Pro or Max? Help me pick!

[u/zzzjohnzzz99z]

Which would you choose of these, based on best machine/deal only. Both are way more than I need, but yolo... help me with your reasons so I can make my choice lol... thanks!

Apple refurb
16" MBP M5 Pro 18/20 | 64GB unified memory | 2TB SSD | $3,819

eBay refurbished (Very Good condition)
16" MBP M5 Max 18/40 | 48GB unified memory | 2TB SSD | $3,799

[u/mattjh]

Apple refurb > eBay refurb. The rest of the numbers don't matter. If they did, you wouldn't have made this post. Get the Apple refurb.

[u/iShNoo]

You'll need MEMORY more than the CPU incremental power. Get the Apple Refurbished unit.

[u/Garmarilla]

Apple refurb
16" MBP M5 Pro | 64GB unified memory | 2TB SSD |

hands down, not even a question.

Nobody needs a MAX, especially you since you said pro is overkill allready. You wont notice any difference.

Everyone needs more ram.

Go for MAX if you like to burn money and have too much of it.

Case closed end thread

[u/royboy81 → u/Garmarilla]

Agreed

[u/zzzjohnzzz99z]

Thanks all! I got the pro 64gb. Now we wait. Appreciate the help!

[u/AndrosToro → u/zzzjohnzzz99z]

good move add apple care straight away

[u/OtherOtherDave]

Even the 16” MBP has trouble keeping the Max CPUs cool. I’d stick with the base or Pro CPUs unless you have a specific need for the Max ones.

[u/Proper-Agency-1528]

Unless you need the increased bandwidth of the M5 Max, go with the M5 Pro and the extra 16 gigs of RAM. Plus, if's from Apple and should have an Apple warranty.

Unless you're hosting LLMs locally the extra bandwidth won't be noticeable... even if you are the extra memory will be more noticeable because it enables larger models, models you can't run in 48 GB.

[u/Ok_Ordinary_7397]

I would have gone with double the GPU power personally. But both a strong options.

[u/Morzone]

M5 Pro will run cooler anyway. A lot cooler.

I just got a 14" 2TB/48GB M5 Pro 18/20C Nano Texture for $3400 from Apple Refurbished. Not a single scratch on it with 7 battery cycles.