Can a Nvidia Laptop BEAT Apple? RTX 4090 Vs M4 Max MacBook Pro

Summary

The video compares a 14-inch MacBook Pro with an M4 Max against an MSI Stealth 18 AI Studio with a mobile RTX 4090, focusing on performance rather than screen size or ports.

The MacBook has a 20-core CPU, a 40-core GPU, 128 GB of memory, and a 1 TB SSD. The MSI has an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, a laptop RTX 4090 with 16 GB of VRAM, and a 2 TB SSD. The MSI’s RAM and SSD are upgradeable; the MacBook’s are not.

Benchmarks and creative work

• Storage: The MSI had faster reported read speeds—about 7,090 MB/s versus 5,765 MB/s for the MacBook. The MacBook led in write speeds, at about 8,329 MB/s versus 5,186 MB/s.
• CPU: The M4 Max scored higher in both Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. In Geekbench, for example, the Mac scored about 4,000 in single-core and 25,916 in multi-core, compared with the MSI’s 2,441 and 13,352.
• GPU: Results varied by benchmark. The RTX 4090 led in Geekbench OpenCL and Cinebench 2024, while the laptops were nearly tied in 3DMark Wild Life Extreme.
• Adobe Premiere: In a 10-minute HEVC export test, the MacBook finished in 126 seconds, compared with 143 seconds for the MSI. The presenter attributes the Mac’s advantage partly to its dedicated media engines and Premiere support.

Gaming tests

Games were tested at 1,920 × 1,200 resolution, using high or ultra settings with no DLSS or FSR. The Mac ran GTA V and Cyberpunk 2077 through CrossOver rather than as native Mac games; the presenter notes that this may limit its performance. Rise of the Tomb Raider has a native Mac version.

• GTA V: MacBook, about 110 fps; MSI, about 172 fps.
• Cyberpunk 2077: MacBook, about 86 fps; MSI, about 98 fps.
• Rise of the Tomb Raider: MacBook, about 175 fps; MSI, about 114 fps.

The presenter highlights the Tomb Raider result as a notable Mac win, while cautioning that game compatibility and optimization affect the comparison. They expect native Mac support for Cyberpunk to make a future comparison more informative.

Thermals and battery

During 10-minute Cinebench tests, the MacBook reached about 98°C on the CPU and 97°C on the GPU. The MSI reached about 81°C on the CPU and 86°C on the GPU, but its fans ran loudly and appeared to be working harder.

In a repeated GPU test that ran until the batteries were depleted, the 14-inch MacBook lasted 65 minutes and the MSI lasted 43 minutes. The presenter estimates that a similarly configured 16-inch MacBook might last roughly 71 minutes in that test, while noting that this is a projection and the comparison is not fully like-for-like.

Overall assessment

The presenter does not consider Apple’s M4 Max a failure. The MacBook performed strongly in CPU tests, Premiere export, and one native game, while the RTX 4090 generally had the advantage in graphics benchmarks and some games. The main caveat is that Mac gaming still depends on developer support and optimization. The presenter sees potential for the MacBook as both a creative-work and gaming machine if more games are made and tuned for macOS.

Main speaker/source: Matt Talks Tech presenter and narrator.