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Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

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Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#41

Post by itsdrewmiller »

wtallis wrote: post #9

The core counts listed don't make sense: for M1 Pro they're quoting the fully-enabled 8p2e config but for M2 Pro and M3 Pro they're quoting the cut-down configs (6p4e and 5p6e) that are only available in the 14" MacBook Pro (and Mac Mini, for M2 Pro). For context, the M1 Pro's cut-down config was 6p2e. At best, none of these conclusions would apply to the 16" MacBook Pro, and would be the wrong comparisons to make fo…

The fully enabled M3 pro only has one more efficiency core - I agree like for like would be better but I doubt it would make a material difference.

Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#43

Post by mwpmaybe »

itsdrewmiller wrote: post #41
wtallis wrote: post #9

The core counts listed don't make sense: for M1 Pro they're quoting the fully-enabled 8p2e config but for M2 Pro and M3 Pro they're quoting the cut-down configs (6p4e and 5p6e) that are only available in the 14" MacBook Pro (and Mac Mini, for M2 Pro). For context, the M1 Pro's cut-down config was 6p2e. At best, none of these conclusions would apply to the 16" MacBook Pro, and would be the wrong comparisons to make fo…

The fully enabled M3 pro only has one more efficiency core - I agree like for like would be better but I doubt it would make a material difference.

Sorry, but that's not correct. The fully-enabled M3 Pro has one more P-core. It's 5p+6e vs 6p+6e.

Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#44

Post by mwpmaybe »

Casteil wrote: post #13
dvt wrote: post #4

I was going to trade in my M1 Pro for an M3 Pro (I love the black), but I'm seriously getting second thoughts. I guess you can make a product that's just too good, after all. Might keep my M1 until the M4 or M5 Pro.

Despite its 'anti-fingerprint' anodization, the black still shows smudges more than silver/space gray, fwiw.. do you really need to upgrade a ~2yr old laptop??

Not unless you need more storage, or more RAM...

Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#46

Post by [deleted] »

tyingq wrote: post #7

Oversimplified, but the efficiency cores are slower in the M3 vs the M1, and Ableton seems like the sort of app where lots of tasks would land there. "(Ableton) Live supports up to 64 cores for audio processing on Mac and Windows. Likewise, Live supports up to 64 processing threads for audio calculation." https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/209067649-Multi-c...

[deleted]

Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#47

Post by n9 »

david_allison wrote: post #21
n9 wrote: post #19

The methology used in these tests is utter nonsense. Yes, there is something to be learned by his results but it has a the very least 50% to do with DAW internals and CPU vs the CPUs themselves. He used large numbers of tracks to test which isn't a valid measure of CPU optimization across different DAW platforms. There is widely varying CPU overhead issues among the different DAWs. Running 300 tracks in Ableton is go…

It's a music site. Showing that the efficiency cores aren't fully utilized by the DAWs is appropriate for the audience. It shows to less specialized users that they'll need to examine their tools and their use of efficiency cores to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile

testing how a DAW handles 300 identical low-CPU consumptive tracks is not at all appropriate for a music CPU workload assessment. No one except Charlie Clauser or Hollywood cinema post production uses projects with 300+ tracks -- it is a really idiosyncratic test that exposes the optimization liabilities of the DAW vs the CPU.

A Better test would be to set up an intensive real world 20 track project, assess utilization and overhead, and then find a real-world way to increment that stress upward to the breaking point.

Most computer music forum wonks use some kind of test based on softsynths or reverbs or a combination and stack them high on a smaller number of tracks.

I mean... 300 tracks? You're basically testing the DAW's thread management at that point, not the CPU as it would be used.

Re: Apple M1 Pro Beats M3 Pro with Ableton, Logic and Pro Tools

#50

Post by squeaky-clean »

sayrer wrote: post #33

Surprising, but you really don't even need an M1 for those programs. You want fast external SSDs, though. I use the last Intel Mac mini for audio things, and it's fine.

Only if you're mixing audio tracks with minimal processing or using lots of sample libraries. Modern virtual analog synthesizers or guitar amp emulations like the Archetype Nolly mentioned in the article use a ton of CPU and require almost no disk I/O.

For example he mentions FL Studio can handle 70 tracks of Nolly. The latest FL Studio version's tutorial project has 98 tracks and can run on an HDD if your CPU is fast enough. The effects being used are lighter than the Nolly guitar amp effect. But they're still more cpu heavy than I/O heavy.

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