Much difference between the different M3 Pro chips?

[Bungleaio_new]

I previously had a macbook pro from 2008-2012 then another 2012-2016. I went back to Windows since then but I'm looking to get one of the new 14 inch Pros with the M3 pro chip.

I'd like the pro version as I don't think 8 GB RAM is enough and I need 1 TB of hard drive, the 2 monitor support is a good thing to have as well as the extra ports.

It will be used mainly for photo editing, my current laptop is struggling with the 120mb RAW files hence the thoughts to change. I'm also tempted to wait to see what the new airs will be like at the end of March but I don't think they will have as good a screen as the Pro models.

I'm a bit confused between the different chips that are available and despite looking I can't really see any discussion between the 11 core CPU/14 Core GPU and the 12 core CPU/18 core GPUs. With the hard drive upgrade I want there's only £200 difference between the two processors so I'm thinking I might as well go for the better one but is it noticeable?

 

[Moreplease]

The difference in the CPUs is the number of performance cores: 5 versus 6. Efficiency core count is the same. That might help you estimate the performance difference.

Plus the GPU count difference, of course.

Your mileage may vary but I wouldn’t pay £200 for those differences without a specific need for every bit of speed. The base M3 Pro will already be very fast for most things. For that matter, so will the regular M3 with 4 performance cores (versus 5 in the base M3 Pro) and 10 GPU cores.

 

[Bungleaio_new]

Nice one thank you. The amount of options is a bit bewildering especially considering there is no upgrade post purchase and the cost is quite considerable.

I’d rather make the mistake of spending too much than getting too little spec as it’s easier to earn more money than it is to change laptop. Likewise I don’t want to spend more than I need to.

Proper 1st world problems all for the love of photography. If only I would be happy taking photos on a phone…

 

[Moreplease]

I understand your perspective but think I’d spend the money on more RAM before worrying about small processor differences.

But the 18 GB > 36 GB upgrade costs more than £200, and maybe you’re already doing that.

Or maybe your workflow would benefit more from the small but constant speed improvement of the faster chip than from the occasional large speed improvement of more RAM, if you run out.

 

[Bungleaio_new]

I hadn’t thought of extra ram but maybe yeah I should bump that rather than the processor. Lots of thinking to do. Thanks again

 

[geta]

For most people, the base M3 Pro would be more then enough. And if you thinking upgrading something, before CPU consider more RAM and/or storage, special if you planning to keep it for 7-10 years.

 

[Bungleaio_new]

Thank you, 1tb hard drive will certainly be enough as I offload my photos to my NAS once I’ve processed them.

I’m coming round to the idea of increasing the ram to 32gb but crikey apple charge a lot for it. Long term though i think it’s a good investment.

 

[Bungleaio_new]

Well the budget went out the window and I’ve ended up going for the base max processor with 36gb ram and 1tb hard drive.

Massively overkill but why the hell not. Cost was offset by getting 9.4% off with the education discount and I also got 4% off though buying gift vouchers which I instantly redeemed in the store. Still very pricey but I saved circa £400 off the list price.

Looking forward to getting it all set up and in use.

 

[Bungleaio]

I've also been able to recover my original login. I might need to update my signature

 

[Bungleaio]

A week in and I'm loving it. I've successfully been able to transfer my Lightroom catalogue and it's works incredibly fast.

The difference in benchmark scores between my old and new laptop are vast.

 

[Moreplease]

How old was your old laptop and what was it?

 

[Bungleaio]

How old was your old laptop and what was it?

It was a HP i5 with 16gb ram, about 4 years old, to be fair it cost about a third that the MBP has so I can't really beat on it too much.