M3 Max Benchmarks with Stable Diffusion, LLMs, and 3D Rendering

Matthew Grdinic
19 Nov 202308:24

TLDRThis video shares benchmarks and impressions of the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro, focusing on its performance for creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI. The M3 Max chip, with a 16-core CPU and 40-core GPU, along with 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, is tested against the M1 MacBook Pro. The M3 demonstrates significant improvements in AI tasks using private LLM for chat and Draw Things for image generation, with faster response times and more detailed outputs. In 3D rendering, the M3's hardware-accelerated ray tracing offers a substantial leap in performance, nearly matching a dedicated RTX 380 GPU in some scenarios. The video concludes that the M3 Max MacBook Pro is a substantial upgrade, particularly for tasks benefiting from hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Takeaways

  • 💻 The 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro is targeted at creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI, offering significant computing power for these demanding applications.
  • 💰 For those who do not require high-end computing power, the MacBook with the M1 Pro chip and 12 core CPU might be a more cost-effective choice.
  • ⚙️ The M3 Max chip in the tested MacBook Pro features a 16 core CPU, 40 core GPU, 64GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD, providing substantial performance for complex tasks.
  • 🚀 The M3 Max MacBook Pro is capable of handling AI tasks more efficiently, with faster response times and more detailed answers compared to the M1 MacBook Pro.
  • 📈 The M3's performance in AI tasks is expected to improve further with the release of larger models that require more RAM, highlighting the importance of having at least 64GB of RAM for future-proofing.
  • 🔊 Both the M3 and M1 MacBook Pros produced a high-pitch whine when running large language models (LLMs), which is a new observation.
  • 🖼️ In image generation using Stable Diffusion, the M3 Max chip performed well, significantly faster than the M1, enabling a quicker iterative workflow.
  • 📊 The M3 Max chip's hardware-accelerated ray tracing support provides a substantial performance boost in 3D rendering tasks, offering a near-instantaneous experience.
  • 📉 The M3 outperformed the M1 in rendering complex scenes, with the BMW scene rendering in 8.5 seconds on the M3 compared to 1 minute 15 seconds on the M1.
  • 🔧 Using the Optics rendering engine with CUDA, the M3 was almost as fast as a dedicated GPU like the RTX 380, making it a strong contender for 3D rendering tasks.
  • 🔧 Disabling the CPU and relying solely on the GPU for rendering tasks resulted in faster performance and quieter operation on the M3 Max MacBook Pro.

Q & A

  • What is the target demographic for the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro?

    -The target demographic for the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro is creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI.

  • What are the base specifications of the M3 Max MacBook Pro mentioned in the script?

    -The base specifications include a top-of-the-line M3 Max chip with a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU, along with 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.

  • How does the M3 Max MacBook Pro perform in AI tasks compared to the older M1 MacBook Pro?

    -The M3 Max MacBook Pro performs AI tasks more efficiently, with more detailed responses in chat applications and faster token generation, especially for shorter responses.

  • What is the impact of having 64GB of RAM on the M3 Max MacBook Pro?

    -Having 64GB of RAM provides plenty of overhead for running larger models that require more memory, ensuring that the processor can operate at its full potential.

  • How does the M3 Max MacBook Pro handle image generation tasks using Stable Diffusion?

    -The M3 Max MacBook Pro handles image generation tasks significantly faster than the M1 MacBook Pro, with a 512x512 image taking about 4.5 seconds to generate, making it more usable for iterative workflows.

  • What is the performance difference between the M3 Max MacBook Pro and a PC with an RTX 3080 GPU in image generation tasks?

    -While the PC with an RTX 3080 GPU is faster, the M3 Max MacBook Pro is much more usable, reducing the generation time of a 512x512 image to a point where it is nearly instantaneous for practical purposes.

  • How does the M3 Max MacBook Pro support 3D rendering tasks?

    -The M3 Max MacBook Pro supports hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which significantly improves rendering times compared to software rendering, making it a game-changer for 3D rendering tasks.

  • What is the performance of the M3 Max MacBook Pro in the classic BMW scene rendering test?

    -The M3 Max MacBook Pro finished the classic BMW scene rendering test in 8.5 seconds, which is significantly faster than the M1 MacBook Pro's time of 1 minute and 15 seconds.

  • What is the significance of hardware-accelerated ray tracing in the M3 Max MacBook Pro for 3D rendering?

    -Hardware-accelerated ray tracing in the M3 Max MacBook Pro provides a significant performance boost in 3D rendering tasks, offering a night and day difference in rendering times and quality.

  • How does the M3 Max MacBook Pro handle the tug boat scene in 3D rendering?

    -The M3 Max MacBook Pro completed the tug boat scene in 30 seconds, which is faster than the M1 MacBook Pro's 3 minutes and 54 seconds, and close to the performance of a PC with an RTX 380 GPU.

  • What is the recommendation for RAM when purchasing a high-end MacBook Pro for intensive tasks?

    -It is highly recommended to opt for at least 64GB of RAM when purchasing a high-end MacBook Pro for intensive tasks to ensure that the processor can operate at its full potential and to accommodate future software requirements.

Outlines

00:00

🖥️ MacBook Pro M3 Max Performance for Creators

This paragraph discusses the suitability of the 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro for creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI. The narrator emphasizes that while the machine is powerful, it may be overkill for users who do not require such computing power. The video compares the M3 Max with an older M1 MacBook Pro, highlighting the M3's superior performance in AI tasks using private llm for chat and Draw Things for image generation. The M3's detailed responses and faster token generation in AI chat and its ability to handle larger models that require more RAM are praised. The narrator also notes the high-pitched noise produced by both machines during AI tasks. The M3 Max's performance in image generation is also discussed, with the narrator expressing satisfaction with the speed and the potential for iterative workflows.

05:00

🎨 M3 Max's Impact on 3D and Image Generation

The second paragraph focuses on the M3 Max's capabilities in 3D rendering and image generation tasks. The narrator notes the significant improvement in performance with the M3 chip, especially in hardware-accelerated ray tracing, which is a game-changer for the workflow. The video includes benchmarks comparing the M3 Max with the M1 and a PC with an RTX 380 GPU. The M3 Max's rendering times for various scenes are detailed, showing it to be much faster than the M1 and, in some cases, nearly as fast as the PC with a dedicated GPU. The narrator also discusses the impact of using different compute units (CPU, GPU, and neural engine) on the M3's performance, recommending using just the CPU and GPU for the best results. The conclusion emphasizes the M3 Max as a fantastic upgrade for tasks involving hardware-accelerated ray tracing.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡M3 Max MacBook Pro

The M3 Max MacBook Pro is a high-end laptop from Apple, specifically designed for creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI. It is noted for its powerful hardware, including a 16-core CPU and a 40-core GPU, along with 64GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. In the video, it is compared with the M1 MacBook Pro to demonstrate its superior performance in handling complex tasks.

💡Private LLM

Private LLM is a paid application available on the Mac App Store that is used for chat and language model interactions. The video discusses its use with two models, Mestro 7B and the more complex Wizard LM 13B, highlighting the M3 Max MacBook Pro's ability to handle these models more efficiently and provide more detailed responses.

💡Stable Diffusion

Stable Diffusion is a technology used for image generation. The video compares the performance of the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the M1 model and a PC with a dedicated GPU (RTX 380) in generating images. The M3 Max chip significantly reduces the time taken to generate images, making it more usable for iterative workflows.

💡Hardware Ray Tracing

Hardware Ray Tracing is a feature supported by the M3 chip that significantly improves the rendering of 3D scenes by simulating the physical behavior of light. The video demonstrates the stark difference in rendering times and quality between the M3 Max MacBook Pro and the M1 model, with the M3 showing near comparable performance to a high-end PC.

💡Neural Engine

The Neural Engine is a part of Apple's silicon that specializes in machine learning tasks. The video mentions that on the M3 Max MacBook Pro, using the Neural Engine for certain tasks can result in slower performance compared to using just the CPU and GPU, indicating that for optimal performance, it might be better to rely on the latter.

💡Optical Denoisers

Optical Denoisers are a type of software algorithm that reduces noise in images, which is particularly useful in 3D rendering to achieve high-quality results with fewer samples. The video notes that the BMW Benchmark can utilize optical denoisers to speed up rendering times without compromising quality.

💡RTX 380

The RTX 380 is a dedicated graphics processing unit (GPU) from Nvidia, used in the video to compare the performance of the M3 Max MacBook Pro in 3D rendering tasks. It is part of the discussion on how the M3 chip's hardware ray tracing capabilities offer significant improvements over the M1 model.

💡Unified Memory

Unified Memory is a technology in Apple's M-series chips that allows the CPU and GPU to access the same pool of memory, leading to improved performance and efficiency. The video mentions 18GB and 64GB configurations, with the latter being recommended for fully utilizing the potential of the M3 Max chip.

💡M1 MacBook Pro

The M1 MacBook Pro is an earlier model of Apple's laptop that features an 8-core CPU and a 14-core GPU with 16GB of RAM. It serves as a baseline for comparison in the video, demonstrating the advancements and performance improvements of the newer M3 Max MacBook Pro.

💡Draw Things

Draw Things is an application used in the video for testing the image generation capabilities of the M3 Max MacBook Pro. It allows the user to select different compute units for processing, and the video discusses the performance differences when using the CPU, GPU, and Neural Engine.

💡Iterative Task

An iterative task refers to a process that is repeated multiple times with the goal of achieving a desired outcome through successive refinements. In the context of the video, image generation for the M3 Max MacBook Pro is described as an iterative task, emphasizing the importance of quick feedback loops for effective use of the technology.

Highlights

The 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro is targeted at creators and consumers of video, 3D, and AI.

For those who don't require high computing power, the MacBook Pro with M1 Pro chip is a more cost-effective option.

The M3 Max chip in the tested machine features a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, 64GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD.

The M3 Max MacBook Pro is expensive but offers a portable Mac that excels at complex computing tasks.

Benchmarks are conducted against the M1 MacBook Pro to gauge efficiency and new capabilities.

Private LLM for chat and Draw Things for image generation were used to test AI capabilities.

The M3 Max provided more detailed responses in chat compared to the M1, despite similar completion times.

The M3 Max showed faster initial response times and token generation for shorter responses.

The developer of Private LLM plans to release larger models, benefiting from the M3 Max's 64GB RAM.

Both the M3 Max and M1 produced a high-pitch whine when running LLMs, a new behavior not previously observed.

The M3 Max significantly outperformed the M1 in image generation tasks, enabling a faster iterative workflow.

The M3 Max's performance with Stable Diffusion XL model was more than twice as fast as the M1's.

The neural engine on the M3 Max was found to be less efficient for image generation tasks compared to using just the CPU and GPU.

The M3 Max supports hardware ray tracing, resulting in a significant difference in rendering quality and speed.

In benchmarks, the M3 Max was almost as fast as a PC with an RTX 3080 GPU for certain 3D rendering tasks.

The M3 Max completed complex 3D scenes up to 20% faster than the M1, showcasing its hardware ray tracing capabilities.

Using the CPU for ray tracing resulted in worse performance and higher power consumption on the M3 Max.

The M3 Max MacBook Pro is a significant upgrade for professional tasks, particularly with hardware ray tracing.

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