Which MacBook should I buy?

[Lorena_Loosen]

I'd like to buy a MacBook Pro 16 and I would love to know which one you'd prefer.

I work a lot with Premiere Pro and Photoshop and Lightroom and I would love to improve to perfection there. I would also love learn about After Effects and use it on a regular basis (actually the whole cloud). As I work in fashion it all should run as fast as possible. My videos have a length of 10 seconds to 45 minutes and are in 4K.

Would you recommend a

a) CTO: M3 Max 14‑Core CPU / 30‑Core GPU or a CTO: M3 Max 16‑Core CPU / 40‑Core GPU processor?

b) a shared memory of 48 GB, 64 GB or 128 GB?

c) CTO: 1 TB SSD, CTO: 2 TB SSD, CTO: 4 TB SSD or a CTO: 8 TB SSD storage?

Greetings, Lorena

[Warren Heaton]

Both the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro are excellent laptops for Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.

If your budget allows for the 16-inch MacBook Pro M3 Max 128GGB/8TB with the most cores, by all means get it.

Keeping cost in mind, I would get the 64GB/2TB.

The M4 Max is expected to be announced very soon.   You may already find the M3 Max on sale in anticipation of the new model, but the M3 Max should be available discounted for awhile after the new model comes out.  Of course, you could always go with the M4 Max at that point.  

[Lorena_Loosen]

Thank you for responding so fast.

Sorry for the question, but I am not familiar with the terminology. So, did I get that right:

If budget doesn't play a role you would choose 40 Core GPU with 128 GB or more common workspace, is that correct?

And could you give me an example on how this one is different from the one with 64GB/2TB? Is it slower then? Or does Premiere not run there fluently?

[Warren Heaton]

You could start with a 32GB/1TB laptop and monitor the memory pressure as you work.  If that's frequently high, then you know you'll want 64GB or 128GB based on how you work.  If memory pressure is not too high, then you know the 32GB model is an effective choice.  If your Flash stroage is always low on space, you know you need higher capacity internal Flash storage.  If there is often plenty of room, then you know 1TB is an effective choice.

Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects - especially if all running at the same time - will almost always benefit from more RAM and more storage space.

If budget does not play a role, I could get the following:

• 16-inch MacBook pro
  Apple M3 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU, 16‑core Neural Engine
  128GB unified memory
  8TB SSD storage
  16-inch Liquid Retina XDR display
  140W USB-C Power Adapter
  Three Thunderbolt 4 ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, headphone jack, MagSafe 3 port
  Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID

I would get the following for use as a second XDR display while on-the-go and regular tablet use:
• 13-inch iPad Pro Wi‑Fi 1TB with Retina XDR nano-texture glass display

I would also get the following for use as a second XDR display at work or home office:

• Pro Display XDR - Nano-texture glass with Pro Stand

I would include AppleCare+ for all of the items.

I would purchase an OWC 16TB external ThunderBlade drive from OWC/MacSales for Time Machine.

I would purchase two 160TB OWC ThunderBay 8 drives (one primary media storage, the other immediate cloned back up).

I would subscribe Backblaze,  Crash Plan or similar service for cloud backup.

This is likley overkill for what your use case, though, even if budget is not an issue.  It can all be scaled down to better meet project needs and budget.

[Lorena_Loosen]

Thank you for the detailed information, I really appreciate it.
I am unsure how I can reproduce the above processes on my laptop.
To simplify things, I'll ask the question the other way round: as my budget is limited, I'm wondering where you would cut back first? I've attached the options from my dealer. Assuming that I edit two 20-minute YouTube videos in 4k per day and edit 20 photos with Adobe, which option would you consider appropriate? Where would you "draw" the line? (I am sorry, if my questions sound weird, hope you know what I mean.)

[Warren Heaton]

The 48GB/2TB configuration of the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro is an excellent choice.

Think about how you would like to back up the MacBook in case of technical issues and also how you want to archive projects and you are good to go.

[Lorena_Loosen]

Ich möchte mir ein MacBook Pro 16 kaufen und würde gerne wissen, welches Gerät Sie bevorzugen würden.

Ich arbeite viel mit Premiere Pro und Photoshop und Lightroom und würde mich dort gerne bis zur Perfektion verbessern. Ich würde auch gerne After Effects kennenlernen und es regelmäßig benutzen (eigentlich die ganze Cloud). Da ich in der Modebranche arbeite, sollte alles so schnell wie möglich gehen. Meine Videos haben eine Länge von 10 Sekunden bis 45 Minuten und sind in 4K. In Stressphasen würde ich 3-4 täglich bearbeiten.

Würden Sie eine/n

a) CTO: M3 Max 14-Core CPU / 30-Core GPU oder eine CTO: M3 Max 16-Kern-CPU / 40-Kern-GPU-Prozessor

b) einen gemeinsamen Speicher von 48 GB, 64 GB oder 128 GB

c) CTO: 1 TB SSD, CTO: 2 TB SSD, CTO: 4 TB SSD oder ein CTO: 8 TB SSD Speicher

empfehlen?

Grüße, Lorena

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[Ann Bens]

Moved to Hardware forum.