Looking for advice on which new Macbook to choose.

[bjornb]

Hi Everyone,
So, I'm typing this on my 2013 15" MBP. It's been by far the best piece of tech I've ever purchased, but as an illustrator and designer, I'm badly in need of an upgrade. I primarily create large multilayered files in Photoshop, but also use InDesign, Illustrator, and create videos in After Effects. My plan is to buy a refurbished Pro from Apple here in Germany. 36 (or 32) GB of RAM is probably a must, but where I'm stuck is which processor I should aim for, and also whether I really need to increase the storage to 1 TB (I store most of my files on my NAS anyway). I suspect the M2 or M3 Pro processor should cover my needs for the time being. I don't know if the Max chips would be overkill for what I'm doing. But I'm also hoping to get another ten good years out of this machine, so from that perspective, would it make sense to overload on processing power now?

Also, will the upcoming M4 likely be enough of an improvement to make it worth waiting a few months to snag a refurbished M4 model? I know there will definitely be some incremental improvement there, but does anyone have a sense for how significant that would be?

Looking forward to your feedback!

Björn

 

[IWT]

Thank you for your post.

Here are my - very personal - thoughts.

I would certainly go for an "M" processor. M3 is currently the leader, came out October 30th I think. But I don't think that is essential for your work given that you currently manage on an 11 year old MBP!

The M2 processor is well established and really fast. I would choose that.

And if you do, I would say that you don't require 32GB or higher in terms of RAM because the M2 is so efficient. 16GB RAM would be sufficient in my view.

You mentioned storage. Well, here my view is go for as much as you can afford. Certainly at least 1TB (not sure you can get less than that anyway). My experience, which may differ from yours given that you store your data on NAS, is that 1TB gets used up very quickly, especially when you have a high spec M2 processor & the nature of your work. 2TB is future-proofing, and I'd go for that if you can afford it. If beyond your remit financially, 1TB is okay.

These are my thoughts, others may differ in their advice.

In any event, good luck to you with your new equipment.

Ian

 

[Randy B. Singer]

It's hard to answer your questions because most of them can only be answered by you based on how you do your work, how badly you feel you need a new computer right away, how much you need the very last bit of available performance, etc.

One huge consideration is that you probably have a large investment in expensive graphics software. If you get an Apple Silicon-based computer, you will likely want to buy all-new software that runs natively. (Your old software will likely run fine under Rosetta 2, but doing so will likely defeat the speed advantage of having an Apple Silicon Mac.) So, if you aren't prepared to make a huge investment in both a new computer and new software, you might instead want to purchase one of the very last Macbook's with an Intel processor.

I can tell you that the larger your internal hard drive, the longer that your new Mac will last, not because you will need the extra storage for apps, but because your internal hard drive is used for virtual memory, meta data, etc., and the more writes there are to an SSD, the sooner it will start slowing down. The larger your SSD is, the more that slowdown is delayed. (This all has to do with blocks needing to be erased before they are re-used, which slows things down. Don't worry about the particulars. Just know that larger SSD's last longer, even if they aren't filled up with apps.)

The biggest speed difference will be between the last Intel processor and the first Apple Silicon processor. There was a huge jump there. The speed differences between the M1 and each succeeding Apple Silicon processor have not been as pronounced. No one is expecting a huge general speed difference between the M3 and the M4 either. Though the M4 might be able to run AI-based graphics programs that are pretty amazing that earlier processors cannot, or which then can't run nearly as fast.

Good luck!

 

[bjornb]

Thanks for your comments. I use the Adobe Creative Suite which is a subscription model and therefore always up to date, so software won’t be an issue.

I actually do a lot of my work on an M2 iPad and a 2019 iMac (which is a complete lemon and crashes routinely, even after a motherboard replacement, so I’m ready to move on from that one as well). I still do some Photoshop editing on my MacBook, but it’s definitely struggling more with what I throw at it. I could hold out until an M4 pops up refurbished, but if it’s not that much of an upgrade I would go for an M3.

Thanks for the input regarding storage. I will definitely focus on that more.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience on the difference between the Pro and Max processors? A Max would obviously be a beast with its extra GPU cores, but whether I’d even notice with most tasks is debatable.

 

[MacBiter]

You can now get the M1s for low prices - I would think about that as they will give you a boost over your present MBP, and are great machines.

 

[bjornb]

You are correct, but I would prefer to order a refurb from Apple, and they only have a couple of M1 machines left.

 

[lclev]

I have used an M1 max and currently use an M3 max for doing a lot of what you are doing. I picked the max over the pro because I prefer not having a binned processor. I do recommend getting as much memory and storage as you can. My current MBP is a 14" with 64GB M3 Max. I attach it to two 27" 4K monitors. I can be encoding HD videos while editing photos and/or creating in After Effects with no issues. Both the M1 and M3 are beasts and will do what you want for many years.

Lisa

 

[Rod]

I have an M1 Pro 14" MBP 512GB 16GB RAM, it has never balked at any task including running very demanding games like the Windows version of Borderlands 3 on Steam via CrossOver.
This is probably why there aren't many refurbs of that model available. With it's 14" screen, 5 ports + card reader, dual fans, MagSafe 3 charging and general portability it is a great device but I regret not going for 1TB. The above mentioned game is almost 100GB. That's the trend these days, apps are bigger and demand more resources.
So, earlier this year my wife got a new M3 16" MBA 1TB 16GB. Like the old saying it just works, no matter what my wife throws at it, multiple apps, browsers, tabs, background extensions ect, it just sails along unperturbed. This is probably one of the best laptops Apple have ever made and the choice of 1TB of storage was a good one. My wife has many audio files and a huge photo library bearing in mind what Randy said in his post #3, "the larger your internal hard drive, the longer that your new Mac will last" unlike myself my wife no longer needs to juggle storage.
So, the old adage, "always buy the biggest and best you can afford" holds true, especially if you hope to get 10 years out of it.

 

[bjornb]

Great insight, thank you!