mbp m1/16gb/256gb vs mba m1/16gb/512 got a deal for the same price - what to choose?

[KensaiMage]

Please help me making the right choice - I need it for:

-running a wordpress blog&shop
-light photo editing in photoshop/lightroom
-FCP (once a month)
-Logic (once a month)
-writing a book
-playing Baldurs Gate 3 and Diablo 2 Remastered when it comes out + Next NCSOFT's Lineage title (a few times a week)

 

[KensaiMage]

Can anyone write something? The poll shows 50/50

 

[edk99]

I voted to make it 50/50 again

 

[ADGrant]

I wouldn't buy any MacBook with only 256gb

 

[rtkeeling]

I'm looking at the MBA and maybe a cooling stand to play games on sometimes. I'm interested to see how well Borderlands 2 runs on the M1 compared to my 2013 MBP.

 

[nill1234]

I wouldn't buy any MacBook with only 256gb

Why? You can always plug in a TB SSD for a fraction of the upgrade costs a 512 GB USB 3.1 costs 60-70€. But you can’t plug in external RAM. I use the Air for a small streaming and dev machine. My main computer is a windows system with lots of ssd storage and upgradeable.

 

[KensaiMage]

Why do you vote for air?

 

[Lord Hamsa]

Boils down to usage. If you think you'll need sustained performance, the MBP is the way to go. Otherwise the MBA is more cost effective.

 

[KensaiMage]

I'm still looking for advice.

One more thing speaking for the air is a fresher design, the pros will get redesigned soon I guess, and as for airs... - maybe in 3 years?

However - fluent work and quality experience are the most important to me.

 

[phl92]

Honestly, you ask the wrong question or better said, if you already decided to go with full specs (on Ram, which is basically the only decider in the new M1 machines) ...
with Storage you should know from experience how much you need. Never go with less than you need (even if you can use external SSD's for much cheaper) but also don't hurt youself moneywise...

Depends what you do, but nowadays if you have a modern camera/phone I think 512 GB is good to have on a device!!

edit: sorry I misread it's MBA vs MBP
well in this case you should again think how much storage you definitely need, and do you run CPU demanding tasks for a longer time? If so, go for a MBP, the Air will go warm over time and throttle a bit (YT review -> Max Tech)

 

[macddy]

If you plan to play games or use applications for an extended period of time for example 3-5 hours in one sitting then hands down go with the macbook pro! They have higher sustained performance than the air. YES they might perform the same in a 30 min comparison, but when it goes on longer the air will suffer performance because it's not built for that heavy processing as the pro.

 

[KensaiMage]

Honestly, you ask the wrong question or better said, if you already decided to go with full specs (on Ram, which is basically the only decider in the new M1 machines) ...
with Storage you should know from experience how much you need. Never go with less than you need (even if you can use external SSD's for much cheaper) but also don't hurt youself moneywise...

Depends what you do, but nowadays if you have a modern camera/phone I think 512 GB is good to have on a device!!

edit: sorry I misread it's MBA vs MBP
well in this case you should again think how much storage you definitely need, and do you run CPU demanding tasks for a longer time? If so, go for a MBP, the Air will go warm over time and throttle a bit (YT review -> Max Tech)

Well - what if playing BG3 is the case too?

 

[macnmac]

is the mba the 7 core or 8?

 

[KensaiMage]

is the mba the 7 core or 8?

8

 

[CheesePuff]

Personally I say it all boils down to your usage - will you be doing something that will consume 100% of all CPU or GPU cores for over 8 minutes consecutively or more? If so, go with the Pro for the active cooling which will allow you to keep peak performance. If not, go with the Air for the fanless, light/thinner design.

 

[macnmac]

8

i would go with the air, have you posted your usage?

 

[deeddawg]

Personally I say it all boils down to your usage - will you be doing something that will consume 100% of all CPU or GPU cores for over 8 minutes consecutively or more? If so, go with the Pro for the active cooling which will allow you to keep peak performance. If not, go with the Air for the fanless, light/thinner design.

I'd also add "and you need it to go as fast as possible" to the above.

Someone doing cpu-bound tasks all day long will face a greater impact from the active/passive cooling difference than the person doing the task less frequently such as once a day and/or for less duration.

Still a good factor to be considered.

 

[KensaiMage]

i would go with the air, have you posted your usage?

Yeah in the first post.

 

[ascender]

For your use I'd get the Air, its not even close IMO.

As others have said, if you were working in Final Cut Pro all day every day, rendering, processing, exporting, converting etc, the Pro could be a better option.

But even then, looking at the benchmarks and reviews, if that is your workflow, you should be waiting for the higher-model of MacBook Pro.

Unless you really prefer the Pro's styling; TouchBar or need the extra 100 nits brightness, the Air is the obvious choice.

 

[macnmac]

Yeah in the first post.

i think the air should be fine, how long you generally buy for?

 

[Serban55]

you should go with 512 model...since we have 2 ports only..so try to remove any need for external storage
thats why 256 is at its limit

 

[KensaiMage]

i think the air should be fine, how long you generally buy for?

Till the redesigned MBP 16" comes out

 

[KensaiMage]

still dunno

 

[macnmac]

Till the redesigned MBP 16" comes out

nice

 

[KensaiMage]

I would like to hear more opinions.