M3 Pro vs M4 Pro -- which do I keep?

[ThomBoh]

Hi all, wanted to do a sanity check: long story but I have a choice between two MBPs for work. One is a 14" with the M3 Pro chip and the other is a 14" with the base M4 chip.

It's not obvious to me which one I should take, as the M3 Pro has more RAM but the M4 is newer and may have other advantages that are less obvious. Other than the lesser RAM is there any significant about the performance difference between the M4 and the M3 Pro that might make me consider keeping the M4 even though there's a bit less RAM? The most compelling reason I could imagine is that the M4 has better battery life, but is it really that much better?

My workload involves numerical simulations and having loooots of Chrome tabs open. So on the one hand more RAM seems better, but if the M4 will give me significantly more battery time when I'm out of the office, that could convince me to give up the RAM...

Here are the specs of the two machines:

1. M3 Pro chip (11 cores), 14", 36 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD

2. Base M4 chip (10 cores), 14", 24 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD

Any thoughts on points to consider before I choose would be appreciated

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

A lot of this info you can look up but pretty sure the M3 Pro is overall better the base M4. Additionally, the extra memory which you say you need so unless you want the increase in storage sounds to me like the M3 Pro.

 

[raythompsontn]

Any thoughts on points to consider before I choose would be appreciated

I would go for the M3 Pro. There will not be that much difference in performance between the M3 Pro and the base M4. The increased memory would probably serve you better.

Having more storage in the M4 is good, but it is really easy to get external storage or use iCloud.

The difference in the number of cores is trivial and should be a non-issue.

Others will say support will be longer for the M4. I don't think that is the case. The M series of chips will be supported for a long time. This is not like retiring the Intel line which is obsoleting the devices. M series support will be significant moving forward in my opinion as it is not a change in architecture moving from the M1 to the M4.

That is my opinion. Choose and be happy and don't look back.

 

[brerlappin]

The M3 Pro will be slightly slower CPU-wise, but will have more GPU cores and faster memory bandwidth than the standard M4.

The M4 will have a better 12mp FaceTime camera and slightly better quantum dot display with 1000 nit outdoor brightness.

IMHO, I think the M3 Pro would be a better pick since you can always get external storage but the RAM isn’t upgradable.

 

[cjsuk]

I just got a new 14 core M4 Pro and I can't tell the difference between that and my old base M1 Pro.

Does your stuff fit? That's the question I'd be asking.

 

[dmccloud]

If this was a choice between an M3 Pro and M4 Pro, I'd suggest the latter option. But since this is M3 Pro vs. the base M4, the M3 Pro will have a longer shelf life in terms of overall performance. You get more RAM with a higher memory bandwidth then the base M4, and you can always get an external SSD for additional storage. The M4 will probably have slightly higher battery life because it's not a Pro SoC, but it wouldn't be noticeable under most workloads. As far as support goes, if there is a difference in the support windows it wouldn't even be of concern until sometime in the 2030s.