M4 Max or M4 Pro

[psmith]

If you had to choose between the following - what would you choose:

M4 Max with 14 core CPU and 32 core GPU with 36GB ram  w/- 410GB/s memory bandwidth
M4 Pro with 14 core CPU and 20 core GPU with 48GB ram w/- 273GB/s memory bandwidth

Both are roughly the same price.  (its another $750 to get the Max with 48GB...

My current 5yr old PC laptop has 64GB Ram - it appears to be rarely all used.  It rarely pops over 50% - even with 4 archicad models open, one large revit file a dozen Chrome windows (that seem to take up the most RAM)...

Will the faster bandwidth and faster GPU be more useful  / better than the RAM?

My daily work is probably 30% archicad use using teamwork files that are >1G... large apartment buildings, complex houses and urban projects... don't do much twinmotion rendering... spend lots of time cutting 2d and 3d sections... viewing different parts of the model to check and make quick amendments.

Operating system used: Mac Apple Silicon

[Karl Ottenstein]

@ALL_Emil what are your machine specs?

[EmilSS]

I'm sorry. I thought you could see it in my signature. I have a 16" M1 Pro 16gb for fun. This is my current workstation specs:

CPU: i9-14900K @ 3.2Ghz,
GPU: GeForce RTX 4070 super (12GB),
SSD: WD Black SN77 2TB.
RAM: 64GB (4200MT/s), Windows 11

Macbooks are the obvious choice for laptops, with no serious competition. I'm curious about workstations. Whether or not windows workstations like mine offer more value for money. Does Apple have a competitive chip now or are we still paying extra (for the better user experience)? The current workstation is in the same price range as the basic Mac Studio (I expect the Mac Studio M4 Max to have the same price).

Graphisofts system requirements is not elaborative enough for me: https://graphisoft.com/resources-and-support/system-requirements/ 

[Karl Ottenstein]

Sorry.  My fault.  I've never gotten used to this hidden signature thing requiring hovering and scrolling. 😞

An Apple M4 Max should outperform your Intel system, high end as it is.  There are all kinds of benchmarks available online to compare single core performance - which is the Archicad bottleneck for certain tasks though.  But given the high specs of your workstation, it would be interesting to see an actual test using Archicad if you happen to know anyone with a comparable M4 Max system.

[peranda]

Hi,

I am hoping for some advice here on which Mac to upgrade to. 

Today:
I run an Imac 2019 8core i9, Radeon Pro Vega 48 8GB dedicated graphics and 64 GB 2667Mhz DDR4 RAM.  

I also have entry level M1 Macbook Pro with 8GB RAM that I use for presentations when I meet clients. These two machines are quite similar, when it comes to performance. 

I normally don´t run very complex files, and seldomly rendet. But it tends to get complicated for both machines when I Hotlink 25-30 different row houses types into a site model that also has pointcloud-landscape etc, and I am using design options for different layouts on site. Then I encounter that it takes long time to update drawings in 2D, and it also takes a lot of time to load the 3D model. I guess I am working 50% in 3D, when I work in Archicad. I experience some 3D sluggishness.

Yesterday I was thinking that an upgrade to

A) Mac Mini M4 PRO 14CPU/16GPU/24GB RAM.

But what I hear in this thread is that the 24 MB RAM is not really the correct upgrade, and that 24 GB RAM will be a limitation already today. 
What I hear is that it is not especially future-proof. 

I therefore have found two options:

B) I can buy a Mac Mini M4 PRO 16CPU/20GPU/64GB RAM (from a colleague that has encountered Revit troubles, and wants to sell). ,

C) I can buy Macbook M4 MAX 14CPU/32GPU/36GB RAM.  That machine has less but faster RAM, More GPU cores and MAX chip. And it is also portable and carry to a meeting room without having to shut down. 

Both of option B) or C) will be twice as expensive as compared to A) for me. Does anyone have a clear opinion on what I should go for? A, B og C ?

[EmilSS]

Here are my thoughts and I'm not an expert.

The Mac line up now has many great options. The Mac base models are the best value for money on the market.

M4 are great but limited. M4 pro is capable of doing professional work but slow.

M4 max is for professionals who doesn't have time to sit and wait for the computer. The extra money spent is easily earned back with increased productivity.  

I would spend some extra money and go for the max. Either base model studio or MacBook Pro max. The base model Mac studio is cheaper than your option B. If you can afford 64gb ram then it's better than 36gb. If you need a laptop, then get the MacBook Pro M4 max. It's the best laptop in the world. Windows computers with a similar performance is the same price.

[ryejuan]

have you guys tried running Archicad on an macbook air?

[EmilSS]

I have not. Many processes in Archicad are using single core CPU and will benefit from the fast M4 single core performance. I think it works well on small projects.

[xMattx]

It works flawlessly for light work with simple models where you don't have too many objects, even for section and elevation on an M1 MacBook Air we have at the studio.

My new MBP base M4 max is a rocket with any model, it handles bigger files like a 60 appartment project like a charm.

[ryejuan]

Thanks for the info, I was thinking of getting the latest MacBook Air but still not sure in term of performance like doing a 500sqm houses with complete drawings and details embedded inside.

[psmith]

Just as an update - I ended up buying the M4 Max with the 36gB of RAM.
I'm a sloppy user and often have lots of windows open at once and often 3-5 archicad files open at once.. Not once have I had to wait for anything in archicad - everything is almost instant... there are a few times where I've had the rainbow wheel - but not really for more than a few seconds.

As for RAM use.... Archicad uses a bit - but I run PARALLELS for our PIM software and outlook - and that uses a good 10-15GB. 
Mac's are excellent in managing RAM and when you are not using a program it frees up the RAM for the programs you are using. If I want peace of mind then I just close Parallels and RAM use is fine! I colleague has an M2 Max with 96GB Ram - we can open the same models (large ones) - Archicad chews through his RAM but my M4 is way faster on things like drawing updates, opening files, changing views etc..

I can't compare to my alternative M4Pro with more RAM - as I did not buy it!. (see initial post)..  As I was doing my research I did see a comparison of someone the M4 Pro and other variations macinteract - Apple M4 Pro and Archicad

Personally I would go for the MacBook Pro over the Air if it is going to by your daily workhorse unless you are just doing small projects. I have used archicad on the M1 Air - I had no problems - but it was only occasional use.