Apple MBP recommendations for a PC user

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pmcdonald

Active member
I've been switching between Mac and PC for the last 20 years. Last update cycle at work I went with a PC workstation - it gave me more bang for buck than Mac models, which were still pre-M1 at the time.

Very pleased to see some healthy benchmarks from the M2 models so I'm leaning towards a grunty MBP next update cycle (likely M3-equipped when they drop). I'm a bit lost with this new M landscape though. Regular, Pro, Max or Ultra? 32GB or 64GB RAM? Any other considerations? I edit mostly UHD H265, H264, Prores and BRAW content and also spend a fair bit of time in AE but no CG.
 
I have the M1 Max with 64GB and 2TB and for me, it is still an overkill. Mostly in the same realm of formats/codecs as you. I've bought it with the sense that it will last me for at least 5 years or more. Now clocking 2nd year and still running strong. Mind blowing speed for a laptop.

But to answer your question. How much do you want to spend? My spec was over 4k Euros, if that is too much and you want to change your laptop every 2-3 years I suggest a PRO version with more RAM and storage. If your change cycle is close to 5 years or more, I suggest MAX with 32-64 RAM and more storage (2TB if not more).

The main difference is how much bandwidth, GPU power and HW coding/decoding there is. PRO (lowest), ULTRA (highest).

Hopefully that answers your question.
 
The MBPs only go up to Max right now (Ultra is in the studio and pro).

Personally - if I was doing any of the very heavy Blender/Maya/etc. stuff - I would be looking into the very best from them, but I think we're at the point with Apple where some of us can get away with using even a MacBook Air for basic 4K post because the computers are that good (that's where I'm at; a new base-ish MBA or maybe MBP every year).

The prices are very reasonable for even the very best 16" MBP you can get right now (~$4300 with 1TB of storage).

I would think about how you use the computer...I've mostly bought Apple laptops for the last 15 years, but one of the other models might be better for you/your work.

And you can always compare models here: https://www.apple.com/mac/compare/
 
I have M1 mini that still does everything I need. Best thing about it is how small, simple and quiet it is.
 
Any new MacBook Pro you buy today is good enough for smoothly editing and grading 4K video with any codec you want. However, my advice is to buy the best model you can afford so you are future-proofed. In July I upgraded to a M2 Max with 96GB of RAM and the fastest processor. Amazing speed and performance. No regrets and money well spent.
 
Thank you everyone for the great advice, it's really helpful.

Work supplies a computer up to about AU$6k (~USD$3.8k). That budget stretches to a pretty speccy 14" 38 core Max with 64GB RAM, with change for a dock accessory to connect my monitors and peripherals.

There's still 12 months on the lease but I'm getting my head round the MBP offerings early. I have been tied to traditional towers and iMacs in the past but the performance of these current crop look like I can leave that lack of portability behind. My colleagues newer Mac Studio Max leaves my 3080Ti Dell workstation for dead.

I'm also running a PC as my personal home workstation. It's 6 years old now and purchased for about AU$2.5k at the time (time flies) but still running fine for the type of editing I do. A specced out MacBook Air might be a good replacement for under AU$3k - I'd have to look closely at performance versus a base MBP.

Follow up question... I'd never run under 32GB RAM for editing 4k compressed footage. I find 64GB the sweet spot on a PC. How do the M chips handle that type of footage with only 16GB and 24GB RAM? The marketing suggests they're more efficient than the traditional Intel models, but I'm also sceptical if it's shared with the GPU.
 
Up until I got my M2 Max I've been editing and grading 4K on a 2018 MacBook Pro with 32GB of RAM. It has worked great and I could still be editing on it right now if I wanted to. In fact I do edit/grade with it when I'm traveling. 32GB is plenty. Of course, performance is highly dependent on your drives. I use only fast SSDs via Thunderbolt.

Be careful about any of the MacBook Air models. My wife has one and it simply doesn't provide enough ports for peripherals. Not just for editing, but for anything where you have wired monitors, printers, card readers, BM UltraStudio Monitor, external drives, or other accessories. There's no way I could get by with an Air and I'd advise against it unless you really make sure it has all the ports you need.. Obviously the right hub will help, but even then it comes up short.
 
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You'd be surprised about RAM with the Apple M chip. I got my M1 maxed out but it's only 16 but does well regardless. The chip is from their phones so it handles Ram more efficiently than a PC. In my mind 32gb would be more than enough. I also think the lower end models provide the best value. As you go up the line you're paying more for smaller performance advantage. If you have the money and don't care then that fine too.
 
I just bought an M2 Max with 64GB RAM. Working in Premiere, the improvements to my workflow compared to my 2017 iMac Pro are astounding. I can pretty much make edits as fast as I can think of them. I realized in 2017 or so that money put towards a solid workstation generally yields bigger gains than money put towards camera bodies. It just saves SO much time. It's something that I always seem to forget but I'm glad that I dug deep for this system.
 
As an Apple stockholder, I hope everyone runs out an buys a fully-loaded M3 Max. But as a user of Apple products, I can't imagine how an M3 Max would give me any benefit over my M2 Max. The computer has no problem keeping pace with my commands and I never have to wait for anything. Even render speeds are up in the 250 fps range. If I have a car that can go to 200 mph, do I really need one that can do 250 mph?
 
Not worth it for you and it's also why I didn't upgrade from the M1 to the M2 (didn't need it), but those using more intensive software or exporting hours of footage every day might appreciate the better performance. Especially for crazy 3D stuff, heavy After Effects, etc. if it would make a difference.

For a little 2 minute video from Premiere or basic color grading in Resolve, perhaps only a syndrome would produce the upgraded acquisition.
 
I recently built a custom PC myself for my main video work. To complement that, I purchased the M2 MacBook Air at Costco for $900. It's by far the best laptop I've ever owned! A $20 dongle from Amazon allows me to use it with HDMI, USB 2.0, 3.0 and gives me SD and MicroSD card readers. I do routinely edit some client videos on it, but most of my editing is still done on the big computer. That said, if something needs a quick turn around and I'm not at my office, or if I need to proof of concept shots for clients on the day, the MacBook Air can handle it all no problem.

Mostly I use the laptop for web, email, pre-production tasks and running my business, but it also runs Photoshop, Resolve, Blender, and FadeIn. I actually feel like I can get 5+ years out of this. If I had to recommend a laptop to any new filmmaker, the M2 MacBook Air is it.
 
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