I currently own the MBP M1, 16 GB Mem,512GB SSD, how much noticeable difference will I see in purchasing the MBP M3 ?
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Opinions needed.
- Thread starter Drowssap
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Not worth it to upgrade M1 to M3 IMO, unless you need more RAM or storage. If your old laptop is truly just “M1” and the replacement is “M3 Pro” then there could be an argument for it.
If both are Pro chips - what’s the performance difference between a 2017 and a 2019 i5? That’s the sort of difference you’d see here.
If it’s M1 to M3 Pro, it’s more like i3 to i5 - worth considering, if you’re CPU-bound in tasks.
If both are Pro chips - what’s the performance difference between a 2017 and a 2019 i5? That’s the sort of difference you’d see here.
If it’s M1 to M3 Pro, it’s more like i3 to i5 - worth considering, if you’re CPU-bound in tasks.
I would say not that much, not that i own one.
there are a handful of M1 pundits on YouTubers denouncing the M3 chip as just a ploy to sell new MacBooks
and keep up with the annual releases. They are a bit faster, but not that much.
i now believe them!
there are a handful of M1 pundits on YouTubers denouncing the M3 chip as just a ploy to sell new MacBooks
and keep up with the annual releases. They are a bit faster, but not that much.
i now believe them!
Both are Pro chips, guess I’ll be keeping mine, thanks.
What do you use your Mac for? What's the most CPU-intensive task that you do?
A base M1 has a geekbench score of 2,400 (single core) / 8,000 (multi-core); compared to the M3 Pro's 3,100 / 15,300. So single core tasks are going to be 30% faster, and muticore tasks are going to be nearly twice as fast. Overall, you'll see a speed bump of somewhere between 30 and 90%.
The biggest different is in the large increase in GPU cores, and also the ML cores.
Whether this will actually matter depends on what you do.
I see you have already decided to keep your current Laptop, I say you made a good decision because if you're happy with the performance of your M1 and don't require the latest features, I only upgrade when I see that my current laptop doesn't satisfy my needs and my budget allows me to get an upgrade.
The M1 currently does everything I need, some work stuff that MS Word handles well for me, not a heavy user at all, the discount caught my attention and I wanted to be sure I wasn't missing out on something magical the M3 can do.
If you render 3D or edit videos, then that would be the only time you should upgrade, unless M1 no longer gets newer macOS releases...
Since you are just a light user, no need to upgrade...
Since you are just a light user, no need to upgrade...
It is on sale for a reason. The M4 chip family is just few months away, and seeing how the base M4 performs on a fanless device such as the iPad Pro, I anticipate the M4 family to be one of the biggest jumps in performance/efficiency.
Given that you currently own an M1 Pro MBP, I’d wait until the M4 or M5 generation. If you’re not experiencing a lack of performance in your usage, that’s it.
I know how it feels, believe me. But if you like to keep your devices for a long time, waiting just a little bit longer for the A18/M4 family will be worth it.
I am using an M1 Max, will probably upgrade to am5 or M6, there is always a newer version and discount sales. If you don’t need it, don’t worry about FOMO.
Wait until the m4pro models are introduced, but DON'T buy one "right off".
Looks like they're going to arrive by November.
Instead, KEEP WAITING AFTER they're introduced (perhaps until around Christmas time).
I wouldn't be surprised to see "$100 off" or even more on the base models, to get them moving.
M1pro to M4pro should be a worthwhile "jump up" if you can get one for 100-200 off list...
Looks like they're going to arrive by November.
Instead, KEEP WAITING AFTER they're introduced (perhaps until around Christmas time).
I wouldn't be surprised to see "$100 off" or even more on the base models, to get them moving.
M1pro to M4pro should be a worthwhile "jump up" if you can get one for 100-200 off list...
“Opinions needed”? Alright: use your current device until it falls apart.
++ IMO, people around here upgrade far too often for ridiculous reasons, mostly the result of getting caught up in Apple's FOMO-based marketing glitter throwing. I'm not advocating that everyone should be some neckbeard, nursing a computer along for a decade or more (sometimes "new shiny" is its own attraction, if you can afford it), but anyone with an M1-class machine, unless they're doing to-the-wall, day-in-day-out computationally-intensive work that is directly connected to how they get paid, doesn't need to upgrade yet. Assuming they didn't underspec it for memory or storage at the outset, but that's more of a "lesson learned" upgrade than actual need.
And if you are using your machine for making money, then your upgrade cadence will be set by depreciation/financial considerations, so there's no point asking the question. Your business structure will dictate.
This decision depends 100% on the workflow / applications you are using. Without knowing what those are, people are turning to benchmark scores to advise on performance gains. In real-world use you may see no difference at all depending on how your applications / workload actually touches the CPU/GPU.
I remember feeling held back for years by the export speed out of Final Cut Pro on my 2015 iMac, and feeling super excited to upgrade to the 2019 Mac Pro which on paper beat the snot out of the iMac in every measurable metric. It was a big learn when I booted up the Mac Pro and watched it export at the *exact same speed* as the iMac. Apple have since solved for this by using their own 'Media Engines' for exports. But it was an important lesson at the time - don't shop on specs alone. Real-world is the only actual usage you are going to put on the machine, so it's the only usage that counts.
This all said, M1 standard to M3 Pro will give you significantly faster single and multi-core processing. If you have an M1 standard MacBook Pro I'd say much of the upgrade is worth it for the new screen, improved form factor and to be rid of that cursed Touch Bar for good.
Finally, remember - you're not saving $500 by spending $X000 on a new laptop. Especially if you don't need it! Good luck and happy shopping.
I remember feeling held back for years by the export speed out of Final Cut Pro on my 2015 iMac, and feeling super excited to upgrade to the 2019 Mac Pro which on paper beat the snot out of the iMac in every measurable metric. It was a big learn when I booted up the Mac Pro and watched it export at the *exact same speed* as the iMac. Apple have since solved for this by using their own 'Media Engines' for exports. But it was an important lesson at the time - don't shop on specs alone. Real-world is the only actual usage you are going to put on the machine, so it's the only usage that counts.
This all said, M1 standard to M3 Pro will give you significantly faster single and multi-core processing. If you have an M1 standard MacBook Pro I'd say much of the upgrade is worth it for the new screen, improved form factor and to be rid of that cursed Touch Bar for good.
Finally, remember - you're not saving $500 by spending $X000 on a new laptop. Especially if you don't need it! Good luck and happy shopping.
What are your main uses of your M1? Difficult to answer without knowing that, I would say.
no reason to upgrade an M1 at all yet but if you absolutely must have a new machine this year just wait for the M4 at least, its like 2 months away
Keep your old laptop- the differences aren't significant enough to warrant an upgrade unless your workload is choking or at least slowing down what you're doing. RAM and storage are essentially the same too. Wait for M4... of M5 or M6.
My personal laptop is an M1 MacBook Air, and it is starting to drag a bit, but that's more to do with the meagre 8GB of RAM. The processor is still plenty quick. My work laptop can do the heavy lifting, but I might be tempted by a new personal laptop if they FINALLY double the base storage and RAM.
My personal laptop is an M1 MacBook Air, and it is starting to drag a bit, but that's more to do with the meagre 8GB of RAM. The processor is still plenty quick. My work laptop can do the heavy lifting, but I might be tempted by a new personal laptop if they FINALLY double the base storage and RAM.
i have an m1 16” and i don’t plan on an upgrade until the next major hardware revision
If you sell your MBP as used (with an estimated amount $), and you buy this one (at the amount $ you know), at the end, how much money will you have spent in this whole transaction ?
I don't think you'll feel such a big difference. I think I'd do this move maybe for $300 difference or so. Otherwise, I'd wait for M4. Your macOS is still supported and you're not even losing a single feature yet.
If your current MBP is not Space Black, then I think that will be the most noticeable difference.