I recently purchased the 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip, 18GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. Now I'm hearing that the base 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M3 (non pro) chip will come with 16GB RAM, up from the current 8 GB the current base M3 MacBook Pro comes with. My question is, if it is a better idea to return the machine I got and get the new M4 base model instead. My return window expires before the new M4 models will be out, so I am wondering if the base M4 chip will be a better choice than the M3 Pro chip in the laptop I bought. It would probably be $100 more than I paid unless it's discounted soon after it is released. I know there is always something new coming out, but since this will be released so soon after the model I purchased, I'm wondering if the new base M4 will be better than the M3 Pro as far as performance and battery life considering it will now have similar 16GB of RAM. Thanks for your input.
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Return M3 Macbook Pro for the M4?
- Thread starter cosrocket
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Generally it’s best to just get the best machine available vs waiting, but given that we’re likely 30 days of fewer out from the M4 Macs, you might as well return and wait for the new ones to at least see what the specs / pricing are like, assuming you can manage a month or so without your MacBook. Even if the M4 isn’t that much of an upgrade, the used market will probably get a lot more M3 Macs so you might even be able to score a good deal on a used M3.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
M4 will almost certainly have better performance and probably at least "same great" if not better battery life too. That's the most popular spin with each generation.
While it seems increasingly likely M4 base will be 16GB, there's also the possibility of it being 12GB. Nobody really knows for sure. Accumulated rumors all seem to revolve around some test units which might have simply been tested with 16GB to also test macOS with Apple Intelligence. What if 8GB is base model yet again?
Another reason is lifetime: M4 will probably be "vintaged" after M3... so you might get 1+ more year out of an M4 vs. a M3 about 7 years from now.
This close to the event, I'd return it too and see what is released. If it's not impressive enough, you'll probably have a great chance to rebuy the same M3 for a little less. And if it is impressive to you, you can jump on the M4 train and have "latest & greatest" for upwards of a year.
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As far as I understand you are thinking to replace M3 Pro to M4 cpu. You will lose some advanced capabilities with resolutions of external monitors. Also I don't believe that regular M4 will be better M3 pro. Less memory bandwidth, less cpu/gpu, less RAM, etc.
I wouldn't recommend to replace if current macbook satisfies your needs.
I wouldn't recommend to replace if current macbook satisfies your needs.