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M3 MacBook Advice (self.apple_enthusiast)

submitted 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) by Augustiner to c/apple_enthusiast

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My old and trusty MacBook is slowly giving up and I’m trying to replace it. I’ve been looking at the m3 pro line for a replacement.

Currently I’m debating wether a 14-Inch 12 core CPU, 18 core GPU, 1 TB SSD, or the 16-Inch 12 core CPU, 18 core GPU, 500 GB SSD makes more sense.

I like the small size and larger SSD of the 14 Inch version, but I’m kinda scared that it’ll get hot faster than the bigger version or have less power somehow.

My tasks include handling documents, editing large photos and videos and very rarely some 3D stuff in blender. I also wanna play some BG3 from time to time.

What would you choose? Are those good choices for the jobs I want it to do? Is my fear of the small one being a little too powerful for its size justified? Or do you say get something else entirely?

Thanks for your help in advance!

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[–] abhibeckert 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Blender and games run great on my M1 MacBook Air which doesn't get hot even with no cooling at all except via the external case and I mostly play games on the couch with the laptop on my lap.

After two or three hours with all 8 CPU cores and the GPU both pegged under 100% load, I can notice the heat on my bare skin but it's not uncomfortable. And it only does that in games - Blender gives the CPU/GPU enough of a break between renders to keep it cool.

The MacBook Pro, which does have a fan, is definitely not going to get hot. Forget about that issue. The fan will make it run cooler, and also faster since the CPU won't be thermally throttled (my M1 is permanently thermally throttled while playing games... still fast enough to get good framerates at moderately high graphics settings though);.

Just buy the most expensive one you can afford. You're going to love it. The only thing to be aware of is external display support, which isn't very good on the low end models... but the M3 MacBook Air has improved that significantly and Apple has said there will be a firmware update to the M3 MacBook Pro soon to do the same thing.

[–] Augustiner 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Wow, thanks for the in depth reply! Probably will do as you suggested and just buy the most expensive one I can afford.

The reason I was a little scared of temperature issues is that my MacBook right now turns into a room heater as soon as I do something more complicated than using notes. To the point where it damaged the screen when I worked on an external display with the internal display closed. I’m very glad to hear that that doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore with apple silicone. It’ll be so nice to be able to use my laptop on my lap again!