Brand New MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max Slow Performance

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Level 1

4 points

Brand New MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max Slow Performance

I am super frustrated. I have been trying to get my new Mac up and running. It is a MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max with 64 GB of memory and a 2TB SSD. I am using it almost solely for FCPX. I initially set it up from a Time Machine backup from my mid-2017 MacBook Pro Intel i7 that I have been using, and was shocked at how slow it was so I have gone back, wiped the drive, and reinstalled Monterey and started from scratch. I downloaded a fresh version of all of the apps and plugs I am running, mostly Universal Audio and Pixel Film Studios. All of them are M1 compatible. I formatted my external hard drive (Samsung T7 1GB) and put together a new library with some quick test footage.

The first thing I noticed is how much slower the background rendering was than with my 2017 Intel machine, so then I turned off background rendering and now I am dropping clips.

Also, I have verified that FCPX has full disk access and also set the battery/energy mod to "high power".

This thing should be blazing fast. I literally only have 1 clip in the test project, and an adjustment layer with a couple of LUTs on it. This is the most powerful MAcBook you can spec from them. Something doesn't add up???

Anyone else running into this sort of issue? I would be grateful for any help.

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.6

Posted on Nov 20, 2022 11:38 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

jbrogdon1 Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 27, 2022 02:59 PM in response to mikeg28806

Thanks for the follow up. It's definitely not the startup disk, as you can see there's barely anything on the hard drive. As I said, I have installed from a backup, done a fresh install and re-downloaded all of the apps I need to get fresh installs, literally everything. I have formatted my external drives and migrated stuff to them so everything is fresh. Nothing is making this lemon go any faster. I am going to contact Apple about sending me a replacement tomorrow. If that doesn't do the trick it will be going back for a refund. It's crazy to spend $5000 for a machine that is slower than what I am currently running. Not just when editing, but when downloaded video clips to the computer and even general operation speed. It also has the max amount of memory that you can get on the what is supposed to be the fastest machine Apple makes. Very disappointing.

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Answer 2

mikeg28806

Community Specialist

Nov 22, 2022 01:28 PM in response to jbrogdon1

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities jbrogdon1,

If you're noticing that your Mac is generally running slower than you'd expect it to, the following information can help you isolate and resolve potential causes:

• Your computer’s startup disk may not have enough free disk space. To make disk space available, you can move files to another disk or an external storage device, then delete files you no longer need on the startup disk. macOS can also help you optimize storage by storing files in the cloud and helping you identify files you no longer need. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click General in the sidebar (you may need to scroll down). Click Storage on the right, then click the storage recommendations you want to use.

• An app you’re using may require more memory than your Mac has easily available. You can use Activity Monitor to see how much memory your Mac and apps are using. See View memory usage in Activity Monitor. Also see the documentation that came with the app to find out its system requirements.

• Quit any app that isn’t compatible with your Mac. For example, an app may require a different processor or graphics card. See the documentation that came with the app for information about its system requirements.

• To see what processor your computer has, choose Apple menu > System Settings, click General in the sidebar, then click About on the right.

• To see which graphics card your computer has, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click General in the sidebar. Click About on the right, then click System Report. Click Graphics/Displays to see the name of the graphics card installed your computer.

• Quit any apps you’re not using.

• If you have problems with your disk, use Disk Utility to verify and try and fix any issues.

If your Mac runs slowly

If you're finding that the behavior is primarily isolated to when you're using Final Cut Pro X, Apple has a specialized team of advisors trained and skilled to help you resolve issues with that software. We recommend that you contact Apple Support.

Cheers!

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Brand New MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max Slow Performance

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