M3 Pro with 16GB vs M3 Pro

[gogogut]

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I haven't found much specific to comparing the M3 MBP upgraded to 16GB with the base M3 Pro MBP. The price difference ends up being only $200 after that upgrade.
For me, I am not a heavy user and don't need the video and creativity aspects of the laptop, thus why I am looking to come down from the M3 Pro. I also considered getting the 15" MBA upgraded to 16GB and 512GB, but when I played with it in the store, it felt big and more of a desktop replacement. I know it is light and easy to take around, but it looks and feels big for my use case, especially since my laptop spends most of its time connected to a monitor (though I do take it with me for plenty of out-of-office work).
So that is why the upgraded M3 MBP is proving attractive. It might be the sweet spot between the power of the M3 Pro and the size of the MBA.
If I stick with the M3 with 16GB, I know I will be missing out on 2GB of ram, some performance gains (though I am not sure if they would affect me since I don't do heavy tasks), the new color, one port, and multiple monitors. $200 more would get me all that with the M3 Pro MBP, but I am not sure if it would have any meaningful affect on my usage (nonprofit/academic professional), meaning I would have just given Apple an extra $200 (damn them!).
Hopefully this community can inform my decision by telling me that extra $200 is well worth it or that it won't matter much and I should save the cash. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it is my organization's money, and we don't have much extra to be throwing around.
Thanks for considering and informing!

 

[singularity0993]

M3 is more than powerful enough for your work. Plus, it has significantly better battery life than M3 Pro. So unless you need a third monitor, stick with M3.

 

[gilby101]

I suggest put the money to more RAM (16GB which you are already doing) or a bigger SSD. I went with M3 16GB 1TB (but you may be happy with 512GB)

 

[Jamacfer]

I have the same computer use as you and I also recommend the entry-level MBP M3. In any case, since (like me) you often use the Mac connected to an external display you might also consider the MBA 13” since you would have no advantage of either the power, the better display and ports of the MBP while, on the other hand, the weight, portability and price are considerably worse. In my case, being in no hurry, I decided to wait for the MBA M3.

 

[essentialist]

M3 is more than powerful enough for your work. Plus, it has significantly better battery life than M3 Pro. So unless you need a third monitor, stick with M3.

I've seen the Apple marketing on this, but are there any good tests/reviews that are out there looking at battery life in real world usage yet? Preferably not looking at the base 8GB, but something more like 16GB or 24GB M3. For me, if the battery life is a killer feature vs M3 Pro, it would be my preferred machine too.

 

[ak_b]

Apart from benefit of battery are there any advantages of going to M3 over M3 pro? M3 with 16 GB comes to 1799 which is only 100 less than M3 Pro base model with 18 GB

 

[gogogut]

Apart from benefit of battery are there any advantages of going to M3 over M3 pro? M3 with 16 GB comes to 1799 which is only 100 less than M3 Pro base model with 18 GB

Exactly why I posted this question!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Apart from benefit of battery are there any advantages of going to M3 over M3 pro? M3 with 16 GB comes to 1799 which is only 100 less than M3 Pro base model with 18 GB

No, there is not.

 

[Appletoni]

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I haven't found much specific to comparing the M3 MBP upgraded to 16GB with the base M3 Pro MBP. The price difference ends up being only $200 after that upgrade.
For me, I am not a heavy user and don't need the video and creativity aspects of the laptop, thus why I am looking to come down from the M3 Pro. I also considered getting the 15" MBA upgraded to 16GB and 512GB, but when I played with it in the store, it felt big and more of a desktop replacement. I know it is light and easy to take around, but it looks and feels big for my use case, especially since my laptop spends most of its time connected to a monitor (though I do take it with me for plenty of out-of-office work).
So that is why the upgraded M3 MBP is proving attractive. It might be the sweet spot between the power of the M3 Pro and the size of the MBA.
If I stick with the M3 with 16GB, I know I will be missing out on 2GB of ram, some performance gains (though I am not sure if they would affect me since I don't do heavy tasks), the new color, one port, and multiple monitors. $200 more would get me all that with the M3 Pro MBP, but I am not sure if it would have any meaningful affect on my usage (nonprofit/academic professional), meaning I would have just given Apple an extra $200 (damn them!).
Hopefully this community can inform my decision by telling me that extra $200 is well worth it or that it won't matter much and I should save the cash. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it is my organization's money, and we don't have much extra to be throwing around.
Thanks for considering and informing!

If possible buy the MacBook Pro 16-inch M3 MAX, if not buy M3 PRO, if not buy M3 base.
Then: buy 64 GB RAM, if not buy 32 GB RAM.
Then: buy 2 TB SSD, if not buy 1 TB SSD.

 

[PabloAguilera]

Sorry if this has been addressed elsewhere, but I haven't found much specific to comparing the M3 MBP upgraded to 16GB with the base M3 Pro MBP. The price difference ends up being only $200 after that upgrade.
For me, I am not a heavy user and don't need the video and creativity aspects of the laptop, thus why I am looking to come down from the M3 Pro. I also considered getting the 15" MBA upgraded to 16GB and 512GB, but when I played with it in the store, it felt big and more of a desktop replacement. I know it is light and easy to take around, but it looks and feels big for my use case, especially since my laptop spends most of its time connected to a monitor (though I do take it with me for plenty of out-of-office work).
So that is why the upgraded M3 MBP is proving attractive. It might be the sweet spot between the power of the M3 Pro and the size of the MBA.
If I stick with the M3 with 16GB, I know I will be missing out on 2GB of ram, some performance gains (though I am not sure if they would affect me since I don't do heavy tasks), the new color, one port, and multiple monitors. $200 more would get me all that with the M3 Pro MBP, but I am not sure if it would have any meaningful affect on my usage (nonprofit/academic professional), meaning I would have just given Apple an extra $200 (damn them!).
Hopefully this community can inform my decision by telling me that extra $200 is well worth it or that it won't matter much and I should save the cash. I know it doesn't sound like a lot, but it is my organization's money, and we don't have much extra to be throwing around.
Thanks for considering and informing!

After much consideration and having reviewed enough videos on comparative performance of different configurations of MacBook Pro, I finally decided on the MBP 14" M3 16gb RAM and I think it is the best choice for the use I do, similar to the one you consider. From the first moment I discarded the Air version, since the improvement in the screen, speakers and battery (also the ventilator) of the pro were reason enough to opt for this model, in addition to the 14 inches I consider perfect. I first looked at the basic version of the MBP, but frankly, despite what Apple says, I consider that 8gb of RAM is not enough. In the benchmarks, the M3 16gb RAM model was close in performance to the M3 PRO 18gb RAM, while the 8gb version lagged considerably behind. Definitely the M3 Pro is better, but the 16gb RAM version is the most balanced and suitable for my use. Powerful, somewhat cheaper although there is not so much difference with the M3 PRO, and with longer battery life than M3 PRO which has been a decisive point. Right now I'm writing from my MBP 14" 16gb RAM, my first Mac , and I'm more than delighted, it's a real beast and I hope it lasts me a long time.

Maybe you have already decided since you wrote the post, if not go for it!

 

[parseckadet]

I think the best advice in this situation is to either get an M2 MBA or wait for the M3 MBA, which should come out in 3-6 months. You can save $500 doing that. Nothing about your workflow would benefit from any of the improvements that come with the M3 nor the Pro. I agree with the desire to upgrade to 16GB of RAM, and some of the benchmarks I've seen actually show an M2 with 16GB of RAM outperforming an M3 with 8GB.

 

[That70sGAdawg]

After much consideration and having reviewed enough videos on comparative performance of different configurations of MacBook Pro, I finally decided on the MBP 14" M3 16gb RAM and I think it is the best choice for the use I do, similar to the one you consider. From the first moment I discarded the Air version, since the improvement in the screen, speakers and battery (also the ventilator) of the pro were reason enough to opt for this model, in addition to the 14 inches I consider perfect. I first looked at the basic version of the MBP, but frankly, despite what Apple says, I consider that 8gb of RAM is not enough. In the benchmarks, the M3 16gb RAM model was close in performance to the M3 PRO 18gb RAM, while the 8gb version lagged considerably behind. Definitely the M3 Pro is better, but the 16gb RAM version is the most balanced and suitable for my use. Powerful, somewhat cheaper although there is not so much difference with the M3 PRO, and with longer battery life than M3 PRO which has been a decisive point. Right now I'm writing from my MBP 14" 16gb RAM, my first Mac , and I'm more than delighted, it's a real beast and I hope it lasts me a long time.

Maybe you have already decided since you wrote the post, if not go for it!

My new Macbook also, except upgraded to 1 TB. You will love it (especially in a Helms leather case by Andar), and hope it last us both for many years!

 

[gui0312]

My new Macbook also, except upgraded to 1 TB. You will love it (especially in a Helms leather case by Andar), and hope it last us both for many years!

Do you have a pic of the laptop in that case??