Apple silicon M Mac comparisons by Scott Simmons

I’ve been extremely impressed with the Apple M sequence chips. They have been introduced back in 2020, and whereas the preliminary numbers have been spectacular, I caught with my iMac Pro for fairly some time. It was nearly the right editor machine. Fast and highly effective with a fantastic show, and tons of professional connectivity in a easy type issue. Pull it out of the field, plug it in and go.

But then the Mac Studio got here alongside. While it didn’t have a built-in show, it was very quick, with much more connectivity and a very good little bit of portability.

It took some in-depth evaluations on my half to completely persuade me that the transfer to Apple silicon from Intel-based chips was a very good one. I used to be lucky to do plenty of testing for issues I do in post-production, which I shared in my evaluations. 

First, there was part one and part two of a evaluate of the 16-inch Apple MacE-book Pro M1 Max. Part 2 was a combat towards my iMac Pro.

Then, it was part one and part two of a evaluate of the Mac Studio and the M1 Ultra.

This “review” goes to be a bit of bit totally different

Once I used to be lastly satisfied of the facility of the Apple M sequence chips, I made a decision to commerce my next-to-last technology Intel Macbook Pro for a 14-inch M2 Macbook Pro. While sluggish in comparison with the M chips, my beloved iMac Pro continues to be a workhorse, so I saved it in manufacturing and went with the M2 laptop computer on account of its versatility. 

But then the M2 desktops got here together with the M2 Mac Mini and the M2 Mac Studio. So I requested to put my arms on an M2 Mac Mini and an M2 Mac Studio to have a full line of M chips.

• M1 Ultra Mac Studio
• M2 Max 14-inch Macbook Pro
• M2 Mac Mini
• M2 Ultra Mac Studio

This was the comparability I needed to check with quite a lot of modifying and post-production duties. But then I noticed simply how tough it’s to do comparability checks while you’re figuring out in the true world like we at PVC do vs. having a devoted testing lab with devoted writers such as you would possibly discover at The Verge or a Mac rumor website. 

My greatest intentions have put me a couple of months behind in getting this finished. It has additionally introduced up an attention-grabbing downside factor when taking a look at evaluating a number of techniques like this when most of them are working in real-world manufacturing. It’s nearly inconceivable to maintain them on the identical OS and the identical software program variations. Some software program requires the most recent OS. But you may not wish to replace a manufacturing system with the most recent OS. So you then’re not utilizing the most recent software program. 

In my case, I often reserve my laptop computer (which makes up my house system because it doesn’t journey loads) for early updates earlier than I improve workplace techniques. And whereas I’m usually pretty fast to update, I’ve been doing a very good little bit of collaboration, so I didn’t at all times wish to replace as my collaborators couldn’t replace. It’s a little bit of a cat-and-mouse sport.

So that made for an attention-grabbing little bit of testing as a few of these renders and exports may need been in equivalent tasks opened in numerous modifying utility variations on totally different working techniques. Would that make a lot distinction? I don’t suppose the OS would make a lot of a distinction however NLEs do velocity up with new variations. 

It’s additionally price noting that Apple’s Apple Silicon roadmap is transferring at lightning velocity. An Apple Event on November 30 is rumored to carry us M3 chips in some Mac type issue. We by no means noticed Intel Macs transfer at this tempo. 

The transition to Apple Silicon introduced up the Mac vs. PC debate once more

I’ve lengthy thought the Mac vs. PC debate was over, however I used to be fallacious. Between a number of the discussions I’ve had on-line and in-person since I’ve been trumpeting the efficiency of the Apple Silicon chips, I nonetheless get the “well, PCs are faster for less money” argument thrown out semi-regularly. 

That could or is probably not true, as I’ve by no means researched that argument. I’ve no need to have a PC in my private workflow. While modifying is principally the identical when you’re within Avid, Resolve or Premiere Pro (No Final Cut Pro, although), they aren’t precisely the identical. Nor do you spend all of your time within the NLE. 

But I can solely supply this private anecdote on the PC vs Mac debate. While ending a 1080 broadcast sequence earlier within the 12 months, I used to be engaged on the Mac Studio, and a fellow editor within the constructing was engaged on his PC. I don’t know the precise specs, but it surely was well-outfitted. We have been rendering a whole lot of interview clips from Resolve and ending the present in Avid Media Composer. He was having render points on the PC, so I used to be in a position to export the interviews on the Mac Studio. And even when timing exports, he may render on the PC; the Mac Studio gained. 

In the top, he introduced his personal Mac Studio to the edit suite to finish a number of the work sooner and extra reliably than his custom-built PC. 

What are in these chips once more?

The totally different variations of the M chips can get kinda complicated with Max vs. Ultra vs. Pro. Only the MacStudio comes with the Ultra. But principally, it goes like this Ultra > Max > Pro > Chip. It’s that line between the Max and the Pro that will get difficult.

For the video editors, all these chips embody a “media engine” with Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes, and ProRes RAW. A Max vs. a Pro will get double the video encode, and ProRes encode engines.

It will get complicated, so I made this little composite chart for myself when trying on the totally different specs so it helps to see them side-by-side. For video modifying, I’d by no means advocate shopping for a base M-chip, which you are able to do in a Mac Mini. When you add “pro” to the product line, chips start with the Pro chip, like within the MacE-book Pro.

The techniques I used to be evaluating:

MacStudio M2: M2 Max (12 core, 64 GB ram, 38 core GPU)

MacStudio M1: M1 Ultra (20 core, 128 GB ram, 64 core GPU)

Macbook Pro: M2 Max (12 core, 32 GB ram, 30 core GPU)

Mac Mini: M2 Pro (12 core, 32 GB ram, 19 core GPU)

Your eyes may shortly glaze over ???? when making an attempt to determine which spec to purchase, particularly should you’re on a funds. If it’s a must to have the portability of a laptop computer then the selection is straightforward, go together with the Max. And whereas the MacMini is a pleasant bang for the buck, I believe the longevity and connectivity of the MacStudio make the additional value price it.

The largest query on the MacStudio line is Ultra vs. Max on the subject of shopping for the chip. Max Tech does a very good job of breaking that down within the video above. The $2,000 premium for the Ultra may not be price it as $2,000 is some huge cash.

When the MacStudio got here out, I used to be nearly satisfied that the 2 further Thunderbolt 4 ports on the entrance of the Ultra have been a worthy consideration. But as I’ve used the machine, I’m discovering that almost all of my plugging into the entrance are USB-C SSD drives, so I’ve modified my tune on {that a} bit. And you get 10 gigabit Ethernet as a default so should you’re working in a community setting, that’s vital.

The checks

These are principally all export checks coping with 1080 and 4K media. There is plenty of “real world” stuff right here that’s going out to broadcast tv. If you need realtime-playback RED 8K denoise checks, you’ll should look elsewhere. I nonetheless discover that these asks aren’t the norm in video post-production except you’re simply doing it as a result of you’ll be able to. And even if you’re working with such high-resolution media, should you’re doing it proper, you’re utilizing a proxy workflow.

17-minute 4K H264 supply media in a 1080 timeline mulitcam. Exported to H264 YouTube preset (sooner encode possibility the place relevant)

I believe these outcomes are what I’d anticipate. You can actually see these further encoding chips at work on the M1 Ultra, however then the M2 with much less devoted ProRes and video encoding chips appears to have narrowed the hole.

Scene edit detection on an 8:44 file

Transcribe an 8:44 file (in seconds)

Topaz Video AI – upscaling 3:13 DV SD video to 1080 HD

This check was finished utilizing Topaz’s preset to Deinterlace footage and upscale to HD, producing a ProRes .mov. At first, I used to be puzzled by the 6-minute distinction within the M1 and M2 Mac Studio’s however I assume Topaz is de facto making the most of 4 ProRes engines on the M1 Ultra vs 2 ProRes engines on the M2 Max. What this does inform me is that the extra a vendor can optimize their software program to the precise structure the higher.

Neat Video noise discount – 3:13 SD in a 1080 timeline with Neat utilized per clip, generic profile

One factor I seen on the M2 MacE-book Pro vs the Mac Mini is the followers within the laptop computer kicked on fairly shortly as soon as the renders started. But evaluating these outcomes, it seems that Neat is doing work optimizing for the brand new chip generations.

Export a 22-minute 1080 23.98 broadcast program with a broadcast-safe filter

Observation: Final Cut Pro X is quick. This just isn’t new information!

Export full 1 hour 22 minutes 1080 23.98 program with titles, graphics and credit

Export 5-minute RED R3D 8K with LUT and vignette utilized from a 1080 29.97 timeline

One factor I saved an eye fixed on with this RED edit was how the machines have been in a position to sustain with realtime playback. I used to be fairly stunned how effectively the Mac Mini and MacE-book Pro have been in a position to churn out full body price on this edit. There weren’t plenty of results or mulitcam or something like that however 8K scaled to 1080 isn’t something to sneeze at. I’d nonetheless select a proxy workflow on most events, but it surely’s good to know you may not should on a small job or with a fast turnaround.

Do you’ve an M-series Mac but?

I believe we’re at an thrilling place within the improvement cycle of the Apple Silicon Macs relating to the heavy utilization required for video post-production. Gone are the times when editors wanted to feverishly reference one thing just like the MacRumors Buyer’s Guide and await simply that good second to purchase a brand new Mac so you would maximize your funding. 

It feels just like the M Macs may have such good longevity and be refreshed typically sufficient that it’s not vital. If you want a brand new machine, purchase one and luxuriate in the advantages. This is very true should you’re nonetheless engaged on an outdated Intel Mac. The advantages are super. 

On a aspect notice, I used to be sitting in on a troubleshooting name with some editors and one of many NLE makers. The editor was describing their improve troubles, and the query inevitably got here up about what {hardware} they have been utilizing. The reply was an Intel cheese-grader Mac Pro. The level was made that, sooner or later, the software program makers have to chop off assist for outdated techniques. They can afford to assist previous-generation structure for under so lengthy. Just concentrate on this should you resist transferring to Apple silicon. While it’s an expense, it’s essential to weigh value vs efficiency versus a compulsory push to improve if you wish to work on the most recent software program. That isn’t at all times a straightforward determination, but it surely should be thought-about. 

Now, I’m wondering what the outcomes can be when operating Avid Media Composer by a few of these identical checks. ????✅