@@BrandonButchmaybe for tech reviewers who could keep dishing out money to buy these yearly, but for the average Pro consumer who will hold onto the computer for the next 4-5 (maybe even more) years, with future updates, Final Cut Pro editing, moderate/heavy web browsing, and maybe even music production/3D modeling, it’s not practical. I cannot make this up.
@@JoshuaDominic M3 is much different than the M2 or M1 machines, so it's not fair to assume based on those. 8GB RAM performs like 16GB this time around. If anything changes with time, I will be making another vid
GREAT ! I'm retired and after using MacBooks my entire life, I recently chose the MacBook Pro M3 with 8 GB over the 18GB version , mostly for better battery life and I don't play game videos...Thanks for validating my decision with this excellent presentation.
This is an eye-opening video..I just upgraded by base MBA M1 to the base M3 Pro because I was experiencing lag multi-tasking, especially when I had Parallels running. I thought I would future proof myself by going to 18gb of RAM.
I have bought an MBA m2 16GB because of future proofing. Also I doubt that MacOS / Mx CPU are memory effcient. Memory swapping has been reported very often and wearing out the SSD with MB M1/M2
8GB of RAM is very solid on a MacBook. But these are the Pro versions. A Pro user would never buy a Mac with only 8GB of RAM. The new base MacBook Pro is for people that want the display, speakers, battery and more that only the Pro versions offer. And 8GB of RAM is enough for users like that. But it still should have a bit more RAM even at the base level.
I have an M3 base and a m3 PRO 16". The M3 base is the only one I have used thus far for video editing and it showed 0 issues. It didn't feel fast enough, it felt FAST, period. It works great. I would highly recommend the base model to most people.
@@dopagony9946bro , help me. For reading is better the mbp 14 ? Today I had an M1 Pro 14 and an M1 Pro 16 side by side in Best Buy Then... Text on the 16 was objectively smaller than text on the 14 right next to it.
10:48 you were talking about Final Cut rendering in the background but I believe it says rendering is paused at 10:52 , maybe if it was rendering in the background it would be worse when multi tasking through different tabs and apps, 8gb may not be enough if people plan on doing that.
He would need to put it in Stage Manager mode for us to see background rendering. Obviously the more RAM you have the faster the rendering and the more multitasking you can do, but if you just focused on the rendering that 8GB would get the job done.
@@MarkMonetti thank you, I was looking to get a MacBook but I’m unfamiliar with all the apps, video editing is something I wanted to use my MacBook for and now I know something new about Final Cut Pro
If the M3 version can be found for a couple hundred off I actually think the base 8gb configuration can look appealing especially once it gets priced closer to the air pricing.
Currently I own a M1 MacBook Pro and after couple of years I’ll exchange it with M3 MacBook Pro, don’t need excessive power.. this despite me being developer
Not unless you're swapping all day every day for 15 years, which I highly doubt anyone would do. Read this: www.macworld.com/article/338844/how-worried-should-you-be-about-your-m1-macs-ssd-lifespan.html
Amazing review Brandon! The detailed comparison between the M3 and M3 Pro is really insightful. I'm surprised to see how well the base M3 handled various tasks despite having 8GB RAM
Great video as always Brandon! I initially ordered the M3 version and upgraded the RAM to 16GB until I realized that it was only $200 to get all the benefits of M3 Pro, more than double the RAM of the base model, better processor, extra thunderbolt port, space black color, ability to drive 2 external displays, better thermals. Ended up canceling my order and getting the base M3 Pro and am currently typing this on that device, super happy with my purchase! However I totally get that for most people the base M3 will be completely adequate!
You're absolutely right, that's the ladder of Apple. They're doing this for every product and mastered it. Apple fooled you and took your money however you're satisfied with your purchase.
I'm typing on my new M3 14" It's more than enough, although I did up the RAM to 16gb for future proofing, because I don't need it now. I also thought about going for the M3 Pro, however that would have been another $200 on top of the $200 for the extra RAM, I'm never going to use external monitors, nor the extra Thunderbolt port, also the space black doesn't rock my boat, I chose the silver, real classy and clean looking. Both are great machines, good luck with yours.
@@jackdominiak445 that's very fair, although I will say having the extra thunderbolt port is a game changer for me in ways I hadn't expected. Being able to charge from either side of the device is amazing, didn't know what I was missing before. Also I was upgrading from a 2017 intel base MacBook Pro, that computer can drive two external displays. I'd be damned if I was gonna buy a new computer that was in some way less capable than my 6 year old device, kinda stupid tbh since I really never connect my macbook to more than one display since getting my Mac mini, but still that was definitely part of it. Overall your device seems to fit your needs though so glad you're enjoying yours and best of luck to you as well!
I think the entry price point is the issue, sure give it 8gbs of ram but make it cheaper than it’s currently sitting maybe 100-200 less. Plus as a tech reviewer I’m sure you know in one sitting it may perform okay but what’s going to happen after say a year of use for a machine that expensive. I think that’s the wider concern for most people
The base model is already $200 off in some places, Costco in the UK for example. The reason they have a base model is so they can discount it. If it had 16GB it would be disastrous as it would take sales from their higher margin models. No business would do something as destructive as that. Wait for a few months and the base will be even lower. You do not have to buy at launch!
@@BrandonButch that was just hyperbole I was just saying that after a while when updates are pushed etc it will degrade I expect. So for an investment of that amount it’s not great for the average customer. I actually think they should scrap the entry pros all together. Just start at m3 pro and up. Anybody not a pro-user can get an air
As someone with a MacBook Air 8c/10c 512gb ssd and 8gb of unified memory who has had it since launch there is no slowdown it runs just the same as day 1.
In my country India , the base model M3 is 1921 USD after cashback offer and M3 pro is 2281 USD. Not much difference in price and you get better processor , 18GB ram vs 8GB , extra type C port. So M3 doesn't make sense specially for the long term (at least 7 years).
8GB is not enough for pro development work. A few docker containers and you’ll quickly bog it down. Disappointing for a pro machine to not start with pro capable ram.
This machine is a replacement for the MB Pro 13 M2 and is therefore not a Pro machine. The fact it uses the base M3 chip as seen in the MB Air M3 (coming soon) should be a clue? The Pro machines are denoted by their chips, so M3 Pro and M3 Max. The base model is purely an ultra book, made by Apple for those that need a fan. The Pro moniker is just a word and you should not take it literally, just branding, like iPhone 15 Pro. It means the best in the lineup, not that it is for pros!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The problem isn't "is 8 GB enough or not" It's why is 8GB of memory costing $1599...... They should've kept the $1299 MacBook Pro price intact based on the specs of this model.
@@BrandonButch nobody’s paying $1299 for the MacBook Air right now it’s at Best Buy for $999. And beyond that-then fine bump the whole lineup to 16 GB. And if you wanna say the $1299 price isn’t compelling for the MBA even still-then charge $1399 or $1499.
I'm Sorry, but 8GB of RAM is insufficient. Just launching Docker consumes all the RAM within seconds. I understand that some developers working on small static websites or smaller apps may find the entry-level option sufficient, and they're correct. The M3 CPU is more than capable for many development tasks, even with much larger projects. However, equipping a pro-level machine with only 8GB of RAM is a trash move from Apple.
This is not a pro level machine as it does not have the M3 Pro or M3 Max chip. It is the bae model, an ultrabook in all but name, so is not aimed at pros, more at students, home, office businesses, etc. I am surprised this is not apparent as the laptop it replaced was the MB Pro 13 M2 which was also an 8GB model?
I have an 18GB M3 Pro, checking memory usage right now shows 11.5GB of Ram being used! I am already feeling like this is not enough but they are charging way too much.
macOS tries to put as much as it can into cache, so you'll have a smoother operation. Even with higher amounts of ram, you'll see lots allocated to ram, so if 8gb performs as good as it does, then 18 is more than enough.
Can you edited 4k 60fps or 120fps ? How does it handle the editing ? (not just the export) Can you review the clips without lagging or skipping frames ? Thanks :)👍
An M1 Mac could handle that. I'd say even an iPhone could do that rather easily. I edit 4K albeit at 30fps on an elderly iPhone 7, it even exports at like 1.1x.
Hell nah. 8gb is anemic. Stop the benchmarks and do the actual heavy video editing and graphics workspace experience. Video editors/3D artists use a lot of apps all at once.. After effects for example will eat 8gb of ram like it's nothing. Pro should start at 16 gb. But recommended is 24 or 36gb
I agree. If you have a pro workflow, a sensible professional would get a minimum of 32GB of RAM. But this shows how great 8GB can be for the people that buy 8GB machines and want the luxuries of that Pro machine (120Hz, miniLED, etc).It proves that for the people 8GB of RAM is aimed for, they are getting a great device. Pros would look at 32GB RAM for starters so this base model would not be on their radar.
Like Jack said, the people you are talking about in your comment aren’t the target group of this version of the MBP. Not all pro users are video editors or 3D artists.
The M3 is replacing the 13’ MacBook Pro which was for 13’ air users who need better hardware. The M3 15’ air seems to be for the 15 inch air users who were buying the 14 inch pro instead because they wanted better hardware
If you buy 8GB for 'heavy video editing and graphics..' then it's on you. Am I happy, that Apple still has 8GB base with too expensive upgrades? Of course not, but the 8GB on Apple system is clearly still a viable option for people not having truly pro intensive needs.
is 8 GB enough? It depends on what you use the Mac for. But recent testing has revealed something unexpected in the M3 and Apple's 'unified memory' in the MacOS. While it seems logical that low-level, low intensity tasks don't need much memory, which I think is true, even low-level, low-intensity tasks, even if run singly and not with lots of tabs open or other apps running, run significantly slower with less memory. Identically configured 14" M3 MBPs with the 8-core CPU option, other than one having 8 GB (the base model) and the other 16 GB (a $200 bump), perform even low-level tasks faster at 16 GB than they do with 8 GB. And these are CPU-only tasks, so the beefed up GPU in the M3 is not a factor here. That was really surprising. So there is an advantage to bumping up the storage to 16-18 that goes beyond what would be the expected benefits of doing that, making the 11-core and 12-core models even better options over the base model than would have been expected, and the bump to 16 in the base model is also a better option, all for reasons we were not expecting. All the high-intensity stress testing does show differences, as would be expected between M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, Ultra, and beyond. But what is hidden here is that simply bumping up the base model 14" to 16 GB makes it faster than the 8 GB model. Same config, same SSD, but 16 GB rather than 8 GB. The OS identifies how much memory is on board, and utilizes it differently, depending, which ups the performance level, even on low-level tasks. Bottom line, 8 GB is fine for Googling, emailing, texting, and for Pages and Numbers. If you don't have any intensive tasks that need better performance due to an upgraded platform, you're still golden. But it WILL BE slower, even on minor tasks. Whether that is 'significant' to a user is debatable, but whether it is slower, is not.
I like your comment. These are interesting observations you called out and leads me to appreciate the use of unified memory systems in Apple MBs vs traditional memory. In unified memory systems, the RAM is shared between the CPU and the GPU which allows for more efficient use of resources and can enhance overall performance of CPU-only tasks when moving up from an 8GB UM to 16GB UM. Thoughts?
I’m torn between the base MacBook Pro even though I want the space black color lol. But it’s either that or the air m3 with 16gb ram and 512 gb. It’s mainly for school and web browsing but I like to have the option to do more if I ever want to. What do you think?
I have only one question. Does an iPad counts as an external monitor? Like can I connect the base m3 mbp to an external monitor and to an iPad via sidecar?
Thank you for posting a great review. The only way to improve this video would be to include the 36gb ram version of the M3 Pro. Respectfully disagree that 8gb of ram is enough. My mac mini m2 pro with 32gb usually floats around 20gb ram used. Turn on Parallels, it gets to 28gb. The decision I need to make is the Black M3 Pro with 18gb or 36gb at 512gb storage. I need external monitors and Parallels.
If you use Parallels & more than one external monitor, then it's really a no brainer. However your use scenario is not typical of most base M3 users! Also if your Mac mini already gets to 28gb, what exactly are you thinking about?
@@jackdominiak445 I purchased the MMP when it first came out. In hindsight, should have waited just a little longer for a M2 Max Mac Studio and 64gb ram. The MMP gets warm to the touch when I use it and the cpu has so much overhead, it is just ram limited. My AI work (very small at this point) is in the cloud but the on machine is vms within Parallels. In a perfect world, the desktop would be 64gb and the mobile workstation would be 36gb. The 20gb just running is mostly Microsoft software like Teams, two instances of OneDrive, multiple tabs of Edge, and Office. I need a W11 environment for validation on both office machine and mobile workstation.
Nobody in the real world is comparing an entry level machine to a 36GB RAM M3 Pro, so that would not really be a useful test for a video like this. It could be useful when comparing Pro to Pro or Pro to Max though. Thanks for the comment/recommendation!
@@BrandonButch The comparison of 8gb vs 18gb vs 36gb digs a bit deeper into the new M3 architecture and OS. Sonoma and modern Macos is like a goldfish.... they adjust their background services based on the system ram. Check it out for yourself. From a fresh install with nothing running or installed, what is the average memory consumption of an 8gb vs 18gb vs 36gb M3 / M3 Pro machine. The answer for the M1 and M2 varies based on actual memory. The reason for the ask is headroom and OS roadmap.
@@BrandonButch I’m not on headphones but I heard it. I don’t know what your set up is but it sounded to me like when you bump the mic stand rather than the desk or when you tap AirPods in pass through mode, it’s inconsistent though. If you’re moving closer to the mic occasionally it might be your plosives. It’s not often though, I wouldn’t have mentioned it had I not read this.
For a moment some people might have thought they made perhaps the wrong choice in choosing the M3 Pro over the M3 14" device. But alas, they are saved by the very valuable MP ratio being higher on the M3 Pro machine. Thank goodness for that :)
Regardless of how much RAM you have, a MacBook will always use SWAP, it just uses less with more RAM! This destroy the SSD is a fallacy 😏 maybe after 10/15 years of very heavy use 🤣
Benchmarks are cool spewing cool numbers but 8GB of RAM will get eaten up quickly when you're working with thousands of photos and hours of video. Yes, still workable but will slow down everything else.
I wouldn't necessarily say you shouldn't upgrade to 16GB of RAM. Of course it's going to work just fine because it's a brand new product. If I'm spending $1600+ on a laptop, it better perform good! But how good will it work in 10 years from now? Not everybody wants to upgrade their computer on a regular basis, it gets very expensive very quickly. I have a base mid-2014 MBP with 8GB RAM which was the first model to standardize 8GB. After 9 years, it still works good enough, but it's starting to show its age, mainly due to lack of RAM and a processor that can't swap memory as fast as todays processors. Had I spend the extra $200 for 16GB of RAM, it would probably be working almost like new still to this day, excluding any high end rendering times. I have a feeling todays 8GB macbook pros aren't going to hold up as well over time, and I personally would recommend the upgrade if you're like me and plan on keeping your computer for a long time. Great review otherwise!
@@shameermulji for everyday use and simply video editing, you could get away with the base 8GB most likely after 6 years, but I guarantee these machines will slow down over time quickly as software develops and becomes more complex.
8GB is not enough even for web browsing for me these days, and we can all agree that web browsing is not a pro task by any means, and that swap values are showing that. If i will switch for a new machine it will be definetely m3 pro version, besides that poor ram, the cooling is even more poor and only one monitor support is kind of a joke for me. If i am not mistaken even low tier 2 port 13 inch MBP with intel could handle more than one monitor, and you cant tell that was a pro machine.
Apple freezes and compresses tabs that are not doing anything, or even swaps them to storage if the AI suspects you may need them sooner. If you have 30 tabs, you are of course only using one or two and the others can be cached, frozen or compressed. If you use Safari this is very well optimised so you do not even notice when it is being released.
Thanks a lot for the review. Which model(M3 or M3 pro) do you think will make most sense to an architect student who is about to start using ArchiCAD 27? This program actually requires 32GB RAM (on a M2 Mac) for modelling/design of Mid range projects. (Apartment and office Buildings). I am guessing that the M3 Pro with 18 GB RAM will be most suitable? Or do you think the base M3 with 8GB will work fine here as well?
Apple M CPUs are not magic. If ArchiCAD requires 32 Gb of RAM, you should get a machine with 32 Gb of RAM. 8 gigabytes of RAM nowadays are good only for people who do accounting with mild browser usage. While in this video it may seem like MacBook with 8 Gb RAM is doing an ok job, it actually wears down SSD to swap in and out the information that have to be in memory. PS: MacBooks are not the only laptops out there, more affordable options exist from other vendors.
I had a 2017 Macbook Pro with 8GB SSD 512 for 5 1/2 years and it worked fine for me. Traded it in after battery was going bad on base Macbook Pro 14 8 GB and it is very good. It has the same speakers, display, and other stuff like the other loaded Macbooks that cost a lot more. No need to make Apple any richer, they are already filthy rich.
Great video, Thanks Brandon. I am curious about the disk speed. I have an 14" M1 Pro 8-Core with 32GB RAM and 1 Tb SSD. My speeds are 6044 write and 5291 read. Which is higher than what you measured on the M3's. Not that it matters, I just wonder if this has to do with the 32GB vs 8GB.
It is to do with 1TB versus 512GB. You get a jump in speed the larger the storage. Not that most average users need more than 3Gbps as most of the limitations is the external device.
Sorry, but I don't agree. The swap with 8 GB RAM has an negative influence on the lifespan of the SSD. It is recommended to upgrade to at least 16 GB of RAM.
Good comparison between the MacBook Pro's. I find it very interesting how well the M3 performs with only 8GB of ram. Great testing, and thanks for sharing.
Can you compare the two in terms of the battery on web browsing/video playing? I really wanna know if with the basic tasks, the M3 would last longer than M3 pro as advertised or not.
Its not about performance...it never was... Everyone saw that with M1... Its about charging users $1599 for a "PRO MACHINE" and giving them just 8GB RAM... This years $999 iphone 15 pro comes with 8GB RAM FFS....
I would recommend you actually using one rather than jumping on the hate campaign. It really is enough for the vast majority. As a three year MB Pro 13 M1 user on 8GB I have had no issues and with the updates RAM management has improved beyond my expectations. As a casual user, 8GB is more than enough for me.
I think these are good tests, but I would argue that one. I’ve seen other content creators be able to push 8GB to its limit. In addition, I think that as time goes on one memory swap does have a negative effect on your SSD and two base model really gives you no headroom to grow. I think this base model is for students who need more performance then a MacBook Air, but don’t have the budget for an M3 Pro MacBook Pro. This laptop is also for individuals who want a laptop with the extra ports and maybe the better screen, but I don’t actually think most people care about that. In addition, the M3 is powerful but not enough to push the actual 120 Hz screen in applications where it is supported, and has a significant increase in enjoyment. Finally, it could be for individuals who potentially want to get a MacBook Air, but think they might want to do some pro level stuff at some point. You won’t be able to multitask if you’re doing certain pro level activities, like blender, and potentially exporting a lot of photos , but if all you do is a little bit of video editing, combined with some Excel, and and watching like videos and web browsing, then this should actually be fine.
I’ve been debating whether to get the m3 or the m3 pro. I’m a teacher and I mostly use Microsoft Office apps along side video editing for an online course. I’m thinking about getting the base model m3 but with 16gb of RAM. The only thing I’m worried about is that it has a single fan instead of two and I’ve seen some videos online stating that one fan isn’t sufficient enough to cool and it will have a lot of noise. Can anyone help me with my decision? Thanks
you need to make a read comparison, the real difference between 8 and 16gig ram, comes into play when the machine runs on batteries. The more the machine needs to swap the more power it uses, which means lower battery life. And since we are talking about laptops, battery life is kinda important, how many monitors you can attach to the machine is irrelevant, because if have this requirement you're in 99% of the cases better off with a desktop. Use the tool for what they are made for, EG a laptop is for mobility, F1 racing car is .... and so forth.
welp, ive been saying this for years. a base Mchip macbook pro should not exist. Also it amazes me that people only see numbers on a paper and think they know everything. 8gigs is fine for most people on a arm processors, too many people are stuck in the old mindset of intel chips and assume you need more than 8 gigs. apple has found a way to be more effient on a new 3nm chipset for basic use. this is an incredible feat
Hi Anymore observations regarding battery life at all? Sort of in-between M3 and M3 Pro 14 inch at the moment. Would you say M3 is noticeably longer than M3 Pro?@@BrandonButch
Thank you for a great review. I am seriously considering going from an M1 MacBook Air to the base M3 MacBook Pro. Your review is a great help for me in making this decision. Great video!
You're paying 1600$ for a non-upgradable "pro" laptop with 8gbs of RAM and still backing them up. Apple have a ladder for selling products, m3 base model for 1600 but most of us would like to have a high ram option because 8gb is near outdated, 1800 for 16gb version seems OK right? How about 200 more and you will get a m3 pro processor? Now you ended up with a 2000$ bill. It's ridiculous.
The Surface Pro 9 starts at 8GB/128GB which is much less than this and the price is similar in the UK. Also, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 costs £1700 in the UK with 5G/256GB/8GB/i5. So why are you complaining about Apple when MS and Samsung start at 8GB with their Pro devices?
@@andyH_England I think you are right.. What you think about apple charging 200$ for ram or ssd upgrade? You can literally buy a 2tb high-end ssd for 120$ from Samsung.
@@ahmet4yildirim well it sucks, the upgrade prices and no one will deny that, but I've been buying Apple devices for years and know that they are expensive compared to Windows and Android devices. But I am in the ecosystem and enjoy using them. So I will pay the Apple tax begrudgingly!
Love your videos man and it’s quite refreshing to hear that the 8Gb base pro is MORE than enough for basic everyday usage. With all the crap being said about it not being sufficient it’s good to hear it actually is, I’m not a heavy user, I don’t edit videos or do renders or even play games on my laptop so this is perfect for me. Thanks again for this video.
haha right I have the midnight MacBook Air and it was a fingerprint magnet but I winded up putting stickers on my laptop anyhow so doesnt really matter. Before the stickers I still only wiped it off every few weeks usually when the screen was dirty.
Try opening up 20 or so 100MB high res images in your favorite Mac Photo app like Photoshop or Pixelmator Pro and doing a batch resize on those images and see what happens! My M1 Mac Mini has 16GB ram and it DIES! A window comes up saying “close applications to free up memory” and then ultimately it fails and you have to quit/force quit your apps!
Do you think 8gb is enough for word documents, youtube, web browsing (20-25 tabs) and occasional apps such as spotify and whatsapp? Also considering that i won't be replacing it for the next 5 years?
I’m just learning video editing and want to be pro editor. I’m not that big of a multi tasker but I’ll use a device for at least 5+ years. So will the base variant of m3 MacBook pro be enough for me? Or I should rather invest on m3pro MacBook pro?
future proofing is never a good idea you just spend more than you need but if anything get the most you can afford.. that is the rule of thumb unless your budget shopping then get the most for your money.
In your case scenario, I would definitely get the M3 Pro and Ive just bought the base M3 which I'm very happy with, but I don't do or plan to do video editing. Apart from more cores in both CPU & GPU it also has more bandwidth. There's not a lot to debate if I were in your shoes.
By no means 8gb is enough. I switched from the new m2 15” MacBook Air 8gb to m3 pro 14” with 18 gb ram. Everything just flies. M3 is not that advanced compared to m2, but the pro version with the added ram makes all the difference.
@@justinmeredith1968 i would say it’s the single downside but after a few days I got used to it. All the other aspects made the choice clear. I was missing l, at thirst the bigger screen, but the quality of the pro, the xdr miniled, sound, memory counter the screen size. And you also gain in ergonomics. Also the resolution is much higher so you can compensate a little further the screen size.
Hi there! I'm looking to purchase my first Apple MacBook, and I'm interested in learning video editing using software like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe After Effects. Additionally, I want to dive into photo editing with Lightroom and Photoshop and then start my youtube channel. I'm aiming for a laptop that will last me at least 3-4 years. Currently, I'm using a Windows laptop for simple tasks like Word, Excel, and web browsing. Any recommendations or advice on which MacBook model would suit my needs best?
Seriously, I don't see the point of browser benchmarks. Personally, I really don't see any difference between my intel i7 2020 iMac, my iPad pro m1 or silicon macs on Safari. All machines is very fast. The page still load instantly on my intel based mac so I don't really understand why some people give way too attention on how web browsing is amazing on silicon macs.
![MacBook Air M3 vs MacBook Pro M3 - Which Should You Buy? [2024]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/I0YcblQpJBg/mqdefault.jpg)
![MacBook Air M3 vs MacBook Pro M3 - Which Should You Buy? [2024]](/img/tr.png)
Never thought I'd see the day where 8GB of RAM is actually enough and justifiable 🫨
That’s what they want you to think. 🤦🏾♂️
@@JoshuaDominicbro I'm literally using the machines lol nothing to think about here
@@BrandonButchmaybe for tech reviewers who could keep dishing out money to buy these yearly, but for the average Pro consumer who will hold onto the computer for the next 4-5 (maybe even more) years, with future updates, Final Cut Pro editing, moderate/heavy web browsing, and maybe even music production/3D modeling, it’s not practical. I cannot make this up.
@@JoshuaDominic M3 is much different than the M2 or M1 machines, so it's not fair to assume based on those. 8GB RAM performs like 16GB this time around. If anything changes with time, I will be making another vid
It’s not the size of the ram, it’s how you use it!
GREAT ! I'm retired and after using MacBooks my entire life, I recently chose the MacBook Pro M3 with 8 GB over the 18GB version , mostly for better battery life and I don't play game videos...Thanks for validating my decision with this excellent presentation.
This is an eye-opening video..I just upgraded by base MBA M1 to the base M3 Pro because I was experiencing lag multi-tasking, especially when I had Parallels running. I thought I would future proof myself by going to 18gb of RAM.
I have bought an MBA m2 16GB because of future proofing. Also I doubt that MacOS / Mx CPU are memory effcient. Memory swapping has been reported very often and wearing out the SSD with MB M1/M2
In game development I hardly see someone successfully using just 8 Gb of ram :/
finally, i got a deciding factor video. tried, tested, and that 's it. period. kudos man
8GB of RAM is very solid on a MacBook. But these are the Pro versions. A Pro user would never buy a Mac with only 8GB of RAM. The new base MacBook Pro is for people that want the display, speakers, battery and more that only the Pro versions offer. And 8GB of RAM is enough for users like that. But it still should have a bit more RAM even at the base level.
💯
Agreed, my MacBook Pro from 2014 has 8gb of ram lol
It would be interesting to see how the 8GB performs with virtualization software like Parallels.
I have been testing. Not doing another comparison but will discuss in my later review
It sucks. It runs into swap
I mean what is interesting about it? If you set up 6gb ram usage by parallels for windows then it is not really enough with 8gb. Simple Math.
It's simple. When it sees not enough RAM, the VM simply cannot start. It cannot just use swap during startup.
BB-
The problem with 8GB RAM is the memory swapping will degrade the fixed hard drive!
That’ll take more years than you’d think
I have an M3 base and a m3 PRO 16". The M3 base is the only one I have used thus far for video editing and it showed 0 issues. It didn't feel fast enough, it felt FAST, period. It works great. I would highly recommend the base model to most people.
@HornDog67 that's so good, creativity level 1,000.
@@dopagony9946bro , help me. For reading is better the mbp 14 ? Today I had an M1 Pro 14 and an M1 Pro 16 side by side in Best Buy
Then...
Text on the 16 was objectively smaller than text on the 14 right next to it.
10:48 you were talking about Final Cut rendering in the background but I believe it says rendering is paused at 10:52 , maybe if it was rendering in the background it would be worse when multi tasking through different tabs and apps, 8gb may not be enough if people plan on doing that.
He would need to put it in Stage Manager mode for us to see background rendering. Obviously the more RAM you have the faster the rendering and the more multitasking you can do, but if you just focused on the rendering that 8GB would get the job done.
If you move the mouse within FCPX it automatically pauses rendering. And Brandon was moving the mouse to show us that it is rendering…
@@MarkMonetti thank you, I was looking to get a MacBook but I’m unfamiliar with all the apps, video editing is something I wanted to use my MacBook for and now I know something new about Final Cut Pro
@@heavensdoor5192 your welcome :)
If the M3 version can be found for a couple hundred off I actually think the base 8gb configuration can look appealing especially once it gets priced closer to the air pricing.
When can we expect to see the M3 Max review?
Just arrived today! I will be testing it out this weekend
Currently I own a M1 MacBook Pro and after couple of years I’ll exchange it with M3 MacBook Pro, don’t need excessive power.. this despite me being developer
What’s your current ram?
Swap is hurting the Ssd in the long run right? How is it hurting?
Not unless you're swapping all day every day for 15 years, which I highly doubt anyone would do. Read this: www.macworld.com/article/338844/how-worried-should-you-be-about-your-m1-macs-ssd-lifespan.html
@@BrandonButch100% agreed. Perfect logic
Amazing review Brandon! The detailed comparison between the M3 and M3 Pro is really insightful. I'm surprised to see how well the base M3 handled various tasks despite having 8GB RAM
lol watch this video instead
Great video as always Brandon! I initially ordered the M3 version and upgraded the RAM to 16GB until I realized that it was only $200 to get all the benefits of M3 Pro, more than double the RAM of the base model, better processor, extra thunderbolt port, space black color, ability to drive 2 external displays, better thermals. Ended up canceling my order and getting the base M3 Pro and am currently typing this on that device, super happy with my purchase! However I totally get that for most people the base M3 will be completely adequate!
I can't blame you for that at all! I think that's the main reason people will upgrade to M3 Pro. Enjoy your new machine!
You're absolutely right, that's the ladder of Apple. They're doing this for every product and mastered it. Apple fooled you and took your money however you're satisfied with your purchase.
I got the M3 Pro too, and upgraded the RAM and I don't regret my choice! :)
I'm typing on my new M3 14"
It's more than enough, although I did up the RAM to 16gb for future proofing, because I don't need it now.
I also thought about going for the M3 Pro, however that would have been another $200 on top of the $200 for the extra RAM, I'm never going to use external monitors, nor the extra Thunderbolt port, also the space black doesn't rock my boat, I chose the silver, real classy and clean looking.
Both are great machines, good luck with yours.
@@jackdominiak445 that's very fair, although I will say having the extra thunderbolt port is a game changer for me in ways I hadn't expected. Being able to charge from either side of the device is amazing, didn't know what I was missing before. Also I was upgrading from a 2017 intel base MacBook Pro, that computer can drive two external displays. I'd be damned if I was gonna buy a new computer that was in some way less capable than my 6 year old device, kinda stupid tbh since I really never connect my macbook to more than one display since getting my Mac mini, but still that was definitely part of it. Overall your device seems to fit your needs though so glad you're enjoying yours and best of luck to you as well!
Nice reviews.. the review I was looking for . Thanks
How do you like the new M3 MacBook Pro, Brandon?
loving it so far!!
@@BrandonButchdo you think IOS 17.2 or IOS 17.1.2 will fix the battery drain issue and lag issue on iPhone 14 Pro Max?
It's the least compelling of the 3 M3 Chips IMO
@@BrandonButch That’s what I like to hear, Brandon.
I think the entry price point is the issue, sure give it 8gbs of ram but make it cheaper than it’s currently sitting maybe 100-200 less. Plus as a tech reviewer I’m sure you know in one sitting it may perform okay but what’s going to happen after say a year of use for a machine that expensive. I think that’s the wider concern for most people
Why do you think anything will change after a year of use?
@@BrandonButchover the years software would get more demanding, definitely not over one year but maybe 3 to 4
The base model is already $200 off in some places, Costco in the UK for example. The reason they have a base model is so they can discount it. If it had 16GB it would be disastrous as it would take sales from their higher margin models. No business would do something as destructive as that. Wait for a few months and the base will be even lower. You do not have to buy at launch!
@@BrandonButch that was just hyperbole I was just saying that after a while when updates are pushed etc it will degrade I expect. So for an investment of that amount it’s not great for the average customer. I actually think they should scrap the entry pros all together. Just start at m3 pro and up. Anybody not a pro-user can get an air
As someone with a MacBook Air 8c/10c 512gb ssd and 8gb of unified memory who has had it since launch there is no slowdown it runs just the same as day 1.
In my country India , the base model M3 is 1921 USD after cashback offer and M3 pro is 2281 USD.
Not much difference in price and you get better processor , 18GB ram vs 8GB , extra type C port.
So M3 doesn't make sense specially for the long term (at least 7 years).
Great video, I just got my M3 base model and it’s super fast, thought I would regret it, and I don’t 🤙🏼
Everyone tung to say it's bad all because it has 8gb of ram . Some people don't need 16gb
@@Johnmims65The iPhone 15 Pro Max has 8 GB of RAM. The base M3 will be sluggish with just 2-3 MacOS updates…
@@Johnmims65
Only casual is ok with 8gb. Aint no way anyone working heavy software is ok with this ram
8GB is not enough for pro development work. A few docker containers and you’ll quickly bog it down. Disappointing for a pro machine to not start with pro capable ram.
A few devs have already chimed in saying M1 8GB of RAM was enough, can't wait to see what they say about M3!
This machine is a replacement for the MB Pro 13 M2 and is therefore not a Pro machine. The fact it uses the base M3 chip as seen in the MB Air M3 (coming soon) should be a clue? The Pro machines are denoted by their chips, so M3 Pro and M3 Max. The base model is purely an ultra book, made by Apple for those that need a fan. The Pro moniker is just a word and you should not take it literally, just branding, like iPhone 15 Pro. It means the best in the lineup, not that it is for pros!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@@BrandonButch I’ve watched devs on UA-cam say that 8gb with the m1 is not enough. A lot of devs online say even 16 gets laggy in Xcode projects.
@@BrandonButch a few apple devs said that I’m sure. 😂
I’m not surprised about this tbh
I’ve used an 8gb iMac for photoshop and Lightroom at the same time and it was super smooth
The problem isn't "is 8 GB enough or not" It's why is 8GB of memory costing $1599...... They should've kept the $1299 MacBook Pro price intact based on the specs of this model.
If they did that then nobody would buy the MacBook Air. Wouldn’t make sense to price it anything lower than 1599
@@BrandonButch nobody’s paying $1299 for the MacBook Air right now it’s at Best Buy for $999. And beyond that-then fine bump the whole lineup to 16 GB. And if you wanna say the $1299 price isn’t compelling for the MBA even still-then charge $1399 or $1499.
I'm Sorry, but 8GB of RAM is insufficient. Just launching Docker consumes all the RAM within seconds. I understand that some developers working on small static websites or smaller apps may find the entry-level option sufficient, and they're correct. The M3 CPU is more than capable for many development tasks, even with much larger projects. However, equipping a pro-level machine with only 8GB of RAM is a trash move from Apple.
This is not a pro level machine as it does not have the M3 Pro or M3 Max chip. It is the bae model, an ultrabook in all but name, so is not aimed at pros, more at students, home, office businesses, etc. I am surprised this is not apparent as the laptop it replaced was the MB Pro 13 M2 which was also an 8GB model?
I have an 18GB M3 Pro, checking memory usage right now shows 11.5GB of Ram being used! I am already feeling like this is not enough but they are charging way too much.
Can you tell me your usage? I'm trying to choose between 16 and 32Go for the M3 pro.
What work are you doing??
Hello?
@@iscariel544 if you have the money and want a device for long term go for 32GB it will last 4+ years
macOS tries to put as much as it can into cache, so you'll have a smoother operation. Even with higher amounts of ram, you'll see lots allocated to ram, so if 8gb performs as good as it does, then 18 is more than enough.
Great review.
What was the swap memory usage with the M3 Pro?
It's common knowledge that it is not the size that matters, but how you use it.
Can you edited 4k 60fps or 120fps ?
How does it handle the editing ? (not just the export)
Can you review the clips without lagging or skipping frames ?
Thanks :)👍
An M1 Mac could handle that. I'd say even an iPhone could do that rather easily. I edit 4K albeit at 30fps on an elderly iPhone 7, it even exports at like 1.1x.
Hell nah. 8gb is anemic. Stop the benchmarks and do the actual heavy video editing and graphics workspace experience. Video editors/3D artists use a lot of apps all at once.. After effects for example will eat 8gb of ram like it's nothing. Pro should start at 16 gb. But recommended is 24 or 36gb
I agree. If you have a pro workflow, a sensible professional would get a minimum of 32GB of RAM. But this shows how great 8GB can be for the people that buy 8GB machines and want the luxuries of that Pro machine (120Hz, miniLED, etc).It proves that for the people 8GB of RAM is aimed for, they are getting a great device. Pros would look at 32GB RAM for starters so this base model would not be on their radar.
The M3 is not a Pro chip and not for those types of users.
Like Jack said, the people you are talking about in your comment aren’t the target group of this version of the MBP. Not all pro users are video editors or 3D artists.
The M3 is replacing the 13’ MacBook Pro which was for 13’ air users who need better hardware. The M3 15’ air seems to be for the 15 inch air users who were buying the 14 inch pro instead because they wanted better hardware
If you buy 8GB for 'heavy video editing and graphics..' then it's on you.
Am I happy, that Apple still has 8GB base with too expensive upgrades? Of course not, but the 8GB on Apple system is clearly still a viable option for people not having truly pro intensive needs.
Is m3 air base (8-256) enough for video editing?? After adding external ssd
is 8 GB enough? It depends on what you use the Mac for.
But recent testing has revealed something unexpected in the M3 and Apple's 'unified memory' in the MacOS.
While it seems logical that low-level, low intensity tasks don't need much memory, which I think is true, even low-level, low-intensity tasks, even if run singly and not with lots of tabs open or other apps running, run significantly slower with less memory. Identically configured 14" M3 MBPs with the 8-core CPU option, other than one having 8 GB (the base model) and the other 16 GB (a $200 bump), perform even low-level tasks faster at 16 GB than they do with 8 GB. And these are CPU-only tasks, so the beefed up GPU in the M3 is not a factor here.
That was really surprising. So there is an advantage to bumping up the storage to 16-18 that goes beyond what would be the expected benefits of doing that, making the 11-core and 12-core models even better options over the base model than would have been expected, and the bump to 16 in the base model is also a better option, all for reasons we were not expecting.
All the high-intensity stress testing does show differences, as would be expected between M3, M3 Pro, M3 Max, Ultra, and beyond. But what is hidden here is that simply bumping up the base model 14" to 16 GB makes it faster than the 8 GB model. Same config, same SSD, but 16 GB rather than 8 GB. The OS identifies how much memory is on board, and utilizes it differently, depending, which ups the performance level, even on low-level tasks.
Bottom line, 8 GB is fine for Googling, emailing, texting, and for Pages and Numbers. If you don't have any intensive tasks that need better performance due to an upgraded platform, you're still golden. But it WILL BE slower, even on minor tasks. Whether that is 'significant' to a user is debatable, but whether it is slower, is not.
I like your comment. These are interesting observations you called out and leads me to appreciate the use of unified memory systems in Apple MBs vs traditional memory. In unified memory systems, the RAM is shared between the CPU and the GPU which allows for more efficient use of resources and can enhance overall performance of CPU-only tasks when moving up from an 8GB UM to 16GB UM. Thoughts?
i like this comment. Right. Big size ram means that cache(cpu command set) detection rating is high. So, large ram is greater than small ram.
Who buys the pro version to perform those easy tasks that any Iphone or ipad should be performing flawlessly.
I’m torn between the base MacBook Pro even though I want the space black color lol. But it’s either that or the air m3 with 16gb ram and 512 gb. It’s mainly for school and web browsing but I like to have the option to do more if I ever want to. What do you think?
Best Buy currently selling the M3 8GB/512GB MacBook Pro for 1299 or 1199 if you’re a Best Buy total member, has been helpful for people. Haha
My M3 iMac scored 587 on the browser bench test which blew my mind!
Thank you so much for adding chapters.
thank you I just got my m3 8gb and I was nervous but this makes me feel so much better.
How is it idk to get m3 or m3pro
thank you so much for the review..
I have only one question. Does an iPad counts as an external monitor? Like can I connect the base m3 mbp to an external monitor and to an iPad via sidecar?
Thank you for posting a great review. The only way to improve this video would be to include the 36gb ram version of the M3 Pro. Respectfully disagree that 8gb of ram is enough. My mac mini m2 pro with 32gb usually floats around 20gb ram used. Turn on Parallels, it gets to 28gb. The decision I need to make is the Black M3 Pro with 18gb or 36gb at 512gb storage. I need external monitors and Parallels.
@therealprofessorp6237 Let me know what you decide because I am in the same boat and I am more of a machine learning person
If you use Parallels & more than one external monitor, then it's really a no brainer.
However your use scenario is not typical of most base M3 users!
Also if your Mac mini already gets to 28gb, what exactly are you thinking about?
@@jackdominiak445 I purchased the MMP when it first came out. In hindsight, should have waited just a little longer for a M2 Max Mac Studio and 64gb ram. The MMP gets warm to the touch when I use it and the cpu has so much overhead, it is just ram limited. My AI work (very small at this point) is in the cloud but the on machine is vms within Parallels. In a perfect world, the desktop would be 64gb and the mobile workstation would be 36gb. The 20gb just running is mostly Microsoft software like Teams, two instances of OneDrive, multiple tabs of Edge, and Office. I need a W11 environment for validation on both office machine and mobile workstation.
Nobody in the real world is comparing an entry level machine to a 36GB RAM M3 Pro, so that would not really be a useful test for a video like this. It could be useful when comparing Pro to Pro or Pro to Max though. Thanks for the comment/recommendation!
@@BrandonButch The comparison of 8gb vs 18gb vs 36gb digs a bit deeper into the new M3 architecture and OS. Sonoma and modern Macos is like a goldfish.... they adjust their background services based on the system ram. Check it out for yourself. From a fresh install with nothing running or installed, what is the average memory consumption of an 8gb vs 18gb vs 36gb M3 / M3 Pro machine. The answer for the M1 and M2 varies based on actual memory. The reason for the ask is headroom and OS roadmap.
Great explained!!
Great vid! Did you test it with Chrome tho? Do you have a plan to test the base M3 Pro vs the base M2 Pro? Thanks!
10:52 Is the rendering paused?
Be cautious, headphone users, as the microphone he’s using is excellent at capturing the sound of any desk banging.
oops, sorry about that! edit: listened on my AirPods Max and didn't hear anything abnormal?
@@BrandonButch I’m not on headphones but I heard it. I don’t know what your set up is but it sounded to me like when you bump the mic stand rather than the desk or when you tap AirPods in pass through mode, it’s inconsistent though. If you’re moving closer to the mic occasionally it might be your plosives. It’s not often though, I wouldn’t have mentioned it had I not read this.
Didn’t hear anything off. 🤔
For a moment some people might have thought they made perhaps the wrong choice in choosing the M3 Pro over the M3 14" device. But alas, they are saved by the very valuable MP ratio being higher on the M3 Pro machine. Thank goodness for that :)
What is MP ratio?
Should I get the M3 Pro or the M3 with 24GB upgraded RAM? Same price.
Is 36gb ram overkill for normal usage and video editing
무척 도움이 됐습니다.
영상편집을 하지 않는 사람이자 Mac에 입문하는 사람으로서, 부족하다고 생각했던 8gb의 램을 가진 m3 모델이 생각보다 훌륭하게 작동하는 모습을 확인할 수 있어서 기쁘네요.
I actually got the m3 pro 18GB on sale for $100 less than the base pro with the m3 8GB. Keep an eye open on sales.
The MacBook Pro M3Pro base don’t have 16gb RAM but 18gb !
would a higher ram on the base M3 make a difference? debating if I want to get the M3 pro or base M3
Don't know how this guy can say 8GB is enough when using 2GB swap. Swap isn't meant to be used as RAM and using it like this will destroy the SSD
Regardless of how much RAM you have, a MacBook will always use SWAP, it just uses less with more RAM!
This destroy the SSD is a fallacy 😏 maybe after 10/15 years of very heavy use 🤣
@@jackdominiak445 exactly.
Benchmarks are cool spewing cool numbers but 8GB of RAM will get eaten up quickly when you're working with thousands of photos and hours of video. Yes, still workable but will slow down everything else.
And who exactly would be doing that on a base model machine? Nobody imo. Those people already know the base model isn’t for them
Very interesting that the 8gb is sufficient to do some pretty heavy stuff, the litmus test for me is how Adobe products fare on 8gb of ram….
it wont work. Because it is not an app made by Apple themselves. This is why 16gb is a must if you are using Chrome or any third party apps.
@@Fear.of.the.Dark. considering Adobe's own RECOMMENDED requirement is 16gb. You COULD get away with 8gb, but not for heavy work.
It would be great to see a comparison of the 14 core vs 16 core M3 Max, I can't seen to find any!
I wouldn't necessarily say you shouldn't upgrade to 16GB of RAM. Of course it's going to work just fine because it's a brand new product. If I'm spending $1600+ on a laptop, it better perform good! But how good will it work in 10 years from now? Not everybody wants to upgrade their computer on a regular basis, it gets very expensive very quickly. I have a base mid-2014 MBP with 8GB RAM which was the first model to standardize 8GB. After 9 years, it still works good enough, but it's starting to show its age, mainly due to lack of RAM and a processor that can't swap memory as fast as todays processors. Had I spend the extra $200 for 16GB of RAM, it would probably be working almost like new still to this day, excluding any high end rendering times. I have a feeling todays 8GB macbook pros aren't going to hold up as well over time, and I personally would recommend the upgrade if you're like me and plan on keeping your computer for a long time. Great review otherwise!
Generally, I like to upgrade my system every 6 to 8 years.
@@shameermulji for everyday use and simply video editing, you could get away with the base 8GB most likely after 6 years, but I guarantee these machines will slow down over time quickly as software develops and becomes more complex.
8GB is not enough even for web browsing for me these days, and we can all agree that web browsing is not a pro task by any means, and that swap values are showing that. If i will switch for a new machine it will be definetely m3 pro version, besides that poor ram, the cooling is even more poor and only one monitor support is kind of a joke for me. If i am not mistaken even low tier 2 port 13 inch MBP with intel could handle more than one monitor, and you cant tell that was a pro machine.
I don't use many tabs and mine works just fine m1 mbp
Apple freezes and compresses tabs that are not doing anything, or even swaps them to storage if the AI suspects you may need them sooner. If you have 30 tabs, you are of course only using one or two and the others can be cached, frozen or compressed. If you use Safari this is very well optimised so you do not even notice when it is being released.
Thanks a lot for the review. Which model(M3 or M3 pro) do you think will make most sense to an architect student who is about to start using ArchiCAD 27?
This program actually requires 32GB RAM (on a M2 Mac) for modelling/design of Mid range projects. (Apartment and office Buildings). I am guessing that the M3 Pro with 18 GB RAM will be most suitable? Or do you think the base M3 with 8GB will work fine here as well?
Apple M CPUs are not magic.
If ArchiCAD requires 32 Gb of RAM, you should get a machine with 32 Gb of RAM.
8 gigabytes of RAM nowadays are good only for people who do accounting with mild browser usage.
While in this video it may seem like MacBook with 8 Gb RAM is doing an ok job, it actually wears down SSD to swap in and out the information that have to be in memory.
PS: MacBooks are not the only laptops out there, more affordable options exist from other vendors.
I had a 2017 Macbook Pro with 8GB SSD 512 for 5 1/2 years and it worked fine for me. Traded it in after battery was going bad on base Macbook Pro 14 8 GB and it is very good. It has the same speakers, display, and other stuff like the other loaded Macbooks that cost a lot more. No need to make Apple any richer, they are already filthy rich.
Great video, Thanks Brandon. I am curious about the disk speed. I have an 14" M1 Pro 8-Core with 32GB RAM and 1 Tb SSD. My speeds are 6044 write and 5291 read. Which is higher than what you measured on the M3's. Not that it matters, I just wonder if this has to do with the 32GB vs 8GB.
It is to do with 1TB versus 512GB. You get a jump in speed the larger the storage. Not that most average users need more than 3Gbps as most of the limitations is the external device.
RAM has nothing to do with SSD speed performance.
14:13 is 3Nm chip not 2Nm chip 🤫
I said NAND chip.
Sorry, but I don't agree. The swap with 8 GB RAM has an negative influence on the lifespan of the SSD. It is recommended to upgrade to at least 16 GB of RAM.
How’s the battery on m3 pro
Wait these MacBook PROS only have 8GB of RAM? 😂
Good comparison between the MacBook Pro's. I find it very interesting how well the M3 performs with only 8GB of ram. Great testing, and thanks for sharing.
Can you compare the two in terms of the battery on web browsing/video playing? I really wanna know if with the basic tasks, the M3 would last longer than M3 pro as advertised or not.
M3 is definitely lasting longer than M3 Pro for me. Though only by a couple of hours
@@BrandonButch thank you!
Thank you for the eyeopener
The swap memory is literally through the roof in constant
The ram pressure was high in the yellow , give it a couple of years it will be lagging like crazy lol
Its not about performance...it never was... Everyone saw that with M1...
Its about charging users $1599 for a "PRO MACHINE" and giving them just 8GB RAM... This years $999 iphone 15 pro comes with 8GB RAM FFS....
This isn't comparable to the past. 8GB of RAM with 2 NAND chips + 512gb ssd + M3 efficiency = much better than previous Macs with 8gb of RAM.
I would recommend you actually using one rather than jumping on the hate campaign. It really is enough for the vast majority. As a three year MB Pro 13 M1 user on 8GB I have had no issues and with the updates RAM management has improved beyond my expectations. As a casual user, 8GB is more than enough for me.
I think these are good tests, but I would argue that one. I’ve seen other content creators be able to push 8GB to its limit. In addition, I think that as time goes on one memory swap does have a negative effect on your SSD and two base model really gives you no headroom to grow.
I think this base model is for students who need more performance then a MacBook Air, but don’t have the budget for an M3 Pro MacBook Pro. This laptop is also for individuals who want a laptop with the extra ports and maybe the better screen, but I don’t actually think most people care about that. In addition, the M3 is powerful but not enough to push the actual 120 Hz screen in applications where it is supported, and has a significant increase in enjoyment.
Finally, it could be for individuals who potentially want to get a MacBook Air, but think they might want to do some pro level stuff at some point. You won’t be able to multitask if you’re doing certain pro level activities, like blender, and potentially exporting a lot of photos , but if all you do is a little bit of video editing, combined with some Excel, and and watching like videos and web browsing, then this should actually be fine.
The other UA-camrs always push tech to limited and go extreme …. M3 pro isn’t for massive gains just the Pro pro ..
you are the only youtube video content creator i can do pip on my iphone hmm 🤔🤔🤔
I just noticed the same thing! How come?! Is it channel dependent, the ability to do picture in picture?
Meh, the rendering of the video was paused
pathetic. last models were 16gb base, now you are praising 8gb base in almost 2024....
I’ve been debating whether to get the m3 or the m3 pro. I’m a teacher and I mostly use Microsoft Office apps along side video editing for an online course. I’m thinking about getting the base model m3 but with 16gb of RAM. The only thing I’m worried about is that it has a single fan instead of two and I’ve seen some videos online stating that one fan isn’t sufficient enough to cool and it will have a lot of noise. Can anyone help me with my decision? Thanks
you need to make a read comparison, the real difference between 8 and 16gig ram, comes into play when the machine runs on batteries. The more the machine needs to swap the more power it uses, which means lower battery life. And since we are talking about laptops, battery life is kinda important, how many monitors you can attach to the machine is irrelevant, because if have this requirement you're in 99% of the cases better off with a desktop. Use the tool for what they are made for, EG a laptop is for mobility, F1 racing car is .... and so forth.
welp, ive been saying this for years. a base Mchip macbook pro should not exist. Also it amazes me that people only see numbers on a paper and think they know everything. 8gigs is fine for most people on a arm processors, too many people are stuck in the old mindset of intel chips and assume you need more than 8 gigs. apple has found a way to be more effient on a new 3nm chipset for basic use. this is an incredible feat
It's not about 8 gb being enough. It's about the customers who are buying pro model. They shouldn't be having to 'manage' with only 8 gb
What if I use Citrix or parallel virtual windows machines l? Do 8gb handle that without lag?
how about battery life difference if you can add? is m3 significantly better? from specs looks like it but in real life?
Noticing longer battery life on the M3 for sure. Still testing though so will give an update in a few weeks with more usage/data
Hi Anymore observations regarding battery life at all? Sort of in-between M3 and M3 Pro 14 inch at the moment. Would you say M3 is noticeably longer than M3 Pro?@@BrandonButch
Bro
You got a tiny hands for that watch ultra 😂
You definitely need an Watch ultra extra extreme mini 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
nope, fits me just fine.
Thank you for a great review. I am seriously considering going from an M1 MacBook Air to the base M3 MacBook Pro. Your review is a great help for me in making this decision. Great video!
So u got M3 Macbook pro?
Interesting Max Tech showed the 8Gb taking 5 times longer for some tasks and more or less said 8GB sucks
Yeah when testing 8K video editing, which absolutely zero people will be doing on a base model machine
You're paying 1600$ for a non-upgradable "pro" laptop with 8gbs of RAM and still backing them up. Apple have a ladder for selling products, m3 base model for 1600 but most of us would like to have a high ram option because 8gb is near outdated, 1800 for 16gb version seems OK right? How about 200 more and you will get a m3 pro processor? Now you ended up with a 2000$ bill. It's ridiculous.
I like iPhones but my god people really suck off Apple for their other bullshit products. $1600 for a “Pro model” laptop with 8GB of RAM 😂😂😂
The Surface Pro 9 starts at 8GB/128GB which is much less than this and the price is similar in the UK. Also, the Galaxy Book 3 Pro 360 costs £1700 in the UK with 5G/256GB/8GB/i5. So why are you complaining about Apple when MS and Samsung start at 8GB with their Pro devices?
@@andyH_England I think you are right.. What you think about apple charging 200$ for ram or ssd upgrade? You can literally buy a 2tb high-end ssd for 120$ from Samsung.
@@ahmet4yildirim well it sucks, the upgrade prices and no one will deny that, but I've been buying Apple devices for years and know that they are expensive compared to Windows and Android devices. But I am in the ecosystem and enjoy using them. So I will pay the Apple tax begrudgingly!
@@andyH_England same here!
why the description of this particular video is confusing M3 base vs m3 pro right not both showing pro M3 and M3 pro little confused correct that
M3 pro 18 gb vs m3 24gb , which one is better for dj use?
is 18gb enough or should I upgrade to the 36 gig? I really feel the 18 is enough but friends are saying I should upgrade.
What kind of work are you doing
Love your videos man and it’s quite refreshing to hear that the 8Gb base pro is MORE than enough for basic everyday usage. With all the crap being said about it not being sufficient it’s good to hear it actually is, I’m not a heavy user, I don’t edit videos or do renders or even play games on my laptop so this is perfect for me. Thanks again for this video.
I don’t get why tech UA-camrs are so obsessed with fingerprints 😂
haha right I have the midnight MacBook Air and it was a fingerprint magnet but I winded up putting stickers on my laptop anyhow so doesnt really matter. Before the stickers I still only wiped it off every few weeks usually when the screen was dirty.
Not just UA-camrs, like my cars, I like my tech machines to be clean & shiny😊
🤣 we’re OCD
Try opening up 20 or so 100MB high res images in your favorite Mac Photo app like Photoshop or Pixelmator Pro and doing a batch resize on those images and see what happens! My M1 Mac Mini has 16GB ram and it DIES! A window comes up saying “close applications to free up memory” and then ultimately it fails and you have to quit/force quit your apps!
Do you know how you can clear swap without turning off your MacBook? On Linux it was swapoff -a ; swapon -a
Why this brandon video can be watched in PiP mode though I don’t subscribe to youtube premium?
Lol you have been paid to say this line that 8gb is enough.😂😂
Do you think 8gb is enough for word documents, youtube, web browsing (20-25 tabs) and occasional apps such as spotify and whatsapp? Also considering that i won't be replacing it for the next 5 years?
Yes, definitely. I think 16GB or M3 Pro is only needed if you’re going to be using pro-level apps
is m3pro required for photoshop and Lightroom @@BrandonButch
I’m just learning video editing and want to be pro editor. I’m not that big of a multi tasker but I’ll use a device for at least 5+ years. So will the base variant of m3 MacBook pro be enough for me? Or I should rather invest on m3pro MacBook pro?
future proofing is never a good idea you just spend more than you need but if anything get the most you can afford.. that is the rule of thumb unless your budget shopping then get the most for your money.
In your case scenario, I would definitely get the M3 Pro and Ive just bought the base M3 which I'm very happy with, but I don't do or plan to do video editing.
Apart from more cores in both CPU & GPU it also has more bandwidth.
There's not a lot to debate if I were in your shoes.
If you’re video editing daily and earning from it, I’d say go 16GB of RAM or M3 Pro if you can stretch it
By no means 8gb is enough. I switched from the new m2 15” MacBook Air 8gb to m3 pro 14” with 18 gb ram. Everything just flies. M3 is not that advanced compared to m2, but the pro version with the added ram makes all the difference.
How was it going from the 15” screen down to 14”. I have an air 15” but debating the pro 14” for the ram.
@@justinmeredith1968 i would say it’s the single downside but after a few days I got used to it. All the other aspects made the choice clear. I was missing l, at thirst the bigger screen, but the quality of the pro, the xdr miniled, sound, memory counter the screen size. And you also gain in ergonomics. Also the resolution is much higher so you can compensate a little further the screen size.
Hi there! I'm looking to purchase my first Apple MacBook, and I'm interested in learning video editing using software like Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Adobe After Effects. Additionally, I want to dive into photo editing with Lightroom and Photoshop and then start my youtube channel. I'm aiming for a laptop that will last me at least 3-4 years. Currently, I'm using a Windows laptop for simple tasks like Word, Excel, and web browsing. Any recommendations or advice on which MacBook model would suit my needs best?
any model on an M processor with 16 or more gigabytes of RAM
@BrandonButch Can you check whether the macbook heats up or battery drain when connected to a external monitor?
Note: M3 has Thunderbolt 3, M3 Pro has Thunderbolt 4
impressive but somehow can't reconcile with the fact that my mobile phone has 16 GB RAM and laptop 8GB.
Seriously, I don't see the point of browser benchmarks. Personally, I really don't see any difference between my intel i7 2020 iMac, my iPad pro m1 or silicon macs on Safari. All machines is very fast. The page still load instantly on my intel based mac so I don't really understand why some people give way too attention on how web browsing is amazing on silicon macs.
OBSでの配信も８Gで可能ですか？