My old and trusty MacBook is slowly giving up and I’m trying to replace it. I’ve been looking at the m3 pro line for a replacement.
Currently I’m debating wether a 14-Inch 12 core CPU, 18 core GPU, 1 TB SSD, or the 16-Inch 12 core CPU, 18 core GPU, 500 GB SSD makes more sense.
I like the small size and larger SSD of the 14 Inch version, but I’m kinda scared that it’ll get hot faster than the bigger version or have less power somehow.
My tasks include handling documents, editing large photos and videos and very rarely some 3D stuff in blender. I also wanna play some BG3 from time to time.
What would you choose? Are those good choices for the jobs I want it to do? Is my fear of the small one being a little too powerful for its size justified? Or do you say get something else entirely?
Thanks for your help in advance!
Blender and games run great on my M1 MacBook Air which doesn’t get hot even with no cooling at all except via the external case and I mostly play games on the couch with the laptop on my lap.
After two or three hours with all 8 CPU cores and the GPU both pegged under 100% load, I can notice the heat on my bare skin but it’s not uncomfortable. And it only does that in games - Blender gives the CPU/GPU enough of a break between renders to keep it cool.
The MacBook Pro, which does have a fan, is definitely not going to get hot. Forget about that issue. The fan will make it run cooler, and also faster since the CPU won’t be thermally throttled (my M1 is permanently thermally throttled while playing games… still fast enough to get good framerates at moderately high graphics settings though);.
Just buy the most expensive one you can afford. You’re going to love it. The only thing to be aware of is external display support, which isn’t very good on the low end models… but the M3 MacBook Air has improved that significantly and Apple has said there will be a firmware update to the M3 MacBook Pro soon to do the same thing.
Wow, thanks for the in depth reply! Probably will do as you suggested and just buy the most expensive one I can afford.
The reason I was a little scared of temperature issues is that my MacBook right now turns into a room heater as soon as I do something more complicated than using notes. To the point where it damaged the screen when I worked on an external display with the internal display closed. I’m very glad to hear that that doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore with apple silicone. It’ll be so nice to be able to use my laptop on my lap again!
I have a 16-inch M3 but really don’t expect you would see any difference in power and thermals on the 14-inch. I can’t directly compare, but I’d run out and bought a 14-inch M2 at Costco shortly before the M3 was unveiled. It wasn’t quite the specs I wanted but it was on sale and I’d picked up a contract where I quickly realized I needed an upgrade from my 2015 Air. It soon became apparent that the 512 GB SSD would get too full too fast, so I switched to a 16-inch M3. They really felt largely identical and I didn’t notice any difference in heat between either.
I would go with the largest internal storage you can buy, since that can’t really be upgraded later. If you prefer the smaller size that’s a bonus; it’s certainly more portable.
Thanks for the feedback, it definitely helps! What specs do you have on your MacBook at the moment, if you don’t mind me asking? Right now I’m managing the storage with external disks, but having some more internal storage will definitely be a good upgrade.
I went 16-inch M3 Max with 36 GB of RAM and 2TB SSD. I mainly did the Max because I could see myself connecting more than 2 external displays sooner than later; otherwise I think I would’ve been fine with the Pro.
I don’t believe heat to be a significant issue with the 14 inch device. I am a fan of the smaller form factor and were I to buy one today, I would select the m3 max chip with the 14 inch form factor, but I am selecting it for the gpu cores. If you don’t plan on needing those, the m3 pro is a good chip.
Thanks for the feedback! Tbh, I’d also prefer the max, but I’m not sure if I can justify spending the extra money. The ones I picked are already stretching the budget.
Is the better GPU really worth spending 1K more? Or do you think the ones I selected will do fine with the jobs I need it to do?
All of the Apple silicon Mac’s are so efficient I wouldn’t worry about heat unless it’s the M3 max and you plan on fully loading the system at all times.
At work we have an army of M* machines and the 14 and 16” ones have no issues staying cool and performing well at all times.
That definitely calms some of my concerns I had. Thanks for the input. What kind of tasks do you use it for at work? Are thy similar to my area of work?
Ironically I’m one of the only people at work with a PC. But most of the people who have an M* pro/max are our developers. They mostly live in windows land through a VM and their workload isn’t too intensive. It their machines barely get warm to the touch vs the 2019 MBPs they had before.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t use the max to the full potential. Look at some bg3 performance charts for the m3 family to see how much it might matter. For rendering, they will both be great, but it may just take a bit longer on the pro vs the max.
