Upgrade from M1 to M3 Pro?

[Moof1904]

A close family member is about to graduate in a couple of weeks with her undergraduate degree and in preparing to enter law school.

Thinking her MacBook Pro was about four years old and she would benefit from a newer, more zippy laptop, we bought an M3 Pro to give her as a graduation gift. We just found out, though, that she bought herself an original M1 model when Apple silicon first came out.

Now we are second-guessing ourselves. Is this enough of an upgrade to make it worthwhile gift?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

M1 to M3 Pro is a "Decent" performance upgrade, though it probably won't make a substantial difference on most software.

RAM and storage and display size might tip the scales, though. Do you know exactly what she bought, and how it compares to the one you bought?

 

[Miltz]

She will only appreciate the M3 over the M1 if she actually uses software the pushes the system. If she doesn't it will be a complete waste of money. Things like watching movies, office, internet will be the same.

 

[Moof1904]

She bought the base model 14” M1.

We bought her the 14” M3 Pro, 11 core cpu, 14 core gpu, 18 gigs ram, 512 gig SSD.

 

[Moof1904]

We’ve regrouped. We’re going to return the laptop and get her an iPhone 15 instead. Unlike her relatively new laptop, her phone is four years old and seems like a better choice for upgrading.

 

[ilikewhey]

lol a cpu bump will absolutely not help her in law school, the biggest upgrade a law student need is ram, i remember in my 1st year i averaged 30-40 tabs, these westlaw and nexus tabs takes up a decent chunk of ram usage.

 

[maerz001]

She bought the base model 14” M1.

We bought her the 14” M3 Pro, 11 core cpu, 14 core gpu, 18 gigs ram, 512 gig SSD.

The old base 14“ also runs a Pro chip with same amount of storage .
So you were doing good to return it

 

[Jay Tee]

She bought the base model 14” M1.

We bought her the 14” M3 Pro, 11 core cpu, 14 core gpu, 18 gigs ram, 512 gig SSD.

I strongly recommend the beautiful MBA instead. The Pros have become machine for those that do a lot of photo and video editing. If that's her, then great, otherwise, I'd spend the $1,999 differently.

The MBAs are going for a $200 discount now. Maybe get her a 15" MBA with 16GB RAM, and 512GB ssd $1,499 ($1699-$200 discount) and a Stainless Steel Watch or AirPods Pros, or AirPods Max, or HomePod Minis ? Maybe even give her the $500 Giftcard.

Here's a great YT review comparing the M2 Air and M3 Pro.

 

[maerz001]

I strongly recommend the beautiful MBA instead. The Pros have become machine for those that do a lot of photo and video editing. If that's her, then great, otherwise, I'd spend the $1,999 differently.

The MBAs are going for a $200 discount now. Maybe get her a 15" MBA with 16GB RAM, and 512GB ssd $1,499 ($1699-$200 discount) and a Stainless Steel Watch or AirPods Pros, or AirPods Max, or HomePod Minis ? Maybe even give her the $500 Giftcard.

Here's a great YT review comparing the M2 Air and M3 Pro.

They gave it back already for an iphone

 

[Mac Hammer Fan]

We’ve regrouped. We’re going to return the laptop and get her an iPhone 15 instead. Unlike her relatively new laptop, her phone is four years old and seems like a better choice for upgrading.

In real world experience there is no much difference between an M1 and M3. The iPhone 15 is indeed a better choice.