MM M1 vs MM i7

[nicnic77]

I currently have the MM M1 on order which arrives 18th Dec. I've also ordered the MM i7 and 64Gb of RAM from OWC, arriving 18th Dec. I'm torn between the M1 and the i7 and need to decide which one to keep. I already own two thunderbolt LG Ultrafine 24" monitors which are driven by an i5 Macbook Air.

M1 Pros

• Early benchmarks appear to trounce the i7
• £450 cheaper

M1 Cons

• Won't support my thunderbolt monitors
• Only 16Gb RAM
• Potentially won't support Docker for a while

i7 Pros

• Supports my thunderbolt monitors
• Supports 64Gb RAM

i7 Cons

• Slower than the M1
• £450 more expensive

Options:

1. Keep the i7 and LG Monitors
2. Keep the M1, sell the LG Monitors, and buy an ultrawide or two other good monitors.

I'm a Javascript Developer so want the fastest workflow for compiling code. My new contract may require Docker, though I'm not sure at this point. I sometimes use photo editors like Photoshop but otherwise never really stress the system.

Which route to take? Money isn't really a major factor, but I won't stretch to an XDR display!

 

[BeatCrazy]

Was reading your posting, thinking "he should just get an XDR", then I got to the last sentence

 

[phoenix-mac-user]

I would not even consider buying an Intel-based mac, but that is me.

People talk about the problems that occur with first generation Macs based on the problems the 1st gen Intel had, but those 1st gen Intels held their value and were useful for a lot longer than end of life Power PCs were.

The future of Mac is here, and anyone buying Intel is just wasting their money (unless it is your bosses money, then have at it, ask for the M2 a year from now).

 

[Boyd01]

Since running Windows and legacy versions of MacOS in virtual machines is essential for me, buying an M1 Mini would be "just wasting my money".

 

[IngerMan]

Are you sure the monitors will not work with the M1. Can you use 1 HDMi connection and 1 Thunderbolt connection?

Edit: I seen the monitors only have thunderbolt or usb-c It still seems like there should be a work around.

 

[nicnic77]

Was reading your posting, thinking "he should just get an XDR", then I got to the last sentence

Yeah, no way I need something as potent as the XDR. I'm sure there are acceptable monitors for much less. That said, t took me ages to decide on the LGs, finding a good monitor for the MM with high DPI is not easy!

 

[nicnic77]

I would not even consider buying an Intel-based mac, but that is me.

People talk about the problems that occur with first generation Macs based on the problems the 1st gen Intel had, but those 1st gen Intels held their value and were useful for a lot longer than end of life Power PCs were.

The future of Mac is here, and anyone buying Intel is just wasting their money (unless it is your bosses money, then have at it, ask for the M2 a year from now).

Yeah, good point. The M1 benchmarks are crazy good... The only thing I loose moving to the new tech is support for my monitors. I think long-term I'd be happier with a better CPU...

 

[nicnic77]

I would not even consider buying an Intel-based mac, but that is me.

People talk about the problems that occur with first generation Macs based on the problems the 1st gen Intel had, but those 1st gen Intels held their value and were useful for a lot longer than end of life Power PCs were.

The future of Mac is here, and anyone buying Intel is just wasting their money (unless it is your bosses money, then have at it, ask for the M2 a year from now).

Yeah, I think I agree here... And my boss is me, so I'm wasting money two ways

 

[nicnic77]

Are you sure the monitors will not work with the M1. Can you use 1 HDMi connection and 1 Thunderbolt connection?

Edit: I seen the monitors only have thunderbolt or usb-c It still seems like there should be a work around.

I've asked in another thread. And the answer seems to be there is NO way of running them. If I can find a way then the problem is solved! But so far it seems unlikely...

 

[Ursadorable]

Lack of support for a eGPU is a non-starter for me right now. That and the 16GB RAM limitation.

Thankfully my 2018 MM arrived 2 days before the M1 announce.

 

[tonyunreal]

If this is your main working computer, I would say keep the i7 just to be safe. Software support on the M1 side is rather immature at the moment, just mere thoughts about having to wait months for developing environments to adapt, or having pre-release productivity software to crash in the middle of a work really hurts my brain.

Both would probably get replaced on the long run, and personally I am hoping to secure the money to replace them by then, since the ecosystem is leaving Intel and the M1 Macs would get replaced by more powerful and feature-complete Macs. Until then either would do fine.

BTW: the M1 isn't always faster than the i7-8700B in every scenario. Phoronix has a great new article with tons of benchmarks between the two.

Apple M1 ARM Performance With A 2020 Mac Mini Review - Phoronix

www.phoronix.com