Hi folks, I am going from a 2018 Dell XPS 13 to a MacBook Pro. I am trying to decide between the 14 inch MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip or the Base M4 chip (at the same prices). I have read a few posts at forums and reviews about the differences between the two. What I really want to know is for my intended usage, which is better. I will be doing regular tasks (email, text messaging, web browsing etc and some light, Photoshop and Lightroom, as a hobby. Since I will be using it connected to a 38” wide screen external monitor most of the time, I was wondering if the stronger CPU performance of the base M4 chip would be better, or the faster SSD, stronger graphics performance and dual fans of the M3 Pro chip is preferable. The XPS 13 had its fan spinning (and quite loudly) quite a bit and the base M4 has just one fan where the M3 Pro has dual fans. I just don’t know if having it connected to an external monitor tasks the CPU more or the graphics more, or if it really doesn’t matter at all. Either would be powerful enough for my needs I think, but which set of positives are better for me.
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Which 14 inch MacBook Pro is better for me?
- Thread starter striker100
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Get the base M4. The improved single-core score and increased RAM would benefit you more, and the newer processor will get supported for longer. Photoshop and Lightroom aren't demanding enough that the fan would be an issue either.
The M3 Pro actually has 2GB more RAM than the M4, 18GB vs 16GB but I'm not sure if that makes much difference if any.
That's a bit of a strange (and minor) difference there. Chances are that if you max out 16GB, you would also max out 18GB. At the same time, chances are that if 18GB covers your needs, 16GB would as well.