this post was submitted on 28 Jun 2023
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MacBook Use Scenario- what to max out? (self.apple_enthusiast)
submitted 2 years ago by nuachtan to c/apple_enthusiast
8 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Hello! I’m trying to figure out what kind of chipset/shared RAM would best suit a given scenario. There are two graphic-intensive things I use my current setup for (late 2019 i9 32GB MBP), and both seriously drive the Activity and CPU/GPU nuts slowing everything down to molasses.

  1. I regularly need to use three screens for work. The built-in retina display, an external monitor, and a 65" Promethean board (a Promethean board is similar to a SmartBoard). All three need different information on them. Currently, I need to downsize the resolution on the external monitor to avoid lag/freezing.

  2. I do a fair amount of video editing using Final Cut Pro. I’m not importing 4K video, but I do regularly need to combine several 3-5GB video files into several multi-cam clips. The background tasks often slow the process down. While scrolling the timeline view to insert titles the audio track preview (waveform) doesn’t render for several minutes.

My questions are how to avoid this on a future laptop. Would the extra GPU cores on the M2 chips do a better job with these tasks or is this a CPU issue? Would there be a noticeable difference between the Pro and Max chips and/or 32GB versus 64GB? Ideally, I would like to be running both Logic Pro and Final Cut Pro at the same time.

Thanks in advance for any replies. The new shared RAM has me scratching my head.

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[–] smitty825 8 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I’d prioritize as much RAM as you can afford. It’s shared between the CPU and GPU, and since you seem to have tasks that stress both, extra RAM would be beneficial.

Both the pro and max SoCs can support 2 external displays (max can support 4). The Max has more GPU cores, so some of your workflows will benefit from that.

Oh…check to make sure that your displays will work with a pro: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT213503

[–] nuachtan 1 points 2 years ago

Thanks a bunch! I will definitely play to max the RAM on whichever chip I go with. I'm just trying to make sure I don't have the same lag issues as I do now.

[–] ZapBeebz_ 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

A workable option might be to get an external GPU enclosure and a full desktop GPU, and connect via FireWire , as well as upgrade to 64gb RAM in your current laptop (if the RAM isn't soldered in, ofc). This does kinda kill the portability, but it sounds like this is a workstation anyways, so might be fine.

Unsurpringly, it seems this functionality went away with the M-series chipset. So I guess we just wait for the $4500 Apple-silicon 2060ti-equivalent in a year or two.

[–] nuachtan 1 points 2 years ago

Thanks. I do need something portable since I need to travel to different locations for work. Once there I need the connectivity.

[–] skullvalanche 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Basically max out everything you can afford to max out. GPU is more important lately than CPU for most things, get as much of that and as much RAM as you can afford.

[–] nuachtan 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Thanks! I appreciate the advice. I'm a little disappointed my lat e 2019 is already showing signs of needing to be upgraded.

[–] skullvalanche 3 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Have you used an Apple Silicon machine before? They are a huge leap in performance. Even a "bad" one is likely to run circles around your Intel one.

(I upgraded from a 2019 to a 2021 M1 Max. It was a night-and-day upgrade.)

[–] nuachtan 1 points 2 years ago

I haven't no. Stil trying to figure out the whole system-on-a-chip thing.