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Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023 M3 Max Review - The fastest CPU in a 14-inch laptop
(www.notebookcheck.net)
News at 8, water is wet
this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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You know what… I have not once thought.
“I wish my M1 was faster”
I definitely have on my M1 iMac. Not enough to want to upgrade, but it’s definitely happened.
Same. M1 Max w/ 64gb of ram.
I got the M1 Pro with 32gb… such a beast.
Will probably last me a decade unless it physically breaks.
Same for me but with an intel i5. I'd like a new MacBook but really don't need one.
Do you do any video encoding or audio work?
Because I think the M1 Pro has been solid, but no one would say no to a 20-35% performance increase
What do you do on it?
The Max chips are aimed at people doing super GPU and CPU intensive work so naturally that user is going to be thinking “I wish this chip was faster” quite often
I'm only upgrading for a better screen and thunderbolt 5, even then those are just nice to haves.
My main want with MacBooks is sane base RAM and storage specs.
I think that all the time with my M1 Ultra :(. Especially when I have a third display connected.
Your 2-3 year old computer? Is it expected such a new computer would feel slow?
In the dark days of the past, a 2 to 3 year old computer would be horribly outdated.
In the dark days of the past, a 2 to 3 year old computer would be horribly outdated.
My 2010 iMc hasn't slowed down since I added RAM years ago.
No, but it's heavily outdated today. The computers never got slower, the need for more power just increased. Its really not an issue anymore.
The dark days of when? After around the 3rd gen of core-I they would last several years
Every now and then if you abuse it with a big workload, sure.
He's not saying any other computer is slow, just that at some points you wish for it to be faster.
You aren't in a need of a new laptop yet, congratulations. There are plenty of people who are, and they aren't going to stop progress on chip development just because the M1 was great...
I keep having to remind myself that this M1 Pro MBP is over 2 years old now. The only time I'm waiting on this laptop is when it's doing macOS updates.
Seeing these M3 deals and it makes me wanna upgrade, but then I remember "oh wait, the M1 Pro is still an upgrade, I've never needed more than my M1 MBA, I just need the bigger nicer screen and M1 Pros are cheaper than ever." They really just are good enough for almost anyone...if they drop OLED screens I can see upgrading again for that, but in terms of power M1 still feels like enough. I play WoW/LoL, I don't build classical symphonies in Logic, I don't edit Transformers 8 in FCPX...M1 still a beefy machine for the rest of us.
The m1 was so stupid powerful when it launched they overdid it, lol
It would be surprising if any other CPU were faster. The M3 Max gets about 20,000 points in Geekbench 6, and the current fastest processor (the Intel i9-13980HX) gets what, 18,000 for 55 watts base TDP and 157 watts turbo TDP?
its applebench
Context makes that comparison not surprising either, and also less impressive.
The 13980hx is Intel 10nm, now called Intel 7, which is comparable to TSMC 7nm. The M3 is on TSMC N3B.
Even the base M3 uses more transistors than the 13980hx. The M3 Max has more transistors than a 4090.
So it's essentially Apple buying their way to have a very good CPU. A similar chip is doable by Intel and AMD, but they have to build chips that partners want to buy, and the industry isn't eager to have $1000+ SoCs that need to go into $3000 laptops, consumer demand for that is low.
And mind you while the 13980hx is Intels highest performing mobile CPU, it's not actually a mobile CPU, it's a desktop CPU binned and power limited for mobile use. It's a half ass take. After next year they will likely dump this approach as they are fundamentally changing their lineup.
Well that's very naive way of thinking. Intel is simply not able to compete. Not even with AMD. If you believe they have some magical, efficiency CPU next year you are out of touch. Intel is history
The Ryzen 7945HX is significantly faster.
Only if it came with lpddr5x
The only issue I really have with my M2 Max isn't performance, but it turning into a furnace and burning a hole through my desk when I try to push it. Sadly I think that's just how all laptops are these days
My laptop struggles ever so slightly at full throttle, but I think I can handle this machine for the next 5 years minimum
Are you using a 16” or 14”? My 14” M2 Max does seem to get a little toasty.
Sadly I think that's just how all laptops are these days
Bro you got an M2 Max. The whole deal is that they'll consume more power to reach higher performance. That's the tradeoff.
Disappointed that the display still has slow response times. I wonder why it got worse than the M2 series models.
It's already somewhat noticeable on my current MBP (M1P), I can't imagine nearly doubling the response time and not noticing...
Visually it's a good looking display, but I'd think pulling down the response times and improving blooming would have been a priority.
My only issue with MBPs these days are the damn notch that doesn't even sport Face ID to unlock. A legacy USB-A port would still be dandy too tbh.
I’m guessing the earliest they’ll bring over Face ID is when they redesign the Pros. Luckily I don’t notice the notch much after using it. It disappears for me just like it did on iPhones.
Touch ID on MacBooks does make sense because of the built-in keyboard. The current way Apple implements Face ID still requires an additional user action. When you unlock your iPhone with Face ID you still need to swipe up to enter the Home Screen.
If Apple brings Face ID to MacBooks I’m guessing they’ll implement something similar like a swipe up on the trackpad or key press.
I don’t think they do the auto-login like Windows Hello.
I’m guessing the earliest they’ll bring over Face ID is when they redesign the Pros. Luckily I don’t notice the notch much after using it. It disappears for me just like it did on iPhones.
Touch ID on MacBooks does make sense because of the built-in keyboard. The current way Apple implements Face ID still requires an additional user action. When you unlock your iPhone with Face ID you still need to swipe up to enter the Home Screen.
If Apple brings Face ID to MacBooks I’m guessing they’ll implement something similar like a swipe up on the trackpad or key press.
I don’t think they do the auto-login like Windows Hello.
Already looking forward to the next hardware cycle in my company. Then I can use the fastest CPU in a 14-inch laptop to write mails and connect to a remote server for work.
Pixel response time is 80.8 ms which is 10x too slow for 120Hz refresh rate
99 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (34.3 ms)
The worst part is that the M2 Pro MacBook Pro had a pixel response time of 35.2 ms... which means Apple made the pixel response beyond 2x worse. I don't get why things are getting worse.
Damn, starts at 3200 USD.
LOL
80 ms grey to grey response time? What the fuck?! How are people praising this display everywhere? That puts it close to unusable. It's 5 frames at 60Hz...