13" M1 Air vs M1 MBP - Prioritize RAM or GPU cores?

[mikosk]

I am picking up a laptop for work and will use it mostly for Zoom calls, Slack chats, MS Office applications, OneDrive cloud storage, and web browsing. I can't justify the $2K for the 14" MBP (as much as I would like a dedicated HDMI port) so I am looking at the refurbished 13" Air/MBP's and they only have an $80 difference once configured.

Question is which is a better machine for light office duties? The Air with 16GB RAM has only 7 GPU cores while the MBP has 8GB RAM but 8 GPU's. I read that GPU's are more important and given my lighter needs, RAM may not be an issue?

 

[Pugly]

The extra gpu core is barely noticeable, maybe slight gaming improvements. More RAM will help the computer do more.

The extra cost of the pro is hard to justify, you get a slightly better screen and a fan for sustained performance. But the Air doesn't lose speed much at all, I rarely feel mine get warm even doing demanding tasks.

The Air is even better in some ways, it has the tapered design making it slightly easier to carry and type on, and it doesn't have the touch bar... which isn't going to get any more useful and is generally an annoyance.

 

[robco74]

If you're multitasking, go for the RAM over the extra GPU core. The Air is also thinner and lighter. You likely won't run into any throttling issues with that workload.

 

[mikosk]

Appreciate the insight

 

[leman]

For your usage I would save the money and take the 8GB with a 7 core GPU. It will be more than enough for your needs. Unless you use MS teams, then get more RAM. That software is terrible.

 

[dieselm]

16GB RAM. You'll notice it.

 

[dugbug]

also with unified memory, the RAM is your GPU RAM as well, so you are helping out both

 

[Technerd108]

I would get the 13" Pro with 16gb ram. Pay more and be happy longer. The air is a great machine but the MBP has a better screen and speakers and is a solid build and has a fan to cool the M1 processor.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1604809-REG/apple_myd82ll_a_13_3_macbook_pro_with.html/?ap=y&ap=y&smp=y&smp=y&lsft=BI%3A514&gclid=CjwKCAiA4KaRBhBdEiwAZi1zzghbmQkmyC3eb-Anr7KbQAoyDDKNS8xI4q7FcFymtGNNy4W4P3a-xhoCn8IQAvD_BwE

MacBook Pro (2020) 13.3-inch - Apple M1 8-core and 8-core GPU - 16GB RAM - SSD 256GB | Back Market

MacBook M1 Apple MacBook Pro 13" (2020) - QWERTY - English ✌ Up to 70% off compared to new ✅ Free shipping ✅ Cheap MacBook Pro ✅ 1 year warranty ✅ 30 days to change your mind

www.backmarket.com

 

[jerryk]

If you can get an Air with 16 GB for nearly the same money that is the way to go. Especially if you find yourself with a browser open while keeping running Slack, Outlook, Word, etc.

 

[jdb8167]

Unless you use MS teams, then get more RAM. That software is terrible.

It is getting pretty hard to not use Teams if your corp environment uses MS Office. Get the extra RAM it’ll be worth it.

 

[mikosk]

No Teams thankfully, Slack and Zoom. Ended up getting just the base Air, hell of a deal at Microcenter too. No issues for my general office duty.

 

[Dhock_Holiday]

As others have said get the RAM, macOS Monterey is very RAM hungry.

 

[Sterkenburg]

Double the RAM all the way, especially for such a small price difference.

 

[Malus120]

I am picking up a laptop for work and will use it mostly for Zoom calls, Slack chats, MS Office applications, OneDrive cloud storage, and web browsing. I can't justify the $2K for the 14" MBP (as much as I would like a dedicated HDMI port) so I am looking at the refurbished 13" Air/MBP's and they only have an $80 difference once configured.

Question is which is a better machine for light office duties? The Air with 16GB RAM has only 7 GPU cores while the MBP has 8GB RAM but 8 GPU's. I read that GPU's are more important and given my lighter needs, RAM may not be an issue?

Until very recently I actually had the M1 MBA with 16GB and 7 GPU cores and used it as my daily driver for one year.

I now use a 14" M1 Max MBP with 32 GPU cores. So I think I can speak from a place of experience when I say, get the 16GB of ram (the MBA) over the extra GPU core (the MBP.)

Even if you game or have another use case that can make good use of the GPU, 16GB > 1 GPU Core. For reference, the 7C GPU delivers roughly 92% of the performance of the 8C model (despite only having 87.5% of the theoretical compute.)

An 8% difference is barely noticeable and just slightly outside the margin of error. Even factoring in 3-5+ years of use, it's unlikely you'll ever say "if only I had 8 GPU cores..."
I can almost guarantee however that if you opt for only 8GB of ram you'll easily run into situations TODAY where you'll be kicking yourself for not getting more ram (let alone 3-5 years from now when memory requirements have bloated.) If you run out of ram, you'll see way more than an 8% drop in performance, and it will honestly limit everything you do.

That said, do note the difference between the M1 MBA and 13" M1 MBP is more than just that GPU core. The Pro is heavier, but has a bigger battery and better cooling and thus can last longer and has better performance under sustained heavy load. While you can modify the MBA to have similar performance, there is no getting around the MBP's better battery life. That said, honestly speaking even the MBA has god tier battery life. If I had to choose between the two machines you've listed, I'd go with the MBA every time.