M3 vs M3 Pro on 14 inch MBP

[nachedel]

I don't need the extra power of the M3 Pro at all, but it's only about a 100 USD difference with the student discount. The latter seems like the obvious option but it does also eat through the battery faster.

Think the battery life on the M3 Pro depends on you winning the silicon lottery, there's just a ton of conflicting info on most of the forums I've looked through. Most interestingly PCmag reports the M3 Pro being able to go on for 30hrs, while the M3 can only manage 22; but every other forum post I've read, and video I've watched seems to prove otherwise.

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think.

 

[Aka757]

I haven't used both extensively, but I do find myself wishing the battery life on my 14" M3 Max was better. The $100 to upgrade is compelling, but it really depends on how much you value the additional power of the Pro chip vs base M3, compared to battery life (which may not make a huge real-world difference).

If you don't need the power of the M3 Pro, you might as well save the $100. You can put it towards AppleCare+, a spec upgrade, or a nice dinner as a treat to yourself 😀

 

[colodane]

I put some thought into this and ended up getting the M3 rather than the PRO. I don't have any usage that demands the extra power, and am enjoying the excellent battery life of the M3. I did splurge and get 24 GB RAM and 2 TB of storage, however. I found this combo in the Apple Refurb store.

 

[bellflyer14]

I don't need the extra power of the M3 Pro at all, but it's only about a 100 USD difference with the student discount. The latter seems like the obvious option but it does also eat through the battery faster.

Think the battery life on the M3 Pro depends on you winning the silicon lottery, there's just a ton of conflicting info on most of the forums I've looked through. Most interestingly PCmag reports the M3 Pro being able to go on for 30hrs, while the M3 can only manage 22; but every other forum post I've read, and video I've watched seems to prove otherwise.

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think.

What is the comparison of ram and ssd amounts at the $100 price difference? I’m guessing M3 pro is 18/512 and the M3 is 16/512?

 

[DaveEcc]

Extras of the Pro:

Extra CPU/GPU power
The Pro gives you an extra USB/Thunderbolt port, which could be meaningful for some.
The Pro has the ability to use higher-refresh rate external displays.
The Pro can drive a second external display without closing the laptop lid.

While not a bad set of upgrades for $100, if you don't need any of those features, enjoy the M3.

 

[nachedel]

What is the comparison of ram and ssd amounts at the $100 price difference? I’m guessing M3 pro is 18/512 and the M3 is 16/512?

16GB-1TB for the M3 at $1919 and 18GB-1TB for the M3 Pro at $2049

 

[bellflyer14]

16GB-1TB for the M3 at $1919 and 18GB-1TB for the M3 Pro at $2049

It really all depends on what you will use it for. If sustained loads just remember the M3 only has one fan. The M3 Pro has 2 fans. For $100 extra you get an extra port, space black option, 2gb ram extra, 2nd fan, support for two external monitors with lid open. I say it’s really a no brainer. Battery life is still good. Just remember, if you push the M3 harder and it throttles due to one fan, it’s pointless. Get the M3 pro and enjoy it. You will 2nd guess if you get the M3

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

Can you hold out a little while longer?
The upcoming m4 CPUs look to be a BIG jump upwards.

And if you're going to buy a MacBook Pro, get the m4PRO version.
It will prove worth the extra money.

 

[DaveEcc]

Yeah, there's a chance at a fall refresh for the M4 Air, and possible M4 Base MBP. Typically the Pro and Max get a later update, and Ultra later still. There's a difference between holding out for October, or March.

I'm not convinced the majority would need an M4 Pro. I've got the M1 Pro, and it's plenty fast for compiling code, processing photos, etc. Sure a few functions in Lightroom, like AI noise reduction and Panorama stitches aren't instantaneous, but everything else is... a base M4 will already run circles around the M1 Pro. Unless you're consistently doing long-CPU intensive tasks, or have need for the ports, high-refresh screens etc, then the M4Pro, while perhaps good value for the upgrades, aren't upgrades you need.

I think the majority of people would be fine with the base M chip, with a touch more RAM. For anyone doing heavy CPU intensive work, it starts to make sense to look at the Pro, Max, or Ultra CPUs. For me, saving 10 seconds once a month if I need to do an AI noise reduction... that's not worth much. On the other hand, if you're doing that 50 times a day it can be a meaningful quality of life improvement to you.

 

[nachedel]

OP:

Can you hold out a little while longer?
The upcoming m4 CPUs look to be a BIG jump upwards.

And if you're going to buy a MacBook Pro, get the m4PRO version.
It will prove worth the extra money.

I wanted to, but I unfortunately can't; I'm travelling overseas for college and need a laptop as soon as I hit the ground.

 

[Sami13496]

May I ask just of curiosity, why not MBA?

 

[bryo]

16GB-1TB for the M3 at $1919 and 18GB-1TB for the M3 Pro at $2049

If the difference was say $200+ I would be inclined to say get the standard m3, but $130 is pretty close and I think the pro is probably worth it.

I was pretty fortunate and got an m3 16/512 for $1400 and I am very happy with it.

 

[nachedel]

May I ask just of curiosity, why not MBA?

The worse screen and shorter battery life threw me off; Apple's price tiering didn't help either.

With M4 around the corner the MBP's seem like a worse deal the further I read into it. I'll probably get the best deal I can find out there, but the MBA seems like a good alternative, just hope the OLED MBP M4 rumors are false.

 

[thmsnt]

I've had my M3 Pro since last December and am typing this comment on it now. It's the best notebook I've ever owned by far. Very fast, quiet, and has great battery life. I really only need to charge it every 2 days or so.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I don't need the extra power of the M3 Pro at all, but it's only about a 100 USD difference with the student discount. The latter seems like the obvious option but it does also eat through the battery faster.

Think the battery life on the M3 Pro depends on you winning the silicon lottery, there's just a ton of conflicting info on most of the forums I've looked through. Most interestingly PCmag reports the M3 Pro being able to go on for 30hrs, while the M3 can only manage 22; but every other forum post I've read, and video I've watched seems to prove otherwise.

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think.

Obviously I am missing something, because IMO my maxxed-out 2016 MBP provided fully adequate battery life; and I now find the maxxed-out M2 MBP far more than adequate. Why we would have any sensitivity to battery life in purchase decision making M3 versus M3 Pro (30 hrs. v. 20 hrs.) makes no sense to me. When can one not charge at least daily?

OS/apps get more demanding over time. The Pro chip adds benefits IMO more than worth a $100 price differential. Also note that some of that $100 returns at resale time. Of course every individual has different financial constraints at purchase time that we cannot determine. But either choice IMO should be equipped with minimum 16 GB RAM.

 

[nachedel]

Obviously I am missing something, because IMO my maxxed-out 2016 MBP provided fully adequate battery life; and I now find the maxxed-out M2 MBP far more than adequate. Why we would have any sensitivity to battery life in purchase decision making M3 versus M3 Pro (30 hrs. v. 20 hrs.) makes no sense to me. When can one not charge at least daily?

OS/apps get more demanding over time. The Pro chip adds benefits IMO more than worth a $100 price differential. Also note that some of that $100 returns at resale time. Of course every individual has different financial constraints at purchase time that we cannot determine. But either choice IMO should be equipped with minimum 16 GB RAM.

More like 14 (3 days) vs 10 (2 days) but in addition to that, in 2-3 years when the battery is worn down I'll have even less runtime in the m3 pro.

Edit: Come to think of I probably will get the M4 MBP if the OLED/Touchscreen rumors are true, would there be a 100+ USD difference if I decide to trade my M3/M3 Pro in? That'd probably be the best incentive for me given that I'd be buying both with a student discount.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

More like 14 (3 days) vs 10 (2 days) but in addition to that, in 2-3 years when the battery is worn down I'll have even less runtime in the m3 pro.

Edit: Come to think of I probably will get the M4 MBP if the OLED/Touchscreen rumors are true, would there be a 100+ USD difference if I decide to trade my M3/M3 Pro in? That'd probably be the best incentive for me given that I'd be buying both with a student discount.

I mostly use the M2 MBP as a desktop box and the 2016 MBP still gets used for mobile. 2016 MBP original battery works fine still, no "2-3 years when the battery is worn down" issues. Given improvements in battery tech since 2016 I do not think that in 2024 battery life needs to be an issue during Mac purchase decision making.

 

[dolphin2421]

I've had my M3 Pro since last December and am typing this comment on it now. It's the best notebook I've ever owned by far. Very fast, quiet, and has great battery life. I really only need to charge it every 2 days or so.

I'm glad to read your long term experience. I've had mine about a week and I love it. I cannot believe the battery life and the speed upgrade after my 2019 Intel MBP. It's wonderful.

 

[dmccloud]

I don't need the extra power of the M3 Pro at all, but it's only about a 100 USD difference with the student discount. The latter seems like the obvious option but it does also eat through the battery faster.

Think the battery life on the M3 Pro depends on you winning the silicon lottery, there's just a ton of conflicting info on most of the forums I've looked through. Most interestingly PCmag reports the M3 Pro being able to go on for 30hrs, while the M3 can only manage 22; but every other forum post I've read, and video I've watched seems to prove otherwise.

I'd be interested to hear what you guys think.

I have an M2 Max MBP, and I usually charge it every 3 days or so. The M3 and M4 should both be better in terms of battery life given they are running 3nm parts instead of 5nm like M1 and M2.

 

[specialstyle]

I was in the same boat between the same chips.... I ended up spending the extra because I render a lot of video and photos/graphics and figured...I haven't bought a laptop in about 14 years lol. But if you're not really going to hammer it with rendering or stuff like that, I would save the money to be honest. You aren't going to miss out on much.