Apple 16" M1X MacBook Pro: Can it Beat the 2019 iMac 5K and the 2019 Mac Pro 28-Core for Most Tasks?
Consult with Lloyd for any kind of computer purchase, RAID setup, backup strategy, Photoshop optimization, etc.
B&H Photo has graciously agreed to send a loaner 16" MacBook Pro 32GB/1TB/32GPU for review/testing, which will arrive when it becomes available, perhaps in a month or so. Get Apple MacBook Pro M1X/M1Pro at B&H Photo.
As discussed in Apple 16-inch MacBook Pro Coming For Review, within 3-4 weeks I should have the Apple 16" M1X MacBook Pro here for testing, specifically this model, which is everything I’d want were I buying one, except I’d want the 4TB SSD.
The 10-core Apple M1X system-on-a-chip has 8 performance cores and 2 efficiency cores. As such, it roughly aligns with my 8-core 2019 iMac 5K. And of course the 10-core 2020 iMac 5K is slightly faster than my 2019 model. But might the new MBP show performance superiority over the iMac 5K on real world tasks? I deem it a strong possibility for Photoshop, Lightroom, Zerene Stacker, etc.
OTOH, for just $2869 you can get a maxed-out 2019 iMac 5K with its gorgeous large screen and that’s far better for anyone who works at a desk most of the time.
My main computer on which I do all of my work when not traveling is the 2019 Mac Pro with 28-core CPU and 384GB memory and Vega II video card. The Beast. While I expect it will easily outperform the Apple M1 Max chip in the 2021 Macbook Pro M1X for many-core operations (eg 28 cores vs 8+2 cores), I suspect that the MBP might also trounce the Mac Pro at many tasks, those that can use only a few cores.
Should be really interesting to see how it pans out. Plus, if Apple advances the M1 architecture to an “M2” chip with 16+4 cores and 64 GPU cores, would any Intel-based computer be able to compete with it?