I returned the M4 Max for the M3 Ultra Mac Studio

Summary

In a follow-up to his recent Mac Studio M4 Max review, Johnny McPro discusses his decision to replace it with the M3 Ultra. He highlights his experiences with both machines, noting the M3 Ultra's superior performance, particularly in video production tasks that require heavy GPU usage. McPro emphasizes the M3 Ultra's quiet operation and effective cooling system, which contrasts with the M4 Max's heat and noise under stress. Ultimately, he concludes the M3 Ultra better fits his professional needs, especially given its durability and efficiency in handling intensive tasks.

Highlights

• Johnny McPro discusses the transition from M4 Max to M3 Ultra Mac Studio. 🎙️
• He sold his M2 Ultra and bought the M3 Ultra, suspecting the swap was a good move. 💡
• The M3 Ultra is heavier due to its copper heat sink, ensuring better temperature control. 🌬️
• M4 Max's heat issues include reaching 110°C, making it noisy and hot to the touch. ⚠️
• The M3 Ultra excels in keeping cool and quiet during intensive tasks, perfect for video editors. 🎬
• M4 Max impresses with single core performance, ideal for less demanding tasks. 🚀
• Johnny values the build quality and cooling system of the M3 Ultra, making it his preferred choice. 👍

Key Takeaways

• Johnny McPro upgraded from the M4 Max to the M3 Ultra and shares his insights. 💻
• The M3 Ultra handles video production tasks more efficiently with less noise and heat. 🌡️
• M3 Ultra features a copper heat sink, keeping it cooler and more silent during heavy tasks. 🤫
• The M4 Max has impressive single core performance but runs hotter and noisier under load. 🔥
• Johnny prefers the M3 Ultra for its future-proofing and excellent cooling, aligning with his needs as a video editor. 🎥

Overview

In the video, Johnny McPro gives an engaging narrative of transitioning from the Mac Studio M4 Max to the M3 Ultra. He underscores the superior performance of the M3 Ultra, particularly its proficiency in handling demanding video production tasks thanks to its efficient cooling system. This move appears doubly wise for Johnny, who found the M4 Max's heat and noise levels unsuitable for his professional use.

A prominent highlight in Johnny's comparison is the M3 Ultra's copper heat sink, which plays a crucial role in maintaining lower temperatures and quieter fan operations during heavy usage. This feature is particularly beneficial for Johnny's work in video editing, where prolonged, high-intensity tasks are common. On the other hand, the M4 Max, while strong in single core performance, struggles with thermal regulation under load, often becoming distractingly loud.

Overall, Johnny's decision to return the M4 Max in favor of the M3 Ultra was driven by his need for a machine that not only meets his current workloads but also offers reliability for future projects. Despite the M4 Max's strengths in less intensive tasks, the M3 Ultra's robust build and cooling capabilities make it a more versatile and future-proof choice, securing its place in Johnny's professional toolkit.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Review Purpose In this chapter, the author discusses a follow-up to their previous review of the Mac Studio M4 Max. They compared it to the M2 Ultra and went through the experience of deciding whether to sell the M2 Ultra. Eventually, they successfully sold it and used the proceeds to buy the M3 Ultra. The chapter raises the question of whether this was a mistake or the right decision.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Performance Comparison: M4 Max vs M3 Ultra The chapter discusses a performance comparison between the M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips. The narrator expresses a personal preference for the Ultra chips, specifically for intensive video production tasks. They highlight past experiences with the M2 Ultra, emphasizing its utility due to the extensive number of cores which is beneficial for tasks that involve significant noise reduction in video editing software like Da Vinci Resolve. The Ultra chips are noted for handling workloads that typically challenge other Mac systems.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Video Production Experience and Heat Issues The chapter titled 'Video Production Experience and Heat Issues' discusses the challenges faced in video production when using editing timelines. The speaker notes the slowdown experienced by machines when handling stacked timelines with regular 422s log raw video on Sony cameras. The curiosity about potential benefits of upgrading to an M3 Ultra machine from an M2 Ultra is expressed. The speaker also mentions the M4 Max, which has been highly effective, though facing some unspecified issues.
• 01:30 - 02:00: Physical Differences: Weight and Heat Sink In this chapter, the speaker discusses the physical differences between the M4 Max Studio and the M3 Ultra. The main focus is on the weight difference, noting that the M3 Ultra is significantly heavier. This comparison is based on the speaker's experiences with video timelines and photography, highlighting the practical implications of using each device.
• 02:00 - 03:00: Audio and Environmental Considerations The chapter discusses the differences in weight and heat generation between two machines, particularly focusing on the M4 Max. It highlights the presence of a copper heat sink for the processor in one of the machines, which contributes to noticeable differences in weight and heat. The M4 Max is mentioned as being lighter but heats up more during intensive tasks, such as when the CPU and GPU are fully utilized, leading to louder fan noise. This information is particularly relevant for audio production professionals.
• 03:00 - 04:00: Temperature Concerns and Clean My Mac The chapter discusses the temperature and noise considerations of the M4 Max Mac Studio, particularly under heavy CPU usage. It states that the device can get quite loud and hot, citing a temperature of 107°C as an example. It highlights the importance of considering the device's thermal and acoustic performance depending on the user's environment and needs.
• 04:00 - 05:30: Photographer's Perspective and Performance The chapter explores the experience of handling RAW files export from Lightroom, highlighting a specific issue with the Apple M4 Max's temperature reaching 107°C. Despite the high temperature, the fans remain silent, which could be concerning for performance over time. The author suggests a solution by using 'Clean My Mac' to manage storage issues on the Mac Studio as it approaches full capacity.
• 05:30 - 06:30: M3 Ultra RAM and Storage Details The chapter discusses the M3 Ultra's RAM and storage capabilities, exploring the device's menu options to manage storage effectively. During a space freeing process on a 1TB drive, 6.4GB of junk files were identified, including a significant portion, 4.8GB, being user cache files, highlighting the importance of regular maintenance.
• 06:30 - 08:00: Conclusion and Viewer Engagement In the concluding chapter, the speaker emphasizes the benefits and affordability of using Clean My Mac, a software tool for optimizing Mac computers. The cost is compared to that of a cup of coffee per month, suggesting it's a worthwhile investment for managing system caches and performing other background tasks, like flushing DNS. The speaker highly recommends viewers check out the product via a link provided in the video description, indicating its potential value.

I returned the M4 Max for the M3 Ultra Mac Studio Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 well hey I wanted to do a follow-up video to my Mac Studio M4 Max review that I shared with you guys recently where I compared it to my M2 Ultra If you watched that video you saw my pain of realizing I can't even sell the M2 Ultra Well good news I sold it And so what that means is I was able to instead of paying off the M4 Max I bought the M3 Ultra Well really what I wanted to know is did I make a mistake did I do the
• 00:30 - 01:00 wrong thing by getting the M4 Max and leaving the Ultra chips behind because in my opinion the Ultra chip is really was designed for me because on my M2 Ultra I really used the heck out of that for video production I needed all those cores I need it because sometimes I do for clients I may have a lot of noise reduction in Da Vinci Resolve for example that usually cripples any Mac is when you put noise reduction on video
• 01:00 - 01:30 timelines on your on your A- roll on your B-roll and you start stacking that stuff you can watch machines just slow down to a crawl That's just with regular 422s log raw video that I shoot with on my Sony cameras And so I was really curious to see what the benefits would be of having the M3 Ultra machine to compare it since I had had the M2 Ultra for so long And I've been using this M4 Max for quite a while and it's been a beast But there are some things that you
• 01:30 - 02:00 guys need need to know about the M4 Max Studio Now that I've got both Mac Studios it's been great to compare these side by side with video timelines with photography with a lot of the things that I normally do I thought I'd make this quick video to talk about that because there are some things you guys need to know So first thing I noticed comparing these two is the Okay this is the M3 Ultra I'm getting confused The M3 Ultra is a lot heavier and that's because the M3 Ultra
• 02:00 - 02:30 actually has a copper heat sink for the processor And I mention that because you will not only notice the difference in weight The M4 Max is lighter but you're going to notice a difference in heat also And I notice when I'm working with these two machines and they're the CPU and GPU are pegged to 100% This one the M4 Max gets a lot hotter and you can actually hear the fans rev up So if you're an audio production person where
• 02:30 - 03:00 you want a machine that's completely dead silent all the time even when you're maxing out the CPU depending on your environment you you just need to know that because this one gets hot First of all it gets decently loud I can hear it for sure And when I put my hand behind it I could definitely feel the heat coming off of it Okay now we're at 107° C So that is one thing to keep in mind with the M4 Max Mac Studio is when you're doing highly intensive So this is one of the most intensive processes is
• 03:00 - 03:30 when you do RAW files export from Lightroom I mean this thing is at 107° C I don't I don't hear the fans at all though Um but it is getting pretty hot So man that is one thing to think about with the M4 Max Just a quick shout out to Clean My Mac I have it installed on this Mac Studio and I noticed I was running out of space So if you go up
• 03:30 - 04:00 here to the menu bar you literally just go to free up space cuz you can see on this one TBTE drive I've got just that much left And it did a full scan and found 6.4 gigs of junk And what's cool is is you can review that and it explains what those items are So in this instance user cache files 4.8 gigs of user cache files That's a lot And you can see it breaks it down for you so you
• 04:00 - 04:30 can see and it explains what those cache files actually are And the cost of subscribing to Clean My Mac is really less than the cup of coffee you buy And that's only per month for your one Mac So highly recommend checking out Clean My Mac The link is in the description of this video I think it's going to be a great value to you if you decide to go this route I just have to add this thing is awesome It's doing these other things in the background It flushed my DNS
• 04:30 - 05:00 cache and it's purging it's freeing up purgeable space as well and it's going to run updates So that it's doing everything for me in the background So I love how easy it is to use Clean My Mac So that is something to keep in mind with the M4 Max Mac Max Max Studio is the audio quality or the audio of the fans and the heat The heat on this I saw it get up to what was it 110° C or something That's pretty dang
• 05:00 - 05:30 hot for any processor The only processor I've ever seen get that hot is an old AMD Radeon graphics card the SE 6T900 XT If any of you are familiar with GPUs the reference version from AMD that thing got really dang hot And my PC behind me this has a 9800 X3D an AMD processor in it And those processors are known to get
• 05:30 - 06:00 really hot too when this is under load loading shaders in a game I've seen it hit 95° but 110° is really hot and makes me really uncomfortable about the M4 Max And that's why I mentioned that because if you're a photographer and you export a lot of photography like I do I'll be doing a batch export of a,000 raw photos that are A7R5 60 megapixel files And when I was doing that on this machine
• 06:00 - 06:30 the thing got really hot and you could hear those fans revving up I can't believe it I can actually hear the fans on the M4 Max Mac Max Max Studio And it's cooling it down to 101 from I think it got up to 108 or something like that And it it's uh it's getting hot I can feel it on the aluminum chassis out here So wow This thing gets hot whereas this stayed dead quiet and it also stayed very cool It
• 06:30 - 07:00 never got that hot compared to this And so that's thanks to that copper heat sink And I really just wanted to mention that because when you're comparing these machines and specking them out you really need to know By the way this is the M3 Ultra the base model of the M3 Ultra So it's 96 gigs of RAM and 1 TB of storage By the way MicroEnter had these on sale for $35.99 Once you start building this one out you can quickly catch up to that price point This one is
• 07:00 - 07:30 a build to order so it's it's upgraded It has 64 gigs of RAM and it has 2 TB of storage So that's a really interesting comparison comparing these two machines This one has more RAM but less storage This one has less RAM and more storage So I was trying to figure out within the price range of where I was I'm still in the return window so I can return the M4 Max if I want or resell it I just wanted to mention these things because I'm
• 07:30 - 08:00 definitely going to keep the M3 Ultra for my use case because if you're a video editor like me I actually really desire those GPU cores For me that is super important to have the higher GPU cores in there for my video timelines I just want to know that I have no limits When I can apply noise reduction and do all the things I know I'm going to do for video I know I'm not going to be held back with this machine Also it's going to stay quiet and cool Those are
• 08:00 - 08:30 bonus points too Okay we're about halfway through on the M3 Ultra export of a,000 RAW files This maxes out everything and gives us the most accurate taxing task that we can do So we're exporting 1,000 files A7R5 and this thing is only 59° right now And I don't hear the fans at all The fans are completely silent I hear nothing
• 08:30 - 09:00 And I only feel a little bit of heat coming out the back And we're humming along really nicely So this thing is a beast for exporting and chewing through 60 megapixel raw files a thousand of them It is just destroying these files We're now up to 61° which is well under what we were on the M4 Max The one thing about the M4 Max that
• 09:00 - 09:30 I really love the single core performance is phenomenal And single core performance applies to most of the things you do When you're web browsing when when you're editing in Lightroom like for not not for exporting but just normal editing this thing is a beast Um for exporting just a small amount of photos this thing is a beast And so for a lot of you out there this one's going to be the way to go If you're not doing huge exports or you're not doing real heavy 4K or 8K video timelines then
• 09:30 - 10:00 you're probably going to want to lean to this And even for that like if you want to do all the things that I'll do on this you're going to be able to do them on this for sure You just have to know that it does get super hot and those fans rev up And so that's something to just keep in mind Also for me I'm just super picky Like knowing that this was built a little better and it has a copper heat sink in it that's very reassuring for me For someone that wants to invest in a machine knowing that
• 10:00 - 10:30 you're going to keep it and use it for the next 3 years plus then that's really good to know with this machine I think that's what it is about the Ultra machines The M2 Ultra was with us for a long long time in technology years And that means the M3 Ultra could be with us for a while I don't know what Apple's got up their sleeves but it makes me know for a fact that they're probably not going to make an M4 Ultra because based on that based on the fact that this gets that hot if you put two M4 Max
• 10:30 - 11:00 chips and glue them together that's going to get really really hot and they're going to have to have some really good cooling to make this work And so I don't know I don't even know if a copper heat sink will keep that as cool as it needs to be it's going to have to be like liquid cooled or something And that's really why I think Apple may have stopped looking into making an M4 Ultra because of how hot the the chip gets just because of the sheer performance that it was pushing
• 11:00 - 11:30 out in that new architecture So anyway those are my thoughts on the reason why I'm going to probably return the M4 Max and just keep going with I'm going to keep going on the Ultra bandwagon and continue from the M2 Ultra to this M3 Ultra So let me know what you guys think Did I am I losing my mind should I just return this and just keep the M4 Max you guys tell me what you think And if you have any questions let me know Thanks for stopping by today
• 11:30 - 12:00 Please subscribe to my channel if you haven't already Give me a thumbs up if you like today's content and ring that bell to get notified when I drop new content And I'll see all of you guys on my next video [Music]