Best M series chip for mixed office use

[dj95]

Looking for some advice on which M series chip is best for my work flow, any advice appreciated!

Most of my time is spent with around 20 chrome tabs, I manage a busy support helpdesk and need multiple client sites, reporting, service desk website tabs open at any one time. On top of that, I usually have open 5-7 word documents, 4-6 excel spreadsheets, slack, a SQL database manager and an email client.

I’m currently using a windows laptop with a core i5-1031G1 with 12gb ram and it is mostly ok but chokes somewhat frequently and slows dramatically when screen sharing on zoom. I also use a 2015 15 inch MacBook which is still quicker but I’m looking for an upgrade overall.

Will an M1 with 16gb of RAM be sufficient, or would I feel any benefit to an M2, or even an M1 Pro? I will be buying used hence why I am not looking at M3 line.

Is there any noticeable difference between the M1 and M2 for this workload, will chrome be noticeably faster and system speed any different?

 

[Juicy Box]

ill an M1 with 16gb of RAM be sufficient, or would I feel any benefit to an M2, or even an M1 Pro?

I think the M1 would be fine for your workflow.

You might see a boost from a M2, but not a huge dramatic one.

If the M2 wasn't that far off in price from the M1, and everything else was equal, I would get the M2, but if the M1 is a decent price over the M2, that would be fine as well.

I don't think you would see much of a benefit from the M1 Pro over the M1 and M2 with your workflow.

16GB would probably be fine for your workflow, but since Chrome can be a resource hog, maybe consider getting more RAM depending on your budget and what you can find used.

Looking for some advice on which M series chip is best for my work flow

Keep in mind that "Best" is subjective, and as long as someone can make a justification for it, there really isn't a wrong answer here.

I wouldn't be surprised if someone else has a totally different recommendation than me.

 

[Aenean144]

I'd recommend a minimum system of M1 Pro with 32 GB RAM and two 4K monitors. 16 GB will be fine, but 32 GB RAM allows room for the eventual growth of RAM usage from all your apps and your workflow 3 to 5 years into the future.

Might be able to get by with 16GB usage Safari, but you are using Chrome. Google is trying to reduce its RAM usage, but the probability is high that something else within Chrome will just take up the RAM it used to use. Like a new Web API, web apps, etc. They just won't be able to help themselves.

An M2 with 24 GB RAM will work, but you should get yourself a 30+ inch monitor if so.

 

[StoneJack]

Any M chip with any RAM would be good for your setup. I have similar setup with m1 Mini, m2 Air and both in base configuration and do the job fantastic!

 

[leman]

M1 with 8GB will be more than sufficient for your use case and a considerable upgrade over your current setup. Go for 16GB if you want some peace of mind.

 

[Basic75]

My mixed office computer is an M1 with 16GB and that should do the job for you, too. I would not recommend getting only 8GB of RAM.

 

[Anthony_DBoss]

M1 Would do you good. I am with an M1 with 16GB and it is just amazing for anything really. I had before a 2019 MBP with Intel chip, it was like a heater. And the problem was when it started heating up, the apps would slow down, like loading and stuff like that.

 

[smirking]

Gonna throw in with @leman. An 8GB M1 ought be enough, but get a 16GB for peace of mind if you wish.

You may still get some slowness with Excel... not because the machine isn't up to the task, but because it's Excel and that program is a turd.

In any case, I'm working a much heavier workflow than yours on a 16GB M1 Pro and it's completely smooth sailing.

 

[AlmightyKang]

Can confirm Excel is a turd. I don't use it any more, preferring to use more formal tools (Python/Pandas/matplotlib). Also Word sucks. Have moved to MacTeX. But if you have to work with people rather than just generate stuff you're stuck with it.

I'd not be happy with 8Gb for any productivity focused machine. Base M1 CPU with 16Gb would be plenty though - they are pretty fast CPUs. Slack uses a ton of RAM and Office can eat it up if you're doing anything major with that.

My journey was actually stupid. I bought an 8Gb Mac Mini M1 when they came out. They I bought a 14" macbook pro M1 because that didn't have enough RAM. Then I bought a studio display because the screen was too small. Stupid tentacle brain! I should have just bought a 16Gb M1 iMac up front and gone on holiday with all the wasted cash.

 

[senttoschool]

I'd recommend a minimum system of M1 Pro with 32 GB RAM and two 4K monitors. 16 GB will be fine, but 32 GB RAM allows room for the eventual growth of RAM usage from all your apps and your workflow 3 to 5 years into the future.

Might be able to get by with 16GB usage Safari, but you are using Chrome. Google is trying to reduce its RAM usage, but the probability is high that something else within Chrome will just take up the RAM it used to use. Like a new Web API, web apps, etc. They just won't be able to help themselves.

An M2 with 24 GB RAM will work, but you should get yourself a 30+ inch monitor if so.

I did more than OP with an M1 Air 8GB in 2020.

I personally think an M1 Air 8GB is fine. M1 Air with 16GB if the Excel files are very big.

 

[JustAnExpat]

>Will an M1 with 16gb of RAM be sufficient,

This is for a workplace, and machines are usually replaced every 5 years or thereabouts. As others say, 8 GB should be enough, but 16 GB if you want to be comfy and have room to grow. Any M processor should work.

>Is there any noticeable difference between the M1 and M2 for this workload,

No. There's not much processing happening from your list, such as rendering graphics or videos. Most of the delay is the user reading files, processing information, and figuring out the correct words/ solution.

> will chrome be noticeably faster

No.

>system speed any different?

No. It might start up a little faster, and shut down faster, but we're talking seconds.

 

[smirking]

I did more than OP with an M1 Air 8GB in 2020.

Concur. I test drove an 8GB 13" M1 MBP in 2020 and was stunned at how it was able to just handle almost anything I threw at it. The only time it noticeably stuttered was if I ran Windows Update through Parallels at the same time I was doing a bunch of other things.

 

[Toutou]

Looking for some advice on which M series chip is best for my work flow, any advice appreciated!

Most of my time is spent with around 20 chrome tabs, I manage a busy support helpdesk and need multiple client sites, reporting, service desk website tabs open at any one time. On top of that, I usually have open 5-7 word documents, 4-6 excel spreadsheets, slack, a SQL database manager and an email client.

I’m currently using a windows laptop with a core i5-1031G1 with 12gb ram and it is mostly ok but chokes somewhat frequently and slows dramatically when screen sharing on zoom. I also use a 2015 15 inch MacBook which is still quicker but I’m looking for an upgrade overall.

Will an M1 with 16gb of RAM be sufficient, or would I feel any benefit to an M2, or even an M1 Pro? I will be buying used hence why I am not looking at M3 line.

Is there any noticeable difference between the M1 and M2 for this workload, will chrome be noticeably faster and system speed any different?

Any M series machine with 16 GB of RAM will work like a dream, I promise. I would personally try to avoid 8GB systems, unless you get an amazing deal, because browsing (unfortunately, and especially with JS-heavy websites), Slack, Word and Excel all eat RAM like crazy, and for a work machine you'll probably want some extra stability.

 

[System603]

M1 or even newer based on your $$$ situation and deals.
16GB RAM if you want future proofing.

So your idea of buying used M1 is really great or rather the best choice.

No real need for Pro or better. No real need for M2/M3 either, but if you got a good deal then why not.

 

[dj95]

Thank you everyone for your replies, that is really helpful. I think it is easy to get stuck in the tech YouTuber bubble where the single core and multi core increases are really emphasised between generations with benchmarks, seemingly always from a video/photo editing background. Since the M3, some say ‘the M1 is starting to show its age’ but just last year it was still being lauded. It starts to make you wonder if you’re silly to still buy it but as a few have said it’s a huge upgrade over my current setup. Looks like im best going for either an M1 Mac Mini 16GB or an M1/M2 MacBook Air 16GB as I may also use parallels to virtualise windows.

 

[wonderings]

Thank you everyone for your replies, that is really helpful. I think it is easy to get stuck in the tech YouTuber bubble where the single core and multi core increases are really emphasised between generations with benchmarks, seemingly always from a video/photo editing background. Since the M3, some say ‘the M1 is starting to show its age’ but just last year it was still being lauded. It starts to make you wonder if you’re silly to still buy it but as a few have said it’s a huge upgrade over my current setup. Looks like im best going for either an M1 Mac Mini 16GB or an M1/M2 MacBook Air 16GB as I may also use parallels to virtualise windows.

I would not listen to anyone saying the M1 is showing its age. First off, what does that even mean? It either does what it needs to or can't, there is no slowly getting worse over time. For what you described you do the M1 is a great chip. Others have covered pretty much everything. Ultimately I would go with the newest machine you can afford simply for life span. There is no reason a Mac can't be used for 10 years. A year ago I was still using a 2014 5K iMac as my main work horse in graphics. Loved that computer and it still works well, just no more OS updates when I needed some.

Get the best M chip you can afford and most RAM you can afford as you can't update that later. Storage can be cloud or external so you have options for that at least.

 

[bobcomer]

I'd recommend a minimum system of M1 Pro with 32 GB RAM and two 4K monitors. 16 GB will be fine, but 32 GB RAM allows room for the eventual growth of RAM usage from all your apps and your workflow 3 to 5 years into the future.

Might be able to get by with 16GB usage Safari, but you are using Chrome. Google is trying to reduce its RAM usage, but the probability is high that something else within Chrome will just take up the RAM it used to use. Like a new Web API, web apps, etc. They just won't be able to help themselves.

An M2 with 24 GB RAM will work, but you should get yourself a 30+ inch monitor if so.

The minimum system there (M1 Pro) is what I would recommend as well, except for the monitor. If you want to have it last longer, an M2 Pro is a nice processor.

Monitors are WAY harder to recommend depending on a lot of ergonomic factors and the way you do things. I would *never* get a 30" monitor, for instance, as I would have to move my head to much and it would cause strain on my cervical vertebrae, but that's just me.

 

[Zaydax333]

M1 still good. As long as you get a machine with 16GB of RAM you should be fine.
Keep in mind that the MX base chips in laptops only let you output to 1 external display.
You'll need a MX Pro chip to output to 2 displays at once.

 

[Populus]

Looks like im best going for either an M1 Mac Mini 16GB or an M1/M2 MacBook Air 16GB as I may also use parallels to virtualise windows.

Yeah, I agree, either M1 or M2 machines are going to work well for you, and going for at least 16GB of RAM is an excellent choice.

 

[Populus]

The minimum system there (M1 Pro) is what I would recommend as well, except for the monitor. If you want to have it last longer, an M2 Pro is a nice processor.

The M2 Pro is a sweet spot still in 2023. Maybe a bit overkill for OP, but definitely if he can find a bargain with that chip, he’s gonna have a lot of fun. If I found an M2 Pro mini at a good price in the second hand market, I wouldn’t hesitate.

 

[iPadified]

I think it is easy to get stuck in the tech YouTuber bubble where the single core and multi core increases are really emphasised between generations with benchmarks, seemingly always from a video/photo editing background.

To their defence, YouTubers are living on that SoC performance increases really makes a difference so they must push that agenda. In reality, surprisingly few really benefit from M2/M3 as M1 is very competent.

You are going to enjoy the sound of silence with your new computer.

 

[Toutou]

I think it is easy to get stuck in the tech YouTuber bubble

That's exactly what it is, a bubble of weird people who seem to think their workloads are (at the same time) the cutting edge of all computation and also something that everyone else does every day.

make you wonder if you’re silly to still buy it

Let's put it this way — if M1 was introduced today by a less known chip designer, it would still be considered a solid, up-to-date, efficient chip with enough power for 9 out of 10 people out there.

I use a MacBook Air with an M1 and 16 GB RAM for web development work. Right now I'm working from the bed (!), I have several databases (MariaDB, MongoDB, Redis and Elasticsearch) running on it, an application server, a huge IDE, two browsers, music, Slack, and it's chilling at 29 °C and mostly idling.

Zero reasons to upgrade it, fantastic machine, best I've ever had.

as I may also use parallels to virtualise windows

Please note that you can only virtualize the Arm version of Windows which may not be able to run some of the apps that you need. Arm Windows have something similar to macOS' Rosetta that makes it possible to run x86 (Intel and AMD) software on arm64 (Apple Silicon) hardware, but the compatibility situation is, AFAIK, a bit worse.

 

[WC7]

I did upgrade to the M3 iMac ... just the base model ... I think it fits my mixed use ... home office. I generally use the Apple applications ... so not really a full office user with MS stuff. I understand that going from the M1 to the M3 doesn't make too much difference for what I do, but I like staying within two generation of chips.

 

[Populus]

I did upgrade to the M3 iMac ... just the base model ... I think it fits my mixed use ... home office. I generally use the Apple applications ... so not really a full office user with MS stuff. I understand that going from the M1 to the M3 doesn't make too much difference for what I do, but I like staying within two generation of chips.

I just saw a review of the M3 iMac, with 16GB of RAM, and it’s a very, very good machine. Closer than you would think to the M2 Pro machines, especially on the CPU side, and sometimes it’s even faster!

Honestly, with almost the same CPU capabilities as the M2 Pro, and a very respectable GPU power, at a lower power consumption, the M3 in general, and the M3 iMac in particular, looks like a really solid update for that machine.

I’ve never liked the all-in-one philosophy, but if I did, the M3 iMac with 16GB or 24GB of RAM would be an instant buy.

 

[Mac mini power user]

I'd go for an M2, M1 Pro, or M2 Pro machine with at least 16 GB of RAM. Given your usage, RAM takes precedence over CPU power. I'd recommend buying a refurbished machine, but if you're fine with a used Mac (beware of battery and SSD issues though), you can slo purchase a used Mac.