Buying advice: MBA M4 or MBP M3 (8gb)?

[danneman]

Debating whether I would go for MBA New M4 or MBP M3 (8gb) second hand but in mint condition.
Price is the same

Screen means a lot to me.
The stuff I use the computer for is:
Browsing
Watching Netflix
GarageBand
Keynote
iMovie
Pages
A little bit of photo editing

 

[p33t3r]

I wouldn't buy anything with 8GB today, to be honest, unless you can get it for a very good price.

 

[danneman]

I wouldn't buy anything with 8GB today, to be honest, unless you can get it for a very good price.

It’s same price as a new MBA M4 though. I consider it a good price but who am I to say. I try to convince myself that a better display can make up for a slower computer. But I don’t know….

 

[raythompsontn]

It’s same price as a new MBA M4 though.

If I was in your position I would opt for the M4 MBA. The difference in screen will not make much difference for your uses. I have used both for photo editing, some minor movie editing, and I never noticed the difference. In the long run the increased memory will be more of a benefit.

Just my opinion.

 

[WilliApple]

I would get the MBA because of 16 GB of RAM making a huge difference, especially if you are going to be video editing, photo editing, or music producing.

 

[attohs]

It’s same price as a new MBA M4 though. I consider it a good price but who am I to say. I try to convince myself that a better display can make up for a slower computer. But I don’t know….

What are the benefits of the MBP M3? Larger capacity SSD and the better screen is all I can find.

What are the benefits of the MPA M4? More CPU Cores (2 addition E-cores), double the Unified Memory (16GB), and 20% faster memory bandwidth. The M4 also has a more powerful Neural Engine (38 TOPS vs 18 TOPS in the M3).

Personally, I do not think a nicer screen is worth giving up the added performance, not to mention the longevity that 16GB of Unified Memory will get you.

 

[danneman]

What are the benefits of the MBP M3? Larger capacity SSD and the better screen is all I can find.

What are the benefits of the MPA M4? More CPU Cores (2 addition E-cores), double the Unified Memory (16GB), and 20% faster memory bandwidth. The M4 also has a more powerful Neural Engine (38 TOPS vs 18 TOPS in the M3).

Personally, I do not think a nicer screen is worth giving up the added performance, not to mention the longevity that 16GB of Unified Memory will get you.

Thanks for your thoughts! I appreciate it! 🙏👍

 

[ChrisA]

I wouldn't buy anything with 8GB today, to be honest, unless you can get it for a very good price.

All of the M-series Macs have more powerful CPUs than you need for your uses. The amount of RAM and storage will make a larger difference in overall performance. For media editing, you need screen space and you can always buy a 27-inch 4K monitor and keep it at home.

 

[Fishrrman]

As mentioned above, DON'T BUY ANY Mac with only 8gb of RAM.
It's "just not enough" any more.

MacBook Air with 16gb should be ok.
MacBook Pro 14" would be better.

ONE MORE THING:
DON'T buy ANY Mac with only a 256gb internal SSD.
Again, looking towards the future, 256 is just not going to be enough any more.
Get AT LEAST 512gb. 1tb is better.

 

[thefrost]

I would choose the M4 Macbook Air due to the 16GB of RAM versus the 8GB of RAM on the M3 Macbook Pro. All those tasks you listed there, you can easily do them on the Macbook Air. Also, I would get at least 512GB of storage.

 

[fiberterminal]

If you end up keeping the machine for 10 years... would you rather have 8GB of RAM or 16GB of RAM in 2035?

 

[kschendel]

The MBA screen is pretty decent. If you are picky about exact colors, or view a lot of HDR content and want the brightness, the MBP screen might be enough better to be worth the 8GB limitation. Aside from that, I the MBA is much the better option from what you post as your usage.