M2 MacBook Air vs 2018 MacBook Pro 2.6Ghz 560X

[WiSCBlizzard]

Hello all,

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro with the 2.6Ghz i7, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd, and Radeon Pro 560X and I am very much entertaining the idea of purchasing a new 15'' M2 MacBook Air with 16GB ram and 1TB or 512GB (can't decide). From my point of view, the only thing that I would lose by going with the M2 would be 2-thunderbolt ports, and the ability to boot windows. Oh, and that Touch Bar 😎. Other than that, is this a solid upgrade in every other sense? From my understanding the screen will not be worse than my current MacBook Pro. M2 will be faster than the 2.6Ghz i7. Will M2 be similar in performance to the Radeon Pro 560X?

Thanks in advance

 

[UbiCrea]

Edit: Sorry, you have a 15 inches as you have a dedicated gpu...
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Hi, I had several MBP 2017-2020 models and I've now a MPA 13" m2. It's a fantastic machine. Going to the 15" is a big change in terms of size, including the mac itself. The MBP 13.3 can go in any small bag a'd is easily carriable everywhere. The 15" MBA starts to be bigger...
Apart from the boot camp for windows, you don't have to worry about the M2.
Graphics? Depends of what you were doing on your MBP but the gpu of the M2 have many horses under the hood.

 

[bill-p]

Will M2 be similar in performance to the Radeon Pro 560X?

Yeah, the M2 with 10-core GPU is actually either a match for or slightly faster than 560X in most situations including gaming.

Anecdotally, I've used Fusion 360 very extensively on my 15" MBA and the device doesn't miss a beat. I've used it a lot for 3D modeling to be fed to my 3D printer. Certainly, this is quite a surprise. I initially went with M1 Pro 14" 2 years ago because I thought I needed more horsepower, but the 15" Air has really changed my mind. I'm not even looking forward to M3 at all if all it offers is a performance bump.

 

[arcite]

Frankly....why not wait 6 more months and upgrade to an m3? ..... I just upgrade from a 2015 air to a 15 Air; I'm happy with it.

 

[Tdude96]

I've got a 2017 27" iMac with a Radeon Pro 570, which is slightly faster than the 560X, and my 13" M2 Air with an 8/10/24/1TB config has better gaming performance than the iMac, even after it starts throttling slightly from heat. (Active cooling being the other thing you'd be missing compared to the Pro).

Since the memory is shared in Apple Silicon, depending on your use case, you might want to consider an upgrade to 24 GB of RAM instead of a 1TB drive (Or do both as I did).

 

[giffut]

You also miss attaching more than one external monitor with the Macbook 15. In that case I would opt for the Macbook Pro 14.

 

[ryanflanders256]

Hello all,

I have a 2018 MacBook Pro with the 2.6Ghz i7, 16GB ram, 512GB ssd, and Radeon Pro 560X and I am very much entertaining the idea of purchasing a new 15'' M2 MacBook Air with 16GB ram and 1TB or 512GB (can't decide). From my point of view, the only thing that I would lose by going with the M2 would be 2-thunderbolt ports, and the ability to boot windows. Oh, and that Touch Bar 😎. Other than that, is this a solid upgrade in every other sense? From my understanding the screen will not be worse than my current MacBook Pro. M2 will be faster than the 2.6Ghz i7. Will M2 be similar in performance to the Radeon Pro 560X?

Thanks in advance

I have the exact same 15" 2018 MacBook Pro as you. I just bought a used 13" M2 MacBook Air with 10 core GPU. I know a new M3 model will be released soon, but I got a great deal on eBay.

My new Air hasn't arrived yet, but I assume it will be 50-100% faster at most tasks based on the following:

Apple M2 GPU 10-Core vs AMD Radeon PRO 560X - GadgetVersus

Comparison between Apple M2 GPU 10-Core and AMD Radeon PRO 560X with the specifications of the graphics cards, the number of execution units, shading units, cache memory, also the performance in benchmark platforms such as Geekbench or Antutu.

gadgetversus.com

MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15" Touch/2018 Specs (Mid-2018 15" (Touch Bar), MR942LL/A*, MacBookPro15,1, A1990, 3215): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Pro "Core i7" 2.6 15" Touch/2018. Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

MacBook Air "M2" 8 CPU/10 GPU 13" Specs (M2, 2022, MLY43LL/A*, Mac14,2, A2681, 4074*): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Air "M2" 8 CPU/10 GPU 13". Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

I would prefer a 14" MacBook Pro, but they're expensive and I'm planning to get an Apple Vision Pro.

 

[UbiCrea]

Don't forget the battery performance... Not comparable between Intel and apple silicon.
I touch the 15h with my air m2 using it intensively. And my M1pro from my mpb 14" has huge battery perf too