Looking for help in choosing a used MacBook Pro, M3 Pro or M1 pro?

[sharath.k]

Hi all,
It's been a while since i have been looking to buy a laptop, i did went through several models on Asus, Lenovo, Acer, Dell, HP the gaming laptop (900 USD and above) for high configuration (32 GB, 15 inch, 512/1TB SSD and with graphic card), some or the other issues i read online, only Dell and Asus seems not having not much issues except fan noise and the large charger adapter to carry on Dell laptop.

And then i switched to looking for Macbook Pro laptops (never had one till now), and came across i7 and i9 and on Reddit when asked was told not to purchase them and go for M1 or above, i came cross one store in Bangalore which is selling used laptop (not refurbished), and below are the specs with pricing, could you please suggest which one should i go for?? :

Laptop usage:
Music: Pioneer Rekordbox, Ableton, Logic pro, FL Studio.
Design and Motion design: Adobe CS, Figma and Sketch (for UI design), Video editing and Motion design using Adobe Premier and After affects, Blender, 3DS max

1. Apple MacBook Pro 14inch - A2992 M3 Pro,
   (2024 model, used laptop, no dents, no scratches),
   18GB RAM, 512GB SSD with box piece of original charger and cable
   > for 1230 USD approx., (1.15 Lac INR)
2. Apple Macbook 16 inches - A2485 M1 pro,
   (2022 model, used laptop, no dents, no scratches),
   32GB RAM, 1TD SSD, without box piece
   > for 1070 USD approx., (95k INR)

>The store will give with 1 year warranty with invoice. Am also looking to the resale value after say 4-5 years if am selling above ones.

 

[goldmac2006]

I’d suggest going with option 2, the M1 Pro MacBook Pro with 32GB RAM. The M3 Pro’s lower RAM won’t handle rendering and heavy music and video production and editing as well.

I have a M4 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch with 48GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, and it renders faster in F360 than my old Chromebook did.

 

[nucl30us_m]

I would definitely go with option 2. The M1 is more than adequate for those uses, and with that option you're getting more RAM, storage and screen size for less money. And I'm guessing you don't need the Apple charger anyway, since you can charge it with any USB-c charger. As for resale value, I wouldn't expect to get much for either of those laptops after 5 years, but you should be able to get a couple hundred USD, If you keep it in good shape.

I'm using a 16" M1 MBP (16GB RAM, 512GB SSD), by the way, which I bought refurbished a year ago for about $1000. It handles everything I throw at it, never had any issues.