Mac M1max Mac Book vs Intel Based Mac Mini

I've just worked out the costing of a computer upgrade I'm thinking of. and the two options come in a almost exactly the same price. But which is going to be better for Resolve?

I already have two screens, so the only advantage to the Mac Book is a third screen and I can go on the road if I need to, but I very rarely do for work. I am mostly interested in opinions on the performance of these two options.

My use case is BRAW 4k files @ 24p, which I often use an FX node on (Film Convert Nitrate), without having to cache anything, at full res, and not using optimised media either. I do jump into Fusion for some mild motion graphics. And even then, I currently get away without caching, but I don't ming having to cache fusion stuff. But I cannot stand having to cache in any other scenario. I add sharpening and denoise at the end before final render, which does slow playback down, of course.

The two setup options are:

Mac Mini Intel Core i7 3.6 GHz with 6 Cores and 4.6 GHz boost
64GB RAM
Plus an eGPU with a RX6800XT

OR

The new M1Max Mac BookPro with it's 10 Core CPU
64 GB RAM
And the 32 Core GPU

Both would be connected to me two external monitors. I really don't understand how to compare these two systems. How do you compare a 16GB RX6800XT to a 32 Core Apple integrated GPU?

And mostly, would I find any of these two option better than my current PC (Core i9 9900 Gen 8, 63GB RAM and a RX580). I hate windows and need to get off it soon to get back to MacOS.

I'm pretty sure the M1 Max laptop would blow that Intel mini+eGPU completely out of the water, but it's also good not to buy more power than you actually need.

If you can hang on a bit longer, maybe six to eight months longer, it's possible Apple will come out with new M1 Pro/Max desktop machines within that time frame, which would give you plenty of power to last years into the future. That's my strategy, anyway.

I'm using a 2013 Mac Pro trashcan with 32 gigs of RAM and dual GPUs, and it still meets my needs (especially since I'm still working with 1080p files, not 4K). But I love the Mini form factor (I have a 2014 Mini as well) and a Mini Pro or Max would be my ideal next computer so I'm holding out to see if something like that appears. Even the base M1 Mini would work for my current purposes but I'd like something a bit more future-proof.

If I bought an M1 Max laptop I think I'd be reluctant to travel with a machine that expensive...I've had my share of incidents with laptops while traveling or even while moving them around the house, so I prefer using relatively cheap laptops and putting the money into powerful desktops where I'll be doing most of my work anyway with a calibrated monitor and my audio monitoring setup. Buying an expensive laptop that I end up using almost exclusively as a desktop computer seems like a waste to me.

Thanks Brad,

I definitely don't think either of these options will be more than I need. I have an extreme aversion to running lower resolutions than my delivery res, or just about any other form of optimisation like caching. I hate waiting for that stuff and I hate not seeing exactly what I'm working with. I was thinking of hanging on for those M1max Mac Pros, but to be honest, I am so frustrated with this temporary PC that I'm stuck with, I really want to get something before the new year.

I would avoid the current M1 Mac Mini. I have one and I was pretty disappointed with it to be honest. Reviews were very good, but then when it came to practical use cases, I found that it did struggle a lot more than I was expecting. Forget about using Film COnvert without caching. Literally putting anything in the timeline Fusion related, even a simple Text+ and it was very slow. I went deeper into Fusion effects and it pretty much hung the computer it was so slow. Even after catching! Unusable. It was terrible. I'm selling one though, if you're keen

My main concern is that there is just no way to compare these M1 macs to regular builds. How do you compare this unified RAM and GPU where the separate components and their respective specs are relative, to a regular computer. Because the resources are shared in these M1s, it's really hard to understand where they sit.

I have directly compared the MacBook M1 Pro to a 2017 iMac with an eGPU (Radeon 580 internally and externally) and it was twice as fast as that iMac. I wouldn’t invest in Intel Macs any more, neither eGPUs.

I have directly compared the MacBook M1 Pro to a 2017 iMac with an eGPU (Radeon 580 internally and externally) and it was twice as fast as that iMac. I wouldn’t invest in Intel Macs any more, neither eGPUs.

Thanks. I'd be interested to know how much RAM you got in there and how it went with Fusion.

I only tested the “Spaceship” project that used to be at the Fusion webpage. It is rather CPU heavy and was pretty slow, but didn’t crash with 16 GB. I wouldn’t recommend anything less than a MBP M1 Max for serious Fusion work. A simple Fusion title didn’t cause problems even with only 8 GB.

I'd still like a few more people to weigh in on this subject. I'd like someone to explain how to compare these new Macs to regular computers.

For instance. They have unified RAM. I currently have 64GB RAM in my PC. And it runs Fusion quite well. But if I get Apple Silicon with 64GB unified RAM, what happens when something else is using that memory? Will it be like having my PC with less RAM?

My Mac Mini M! has 16GB RAM Unified. And it shat itself even trying to do what I thought was fairly simple fusion stuff. I can't deal with such things. I need better performacne.

The M1 Macs are very good at managing their RAM, better than most PCs. So, having 64 GB in one of these should work better than the same amount in a PC.
This guy tried some crazy things:

I have been looking at the Mac Book Pro M1 Max and have a couple issues. The small one being the screen is 8-bit+2. The more important to me is that there is no ECC. I wonder if any others have concern with not having ECC? Also, might there be a good chance that ECC will be in the desktop pro M1?

Most laptops had 6+2 screens until now. No idea what Apple is planning for the next MP.

I have been looking at the Mac Book Pro M1 Max and have a couple issues. The small one being the screen is 8-bit+2. The more important to me is that there is no ECC. I wonder if any others have concern with not having ECC? Also, might there be a good chance that ECC will be in the desktop pro M1?

What is ECC and why is this an issue?