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Which M3 MacBook Pro?

Participant ,
Nov 10, 2023 Nov 10, 2023

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So I'm looking to upgrade my old 2019 MacBook Pro with the i9 intel processor and 64GB of RAM.

I'm not sure I quite understand this new unified memory. So if I want to get the new MacBook Pro with at least the same amount of RAM as the old one, does that mean that 64GB is the way to go or can I do with less or do I need more?

 

I do a lot of work in Adobe Illustrator (sometimes working with complex vector files) and Adobe Photoshop (sometimes larger images) 

And like most people I'm on a budget, so which one would you go with:

 

M3 Max chip with 14-core CPU, 30-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 96GB RAM, or

M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 64GB RAM

The price is about the same.

 

I'm not that technical so I'm not sure what the different numbers above means in reference to the work and software I use. Is it better with a maxed out M3 chip or better with more RAM?

 

Thanks!

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Adobe
Community Expert ,
Nov 10, 2023 Nov 10, 2023

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If I had a 2019 MacBook Pro with an i9 and 64 GB of RAM, I wouldn't buy anything new for years.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 10, 2023 Nov 10, 2023

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Particularly when on a budget.

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Participant ,
Nov 10, 2023 Nov 10, 2023

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Really, why not?
The old one is getting a little slow, when working on some of my Illustrator project and working in Illustrator and Photoshop at the same time is a bit of a struggle.

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Community Expert ,
Nov 10, 2023 Nov 10, 2023

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It's really doubtful that your hardware is reaching a bottleneck that newer hardware will solve.

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 25, 2023 Nov 25, 2023

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Same issues for me; though I have a 16gb model of the machine you have.

 

in illustrator moving or even using anything with drop-shadow seems to kill my machine.


Especially fan heavy and struggling badly if using after effects. I updated my machine to a M3 Max 64Gb RAM. I opted for  the unbinned version, so very hopeful this will last a good 5 years. 

arriving this week so will report back once tested it out!!

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Participant ,
Nov 27, 2023 Nov 27, 2023

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Yes, please do!

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Community Beginner ,
Nov 29, 2023 Nov 29, 2023

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Arrived 2 days ago. 

illustrator is lightning fast

photoshop too

AEffects crazy fast.

Ai, Ps, Ae, Id, LrC (new to this) all crazy fast. 

launching Ai on intel i9 16gb ram, took about 15 secs to open - if i click each Ai, Ps, Ae, Id, LrC one after another, they are all launched within 3 secs! it literally is chalk and cheese!! 

Compiling video is lightning compared to the intel i9.

 

VMware Pro runs really smoothly and i have yet to hear a fan on.

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Participant ,
Dec 01, 2023 Dec 01, 2023

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Great to hear.

And congrats on your new MacBook.
So you ended up getting the M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 64GB RAM, correct? 

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 01, 2023 Dec 01, 2023

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YES, that’s the model… Such a difference from the intel i9

[There is a bit of an issue running VMWare Pro … I can’t seem to turn on Unity mode in win10 or win11]


MacBook Pro 16” - M3 Max chip with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 64GB RAM, with 2TB SSD.


Hardware Overview:


Model Name: MacBook Pro

Model Identifier: Mac15,9

Model Number: ————

Chip: Apple M3 Max

Total Number of Cores: 16 (12 performance and 4 efficiency)

Memory: 64 GB


Chipset Model: Apple M3 Max

Type: GPU

Bus: Built-In

Total Number of Cores: 40

Vendor: Apple (0x106b)

Metal Support: Metal 3


Displays:

Colour LCD:

Display Type: Built-in Liquid Retina XDR Display

Resolution: 3456x2234 Retina

Main Display: Yes

Mirror: Off

Online: Yes

Automatically Adjust Brightness: Yes

Connection Type: Internal


Memory: 64 GB

Type: LPDDR5

Manufacturer: Micron


SSD

Free: 1.65 TB (1,650,659,188,736 bytes)

Capacity: 2 TB (1,995,218,165,760 bytes)

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 01, 2023 Dec 01, 2023

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yes, with 2TB SSD.

If there is anything specific i can answer for you ... let me know.

 

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Participant ,
Dec 01, 2023 Dec 01, 2023

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That's one hell of a machine... wow.

Do you run an external/second monitor as well, or just using the MacBook screen?

 

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Explorer ,
Dec 06, 2023 Dec 06, 2023

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Hey, Is it possible that only an older version of various Adobe programs can be installed on the M3 MacBook pro? E.g. Illustrator instead of V28 back to 27 and all automatic updates have to be deactivated? Have you had these problems?

 

Regards sam

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Community Expert ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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Yes, it's possible to install version 27 and disable updates in the CC app.

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Explorer ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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Yes, that's what Adobe suggested, but I'd hate to do without the AI extensions in version 28 of Illustrator.

I'm actually assuming that a new device will at least run the Adobe versions, as on my 7-year-old iMac. Anything else would be a step backwards...

 

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Explorer ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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After Adobe told me that I had to go back to version 27, I then manually updated to version 28.1 and can open Illustrator.

Strange behaviour

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Community Expert ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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Sorry, what's the full story here? What issues did you experience with version 28? Why did support tell you to roll back to 27?

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Explorer ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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I have imported my Time Machine update from the old device to the new one. All products on the old device were running the latest version. On the new device, Adobe Cloud asked me to reinstall various products so that they would run with the Apple chip. Among other things, Illustrator was reset to version 27. I was told by the Adobe Cloud app that Illustrator's automatic updates also needed to be switched off. So I did.
After reinstalling, Adobe Cloud offered me an update, which means I'm now back to version 28.1. I am now unsure whether this version is actually supported on the new device.
I also don't understand why Adobe recommends turning off automatic updates, but allows manual updates.

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Community Expert ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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There should be no reason you can't run version 28 or have automatic updates on if you need it.

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Community Expert ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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If you have automatic updates, I would at least turn off "Delete old version" automatically. Installing a new version the second it becoes available will always be risky. 

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Explorer ,
Dec 07, 2023 Dec 07, 2023

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Thank you for your assessment @Doug A Roberts . I was really unsure about the behavior of Adobe and the consequences for further work with it on the new device. The next few days will show whether there are any restrictions. Thanks @Monika Gause for pointing out the older versions, yes I'm actually keeping these as a fallback.

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New Here ,
Dec 20, 2023 Dec 20, 2023

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Hi All,

 

I just saw this thread and figured it might be a good place to ask my own questions....if  there is a better thread, please let me know..  I have the Photography Plan with Adobe to maintain the most up to date versions of Photoshop and Lightroom. I JUST, a few days ago, got a brand new Macbook Pro M3 Max, with 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine and 64GB RAM and 4TB storage, and I'm trying to decide what to move to the new computer from my existing 2016 Macbook Pro I7 16GB. and 1TB storage.   Would I be best off reloading 'fresh' copies of Photoshop and Lightroom from Adobe rather moving the existing Photoshop/Lightroom from my old computer using Migration Assistant?

 

Second question.....will I have any problems running the latest  PS and LR on this latest Apple chip?

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New Here ,
Dec 20, 2023 Dec 20, 2023

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I  wanted to edit my post, but apparently we can't do that any longer.  I wanted to add that my PS and LR performance were not my PRIMARY reason for getting the new Macbook Pro.  The reasons were mostly due to maxing out  the internal storage, getting double, triple, quadruple and more repeat keystrokes, when typing, and general performance issues related to a 7 year old Mac.

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New Here ,
Feb 25, 2024 Feb 25, 2024

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LATEST

Does your m3 macbook pro runs adobe acrobat pro smoothly when opening image and text heavy pdf files? bc my 2014 mbp lags like hell when i use adobe acrobat pro, it even lags abit when scrolling a black and white exam paper. 

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