I’m torn between purchasing the M1 Max MacBook or the M3 Pro. I’ll be using the laptop for heavy photo and video work, and I like the large storage capacity of the M1 Max, but the upgraded CPU/GPU of the M3 Pro also tempts me. So I’m wondering: which is better, M3 Pro or M1 Max? What are the differences between M3 Pro and M1 Max?
Hi, the M3 Pro and M1 Max both belong to the Apple Silicon series, high performance, and low power consumption, making them suitable for professional image processing, video editing, and other compute-intensive tasks. I think the biggest difference between M3 Pro and M1 Max lies in the memory size. The M3 Pro supports a maximum of 36GB of unified memory, and the M1 Max supports up to 64GB of unified memory, making the latter more suitable for applications with larger memory requirements.
In terms of performance, M3 Pro has a better CPU, HDMI 2.1, Bluetooth 5.3, WiFi 6E, and better battery life, making it suitable for handling compute-intensive tasks such as software development and everyday design work. M1 Max, on the other hand, offers more memory and stronger GPU performance, making it ideal for professional-level graphics processing, 3D modeling, video rendering, and other heavy-duty tasks.
You should know in terms of power consumption, there are significant differences between the M3 Pro and M1 Max. The M3 Pro is focused on energy efficiency, especially when handling everyday tasks and medium workloads, resulting in lower power consumption. This allows it to complete compute-intensive activities with less energy, making it ideal for mobile work or extended use without a power source. In contrast, while the M1 Max also offers good energy efficiency, its more powerful GPU and higher memory bandwidth result in relatively higher power consumption when running heavy workloads, such as video editing or 3D rendering. In addition, the M1 Max’s battery life is slightly inferior to the M3 Pro.