Can the $1800 13″ M1 laptop stand against the high profile $4000 M1 Max MacBook Pro? The Apple Silicon M1 cpus are very capable in both raw power performance and keeping a cool enclosure. I own both the original first generation M1 13″ MacBook Pro (2020) with 8 GB RAM, AND the more recent M1 MAX 14″ MacBook Pro (2021). In this article we will discuss and compare these two laptops.
Video Comparison: M1 MacBook Pro vs. M1 Max MacBook Pro
I did a video comparing the performance of the M1 vs M1 Max for music production. In the tests I played several tracks with different cpu load and plugin setups to really see the difference in performance between the M1 and M1 Max.
There are many tests on YouTube, but no one makes a real world test with a typical song arrangement like in my test.
Is the M1 Max really so much more powerful in a real world case scenario?
Watch the video here:
Is M1 Max better than M1?
It really depends on what kind of work you are doing? The M1 Max is excellent for video editing with more graphic cores available and a better (more bright) display.
For general music production I feel the original gen 1 M1 MacBook Pro (2020) 13″ with just 8 GB RAM is a perfect choice. It’s an extremely portable and light laptop with great performance. The 8 GB RAM is absolutely enough for music production. You basically only need more RAM if you produce orchestral music with large sample libraries and have really big templates.
I actually did an article and video discussing if 8 GB is enough for music production.
Which M1 MacBook Pro is right for you?
In deciding if the M1 Max MacBook Pro is right for you, you have to look at what kind of work you are doing? Are you doing graphics, video editing or music production?
If you are doing graphics or video editing I can highly recommend the more graphical powerful M1 Max which has more dedicated graphic cores and also more RAM available.
