Mac Studio Max vs MacBook Pro Max

I just bought a spec'd out Macbook Pro Max and it is a beautiful and very capable laptop. I like that it can go with me as I plan to travel more. Although, the trip I just got back from, I actually took my Asus ROG flow because it freaked me out to take a laptop as expensive as the Macbook Pro. But if I know that I will be editing anything while on a trip, I will take it. I ordered the Studio Display as well so I probably wouldn't have spent the extra to get the Ultra version of the Studio desktop. Since that would be the only improvement, I am happy with my decision to stay with a form factor that has multiple benefits.
Good luck with your decision.

If you use Lightroom Classic it is more straightforward to work out of a single machine (i.e., the MBP). Just one factor.

In terms of portability, a MacBook Pro will be much more convenient than a Mac Studio.

A MacBook Pro will weigh about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kilograms) to 4.3 pounds (2.0 kilograms), including the built-in screen, display, and pointing device. A M1-Max-based Mac Studio will weigh about 5.9 pounds (2.7) kilograms before display and input devices.

In other respects,

• The M1-Max-based MBPs and Studios come with the same configuration choices for CPU cores (10), GPU cores (24 or 32), RAM (32 or 64 GB), and SSD capacity (512 GB to 8 TB).
• The MBPs have three USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports, a HDMI port, and a SDXC slot. To that, the M1-Max-based Mac Studio adds a fourth USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) port, two rear-panel USB-A ports, and two front-panel USB-C (non-Thunderbolt) ports.

Here's a link to Apple's comparison tool showing the 14" and 16" Apple Silicon MBPs, and the Mac Studio.

For custom configurations with a M1 Max, 24-core GPU, 32 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB SSD, I believe that the 14" MBP, 16" MBP, and Mac Studio go for $3099, $3299, and $2199 USD. Throw in $258 or $298 USD for a Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keyboard, plus matching Magic Mouse. Then add the cost of a monitor or two of your choice. I'm thinking that you're looking at a total of about $3000 USD (or more) for a Studio system, versus about $4000 USD (or more) for a M1 Max MBP + home docking station.

You may want different choices for RAM, number of GPU cores, or internal SSD space – but I'm guessing that the price difference will still work out to about $1000 USD, more or less, when comparing apples to apples.

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

... and ports

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Nick on the Baltic

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

... and ports

Click to expand...

Why would the battery degrade faster? Battery life is primarily based on number of charge cycles.

kelpdiver said:

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

... and ports

Click to expand...

Why would the battery degrade faster? Battery life is primarily based on number of charge cycles.

Click to expand...

No, not really. Charge cycles are just one factor, and often not the most important one.

If you wanted to kill your battery as quickly as possible, you would want to empty it to zero percent every time you use it. (Lithium ion batteries work best within 20-80% charge, as any electric car maker will tell you.) If you want to kill it even faster, leave it plugged in all the time AND make sure the battery is always hot.

That’s because depth of discharge and heat are even more important.

Source:

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

Current MacBook Pros have defenses against both problems.

The new Battery Optimization feature tries to learn your charging patterns. If it thinks you spend certain hours of the day with the Mac plugged in, it will limit charge to 80% to avoid spending too much time at 100%. (If you need the whole 100%, there is an override command to go ahead and top off the charge.) If you want more control over charging levels, download AlDente.

The efficiency of the M1 lets the Macbook run cooler, for longer, than Intel CPUs. This results in a much lower average internal temperature, which helps the battery avoid extended periods at the life-shortening high temperatures.

RicClarke said:

(would an iPad work as a monitor for the Studio?).

Click to expand...

Yes……mostly.

There are hacks where you use software like Duet Display, or a hardware adapter like Luna Display, that make the iPad a monitor for a Mac. They were originally intended to make an iPad a second monitor (this was before Sidecar), but it is possible to make the iPad the only monitor. But there is a catch.

The way they work is that you install the Mac and iPad versions of the software, and the software makes the Mac think the iPad is a real monitor. You then open the iPad app and you can see the Mac.

The big catch: It only works after the software loads on the Mac, and that only happens after the Mac completes a successful login and loads login items. OK for normal use, but suppose the Mac has a problem and you have to troubleshoot from Recovery Mode or Safe Mode. In those modes, your user account Login Items do not load, so the software does not load, so you see nothing on the iPad.

If this would be a problem for you because you might not have a real monitor nearby to plug in during your travels, then do not use this method.

RicClarke said:

What are the other benefits / drawbacks between the two choices?

Click to expand...

The Mac Studio has more ports.

The very high quality MacBook Pro screen is measurably better (calibrated, HDR capable dynamic range, etc.) than most people have on their desktop.

The good news is that there are few tradeoffs here, not like in the past. Performance testing across the web has shown that the Mac Studio is not really any faster than a similarly equipped MacBook Pro. To beat the Mac laptops you have to get the Ultra, but the Ultra does not benefit most photography apps in any significant way so don’t pay for that level.

Thanks all. I think I'll go with a spec'd out Macbook Pro Max. Cost more, but I'll get a cheaper monitor and with the savings there, the total expense will be about the same.

My concern will be the battery. My job computer was switched from a desktop to laptop years ago, but I've never used it on battery. . Not really concerned because I never need to use it that way, but I will with the MacBook, it just won't be the norm.

graybalanced said:

kelpdiver said:

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

... and ports

Click to expand...

Why would the battery degrade faster? Battery life is primarily based on number of charge cycles.

Click to expand...

No, not really. Charge cycles are just one factor, and often not the most important one.

If you wanted to kill your battery as quickly as possible, you would want to empty it to zero percent every time you use it. (Lithium ion batteries work best within 20-80% charge, as any electric car maker will tell you.) If you want to kill it even faster, leave it plugged in all the time AND make sure the battery is always hot.

Click to expand...

For NCA batteries, yes. For LFP, no, you can and Tesla recommends that you charge those to 100% daily.

graybalanced said:

That’s because depth of discharge and heat are even more important.

Source:

https://batteryuniversity.com/article/bu-808-how-to-prolong-lithium-based-batteries

Current MacBook Pros have defenses against both problems.

Click to expand...

So you shoot your own rebuttal down, confirming what I said: The MB will be fine used primarily on AC.

graybalanced said:

The new Battery Optimization feature tries to learn your charging patterns. If it thinks you spend certain hours of the day with the Mac plugged in, it will limit charge to 80% to avoid spending too much time at 100%. (If you need the whole 100%, there is an override command to go ahead and top off the charge.) If you want more control over charging levels, download AlDente.

Click to expand...

kelpdiver said:

graybalanced said:

If you wanted to kill your battery as quickly as possible, you would want to empty it to zero percent every time you use it. (Lithium ion batteries work best within 20-80% charge, as any electric car maker will tell you.) If you want to kill it even faster, leave it plugged in all the time AND make sure the battery is always hot.

Click to expand...

For NCA batteries, yes. For LFP, no, you can and Tesla recommends that you charge those to 100% daily.

Click to expand...

Are you using non-standard abbreviations? Your “NCA” seems to mean “NiCad” and your “LFP” I will assume is lithium-ion “Li-ion”/lithium-polymer “LiPo”.

If those are what you mean, you seem to have it backwards. Nickel-cadmium had a memory effect, so it worked better fully charged and fully discharged. Lithium-based is the opposite, it works better if kept in the middle range. Vast amounts of literature, including the link I posted, backs this up.

Re: Tesla. Can you post a link? The Tesla page I found says:

kelpdiver said:

What percentage should I charge the battery to?
For regular use, we recommend keeping your car set within the 'Daily' range bracket, up to approximately 90%. Charging up to 100% is best saved for when you are preparing for a longer trip.

Click to expand...

That supports the general advice for lithium-based batteries. If you can avoid going to 100% every time, it helps preserve the battery, but go to 100% when you need all the capacity. That is exactly how Apple Battery Optimization is set up.

Now this next citation was a few years ago so maybe things have improved, but Elon Musk was directly asked about the optimal Tesla range of battery charge levels. The one range not discussed is up to 100%.


If you don’t click the link, Elon’s personal reply was “80% to 30%”

kelpdiver said:

So you shoot your own rebuttal down, confirming what I said: The MB will be fine used primarily on AC.

Click to expand...

Not necessarily. Maybe you came to the wrong conclusion because I left out one thing (sorry): Battery Optimization is not on by default. If someone does not know about it, their MacBook Pro will charge to 100% every time on AC and stay there while plugged in. The lower overall temp of the M1 should help preserve the battery, but if someone runs software that frequently pegs all CPU cores (not hard to do with Handbrake for instance), the M1 will still reach 100C and the battery will still be at risk. The heat will be less risk to the battery if the charge level is below 100%.

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

Click to expand...

The lithium coin cell in the Studio will eventually die--faster if you leave system otherwise unpowered.

QuietOC said:

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

Click to expand...

The lithium coin cell in the Studio will eventually die--faster if you leave system otherwise unpowered.

Click to expand...

The Mac Mini I bought in 2009 is still going strong, so not too worried about that.

Nick on the Baltic said:

If you mainly use a MacBook on mains power, the battery will degrade faster. The battery in the Studio will never cause you problems ;-)

... and ports

Click to expand...

I have owned my MBP for six years, use it mainly in clamshell with an external monitor and have only had 68 battery cycles. When on location tethering to just the laptop I still get 3+ hours of power. Perhaps if you only use main power and don't ever use battery, you might effect the battery health.

graybalanced said:

kelpdiver said:

graybalanced said:

If you wanted to kill your battery as quickly as possible, you would want to empty it to zero percent every time you use it. (Lithium ion batteries work best within 20-80% charge, as any electric car maker will tell you.) If you want to kill it even faster, leave it plugged in all the time AND make sure the battery is always hot.

Click to expand...

For NCA batteries, yes. For LFP, no, you can and Tesla recommends that you charge those to 100% daily.

Click to expand...

Are you using non-standard abbreviations? Your “NCA” seems to mean “NiCad” and your “LFP” I will assume is lithium-ion “Li-ion”/lithium-polymer “LiPo”.

Click to expand...

NCA = Nickel Cobalt Aluminum Oxide. This is the basis for most EVs.

LG Chem announced last year a NCMA variant (nickel, cobalt, manganese, aluminum) that is 90% nickel, which reduces the use of problematic cobalt, though with the price of nickel soaring now, this may stutter.

LFP = lithium iron-phosphate

google tesla nca vs lfp and you'll find no shortage of articles. These abbreviations are commonly understood in the EV realm:



"LiFP cells are less energy-dense than nickel- and cobalt-based cells, though the difference today is lower than it was a few years ago. And offsetting the 4 percent drop in EPA-rated range is the ability to charge LiFP batteries to 100 percent of usable capacity, whereas the recommendation for NCA packs is to recharge to no more than 90 percent under most circumstances."