M2 Pro or M2 Max for my needs?

Finally upgrading from my late 2015 intel-based MacBook Pro which I use almost exclusively for work, i’m a graphic designer and my daily workflow includes extensive work across Illustrator, Photoshop, Indesign and After Effects (which i use mainly for motion graphics as opposed to high end animation, film editing and effects etc). I often require all 4 apps to be running at the same time.


Alongside these i use Miro, Figma and a few other collaborative work tools depending on the project – again often needing to run these apps alongside the Creative Cloud apps and share and present work in them in meetings via Zoom, teams, Google Meet etc, something i’ve found painfully slow recently on my current MBP. I’m also keen to learn some basic 3D modelling in Cinema 4D at some point. 


Given there’s not a huge difference in price, should i opt for the M2 Pro or M2 Max chip? Would the Max be way too powerful for my needs or is it the smarter option if i’m after a super-fast workflow and the option to expand into 3D work or develop my AE skills further?


And in terms of memory should i opt for 16GB or 32GB?


My main criteria is the ability to run the multiple apps mentioned at once and at speed, there’s nothing that kills the creative flow than lags and spinning wheels. I also need to ensure i can share and present work in online meetings without everything dying on me due to CPU issues.

MacBook Pro (M2 Pro, 2023)

Posted on Jun 24, 2023 12:17 AM

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Posted on Jun 24, 2023 5:04 AM

All of the Adobe applications that you mention are RAM and GPU thirsty so it distills to your budget. The more RAM and GPU cores you can configure (e.g. Max), the better those Adobe applications will perform provided you keep the operating system and application version updates current.


As future releases of macOS and the Adobe applications will place more demand on your current choice of hardware configuration, plan accordingly.

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Jun 24, 2023 5:04 AM in response to bpkersey

All of the Adobe applications that you mention are RAM and GPU thirsty so it distills to your budget. The more RAM and GPU cores you can configure (e.g. Max), the better those Adobe applications will perform provided you keep the operating system and application version updates current.


As future releases of macOS and the Adobe applications will place more demand on your current choice of hardware configuration, plan accordingly.

M2 Pro or M2 Max for my needs?

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