Please help: Choosing Macbook Pro to purchase

[gilliang3]

I'm looking for advice on what Macbook Pro to purchase.

For context, I am still using an early 2015 13-inch Macbook Pro with a 2.9 GHz intel Core i5 and 16GB of RAM.

I would be using the laptop for video watching/downloading, internet browsing as well as graphic design work. I have the Adobe Creative Suite and use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would also be using the new AI features in Photoshop. (As of right now I'm using old old old versions of Photoshop, Illustrator etc. which don't have those capabilities)

I'm looking at the new Macbook Pros with the M3 chips. I would like to go with the 14" size even though I do design work because I value portability and a lighter laptop.

I don't believe I need the M3 Max but can't decide between the regular M3 and M3 Pro. I also am not sure about what upgrades I would need in terms of RAM. I would like to be able to theoretically have Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all open at the same time and not experience slowdowns or freezing. I also would love for this laptop to last almost 10 years like my current one has, so I also need to consider "future proofing".

Any suggestions/advice is welcome! Thank you.

 

[geta]

Base 14” MBP M3 pro with 36GB RAM, and storage up to your needs.

 

[MacDevil7334]

Base 14” MBP M3 pro with 32GB RAM, and storage up to your needs.

I think this is spot on based on what the OP has told us (except for it will be 36 GB RAM, not 32).

 

[geta]

I think this is spot on based on what the OP has told us (except for it will be 36 GB RAM, not 32).

Fixed.

 

[gilliang3]

Base 14” MBP M3 pro with 36GB RAM, and storage up to your needs.

So the 11-core vs. 12 core CPU/14-core vs. 18-core GPU doesn't really make a difference?

Also, when it comes to the charger there is an option to get 96 watt vs 70 watt. Can you comment on that at all?

 

[bnumerick]

So the 11-core vs. 12 core CPU/14-core vs. 18-core GPU doesn't really make a difference?

Also, when it comes to the charger there is an option to get 96 watt vs 70 watt. Can you comment on that at all?

It does but the base version is kind of the sweet spot. The difference between the two will help you some day to day if you're really hitting the system hard but its not likely to be a choice that would make you keep the laptop for an extra year or two. Going from a M3 -> M3 Pro or M3 Pro -> M3 max are more like choices that would potentially give you an extra year or two.

The 96 watt charger will allow the 14" to quick charge the battery (0-50% in 30 minutes). If you think that is something you want it comes with the 12 core M3 Pro so that would shrink the price gap between the two models slightly.

 

[gilliang3]

Is there truth to the fact that fast charging (so the 96 watt charger) is more likely to ruin battery life quicker on the Macbook?

 

[dmccloud]

Is there truth to the fact that fast charging (so the 96 watt charger) is more likely to ruin battery life quicker on the Macbook?

No truth whatsoever. Both the charger and MacBook support optimized charging, so it will not deliver more power to the device than needed, regardless of whether you are using the machine while charging or letting it sit idly on a desk.

 

[geta]

So the 11-core vs. 12 core CPU/14-core vs. 18-core GPU doesn't really make a difference?

Also, when it comes to the charger there is an option to get 96 watt vs 70 watt. Can you comment on that at all?

For your needs, its not a huge difference that worth the extra cost… better to get as much RAM and storage as possible as instead.

As for charger, the 96w will be faster, but I wouldn’t sweat about it.

 

[spiderman0616]

OP no other advice than what's already above--just posting to say you are going to be so impressed with your new machine. I'm excited for you. Going from Intel to Apple Silicon is like whiplash.

 

[Flash1420]

If your money is limited, prioritize upgrading RAM (memory).

 

[smirking]

Base 14” MBP M3 pro with 36GB RAM, and storage up to your needs.

Yeah this. The only thing I'd add is I wouldn't put too much premium in future proofing. I'd wager that today's M-chip MBPs will still be plenty useful in 10 years, but I think it's unwise to spend with that as your goal. It's either going to take you the distance or it's not. Paying the premium for some extra cores won't change your horizon much in the long run.

When even a base model M1 Macbook Air released 3 years ago runs circles around your 2015, you just can't buy enough headroom to guarantee that you'll be able to work with zero compromises in 10 years time.

Also, I don't think you'll need more than 36GB RAM. I regularly run Capture One Pro, a VM, and either Photoshop and Illustrator on only 16GB. I'm not recommending you go bare bones on RAM. I went low as an experiment just to see if it would be the disaster everyone says it is. It hasn't been. These M-series machines are really amazing. I haven't missed having loads of RAM, but I'm not going to continue to make a habit of skimping.

 

[MRxROBOT]

No truth whatsoever. Both the charger and MacBook support optimized charging, so it will not deliver more power to the device than needed, regardless of whether you are using the machine while charging or letting it sit idly on a desk.

The faster chargers create more heat, which theoretically will shorten the battery’s life. Do I think it will meaningfully effect it’s life? Maybe a little. Saying that, I still use my 140w charger.

The optimized charging has more to do with keeping the battery from going to 100% when it’s plugged in all the time. Keeping the battery at 100% all the time, even when plugged in for extended periods will affect the battery more so in my opinion.

 

[gilliang3]

The faster charges create more heat, which theoretically will shorten the battery’s life. Do I think it will meaningfully effect it’s life? Maybe a little. Saying that, I still use my 140w charger.

The optimized charging has more to do with keeping the battery from going to 100% when it’s plugged in all the time. Keeping the battery at 100% all the time, even when plugged in for extended periods will affect the battery more so in my opinion.

I've always kept my 2015 Macbook plugged in and it's almost always at 100%.

What is the general recommendation for charging? Want to make sure I don't make the battery on a new M3 Pro lose it's effectiveness quickly.

 

[Christopher Kim]

I've always kept my 2015 Macbook plugged in and it's almost always at 100%.

What is the general recommendation for charging? Want to make sure I don't make the battery on a new M3 Pro lose it's effectiveness quickly.

Anecdotally, the 2012-2015 MBPs had very "hardy" batteries as it related to keeping it plugged in 24/7. Lots of ppl on these forums said they'd do so, and after years, battery health was still very high (with low cycles).

Starting with the 2016 MBP generation (touchbar, 4-TB3 ports), Apple seemed to have different batteries that were less "hardy" as it related to this. Lots of anecdotes that those who went 24/7 plugged in would have battery health degradation, even with low cycle count.

Yet to be seen what the 2021+ generation of MBP has. In general, I unplug my laptop when I'm not using it. Especially as I used my MBP in closed-clamshell mode a lot plugged in and into an external monitor. That's a use case where it's easy to just leave your laptop plugged in when not using it. For me, even if it makes very little difference in battery longevity, it was no big deal for me to remember to unplug each time, for the chance it would extend battery health.

So if it's fairly easy for you to unplug when not using it, I'd suggest it. Maybe it makes a difference. Maybe it doesn't. But small thing to likely maximize probability.

Separately, I think the advice above you've gotten is spot on, down the value / bang-for-buck sweetspot and where it makes sense to spend the extra money (ram to 36gb) vs not (cores).

 

[smirking]

I've always kept my 2015 Macbook plugged in and it's almost always at 100%.

What is the general recommendation for charging? Want to make sure I don't make the battery on a new M3 Pro lose it's effectiveness quickly.

The M-series laptops are very good at power management so you don't need to watch the battery as much, but keeping any battery at 100% is not advisable. You're lucky yours is still good. Think of batteries like balloons. Keeping them 100% full puts them under stress. A ballon that's only partially inflated keeps its integrity and its shape better.

Don't leave it plugged in all the time. And don't run it down to 0%. Batteries are healthier when they get some exercise, but they don't like being totally empty.

A lot of people use a program called Al Dente to make sure their battery stops charging at 80%. That's the only power management I do. I keep mine at 85% max and use it unplugged regularly.

 

[MRxROBOT]

I've always kept my 2015 Macbook plugged in and it's almost always at 100%.

What is the general recommendation for charging? Want to make sure I don't make the battery on a new M3 Pro lose it's effectiveness quickly.

Honestly, don't even worry about it. Just make sure optimized battery charging is enabled in settings under battery. macOS will learn your habits and make adjustments. If it's always plugged in, it will keep it at 80% for you without any intervention on your part. This is what I do.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

I'm looking for advice on what Macbook Pro to purchase.

For context, I am still using an early 2015 13-inch Macbook Pro with a 2.9 GHz intel Core i5 and 16GB of RAM.

I would be using the laptop for video watching/downloading, internet browsing as well as graphic design work. I have the Adobe Creative Suite and use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would also be using the new AI features in Photoshop. (As of right now I'm using old old old versions of Photoshop, Illustrator etc. which don't have those capabilities)

I'm looking at the new Macbook Pros with the M3 chips. I would like to go with the 14" size even though I do design work because I value portability and a lighter laptop.

I don't believe I need the M3 Max but can't decide between the regular M3 and M3 Pro. I also am not sure about what upgrades I would need in terms of RAM. I would like to be able to theoretically have Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all open at the same time and not experience slowdowns or freezing. I also would love for this laptop to last almost 10 years like my current one has, so I also need to consider "future proofing".

Any suggestions/advice is welcome! Thank you.

Creative Suite you should get at least 64 GB RAM, which drives you to the Max chip in a 14" MBP. IMO it makes no sense to buy an expensive computer and then make it operate sub-optimally due to RAM limitations. This is a TL;DR post that I wrote last month:
-------------
What you did in 2020 is not equivalent to how someone should configure a new box for 2024-2030, because apps/OS always want more RAM over time. Unless one is granny doing only email, intentionally configuring a box with 8 GB RAM is absurd. 16 GB will be swapping to disk over the life cycle of a new box.

Of course with any box the OS always does some disk swapping. My comment should perhaps more specifically have stated limiting disk swapping, meaning that point when the OS is going to disk more often than it would with free RAM available.

The source is my personal experience, which includes every Mac generation starting at 128K, often overseeing multiple Macs. And decades of paying very close attention to RAM for reasons of chasing RAM hog Photoshop. My experience is like I said: apps/OS always want more RAM over time.

My most recent experience is a 2016 MBP with maximum available 16 GB RAM in 2017 when I bought it. My workflow did not change over the 6 years of usage, but OS and apps evolved to cause the MBP to be frequently slowed by its RAM limitations. I upgraded to an M2 Max MBP with 96 GB RAM.

Apple silicon uses on-chip RAM and Unified Memory Architecture. And Apple now offers 128 GB RAM in the same laptop that was max 16 GB in 2017. IMO Apple clearly sees OS/apps taking advantage of the faster UMA RAM architecture in the future, which is why they offer us 8 times the RAM they did in 2017.

My point is not to say less RAM won't work, because Mac OS does a great job of coping with less than ideal RAM. My point is that 40 years experience suggests that configuring a new computing box it makes sense to minimize RAM constraints on that expensive new box by equipping it with plenty of RAM.

Others may argue that they do not care about RAM limiting because the OS just copes and they want to save $$. That is a fair argument, but I prefer optimized hardware. In my experience optimized systems run smoother and more problem free. Filemaker app development and Adobe apps are the primary decades of usage that I have very closely observed app operation under varying hardware scenarios.

[Despite owning/upgrading the Adobe Design Collection for years, I left Adobe due to my disapproval of their actions around Intellectual Property with the forced shift to CC. I now use Affinity products.]

 

[JuleSolo1947]

I'm looking for advice on what Macbook Pro to purchase.

For context, I am still using an early 2015 13-inch Macbook Pro with a 2.9 GHz intel Core i5 and 16GB of RAM.

I would be using the laptop for video watching/downloading, internet browsing as well as graphic design work. I have the Adobe Creative Suite and use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would also be using the new AI features in Photoshop. (As of right now I'm using old old old versions of Photoshop, Illustrator etc. which don't have those capabilities)

I'm looking at the new Macbook Pros with the M3 chips. I would like to go with the 14" size even though I do design work because I value portability and a lighter laptop.

I don't believe I need the M3 Max but can't decide between the regular M3 and M3 Pro. I also am not sure about what upgrades I would need in terms of RAM. I would like to be able to theoretically have Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign all open at the same time and not experience slowdowns or freezing. I also would love for this laptop to last almost 10 years like my current one has, so I also need to consider "future proofing".

Any suggestions/advice is welcome! Thank you.

Hi Gillang,

Old Fart here - been a Mac person since 1984. Not sure how many Macs I've owned, but it's been a few! If you only use email, the internet, and Word/Excel - then what you have now is more than adequate. But - big but - if you are like me in any way, and process and render photos or more important, video - then there is no question that if you can afford it, go the top of the line M3 Max with all the extras. Early on I learned that extra RAM is like having a V8 instead of a V4 on a car - you don't always need it, but boy, does it come in handy when you want to process important stuff fast. If you are not really that concerned with rendering video files in a timely manner, then the basic M3 will more than suffice - get one more slab of memory than you think you need and enjoy!

 

[geta]

Hi Gillang,

Old Fart here - been a Mac person since 1984. Not sure how many Macs I've owned, but it's been a few! If you only use email, the internet, and Word/Excel - then what you have now is more than adequate. But - big but - if you are like me in any way, and process and render photos or more important, video - then there is no question that if you can afford it, go the top of the line M3 Max with all the extras. Early on I learned that extra RAM is like having a V8 instead of a V4 on a car - you don't always need it, but boy, does it come in handy when you want to process important stuff fast. If you are not really that concerned with rendering video files in a timely manner, then the basic M3 will more than suffice - get one more slab of memory than you think you need and enjoy!

Sure, max’d out 16” MBP with the highest M3 Max Chip, 128GB RAM and 8TB storage would be the best, but I doubt the OP is in that professional level that need this, because if they were, they wouldn't have to ask here which MBP to buy…

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Sure, max’d out 16” MBP with the highest M3 Max Chip, 128GB RAM and 8TB storage would be the best, but I doubt the OP is in that professional level that need this, because if they were, they wouldn't have to ask here which MBP to buy…

Not totally true IMO. Lots of folks have hella design skills but may not have hella computer life cycle planning skills. Note also that it is not simplistically "128GB RAM and 8TB storage would be the best" either.

Maximizing RAM is usually a no-brainer for the usages discussed, but putting big dollars into Apple's pricey 8 TB mass storage is seldom an ideal expenditure. Most users who would need 8 TB mass storage should probably be going external for backup purposes anyway, so using far cheaper third party mass storage is usually optimum.

 

[_Mitchan1999]

What's your budget? I agree with what the people above said about going with the base M3 Pro but upgrading to 36GB of RAM.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

What's your budget? I agree with what the people above said about going with the base M3 Pro but upgrading to 36GB of RAM.

We disagree. Someone buying a new box for "using the laptop for video watching/downloading, internet browsing as well as graphic design work. I have the Adobe Creative Suite and use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would also be using the new AI features in Photoshop." would be sub-optimally served limited to 36 GB RAM over the ~5 year life cycle of a new box. Just my $0.02.

Edit: I recommend minimum 64 GB unless money is particularly tight, in which case 36 GB will certainly suffice. Personally I bought the max for the M2 MBP.

 

[greenwill]

We disagree. Someone buying a new box for "using the laptop for video watching/downloading, internet browsing as well as graphic design work. I have the Adobe Creative Suite and use programs like Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign. I would also be using the new AI features in Photoshop." would be sub-optimally served limited to 36 GB RAM over the ~5 year life cycle of a new box. Just my $0.02.

Edit: I recommend minimum 64 GB unless money is particularly tight, in which case 36 GB will certainly suffice. Personally I bought the max for the M2 MBP.

I think it all depends on how Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign will be used. You would have to be a serious power user to run out of memory with 32Gb especially based on the new unified memory architecture that Apple's M chips use. Also, as a side point, for anyone thinking of keeping a Mac Book for 10 years, the first thing that is going to go is the internal batteries.

 

[geta]

Not totally true IMO. Lots of folks have hella design skills but may not have hella computer life cycle planning skills. Note also that it is not simplistically "128GB RAM and 8TB storage would be the best" either.

Maximizing RAM is usually a no-brainer for the usages discussed, but putting big dollars into Apple's pricey 8 TB mass storage is seldom an ideal expenditure. Most users who would need 8 TB mass storage should probably be going external for backup purposes anyway, so using far cheaper third party mass storage is usually optimum.

A max’d out options was just an example… as for people that need 8TB storage in their MBP, they don’t buying it for backup purposes, they just not interesting in carrying around external drive/s for their work.

As for max’d out RAM, sure its useful for these tasks, but also not necessary…