M1 Pro: 8 core vs 10 core CPU

[GoodGuy313]

16Gb will be fine for multitasking in 5-6 years. Heck, 8Gb will be fine for multitasking in 5-6 years.

We had these same comments in 2016.

It depends on what type of multitasking we’re talking about. Editing a photo on Lightroom/Photoshop and editing video on FCP is not the same as browsing the web and editing documents on Word/Pages. Considering the OP uses a lot of tabs opened on Safari, Office apps, then 16GB is more than fine. But if you’re purchasing a product for 5-6 years of usage then you might want to bump up a spec just in case. The better argument to be establish here is that RAM management and other specs have gotten better throughout the years, even more so now with Apple with the SoC chips. To put it into perspective, as someone on YouTube said:

16GB on M1 = 32GB on Intel

 

[ducati1212]

I’m a lawschool master student who often has 50+ safari tabs on pretty heavy websites and lots of word/pdf files open at the same time. Basically I like to multitask, especially when I’m writing my thesis. I plan to use this MacBook Pro for at least 5-6 years, well into my first few years as a licensed lawyer, which means it will be used a lot for multitasking. I feel like the base 14 MacBook Pro with 8 cores should be fine for what I use it for, but I wonder if the extra 250 euro’s would be worth it just to future proof it a bit more. I don’t like to spend 2100 euros just to regret not spending a little bit more to have my ideal machine. Any help / discussion would be much appreciated!

Your use case is really just a RAM issue. The processor is more than fine but if you do not get enough RAM you will have issues with many things open at once. Its one to to future proof a little but in 3 years when the 80 core 250 GB Ram MB pro comes out we will all need to update

 

[njvaldes]

It depends on what type of multitasking we’re talking about. Editing a photo on Lightroom/Photoshop and editing video on FCP is not the same as browsing the web and editing documents on Word/Pages.

I'm curious your (and others) thoughts on RAM usage for moderately heavy single image editing/stitching running LR Classic and PS simultaneously. It seems given the recent bench tests that the standard pro 8 core is plenty powerful for my uses but still torn if there's a need for an upgrade to 32. I'm on a really tight budget. My '18 mini with 6 core i5/16GB does pretty well for my uses but I'm really in need of the portability. Will have whatever MBP I choose running into an external monitor at home.

 

[GoodGuy313]

I'm curious your (and others) thoughts on RAM usage for moderately heavy single image editing/stitching running LR Classic and PS simultaneously. It seems given the recent bench tests that the standard pro 8 core is plenty powerful for my uses but still torn if there's a need for an upgrade to 32. I'm on a really tight budget. My '18 mini with 6 core i5/16GB does pretty well for my uses but I'm really in need of the portability. Will have whatever MBP I choose running into an external monitor at home.

The CPU, GPU and RAM management in the SoC system is crazy good on the M1 and the new Pro/Max models will undoubtedly perform better with performance. I was referring more to multitasking an image processing app together with a video editing app. If you’re using either of those individually, then you’ll be fine with RAM. It’s when you stack heavy workload apps opened at the same time that it starts to take a toll on the computer.

In the end, if you don’t do a lot of multitasking (especially with heavy apps like image processing, video editing, audio editing, etc. apps) then a base configuration will be more than just fine.

 

[njvaldes]

The CPU, GPU and RAM management in the SoC system is crazy good on the M1 and the new Pro/Max models will undoubtedly perform better with performance. I was referring more to multitasking an image processing app together with a video editing app. If you’re using either of those individually, then you’ll be fine with RAM.

That makes sense. I tend to use LR Classic with PS simultaneously with larger images. Often both apps running together and performing different tasks. I'm not a commercial photographer (thus not a large volume of files) so most of my work is done with large single images or a few images stiched together and heavy layered files in PS. The majority of my work is dealing with large tiff scans from large format film images. My current machine can get bogged down but does handle it pretty well all told. I'm mainly needing the portability of a notebook and it sounds more and more like the base model will handle my needs just fine. I was originally thinking I'd need to spend to upgrade RAM and at least to the 10 core but I'm thinking that less so now given my uses and early reports.

 

[yitwail]

That makes sense. I tend to use LR Classic with PS simultaneously with larger images. Often both apps running together and performing different tasks. I'm not a commercial photographer (thus not a large volume of files) so most of my work is done with large single images or a few images stiched together and heavy layered files in PS. The majority of my work is dealing with large tiff scans from large format film images. My current machine can get bogged down but does handle it pretty well all told. I'm mainly needing the portability of a notebook and it sounds more and more like the base model will handle my needs just fine. I was originally thinking I'd need to spend to upgrade RAM and at least to the 10 core but I'm thinking that less so now given my uses and early reports.

It’s not my call, but between 2 more cores or twice the ram, I took the ram, no hesitation. The extra cores don’t help if they’re waiting for memory swapping to finish.

 

[Eric Idle]

So basically with my workflow 2 extra high performance cores won’t give it extra future proofing, 5 years down the line?

I would get the 10 core chip if you use more than 275 Safari tabs at any one time.

 

[mannykumar]

Hell, the base MBA with 8GB of RAM will be perfectly fine for the OP's needs!

Do not get the 8GB Macbook air if you open a lot of tabs on chrome - you will have issues for sure. Get 16gb 100%. I got the 8GB and I am dying here once I get past 40 tabs the computer really slows down.

 

[njvaldes]

It’s not my call, but between 2 more cores or twice the ram, I took the ram, no hesitation. The extra cores don’t help if they’re waiting for memory swapping to finish.

Ya makes sense - for me just trying to figure out more quantitatively if I even need the 32GB upgrade. Using Activity Monitor I hardly see my RAM physical memory usage spike above 12.5GB. I don't know enough about these things to be confident I'm interpreting the data correctly though.

 

[yitwail]

Ya makes sense - for me just trying to figure out more quantitatively if I even need the 32GB upgrade. Using Activity Monitor I hardly see my RAM physical memory usage spike above 12.5GB. I don't know enough about these things to be confident I'm interpreting the data correctly though. But if you ever anticipate plugging in a high end external display, then 32gb might be safer because the display would consume additional RAM)

I need it because I have a ton of browser tabs open. Being a web developer, I’m often working on several sites at a time. Occasionally I also use iOS simulator and that consumes memory. But MacOS memory management is “top notch” (like the mini LED screen 😉) so 16gb is plenty for general use. On the other hand, if you ever anticipate plugging in a high end external display, 32gb might be safer because displays share memory with the CPU.

 

[MarkAtl]

Do not get the 8GB Macbook air if you open a lot of tabs on chrome - you will have issues for sure. Get 16gb 100%. I got the 8GB and I am dying here once I get past 40 tabs the computer really slows down.

This is my experience on the base M1 MBP. Memory pressure in the red, a ton of swapping and beach balling. The base 14” should fix it.

 

[bdawwg]

I’m a lawschool master student who often has 50+ safari tabs on pretty heavy websites and lots of word/pdf files open at the same time. Basically I like to multitask, especially when I’m writing my thesis. I plan to use this MacBook Pro for at least 5-6 years, well into my first few years as a licensed lawyer, which means it will be used a lot for multitasking. I feel like the base 14 MacBook Pro with 8 cores should be fine for what I use it for, but I wonder if the extra 250 euro’s would be worth it just to future proof it a bit more. I don’t like to spend 2100 euros just to regret not spending a little bit more to have my ideal machine. Any help / discussion would be much appreciated!

I'm a grad student with the same exact use case for this laptop. I currently have a 2018 MBP 2.2ghz 16gbRAM and have never wanted more power, since I have a powerful desktop PC for gaming. I ordered the 8 core 16gb RAM, but I upgraded the hard drive to 1TB since I'm almost out at 512 after 3 years; and even that was out of laziness. I considered the Max so I could try to mine crypto in the device's spare time, but didn't bother risking it. The thing to keep in mind is that the lowest model is just already an awesome machine for most academic activities. Unless technology shifts dramatically, I can see the 8 core models still going strong 5-10 years later. If you buy the low model now, you're kind putting hundreds in the bank now to spend later when it's time to upgrade for quality of life improvements, all the while not experiencing any meaningful difference in experience if you went with a higher processor.

 

[Abstract]

The thing about the 14” version I don’t understand is the 10-core CPU/14-GPU option vs the 10/16 option.

On the 14”, you need to do a pricey 2-step upgrade just to match the chipset of the base 16” (comes with 10cpu/16gpu).

That’s 8/14 —> 10/14 —> 10/16

This means the 14” MBP is literally the only Apple model with this 10/14 chip.

I guess what I don’t understand is the benefit of paying for the 10/16. Other than the 2 extra GPU cores, does upgrading from 10/14 to 10/16 ”unlock” any other speed benefit? Memory bandwidth? RAM speed? Something else?

 

[srj]

The thing about the 14” version I don’t understand is the 10-core CPU/14-GPU option vs the 10/16 option.

On the 14”, you need to do a pricey 2-step upgrade just to match the chipset of the base 16” (comes with 10cpu/16gpu).

That’s 8/14 —> 10/14 —> 10/16

This means the 14” MBP is literally the only Apple model with this 10/14 chip.

I guess what I don’t understand is the benefit of paying for the 10/16. Other than the 2 extra GPU cores, does upgrading from 10/14 to 10/16 ”unlock” any other speed benefit? Memory bandwidth? RAM speed? Something else?

It's otherwise an identical M1 Pro chip. You can see in the CPU benchmarks that the multi-core performance difference is entirely due to the smaller number of CPU cores.

 

[kart]

Here in Australia, its a $450 upgrade from 8/14 to 10/16. I opted against it, but did go the 1tb SSD.
With how everyone loves the M1, I am hoping the 8/14 is more then enough for my usage - photoshop, lightroom MS suite etc.
If its not, then I'll return it and bump up to the higher model, but honestly I don't think that will be the case for me.
I'm coming from a 2016 15" and to be honest that handles 85% of what I currently do pretty well..
Really looking forward to this upgrade!

Edit: Just saw the Geekbench scores for the 8/14.. Its single-core score is 2.5x then that of my current MBP and the multi-core score is 3x.
Confident in saying I shouldn't run into any issues..

 

[Abstract]

Here in Australia, its a $300 upgrade from 8/14 to 10/16. I opted against it, but did go the 1tb SSD.

No, it’s $450 in Australia!

$300 bumps you from 8/14 to 10/14. Another $150 gets you from 10/14 to 10/16.

This is why I am so puzzled about the 10/14 option, which is the most unique chipset offered by Apple since it isn’t even available for the 16” M1 Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

IMO it’s totally not worth it, but it does mean that getting the 16” is actually only $300 AUD more than the 14”, all other specs being equal.

 

[kart]

No, it’s $450 in Australia!

$300 bumps you from 8/14 to 10/14. Another $150 gets you from 10/14 to 10/16.

This is why I am so puzzled about the 10/14 option, which is the most unique chipset offered by Apple since it isn’t even available for the 16” M1 Pro. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yep sorry, you're correct.

 

[Aggedor]

Ya makes sense - for me just trying to figure out more quantitatively if I even need the 32GB upgrade. Using Activity Monitor I hardly see my RAM physical memory usage spike above 12.5GB. I don't know enough about these things to be confident I'm interpreting the data correctly though.

Yes, but part of that is also Chrome, probably the most demanding browser for... no particular reason.

 

[njvaldes]

Yes, but part of that is also Chrome, probably the most demanding browser for... no particular reason.

Interesting. I never use Chrome - mainly Firefox from time to time Safari.

 

[bluegt]

Yes, but part of that is also Chrome, probably the most demanding browser for... no particular reason.

Tracking every mouse motion and click, referencing against every visual element on the page and character of text… in other words, tracking everything you see and do…takes a lot of CPU and memory.

I still use Chrome sometimes but Safari has come a long way and doesn’t bog down my laptop or phone.

If you are a heavy Chrome user then 16GB of RAM is a minimum.

 

[Abstract]

Is there a “Brave” browser for OS X?

Haven’t really checked. I’m happy with Safari, and getting happier and happier with it.

 

[SimonQ]

Here in Australia, its a $450 upgrade from 8/14 to 10/16. I opted against it, but did go the 1tb SSD.
With how everyone loves the M1, I am hoping the 8/14 is more then enough for my usage - photoshop, lightroom MS suite etc.
If its not, then I'll return it and bump up to the higher model, but honestly I don't think that will be the case for me.
I'm coming from a 2016 15" and to be honest that handles 85% of what I currently do pretty well..
Really looking forward to this upgrade!

Edit: Just saw the Geekbench scores for the 8/14.. Its single-core score is 2.5x then that of my current MBP and the multi-core score is 3x.
Confident in saying I shouldn't run into any issues..

I am in Australia too. What RAM did you go for? I am on a 2017 i5 with 8 GB RAM and I usually have CPU capacity of 30-50% but lots of apps and tabs and docs plus open plus Sidecar and I can see all of the memory used and swap at 4GB+ with the fan going off! I could manage it better by closing stuff etc but if I am spending AUD3000 on a computer I don’t want to be fussed with that. So I think I can save the $300 on going to 10 cores but 32 GB RAM is $600 is Aus - it’s a lot just for peace of mind that I might not need. So I am getting the base model, test it to the limits for the first 14 days and send it back if it’s anywhere near memory limited for a 32 GB.

 

[interbear]

I’m replacing my fan heater 2019 16” MBP with one of these new 14” MBPs. While my current MBP has 32GB RAM activity monitor tells me it’s hardly used and with my usage I’m convinced that the base 16GB RAM on the new MBPs will be good enough - MS Office suite, MS Teams, OneDrive, Safari, Chrome, Apple Music, Photos. I have multiple MS Office docs and multiple browser tabs open most of the time. The MBP is connected to a single ultrawide 34 inch monitor. I will look to have this machine for around 3 years then upgrade to the next base model at that time.

I’m torn between:

• Base 8/14 model and adding 1TB SSD (needed for Photos) which in the UK is £2,099
• Base 10/16 model which is already equipped with the 1 TB SSD which is £2,399

Is there anything in my use case that would benefit from getting the higher specced base model with the “proper” M1 Pro chip rather than the binned version?

 

[Kasco45]

Looking at geekbench the base 16/512 model has around 20% less performance but the price in Australia for the upgrade to the 16/1tb model is 25% more expensive so unless you need the extra storage and/or performance I would go with the base model from a price to performance perspective.

 

[SimonQ]

Looking at geekbench the base 16/512 model has around 20% less performance but the price in Australia for the upgrade to the 16/1tb model is 25% more expensive so unless you need the extra storage and/or performance I would go with the base model from a price to performance perspective.

Good way to look at it, esp if too don’t need that extra!