Macbook Pro decision trade-offs

[lkalliance]

Hi, all,

I was looking to invest in a MacBook, to use for work in software development. I'm trying to keep to a budget, and to keep within it I'd like to ask about some tradeoffs, perhaps some opinion.

Right now leading up to the holiday, I can get a 13.3" M2 Macbook Pro at a discount through a couple of outlets. It appears that for the discount I can only get the 8GB/256GB model. BUT I could also get a 14" M1 MacBook Pro at a better discount. So, still about $400 more expensive than the low-end M2, but for that extra I get the bigger screen and a 16/512 configuration.

If I get the more expensive M1 machine, I will economize with a less expensive, probably smaller external monitor to pair with it. So that's the fundamental question: is it worth the tradeoff? On one side, 14" M1 with 16/512 and say a smaller external monitor...and on the other side a 13.3" M2 with a bigger or nicer external monitor.

(It's tough to know exactly what I will be doing on the machine very specifically, like if I'll end up doing a lot of video or audio editing, that kind of thing. I don't think I will be, but you never know. At any rate, I'm considering the M1 and M2 to be equivalent enough that it wouldn't matter, but the important thing is the extra RAM. Any other tradeoffs I would be making?)

I know this is HUGELY subjective. Just looking to see if there is a consensus I should be acknowledging as I make the decision.

Thanks for any guidance!



EDIT: There is one more option...to get the M2 version at Apple upgraded to 16/512. That would be $100 more than the M1 16/512, but with a smaller screen.

 

[kpcboopathi]

Just get 14 inch MBP. You will get

• 16GB RAM,
• 512GB storage,
• faster processor,
• very nice better/bigger display,
• more ports,
• MagSafe charging.

For development, 16/512 is the minimum requirement for the long run. Also, for video /audio editing M1 Pro is better than basic chips.
You can update external monitor later, but not MacBook which will be expensive.
Only advantage of M2 is better battery life than M1 Pro.

 

[lkalliance]

Just get 14 inch MBP. You will get

• 16GB RAM,
• 512GB storage,
• faster processor,
• very nice better/bigger display,
• more ports,
• MagSafe charging.

For development, 16/512 is the minimum requirement for the long run. Also, for video /audio editing M1 Pro is better than basic chips.
You can update external monitor later, but not MacBook which will be expensive.
Only advantage of M2 is better battery life than M1 Pro.

That's the way I'm leaning too. It's been ingrained in me for years that RAM is the most important thing, more important than storage (can always do external) and more important than a single-year chip upgrade, UNLESS it's a paradigm shift like Motorola to Intel or Intel to Apple Silicon. And we can no longer upgrade it ourselves.

Did the M1 14" have MagSafe?

 

[Seiko4169]

I don’t think you should prioritize based on m1 vs m2.

For software development on MBP utilizing M chips I’d consider screen size and portability as the key decision makers fitting in with a price point that works for you:

I have a 13 and 16. The 16 wins out 90% of the time due to its screen. It’s only during travel that I wish for something smaller.

You’ll ultimately enjoy what ever you decide but just make sure your IDEs work well with the screen size you opt for. The external monitor can come into play but then why a laptop?

 

[lkalliance]

I don’t think you should prioritize based on m1 vs m2.

For software development on MBP utilizing M chips I’d consider screen size and portability as the key decision makers fitting in with a price point that works for you:

I have a 13 and 16. The 16 wins out 90% of the time due to its screen. It’s only during travel that I wish for something smaller.

You’ll ultimately enjoy what ever you decide but just make sure your IDEs work well with the screen size you opt for.

Do you think that the 14" is significantly better than the 13.3" just generally in terms of screen size? That doesn't sound like a lot, but what are your experiences? I'm afraid the 16" is just too costly for my budget.

 

[Seiko4169]

The 13 is a brilliantly portable machine but I’d take the 14 unless portability is 100% the key driver. Much better screen and I personally find that extra real estate useful.

 

[lkalliance]

Yeah, portability is in no way a major factor. I am going to occasionally be portable with it, enough to want a laptop and not a desktop, but the bulk of its time is going to be on a desktop with an external monitor. I hadn't even looked closely yet at all the additional ports and better screen and better camera it has. Thanks very much for your insights!

 

[TomLevenson]

I just posted a similar question in the general Mac forum (the one newbies like me are directed to for buying advice.

I have been using a loaner 2019 16" MacBook Pro, but I need to return it to my IT dept., and my unit is going to buy a new laptop. I'm trying to decide between the M2 Air or Pro and a 14" M1 Pro MacBook Pro. All w. 16 gb of RAM and 1 TB of storage.

My unit's IT guy has a bias against 1st gen. chips, so he's suggesting I stay away from the M1, but I'm kinda inclined to the 14". Any thoughts, anyone? Were I to choose one of the two M2 machines my question is whether I care about the reported cooling questions w. the Air. My use case is mostly writing and research, which can involve an embarrassing number of browser windows open at any given time, along with some photo and video/auditing work, but nothing too intense.

Any and all advice gratefully received (and apologies to the OP for piggybacking on your thread).

 

[escargot3]

Hi, all,

I was looking to invest in a MacBook, to use for work in software development. I'm trying to keep to a budget, and to keep within it I'd like to ask about some tradeoffs, perhaps some opinion.

Right now leading up to the holiday, I can get a 13.3" M2 Macbook Pro at a discount through a couple of outlets. It appears that for the discount I can only get the 8GB/256GB model. BUT I could also get a 14" M1 MacBook Pro at a better discount. So, still about $400 more expensive than the low-end M2, but for that extra I get the bigger screen and a 16/512 configuration.

If I get the more expensive M1 machine, I will economize with a less expensive, probably smaller external monitor to pair with it. So that's the fundamental question: is it worth the tradeoff? On one side, 14" M1 with 16/512 and say a smaller external monitor...and on the other side a 13.3" M2 with a bigger or nicer external monitor.

(It's tough to know exactly what I will be doing on the machine very specifically, like if I'll end up doing a lot of video or audio editing, that kind of thing. I don't think I will be, but you never know. At any rate, I'm considering the M1 and M2 to be equivalent enough that it wouldn't matter, but the important thing is the extra RAM. Any other tradeoffs I would be making?)

I know this is HUGELY subjective. Just looking to see if there is a consensus I should be acknowledging as I make the decision.

Thanks for any guidance!



EDIT: There is one more option...to get the M2 version at Apple upgraded to 16/512. That would be $100 more than the M1 16/512, but with a smaller screen.

You're right that a lot of the choices to make here will be subjective and come down to personal preference. Especially things like how much you care about having a nice monitor vs one that is kinda crappy but "sufficient" etc.

When it comes to the MacBook question, I think how much you will be using it at your desk with the external monitor, vs using the built in monitor "on the go" will be an important consideration.

The biggest improvements that the 14" offers are faster multicore performance, and that amazing display (there are some outliers like having an HDMI port or SD card slot but for most people those are not major considerations). For single core, the M1 and M1 Pro/Max are nearly identical in performance, and the M2 is actually about 10% faster at single core than the M1 Pro/Max. For multicore, the "normal" 10 core (8 performance, 2 efficiency) M1 Pro/Max models are about 40% faster than the M2 (4 performance cores, 4 efficiency). However, if you are considering the base model 14", this is the only model that comes with the binned 8 core M1 Pro (6 performance cores, 2 efficiency). This model is only about 9% faster than the M2 at multicore, and slower at single core, so the performance differences are negligible.

When it comes to the screen, I will say that the 14" one is fantastic! But if you are going to be using an external monitor 90% of the time, and rarely using the built in monitor, then I would say it makes sense to put more money towards a better external display, rather than towards the built in one that you are not going to be using very much.

The M2 13" MBP has 1 big advantage over the 14" as well. It's got about 50% more battery life.

For most people I would recommend the 14" Pro in a heartbeat. But for specific use cases, such as only considering the entry level model 14 with the binned CPU, and mostly using an external display rather than the built in one (of if battery life was most important feature), the M2 13" MBP could make more sense.

Finally, I should mention that all the M1 and M2 laptops can only support 1 external display. Only the M1 Pro computers can support 2 external displays (4 on the M1 Max).

 

[lkalliance]

You're right that a lot of the choices to make here will be subjective and come down to personal preference. Especially things like how much you care about having a nice monitor vs one that is kinda crappy but "sufficient" etc.

When it comes to the MacBook question, I think how much you will be using it at your desk with the external monitor, vs using the built in monitor "on the go" will be an important consideration.

The biggest improvements that the 14" offers are faster multicore performance, and that amazing display (there are some outliers like having an HDMI port or SD card slot but for most people those are not major considerations). For single core, the M1 and M1 Pro/Max are nearly identical in performance, and the M2 is actually about 10% faster at single core than the M1 Pro/Max. For multicore, the "normal" 10 core (8 performance, 2 efficiency) M1 Pro/Max models are about 40% faster than the M2 (4 performance cores, 4 efficiency). However, if you are considering the base model 14", this is the only model that comes with the binned 8 core M1 Pro (6 performance cores, 2 efficiency). This model is only about 9% faster than the M2 at multicore, and slower at single core, so the performance differences are negligible.

When it comes to the screen, I will say that the 14" one is fantastic! But if you are going to be using an external monitor 90% of the time, and rarely using the built in monitor, then I would say it makes sense to put more money towards a better external display, rather than towards the built in one that you are not going to be using very much.

The M2 13" MBP has 1 big advantage over the 14" as well. It's got about 50% more battery life.

For most people I would recommend the 14" Pro in a heartbeat. But for specific use cases, such as only considering the entry level model 14 with the binned CPU, and mostly using an external display rather than the built in one (of if battery life was most important feature), the M2 13" MBP could make more sense.

Finally, I should mention that all the M1 and M2 laptops can only support 1 external display. Only the M1 Pro computers can support 2 external displays (4 on the M1 Max).

Thank you for all that insight! An enabling (or complicating, depending on your POV) factor is that both machines are on sale right now at both Costco and Best Buy near me. The 13” M2 was listed at $1150, and the 14” M1 at $1600, a full $400 markdown. But Costco was already sold out of the M1 (online as well)…and there was one left at my local Best Buy. So I went and purchased it today. I have a couple of weeks to consider returning it and getting the M2 instead, but I can make that decision with less pressure now.

The way I see it, for the extra $450 I’m getting a bigger and better screen, a better camera (both relevant for Zoom), twice the RAM, twice the SSD, and many more ports. I agree with others on the thread that I think the chips are more or less a wash. My iMac is an M1 and I’ve been happy with it, and this one would be the slightly better M1 Pro (I do agree about first-generation chips, but I guess i don’t feel strongly about it).

You’re absolutely right that if I never disconnect from the external monitor then some of that won’t matter. But if I do, then I’ve got it. It turns out that to spec out a 13” M2 to 16/512, I’d have to do it through Apple…which would make it more expensive than the M1 I just got on sale, and I would still be missing out in the other stuff.

From where I sit, that feels like a good amount for the extra money. Were the M1 at full retail $2000, I wouldn’t even be thinking about it.

EDITED TO ADD: That’s a great point about multiple monitors too. The 14” does have an M1 Pro.

 

[lkalliance]

You're right that a lot of the choices to make here will be subjective and come down to personal preference. Especially things like how much you care about having a nice monitor vs one that is kinda crappy but "sufficient" etc.

When it comes to the MacBook question, I think how much you will be using it at your desk with the external monitor, vs using the built in monitor "on the go" will be an important consideration.

The biggest improvements that the 14" offers are faster multicore performance, and that amazing display (there are some outliers like having an HDMI port or SD card slot but for most people those are not major considerations). For single core, the M1 and M1 Pro/Max are nearly identical in performance, and the M2 is actually about 10% faster at single core than the M1 Pro/Max. For multicore, the "normal" 10 core (8 performance, 2 efficiency) M1 Pro/Max models are about 40% faster than the M2 (4 performance cores, 4 efficiency). However, if you are considering the base model 14", this is the only model that comes with the binned 8 core M1 Pro (6 performance cores, 2 efficiency). This model is only about 9% faster than the M2 at multicore, and slower at single core, so the performance differences are negligible.

When it comes to the screen, I will say that the 14" one is fantastic! But if you are going to be using an external monitor 90% of the time, and rarely using the built in monitor, then I would say it makes sense to put more money towards a better external display, rather than towards the built in one that you are not going to be using very much.

The M2 13" MBP has 1 big advantage over the 14" as well. It's got about 50% more battery life.

For most people I would recommend the 14" Pro in a heartbeat. But for specific use cases, such as only considering the entry level model 14 with the binned CPU, and mostly using an external display rather than the built in one (of if battery life was most important feature), the M2 13" MBP could make more sense.

Finally, I should mention that all the M1 and M2 laptops can only support 1 external display. Only the M1 Pro computers can support 2 external displays (4 on the M1 Max).

I opted to take the heating thing into account, so I ruled out the Air pretty quickly.

EDIT: That is, I opted to take the suggestions that the Air gets hot at face value.

 

[EnderTW]

Ugh.

I got the 16/512 M2 Macbook Air and it works great for my workflow (Machine Learning, Programming (non-gui) and Godot). The only thing is I got this on Apple Refurbish, for $1,609 after tax Well.. BestBuy just posted the discount back for the 16/512 14' M1 Pro MBP for $1,674 after tax.

Do not, and I repeat Do not get the 8gb version.

$70 or so dollars for active cooling CPU/GPU (TensorFlow will tank after 1-2 minutes, nonetheless, I have a 4090 Gaming / ML PC), a high refresh rate screen, and more screen real estate? To me it was an easy choice. MBA is definitely portable.

I don't really do any video editing outside of home videos in iMovie.

 

[maflynn]

I'd go with the 14" MBP all the way. I think overall, its a better computer, I think the M1/M2 13" MBP is a poor value, especially if you need actual function keys and not the touch bar.

I wouldn't be sucked into the allure of the M2, its a fine chip, but its just a minor update to the M1. Benchmarks have shown the M1 Pro is a faster processor in the 14" Mbp. I truly believe the 13" product line needs to be discontinued or completely revamped as the overlap is such that its confusing

 

[TomLevenson]

Thanks for the advice (I know I'm not the OP, but I am getting good insight from this discussion.)

 

[kpcboopathi]

I think the M1/M2 13" MBP is a poor value

If Apple offers M1/M2 MBP with 16 GB/512 GB as base for same price, would have been a great choice for many people. But Tim can not able to upsell and get 400$.
MBP is called a "Pro" machine which is funny with current base storage in 2023.

 

[lkalliance]

I keep going over the numbers in my head and it doesn't add up to me to get the base level 13" M2, not if I feel I can't get by with just 8GB RAM and 256 GB SSD.

13" M2 8/256 (BestBuy/Costco): $1,149
13" M2 16/256 (Apple): $1,499
13" M2 16/512 (Apple): $1,699
14" M1 16/512 (BestBuy): 1,599

To get a 13" M2 with the same 16/512 would cost an extra $550 ($400 for the upgrades, plus losing the $150 rebate from BestBuy). Even just upping the RAM and leaving the SSD where it is brings me to within $100. With all the other things that 14" gives me:

--Better screen (to my eye looking at them in BestBuy, MUCH better, though I did not look to normalize the settings)
--Better camera
--More screen space
--More ports
--Ability to run two external monitors instead of one

Against the potentially negligible benefit from the M2 over the M1 Pro, and of course it's a little lighter and smaller. The more I think about it in these terms -- added to the kinds of things that people have listed here in the thread -- the more it seems pretty obvious.

Thanks, everyone, for helping!

 

[TomLevenson]

So I have (mostly) made my decision: MacBook Pro 14, 16 gb/1TB. I deferred to my unit's IT person as to whether to pop the extra $270 for the 10/16 core version over the 8/14--my guess is that it makes no difference, but there it is.

I made that choice based on advice here, which I followed with a visit to a brick-and-mortar Apple store, to get hands on with the machine. The small but visible difference in the quality of the screens was one factor, and so were the ports: having both the HDMI and card reader built in is a real plus for me. (I teach, and being able just to connect to classroom AV systems without having to bother with (remember to bring) a dongle is a good thing.

I did find the form factor of the Air sweet, and I did notice the weight; but in the end the fact that the 14" machine can support 2 outboard monitors and work well in my away-from-desk applications was what swayed me.

 

[lkalliance]

The small but visible difference in the quality of the screens was one factor, and so were the ports: having both the HDMI and card reader built in is a real plus for me. (I teach, and being able just to connect to classroom AV systems without having to bother with (remember to bring) a dongle is a good thing.

Heck, my DESKTOP no longer has a card reader in it. I've got a USB-C-to-SD dongle using one of the four ports on my iMac. Having one on the laptop just feels...luxurious, lol.