MBA M2 or MBP 14 16/32GB?

[hdosiuh5]

Hi guys,

I need your advice.

I currently own base model MacBook Pro from early 2015. It has been my only workstation for over 7 years: I use it for Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Bluestacks, and heavy web browsing (lots of tabs, Google Spreadsheets, Slides, etc.). It started to lag in the past couple of years, but still gets the job done.

I primarily work with short-form social media content: I create 2160 x 3840 images (stories, usually one at a time) and 1-minute vertical videos (Reels, TikToks). In other words, the files are never huge and I don’t ever export 373838 RAW images in Lightroom, but I do make the most of my short-form edits. I consider myself to be a super pro Photoshop user and also want to explore After Effects for some text animation and slight motion graphics.

I’m torn between these MacBooks as my new workstation for the next 5-7 years:

• MacBook Air M2 16GB + 1TB
• MacBook M1 Pro 14” 16GB + 1TB
• MacBook M1 Pro 14” 32GB + 1TB

Which one would you go with?

 

[1BadManVan]

Do you need portability or is most of your work done when it’s docked and connected to an external monitor? Do you anticipate your workflow could go up over the years?

If you can afford it and want to hold onto it as long as you can, I would always get the best spec you can reasonably afford. That would be the m1 pro 32gb.

The airs best feature is it’s portability and battery life. I’m sure it will hold up fine to your current tasks but obviously an m1 pro will do it better and more efficiently

In the end, any of those will be a huge upgrade from your current MacBook

 

[wilberforce]

The big question is whether 16GB will be enough for 7 years, using Adobe apps. On my 14" MBP, Photoshop uses much more memory than on my Intel iMac, because it uses some of the shared memory on Apple Silicon for the graphical acceleration. With 16GB I am frequently in yellow memory pressure when running PS and LR, and "lots of tabs" will take even more.
How much RAM does your current MBP have? I strongly suggest get more RAM than what you currently use. Adobe apps are greedy for memory, and I don't see this being less so in 7 years.
Also consider the M2 Air with 24GB if portability is a priority. If portability is not a priority, you get much more for your money with the 14" MBP (with base CPU/GPU spec).

 

[jav6454]

Hi guys,

I need your advice.

I currently own base model MacBook Pro from early 2015. It has been my only workstation for over 7 years: I use it for Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Bluestacks, and heavy web browsing (lots of tabs, Google Spreadsheets, Slides, etc.). It started to lag in the past couple of years, but still gets the job done.

I primarily work with short-form social media content: I create 2160 x 3840 images (stories, usually one at a time) and 1-minute vertical videos (Reels, TikToks). In other words, the files are never huge and I don’t ever export 373838 RAW images in Lightroom, but I do make the most of my short-form edits. I consider myself to be a super pro Photoshop user and also want to explore After Effects for some text animation and slight motion graphics.

I’m torn between these MacBooks as my new workstation for the next 5-7 years:

• MacBook Air M2 16GB + 1TB
• MacBook M1 Pro 14” 16GB + 1TB
• MacBook M1 Pro 14” 32GB + 1TB

Which one would you go with?

Don't pick an MBA for your workload. Stick to the 14" MBP and at the highest memory configuration you can afford.

 

[hdosiuh5]

Do you need portability or is most of your work done when it’s docked and connected to an external monitor? Do you anticipate your workflow could go up over the years?

If you can afford it and want to hold onto it as long as you can, I would always get the best spec you can reasonably afford. That would be the m1 pro 32gb.

The airs best feature is it’s portability and battery life. I’m sure it will hold up fine to your current tasks but obviously an m1 pro will do it better and more efficiently

In the end, any of those will be a huge upgrade from your current MacBook

Hey!

Thank you for clearing this up!

I don’t use external monitors and work mostly from places I can easily charge my laptop in. I also don’t see my workload going up in the next couple of years, but I do want to play around with After Effects and play a video game once in a year.

I guess this adds up to reasons for going MBP 14” 32GB.

I wonder if you would still advise on 32GB is I would aim for less years of usage (3-4 instead of 5-7)?

 

[hdosiuh5]

Don't pick an MBA for your workload. Stick to the 14" MBP and at the highest memory configuration you can afford.

Hey!

Do you think I will feel the advantages of 32GB, given I’m coming from a 7-year-old MBP with 8GB of RAM?

I try not to overkill.

 

[Six0Four]

There is no way you need or will need in 7 years 32GB of RAM for doing this sort of work. 16GB is more then enough. And since the 16GB Air is so close in price to the 14" Pro I would go with the Pro.

 

[hdosiuh5]

There is no way you need or will need in 7 years 32GB of RAM for doing this sort of work. 16GB is more then enough. And since the 16GB Air is so close in price to the 14" Pro I would go with the Pro.

Absolutely agree with the fact that the price difference + value for money is pulling me towards Pro.

But why do you think 16GB will be enough? Do you use After Effects or MBP 14” 16GB too?

 

[geta]

You should also consider M2 MBA with 10c GPU, 24GB & 1TB.

Dont know the price difference in your place, but in the EU the base 14” with 32GB & 1TB cost 400€ more… and with 16GB 60€ cheaper.

 

[hdosiuh5]

You should also consider M2 MBA with 10c GPU, 24GB & 1TB.

Dont know the price difference in your place, but in the EU the base 14” with 32GB & 1TB cost 400€ more… and with 16GB 60€ cheaper.

Doesn’t M2 MBA thermal throttleC, making you unable to take advantage of these 10C + 24GB?

 

[wilberforce]

Hey!

Do you think I will feel the advantages of 32GB, given I’m coming from a 7-year-old MBP with 8GB of RAM?

I try not to overkill.

If you are working with 8GB RAM now, then 16GB will likely be OK, IMO.

It is not as if it is black and white; enough or not enough, work or not work. It is more a question whether the (possibly slight) speed gains under heavy workloads are worth the extra cost of more RAM (or cores, etc).

I also do not subscribe to the concept of "future-proofing" by overkilling specs. I think it more cost-effective in the long run to get what you need now (with a reasonable margin), and upgrade more often (like in 4 years, not 7). The worst is to overkill now, and find you need to upgrade earlier anyway for other reasons, because you cannot future-proof your changing needs or interests.

 

[geta]

Doesn’t M2 MBA thermal throttleC, making you unable to take advantage of these 10C + 24GB?

For your needs i doubt.

 

[hdosiuh5]

If you are working with 8GB RAM now, then 16GB will likely be OK, IMO.

It is not as if it is black and white; enough or not enough, work or not work. It is more a question whether the (possibly slight) speed gains under heavy workloads are worth the extra cost of more RAM (or cores, etc).

I also do not subscribe to the concept of "future-proofing" by overkilling specs. I think it more cost-effective in the long run to get what you need now (with a reasonable margin), and upgrade more often (like in 4 years, not 7). The worst is to overkill now, and find you need to upgrade earlier anyway for other reasons, because you cannot future-proof your changing needs or interests.

You know, this is a great piece of advice! Totally makes sense to me. It’s better to go for 16GB for now and save these $400 for a earlier upgrade to M6 or something. Thank you!

I hope these 16GB will be enough for a sleek title animation in After Effects here and there. Never tried it before!

 

[CSBBody]

i suspect your choice is 16 or 32.

a loaded MBA is almost right on MBP 14 money. other than extreme portability, i cant see the benefit.

i went with 16gb ram and rather pushed my storage, i didn't need all the GPU cores, as i work mostly in logic, or spreadsheets and research. its early days for me and this machine, i haven't noticed any issues, i have a mac studio with 32gb on my desk.

i rotate every 3-4 years.

 

[jav6454]

Hey!

Do you think I will feel the advantages of 32GB, given I’m coming from a 7-year-old MBP with 8GB of RAM?

I try not to overkill.

My advice is always to get the highest memory configuration your budget can afford. Memory is not upgradeable future state and should you need it, you'll be stuck.

Also, having larger memory is not detrimental as it means the overall machine will respond better given how much more data can be cached in.

 

[wilberforce]

I think of computer upgrade budget in terms of $/year, such as $500/year.
So can afford:
$2000 computer every 4 years
$2500 computer every 5 years
$3000 computer every 6 years
etc.

So buying excessive RAM can actually be a bad thing, because it delays when one can upgrade, given the same yearly budget.

On the other hand, buying too little RAM possibly forces one to upgrade sooner than one planned. IMO the optimum is to find the right balance, not just more is always better.