable. If you're OK with a smaller screen, you'll be OK, but I find the larger size indispensable. Unfortunately, there are only two Mac-compatible 5K monitors I'm aware of — the ASD and LG's 5K display, both of which are expensive.

There's been some chatter about Apple yet releasing an M-series 27" iMac. I tend to doubt it, but it may be worth waiting until WWDC next month. You also may want to evaluate the 24" iMac, which has a larger screen than any laptop, though the CPU is older and the memory is limited to 16GB.

I'm pretty committed to getting a laptop this go round. My studio/desk is above the garage and to the extent that I can be in the main living area for day to day computing I prefer that. I used to have an office on the main level but my son took it over as he got older. I also currently use a 2018 MBA as kind of an iPad (which I don't own) and I can be a lot more productive with typing/emails/writing on the laptop, but it does not have the computing power necessary for photography. My husband also got me a Luna display, so I am going to use that on the iMac if I need larger screen space at times, and then I can dock at my desk occasionally. I love having a studio, but having to always go away from the kitchen, etc. is kind of a pain for me.

 

[Citysnaps]

I recently went from a 2017 iMac to a Mac Studio Ultra. I use it for a variety of things, including photography in Lightroom and Photoshop, video editing in Final Cut Pro, and a lot of remote access to multiple work apps. The difference has been remarkable — everything is much faster, and I just keep all the apps I need open. Admittedly, this is different from what you're looking at, but if I were you I'd go with the M1 Max if you get a laptop.

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the display. My Studio Ultra is connected to a 27" 4K monitor while I wait for my Apple Studio Display, and the comparison with my iMac is immediately noticeable. If you're OK with a smaller screen, you'll be OK, but I find the larger size indispensable. Unfortunately, there are only two Mac-compatible 5K monitors I'm aware of — the ASD and LG's 5K display, both of which are expensive.

There's been some chatter about Apple yet releasing an M-series 27" iMac. I tend to doubt it, but it may be worth waiting until WWDC next month. You also may want to evaluate the 24" iMac, which has a larger screen than any laptop, though the CPU is older and the memory is limited to 16GB.

I'm considering a similar move also having a 2017 5K iMac that I use for Lightroom and general computing.

One thing I'm noodling is also using that for X-Plane 12 which should be coming out in the next few months. And if possible using it for both X-Plane and LR.

It's a matter of space in my office and juggling some stuff around. I love that the Studio has a ton of ports - which I need for X-Plane. And I'd rather have my LR display separate from the 2 or 3 displays for X-Plane, ideally being in a different part of my office. And there's a ton of GPU (options); not so much for LR, but for X-Plane which is GPU heavy. I need to hear from other X-Plane 12 users using Studio computers regarding the performance they're getting for various GPU/CPU options to make that decision

Also...I decided to wait until WWDC to see if there might be some other options coming out around the corner. Such as an M1 iMac or iMac Pro, or a Mac Pro Mini, or who knows what.

So....how do you like your Studio Ultra? Anything you don't like about it?

 

[Roller]

I'm considering a similar move also having a 2017 5K iMac that I use for Lightroom and general computing.

One thing I'm noodling is also using that for X-Plane 12 which should be coming out in the next few months. And if possible using it for both X-Plane and LR.

It's a matter of space in my office and juggling some stuff around. I love that the Studio has a ton of ports - which I need for X-Plane. And I'd rather have my LR display separate from the 2 or 3 displays for X-Plane, ideally being in a different part of my office. And there's a ton of GPU (options); not so much for LR, but for X-Plane which is GPU heavy. I need to hear from other X-Plane 12 users using Studio computers regarding the performance they're getting for various GPU/CPU options to make that decision

Also...I decided to wait until WWDC to see if there might be some other options coming out around the corner. Such as an M1 iMac or iMac Pro, or a Mac Pro Mini, or who knows what.

So....how do you like your Studio Ultra? Anything you don't like about it?

I love it, and I'll like it even more when the ASD arrives, whenever that may be (it keeps getting delayed). It does make some sound, but it's not at all obtrusive. The fans in my iMac used to get quite noisy under load, and I haven't seen anything like that so far. Having a lot of ports, with two on the front, is convenient. I still have five USB A devices, though, so one is used by my 4-port Anker hub. The only change I'd ask for is some indication that the Mac is sleeping. I don't see why Apple didn't make the LED pulse like it used to on my Mac laptops.

Cool that you're into flight sims. I was too, more than 20 years ago. I've played a bit with X-Plane periodically, but didn't really get into it. I've been tempted to find a way to run MS Flight Simulator 2020 on the Studio, but the only solution I know of is Windows 11 ARM in Parallels, which apparently doesn't work well. It'd probably be easier to buy a PC or maybe an Xbox.

 

[Citysnaps]

I love it, and I'll like it even more when the ASD arrives, whenever that may be (it keeps getting delayed). It does make some sound, but it's not at all obtrusive. The fans in my iMac used to get quite noisy under load, and I haven't seen anything like that so far. Having a lot of ports, with two on the front, is convenient. I still have five USB A devices, though, so one is used by my 4-port Anker hub. The only change I'd ask for is some indication that the Mac is sleeping. I don't see why Apple didn't make the LED pulse like it used to on my Mac laptops.

Cool that you're into flight sims. I was too, more than 20 years ago. I've played a bit with X-Plane periodically, but didn't really get into it. I've been tempted to find a way to run MS Flight Simulator 2020 on the Studio, but the only solution I know of is Windows 11 ARM in Parallels, which apparently doesn't work well. It'd probably be easier to buy a PC or maybe an Xbox.

Thanks! Which CPU/GPU configuration did you get. And after using it for awhile, do you wish bumped it up or down? Also, it comes stock with 10 Gb ethernet, right?

 

[Roller]

Thanks! Which CPU/GPU configuration did you get. And after using it for awhile, do you wish bumped it up or down? Also, it comes stock with 10 Gb ethernet, right?

I got the Ultra with 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine, 64GB memory, and 2TB SSD. I was going to order the Max, but started to wonder if I'd regret not getting the Ultra. There was not much to go on, since this was in the evening of launch day, and I knew every minute I waited might mean a delivery delay. So I went with my gut, tempered by the limit of what I considered "reasonable" to spend. The 64 core GPU would have cost an extra $900, and 128GB of memory another $720 (all education pricing), and that didn't seem worth it. 2TB was a good choice for the SSD, since I often bumped up against the 1TB limit in my iMac, though I could easily get fast external storage if I needed more than 2TB. Yes, they're all 10GB Ethernet.

Would I have been satisfied with the Max? Probably. I have one at work, and it's very good. But I have no regrets.

 

[Citysnaps]

I got the Ultra with 20-core CPU, 48-core GPU, 32-core Neural Engine, 64GB memory, and 2TB SSD. I was going to order the Max, but started to wonder if I'd regret not getting the Ultra. There was not much to go on, since this was in the evening of launch day, and I knew every minute I waited might mean a delivery delay. So I went with my gut, tempered by the limit of what I considered "reasonable" to spend. The 64 core GPU would have cost an extra $900, and 128GB of memory another $720 (all education pricing), and that didn't seem worth it. 2TB was a good choice for the SSD, since I often bumped up against the 1TB limit in my iMac, though I could easily get fast external storage if I needed more than 2TB. Yes, they're all 10GB Ethernet.

Would I have been satisfied with the Max? Probably. I have one at work, and it's very good. But I have no regrets.

Thanks again - appreciate it!

 

[Renzatic]

Thanks again - appreciate it!

Honestly, I think the Ultra would be overkill for photography work. Unless you're doing things like batch converting thousands of images into another high bit-depth lossless format on the regular, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Max and Ultra.

Now, if money's no object, I'd say go with the Ultra. Like I said above, there's really no such thing as having too much CPU and GPU power. But for most people, the Max offers the best bang for the buck.

 

[Citysnaps]

Honestly, I think the Ultra would be overkill for photography work. Unless you're doing things like batch converting thousands of images into another high bit-depth lossless format on the regular, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a Max and Ultra.

Now, if money's no object, I'd say go with the Ultra. Like I said above, there's really no such thing as having too much CPU and GPU power. But for most people, the Max offers the best bang for the buck.

Thanks... I'm debating whether the it would be beneficial more for X-Plane use. More scenery, weather, objects, antialiasing, reflection detail, and texture quality (all of those parameters have sliders to dial up or down) - at decent frame rates, and with multiple displays.

I need to get feedback from the X-Plane community from users that have various Mac Studio set-ups.

 

[Renzatic]

I need to get feedback from the X-Plane community from users that have various Mac Studio set-ups.

I just just Youtubed up this video. This was benchmarked on the MBP Max, but this shouldn't be a problem, since it and the Studio Max are identical in practically every conceivable way.

 

[DT]

OK, giving this a shot ...