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MacBook Air M5 or Macbook Pro M5

reuptake

reuptake

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Hey, I'm thinking about buying a new laptop which will I will also, connected to external display and keyboard etc, used as my main machine (currently it's i5 27" iMac from 2017... I love this display, but it's getting old).

I'm wondering if there's any justifications to by MBP. In my country the following configurations have exactly the same price:

MBP 14" (base config, SSD 1TB, RAM 16GB)
MBA 13" (upgraded to: 8 GPU core – so I guess it's same as MBP 14", SSD 1 TB, RAM 32GB).

Thing is, I don't feel I really need all those upgrades. I'd be OK with 512GB SSD, lot's of stuff is in the cloud now, 2 more GPU cores feel completely useless for me – I'm not a heavy gamer and even if play something from time to time is it such difference? (looks like Apple forces me to buy this). The only thing that I'd appreciate is having more RAM, but this, again, is more "future proofing" which is bit of a myth. So may "optimal" config would be rather like:

MBA 13" (8 GPU core, RAM 24GB) which is 76% price of base MBP.

Of course MBP has some nice things: like more ports and better display, less throttling . Now, since I plan to use it at least 50% in clamshell mode I'm not sure about whether this justifies higher price and – important for me – higher weight.

I'm also confused about how my all setup should evolve. One option is: "cheap" laptop (base MBA perhaps, in this case I'm staying with my M3 Air) + Mac Mini connected to external display (equivalent of what I have now) or perhaps more powerful laptop (upgraded MBA or MBP) and something I can use on the go, iPad Mini perhaps - although I find prices of iPads mini not very reasonable).

My use is browsing and stuff (40 open Chrome tabs is not unusual) but I'm also doing some coding with LLM support.
 
I have the same question of Air vs Pro. Not starting a new topic to keep it clean.

The new line up seems quite fancy. However my usecase differs a bit from the OP. I have the last of the intel Mac Airs which I’d like to upgrade and I have an old desktop PC which I’d also like to upgrade. The desktop has been around for casual gaming mostly. I5 4690 and R9 380 running there with two 1080 displays while I play stuff like World of Tanks, HoI4 and other not too heavy games. Not looking for 4k gaming nor graphics heavy games at ultra settings.

I’d like to switch that to a single MacBook with a dock at the gaming desk. MacBook Air M5 seems great value for money but I’m worried about the cooling. However Pro is a lot of more money I’d rather spend elsewhere. Though no point in buying the Air if it doesn’t deliver all I need.

Any Mac gamers?
 
alyster said:
I have the same question of Air vs Pro. Not starting a new topic to keep it clean.
Click to expand...
I also have the same question. Air Vs (in my case) mini.

The main caveat is the same as yours: heat dissipation vs active cooling. I feel like I will be able to get much more from a fan-assisted cooling M5 than from the passively dissipated M5 on the MBA. Also, I like the mini form factor.

However, the M5 mini is still not here yet, and with how mad the world is turning, maybe it’d be a good decision to just buy a base MBA as a stop gap machine. I don’t know…

In most of my use cases, the heat wouldn’t be a problem, but I want to experiment with LLMs, learn video editing, and I also have a couple of AAA games for Mac that could make the Air quite toasty. Also handbrake and eventually console emulation would also be a thing so…
 
let me put it this way, there is no way you regret mbp purchase. The only advantage of Air is you are on the go and want a lighter weight laptop. Browsing should be no problem for Air, but if you are doing coding and local LLM you better go with MBP because my understanding coding compiling needs a lot of CPU crunching and so does the LLM.

someone who does coding might give you better advice on mba or mbp, maybe the mba is sufficient .
 
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It boils down to asking, do you spend a lot of time (more than a couple minutes) watching a progress bar in your daily work? If yes, choose the Pro. Otherwise, the practical choice is the Air.

Air vs. Pro comes down to sustained performance. You’re not using the display or the keyboard, so why pay for it? If you have a dock or monitor with USB-hub, the choice is even easier because you’re not using the ports on MBP.
 
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JPack said:
It boils down to asking, do you spend a lot of time (more than a couple minutes) watching a progress bar in your daily work? If yes, choose the Pro. Otherwise, the practical choice is the Air.

Air vs. Pro comes down to sustained performance. You’re not using the display or the keyboard, so why pay for it? If you have a dock or monitor with USB-hub, the choice is even easier because you’re not using the ports on MBP.
Click to expand...
Sometimes I do, but the bottleneck could be not CPU... it could be also SSD writing speed etc.
 
I have quite a few devices - M1 mini, m4 mini, m1 air, m4 air, M1 Pro MBP 14inch, iPad Pro 2nd gen, loads of standard iPads for kids - and work between home office, remote in house/garden and at client sites. I have lots of docs in OneDrive, photos in iCloud family, big installed apps and do a variety of local coding and playing with LLMs and containers. I only buy from Apple refurb now as it saves a lot of money, and m4 vs m5 I am not bothered about. My M1 Pro MBP 14inch is still amazing (but heavy vs Air M4), in fact so is my original GOAT M1 gold MB Air.

Storage
The thing I have learnt is that the OneDrive/iCloud setup works really well across many Apple devices but I wouldn't buy a 256GB SSD machine any more, so 512GB is best for local files and multi-year software updates. I think 1TB+ is only if you are going to be keeping lots of local files - as I said, OneDrive/iCloud does allow you to manage some offloading.

Air vs. Pro
You have to decide your use case really here - if in clamshell mode at home with sustained performance then I don't think the Air is a good idea as it doesn't have a fan and will throttle. But then I have a Mini M4 and that is amazing, so it depends, but the Mini M4 is built for good thermals.
It sounds like you want mobility too, and the Air is pretty light, my new M4 Air in fact is just amazing in a 16/512 setup with long battery life. The screen on Air is nearly as good, without much noticeable difference to the 14inch MBP because it is 13.3 not 13 inch vs MBP 14inch.
> you say you have an M3 Air already, so depending on on if it's spec is currently working for you, I would stay with it and invest in a better Mini/Studio. It does depend what your use case looks like for mobility.

Minis
My M1 Mini 16/256 is going strong, am typing on it right now, but it has been relegated to 'just' the family fixed Mac. The M4 mini is amazing, and will last for years - so if you go that way, go for 16GB memory and 512GB SSD, or even 1TB as it could into a house machine to serve up content etc. It will last for years so would be a good investment. I drive 2 x 32inch Samsung 4k monitors from it and no issues, plus bluetooth and external drives.
> I think it would be a good idea to compare a Mini to a Studio (refurb!!!!) from a pricing angle as I kinda lust after one of them but don't feel I need it. Long-term use I think great value if you can find the right specs.
(Brits: £1k for a M2Max/32/512 refurb ....... I am going to get into trouble ...
www.hoxtonmacs.co.uk

Mac Studio M2 Max 12-core (2023) - Excellent

Free Next Day delivery on this refurbished Apple Mac Studio M2 Max 12-core. 20% VAT included. Make great savings buying refurb vs new.
www.hoxtonmacs.co.uk www.hoxtonmacs.co.uk

Mobility
If you want mobility a consumption device then iPad yes, but the current mini is a bit old so I would wait, or pick up a refurb one and see how that fits. You could always sell it later. The Air on refurb could be a great buy. 256GB storage.

Overall
You probably need to think about your use cases and storage and mobility, but I reckon a M4 mini for home and an M4 Air 13inch for everything else. 16GB/512GB across the board. You can tell I like refurb so hunt them down.
 
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Thank you @abruisedapple.

I think I'll stay with my MacBook Air and switch from iMac to MacMini + external 5K display + SSD case (I happen to own 2x2 TB SSD). So I'd rather pick up the 256GB option.

The only problem is:

- The M5 might be coming (but I won't be surprised if they choose to skip it, like they did with M3)
- I'd like 32GB RAM config and it's a super long wait right now (and if M5 is going to be released I'm might get just M4 2 or 3 weeks earlier)
- The refurb options are super limited in my country (checked and only base config available)
abruisedapple said:
I have quite a few devices - M1 mini, m4 mini, m1 air, m4 air, M1 Pro MBP 14inch, iPad Pro 2nd gen, loads of standard iPads for kids - and work between home office, remote in house/garden and at client sites. I have lots of docs in OneDrive, photos in iCloud family, big installed apps and do a variety of local coding and playing with LLMs and containers.

Overall
You probably need to think about your use cases and storage and mobility, but I reckon a M4 mini for home and an M4 Air 13inch for everything else. 16GB/512GB across the board. You can tell I like refurb so hunt them down.
Click to expand...
 
Seems sound @reuptake .... the mini m4 is due an update to the m5 but good luck knowing when!

The difference in single CPU speed will be something you need to assess, but the M4 mini 32GB is solid, and with a single HDMI for the 5k display you do get lots of ports for external USB-C SSDs - good speeds too, so 256GB base for O/S and then data on the externals is alright.

If you do go 32GB I still reckon a review against a Studio is worth it.
 
abruisedapple said:
Seems sound @reuptake .... the mini m4 is due an update to the m5 but good luck knowing when!

If you do go 32GB I still reckon a review against a Studio is worth it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but it's almost 2 months to wait for 32GB, 24GB is available much faster.

I'm just checking Mac Studio as well.

PS. Mac Studio 2x more expensive. Probably overkill.
 
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The Airs are far more powerful than people realize. I had (before it met a tragic demise) and M2 Air with 16 gigs of ram and not once did I feel limited. I did the following on it a lot:

-Houdini
-Modo (until it went away)
-Blender (since Modo went away)
-Final Cut (4k video)
-Logic (lots of tracks)
-Motion (also lots of tracks)
-Unity
-Xcode
-Affinity Suite
-Substance Suite (Designer and Painter)

...and much much more. I'm a very heavy computer user and not once did I feel limited by the M2 Air.
 
chrono1081 said:
The Airs are far more powerful than people realize. I had (before it met a tragic demise) and M2 Air with 16 gigs of ram and not once did I feel limited. I did the following on it a lot:

-Houdini
-Modo (until it went away)
-Blender (since Modo went away)
-Final Cut (4k video)
-Logic (lots of tracks)
-Motion (also lots of tracks)
-Unity
-Xcode
-Affinity Suite
-Substance Suite (Designer and Painter)

...and much much more. I'm a very heavy computer user and not once did I feel limited by the M2 Air.
Click to expand...
But I guess it would get really hot…
 
Populus said:
But I guess it would get really hot…
Click to expand...

Nope. Honestly it barely got warm.

EDIT: I should note I didn't run it in clamshell much, that may very since the heat dissipates from the keyboard but while open it didn't heat up much at all even when rendering. There was a slight increase in temperature but that was it.
 
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chrono1081 said:
Nope. Honestly it barely got warm.

EDIT: I should note I didn't run it in clamshell much, that may very since the heat dissipates from the keyboard but while open it didn't heat up much at all even when rendering. There was a slight increase in temperature but that was it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that’s the problem, my idea is to run it in clamshell. I’ve seen some stands that dissipate the heat while having it in clamshell, but man those are expensive…

Is your MBA the one with less GPU cores? Or does it have the whole 10 GPU cores?

I could buy the M5 MBA to see if it gets hot with my usage, and if I’m not convinced return it and wait for the mini.

Anyways, I’m afraid the MBA will throttle a lot, and I won’t be getting as much performance as with a fan assisted Mac, for the times I want to play some games, emulators, compress video with Handbrake, or try local LLMs…
 
In the end, I'm staying with my MacBook Air for a while and not buying MacMini. But I'm buying or maybe renting a display (separate topic but why oh why it's so hard to compare all 5K displays for Macs – there aren't many!).

The clamshell problem with throttling bothers me a bit, but in my case the most CPU intense tasks are quite rare and I can do them while having my laptop open.

The reason I'm not buying MacMini is that I'm not longer sure I need and want to have to maintain separate machine, and when I do, I'll probably buy M5 or maybe even M6.
 
Populus said:
I also have the same question. Air Vs (in my case) mini.

The main caveat is the same as yours: heat dissipation vs active cooling. I feel like I will be able to get much more from a fan-assisted cooling M5 than from the passively dissipated M5 on the MBA. Also, I like the mini form factor.

However, the M5 mini is still not here yet, and with how mad the world is turning, maybe it’d be a good decision to just buy a base MBA as a stop gap machine. I don’t know…

In most of my use cases, the heat wouldn’t be a problem, but I want to experiment with LLMs, learn video editing, and I also have a couple of AAA games for Mac that could make the Air quite toasty. Also handbrake and eventually console emulation would also be a thing so…
Click to expand...
Your use case is a refurb M4 Studio Max (14/32), but those appear gone now. If a bunch get traded in after the new one is announced, you will get a ton of power that meets your needs compared to mini M5.
 
Populus said:
Yeah, that’s the problem, my idea is to run it in clamshell. I’ve seen some stands that dissipate the heat while having it in clamshell, but man those are expensive…

Is your MBA the one with less GPU cores? Or does it have the whole 10 GPU cores?

I could buy the M5 MBA to see if it gets hot with my usage, and if I’m not convinced return it and wait for the mini.

Anyways, I’m afraid the MBA will throttle a lot, and I won’t be getting as much performance as with a fan assisted Mac, for the times I want to play some games, emulators, compress video with Handbrake, or try local LLMs…
Click to expand...

Mine had the highest cores you could get. Clamshell wasn’t bad though. I rendered in clamshell plenty so the cat wouldn’t walk on my keyboard. It would get warmer but nothing you’d consider hot.
 
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