Great video as always Greg 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!
@@robertf6409 perfect! I upgraded from a 13 in macbook pro so this is great! Not too big! Highly recommend if you're going to be taking your laptop on the go a lot cuz the 16 in is just too big and bulky
This base model is dumb. Those on a budget choose a Macbook Air. Those who are pro should go for the M3 pro model. If someone can spend 1600 dollars they are not on a budget anymore. And the longetivity will be bad for such an investment.
I ultimately ordered the base M3 model but upgraded to 16gb of ram and 1tb storage. In Canada, the price I paid could have got me the M3 pro, but I would have had to sacrifice the storage. I decided that storage, for my more basic uses, was more important than the extra performance (plus the battery on the base is better). I hope I chose right!!!
I'm a longtime Windows user and always will be because of my freelance work, but I wanted to try a Mac just to see what development would be like on it. Microcenter had the 14" M3 with 11-core M3 Pro chip, 14-core GPU, 18GB RAM and 512GB storage for $1,799. After watching some reviews on the M3, this configuration seems to be the sweet spot for the price. I'm still getting familiar with it, but man, the build quality on this machine is fantastic.
@@filipeas17 Like I said, I got mine from Microcenter recently for 1799, discounted from 1999. I just checked the site and the discount is still good. If you don't have a Microcenter near you, they probably ship their products also. Other stores like Best Buy might also have them discounted, but I didn't check around.
Good advice. RAM should be the first upgrade component if you have spare funds to spend on extras. For office users like me, 8GB has been fine for 25+ years, and TBH, I could probably use 4GB and get away with it. There are many of us out there; I know four in my family, where 8GB is more than enough (my elderly parents and brother), and we appreciate the cheaper price of entry that an 8GB base model offers us. I 100% know that if it started at 16GB, it would cost $150-200 more (so Apple did not lose profits). Hoping 12GB becomes the industry standard base sooner rather than later to make it better for those with restricted budgets who want a Mac and need a bit more headroom than I do.
Consumers should be boycotting the product for even making an 8gb model. My phone has 8gb of ram. Absolutely ridiculous offering in 2023 for a "pro" model.
@@uglyasian4164 Consumers should just buy what they need and not what youtubers think everyone needs because they actually think, everyone uses a laptop like them. Thats the feeling most of the reviews left by me. They think, they workflow is the standard. And u have the choice. U need more? Get more.
It absolutely should’ve been 12gb. I messed with it at Best Buy and it didn’t take much at all to run into swap- which means I’d regularly be using swap. It’s a crime we get a terrible amount of ram for $1600.. or even the a $1000 Air. So so so much money.
The fact that obviously can do unified memory at odd numbers like 18gb for the Pro chip then Apple could have done an odd amount like 10 or 12 for the base M3 chip.
@@PLANETWATERMELON They could've made everything much simpler and NOT embarrassing for the company and disrespectful to the consumer, by simply giving the base 12gb ram and having 2 of those for the pro chips, to start at 24gb instead of 18. It's what it should be, for the top tier price it already costs.
traded in my macbook air M1 for M3 14" base macbook pro. total different animal. better build quality, better keyboard and screen, hdmi port is sweet along with mag safe charger. Wish it was $1000 but thats the same price as base macbook air, so yeah it needs to be more because it has more. overall very happy 1 month in.
Got this M3 pro with 8gb at a $300 discount at Best Buy For a student this is fine It runs so smoothly These reviews focus so much on synthetic benchmarks and editing that they forget that 80% of people will rarely do any of that They are very out of touch with the average consumer’s needs If you’re a student, now is a great time to purchase the base model M3 with the crazy discounts…thank me later
You could get the M1 MacBook Pro 14-inch for less than $1,400 USD. Same 120hz refresh rate, more ports, and a better multi-core performance. Only advantage of the base M3 is the new GPU and single core performance. Just wait for the M3 Air if that is the case.
I bought the this laptop and for me the screen is great especially when watching HDR. I could never do a non pro motion screen again its that good for me. the M1 Pro is two years old..... if he can get better why shouldn't he.@@akin242002
@@akin242002 Its very difficult to get the M1 Pro brand new and not refurbished I’m generally against refurbished stuff unless it’s apple and even then the cheapest option with tax is $1569 As I said earlier, if you’re a student you will rarely ever need the multi core performance to the degree others who edit videos do So the best thing is to get the cheaper option - whatever that is will depend on if you’re comfortable with refurbished Mac’s, sometimes without warranty
I'm an American living in South Africa and hearing your wonderful mid west American accent really makes me feel at home.... lol. Love your demeanour, and computer knowledge as well. I subscribed.... I'm getting one of these for my wife's birthday, but here in this country, this same model is just under 2 grand. Yeah, I know.... ouch! Lol, but she's well worth it! God bless!!!!
I think one of the best tips I got from this channel is that the M2 Studio has a revamped cooling system. One that is, supposedly, quiet. When I bought my M1 Studio it was a bit of a shock to find out that it is audible at certain points.
Watching this on a 14in M3 max base model with 36GB/1TB. Upgraded from the M2Pro 14in 16GB/512 base model. Honestly, you are Better off getting the 14 in M2Pro Base model. The battery life was amazing and It performs just as fast as the M3pro base . Save $200-300 dollars and throw it at an iPad Air so you have a portable extra screen and backup device. The M3max is over kill, but I’ll never have to worry about swap or SSD speed/ longevity. That piece of mind is worth the extra $. Besides I got back a ton of $ selling the M2Pro on eBay and got to recycle my old cases and accessories on the new one! Only 2 down sides, that M3Max… you can feel it drain the battery faster even in low power mode. I get 10 hrs on the m3 max. My old M2Pro got 14-16 easy. Second, the M2Pro speakers were better tuned. The M3s still sound good, but the M2Pro was much more satisfying favoring the mid range and highs
Great video Greg! I am perfectly happy with the base 14” M3 MacBook Pro. For my purposes it is awesome.Thanks again for a great and very informative video. Much appreciated!
For Macs, 16GB is the basic RAM needed with 1TB SSD if 1 wants to use the laptop after spending so much for at least 5-7 years (and if 1 wants to be help protect nature). For Windows 32GB is the basic with 1TB SSD
Yep! I have 64 GB of DDR4 RAM for my home Windows desktop using an Intel NUC 13 Pro. Great while working from home 🏡. I can code and run multiple browser tabs flawlessly.
I have the M2 MacBook Air since September 2022. The laptop is fast, and storage is relatively smooth as the base model. I use it for iWork Suite (Manly Keynote for large presentations and Pages) and Safari for schooling.
Great video. This laptop immediately struck me as the #1 seller to corporate executives. Every manufacturer has one and this is Apple’s offering. I think this is a good fit for academia as well.
It's a good academia fit, if you don't have to juggle multiple tabs and PDFs and Pages/Word open. I have an M1 Air with 8GB of RAM, and it is not comfortable with me hoarding tabs in Safari for researching and writing assignments, creating presentations and doing the occasional creative thing. I'd absolutely go with Greg here and recommend the 16 GB upgrade. And I definitely need an upgrade...
If you’re wanting to get the M3 MacBook Pro, if you’re spending the money to get 16GB of Ram and upgrading the SSD to 1TB ($1999), it’s worth it to just skip the M3 and go straight to the M3 Pro MacBook Pro so you have the extra Thunderbolt 4 port, extra cores and an extra fan to keep it cool. You also get an additional 2GB of Ram for the same price and then you can add a 1TB SSD for $200 making it $2199.
Yes, I returned my base model modified with 16GB of RAM w/1TB HD for the space black 1TB HD with the Pro chip for that reason and could not be happier on that decision.
I'm using this device is a nice upgrade coming from a M1 13. I can record/stream at the same time and only use less then 10% of power with no fans, the m1 did streaming or recording and the fan always turned on. I can manage with only 8gigs of ram because I wanted this laptop for the screen. I also learned you can ps remote play on this device and using the pro motion screen with games that are compatible with it is fun
For my use case to pay (in Australia) another $300 for another 8gb of ram is not worth it. This laptop has worked brilliantly and I have never said, ‘wow this is slow I need another 8gb of ram!). As you said this is for Air users who want much more in screen, sound, battery etc. When charged to 100% I have found that even using it for use case (writing) it is still on 100%. Much better than I got out of my M2 Pro which had 16gb of ram. So I do not need 16gb of ram and I save myself $300!
For the casual email checking, web browsing, excel word , watching content, i also found that 8gb is more than enough, no need to pay extra ram if all i do is have multiple excel sheets open😂
Who was this machine for? Me, it was for me. I want promotion since it’s on all my other devices, Mini-LED but I don’t need the power of even the M3 Pro
Love it when you young people talk about the high price of Apple products. Steve Jobs unveiled the first Mac I ever owned the 1984 Apple Macintosh computer with at $2,500.00 US price tag. Today adjusted for inflation cost of that original 1984 Apple McIntosh would be $7,388.14 US in December 2023.
My problem is the same usual suspects say the same thing every time an Apple product is released despite knowing that Apple is premium and has always been expensive. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Steve Jobs didn't want to reveal it at that price actually. It was the new CEO, along with the Board of Directors, that chose that strategy and it backfired. He fought with the Board telling them that they would price themselves out of the consumer market. It was a big part for why he was thrown out of the Apple during those days.
IMO the problem with it is not 8GB alone. There is a threshold of performance, after that point people will do demanding tasks with it and 8GB don’t cut it. I’d say the whole reason for this laptop existence is to upsell. I would not be even surprised if it was a very limited model. People that don’t care for performance will get the air. People that do care for performance will avoid this laptop like a plague.
Possibly a missed opportunity. If I understand correctly, this is recommended for short form video and for not doing four 4K streams for a 40 minute export. How many people do that and are considering a base model? It’s doesn’t seem like a base model use case? The way you stated it sounded like most people work with 40 minutes of footage, is that true?
Apple strategy is to show us that 16gb ram upgrade is very expensive, now getting it in the base model is good value for us. And don't get me started with SSDs. You can get a whole windows laptop with 16gb and 1 TB for less than the cost of upgrade options shown by apple for additional 8 gb and 256 gb. And still no touchscreen for that amount of money
Question: In my country I could get for the same $1,700: 1)MBP14 M2 Pro CPU10/GPU16 RAM16GB/512SSD (Used); Or 2)MBP14 M3 CPU8/GPU10 RAM16GB/512SSD (New) Which one should I go for? Why?
Just get the M3 Pro MBP with external storage. The base M3 with those specs boosts would cost $1,999. The M3 Pro MBP with 1 TB of external storage costs $2,064. Better CPU, better GPU, and 1.5 TB of storage.
I just purchased the same model for the same price with the veterans discount. received it today it has 18 battery cycles with 100 percent health. think i still got a good deal.
So what would you pick for basic computing and for watching the best quality content, the iPad pro 12.9 or this laptop? Thanks! And I can get the laptop on sale for $1,349
@jettav88 I also considered waiting for the new iPad pro, but since the prices with a keyboard are pretty much the same, I'm leaning more towards the macbook. Anyway thanks for your input! I hope you gonna enjoy the iPad! And it's beautiful screen.
All good points. My build, is that your recommendations seem geared to the RRP. The only way to upgrade the RAM on an M3, in the UK at least, is to buy it direct from Apple, and as Apple never offer any discounts, the price difference to just buying the M3 pro from a third party, with a modest discount, is close to negligible.
This laptop at this configuration and price cannot be recommended. It isn't just future proofing, it is resale value. That 8GB of RAM will become more and more problematic and in 2-3 years will crush this laptop's usability as we see memory demands increase over time. And if you are going to blow $200 on extra memory, might as well blow $400 and get a much better machine with the M3 Pro.
My M1 MB Pro 13 base model still flies after three years with no slowdowns or issues. In fact, it appears faster than when new due to the updates. If 8GB was enough for me back in 2020, then it is fine for me now as I still do the same stuff. The advantage is the base model gets great discounts and I have already seen £200 off the base MB Pro 14 M3 and expect more over the New Year sales.
@@andyH_England Interesting. I experienced slowdowns with 8gb on an Intel MBP eventually. I understand that Mac OS uses around 50% of the 8gb of RAM on the M machines, so anything past light use will slow it down as it relies on the SDD, but perhaps the slowdown is not really noticeable as those SDDs are fast.You do run the risk however of shortening the lifespan of your SDDs.
@@flaviusbelisarius3240 Apple uses the SSD RAM rather than the flash storage for swap. Each RAM module has up to 2GB of disk RAM, so 4GB in base M1 MB Air. That disk RAM is enterprise resistant and will last longer than most of the rest of the laptop. So I wouldn't be concerned with a reasonable 4GB use of swap. Of course, if you're using over 12 GB of RAM then you have only yourself to blame as you should be buying 16GB minimum.
So Amazon currently has this base model M3 MacBook Pro 14 inch for $300 off at $1399. I’m considering this since the last MacBook Pro I bought was 10 years and the screen is finally starting to go on it. But having only 8 GB of memory concerns me. I don’t do any video editing or music mixing or anything like that. Most maybe three or four tabs open on Google Chrome. Watching Netflix surfing the web and so on. Well I don’t think I need that much ram my concern is later on when updates come. Since I do plan to keep this computer until it basically starts falling apart like my 2014 MacBook Pro currently is. Unfortunately the 16 GB version isn’t on sale. So I think I might wait until it goes on sale. Maybe bump up the storage to one terabyte as well. It’d be nice to not use an external hard drive to put all my photos in.
that these are hobbled from the start with pathetic ram and storage that cannot be remedied once the user is beyond the return window really flies in the face for anything remotely connected to "value"
Non discounted retail pricing this isn't a very good value. However I've seen a few different outlets offer an upgraded 16/512 version for $1499. So the savings for someone over the also discounted M3 Pro version at $1749 it could be a good value.
Hey, I am a student and need a new Laptop, preferably a MacBook. Would you advise me to buy the 13 inch air 512gb (m1 or m2), because I fear that it might be to small for real work. But on the other hand the 15 inch or 14 pro is so much more expensive. Is it really worth it if I don't really want to spend a lot of money?
The TRUTH is, that this base Pro with 8 gig ram is for those, who just want the other benefits of the pro models. The better screen, the better speakers and the better connectivity. I don't get the flame over the 8 gigs. No one does it on the Air. Not like that. If u need more ram. U know it. U can buy it with more ram or even get the model with the m3 pro. I think the base pro is well placed as an alternative for those who want that bit more over an air. Actually it's the same with the iPad or iPhone. U want some of those pro feature? Just go for the pro. My wife bought an iPad Air. I bought the pro. Specially with Pro Motion in mind. It's so easy: Just buy, what u think u need. Most people wouldn't rly mind those 8 gigs of ram. I have such a big problem with all those review who build the picture of the mainstream customer who opens 30 tabs, do photo and video progressing at the same time and even connect it to more than 1 display. Actually: Most of us would just use the buildin-display the most of the time.... But more of it: U know, before u buy.
"The TRUTH is, that this base Pro with 8 gig ram is for those, who just want the other benefits of the pro models. The better screen, the better speakers and the better connectivity. " Well said.
That’s exactly right. I’m that kind of person. I’m tired of the 60hz display. I got an M1 in 2020, but the base ram and ssd no longer do it for me so I just paid $1,600 for a brand new MBP M3 16g and 1T. This is $300 less than Apple’s listed price, a great deal to me 💪🏽😎
I got it and besides 8gb ram it's a perfect laptop. screen is insane, it is very fast with opening everything, keyboard is pretty good which surprised me, but ram goes to swap even with a few safari tabs.
I*m want to thank you for the informative details, and balanced assessment of The M3 14 inch base modal .I agree for my use case memior/ poetry and photo editing, it makes sense to upgrade the ram to 16 GB. Thank You. !
m3 pro has lower memory bandwith than the m2 pro or even the m1 pro. so depending on your tasks upgrading to m3 pro even with a 16gb memory, from the m2 pro with an 8gb memory, can in fact slow you down, the only true upgrade from an m2 pro is an m3 max. For those coding or gaming, memory bandwith matters and it matters a lot, memory capacity also but bandwith is not irrelevant! Why would apple do that, is beyond me. My guess is that they are having big issues with betting on china and now having to pull out in a rush with no plan b, leads to weird stuff happening. It tells you a lot that the youtuber here chose to compare the M3 pro to the M2 air. not a fair comparisson at all. Better machine than the M2 pro it can never be. This M3 in particular is the most out of place macbook in recent times, it is neither, neither better nor cheaper than what came before it.
Disappointed that you recommended this. It's a waste of silicon and should have either started with 16gb or start at 1300. It gets crippling slow even on mundane tasks once ram gets filled.
Depends on what you'd use it for. If you always have LOADS of browser tabs open whilst having music app etc running you would be better off with 16GB. If your use case isn't too intense then prob be good to go for the laptop in this video as you get way better screen, speakers, battery life etc.
I disagree many people don't have a £1600 budget, so you either get a refurbished or used one for cheaper, or join the rich crowd and buy it new with its poxy 8gb of memory. If your going to start bumping up the ram opt for the next model up and get the darker space gray look.
If you’ve watched his videos…He ONLY COVERS APPLE PRODUCTS! 😅 He’s the definition of of FAN BOY…I own M2 MacBook Pro 14 and several Windows laptops…They all have there Ups and Downs
Apple fans will pay anything for Apple products. Me included. The Apple tax is real and what everyone will pay. If they can sell a cloth for $19 we will pay anything
Great video as always Greg 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!
The 14-inch model?...How is the screen size for you?
@@robertf6409 perfect! I upgraded from a 13 in macbook pro so this is great! Not too big! Highly recommend if you're going to be taking your laptop on the go a lot cuz the 16 in is just too big and bulky
@@robertf6409 I buy the same, and the size is perfect for travel and work. It’s perfect for commuting too.
But you will find the battery life not as good!
This base model is dumb. Those on a budget choose a Macbook Air. Those who are pro should go for the M3 pro model. If someone can spend 1600 dollars they are not on a budget anymore. And the longetivity will be bad for such an investment.
I ultimately ordered the base M3 model but upgraded to 16gb of ram and 1tb storage. In Canada, the price I paid could have got me the M3 pro, but I would have had to sacrifice the storage. I decided that storage, for my more basic uses, was more important than the extra performance (plus the battery on the base is better). I hope I chose right!!!
Same for me!
Same. Its so cool to not have to worry about storage
Same, 1TB is amazing to have available.
Wait how did upgrade MacBook isn't the ram and SSD soldered?
@@ajaydalwari3607 I think they mean they ordered the one with 16gb of ram and 1tb storage instead of 512gb storage and 8gb ram
I'm a longtime Windows user and always will be because of my freelance work, but I wanted to try a Mac just to see what development would be like on it. Microcenter had the 14" M3 with 11-core M3 Pro chip, 14-core GPU, 18GB RAM and 512GB storage for $1,799. After watching some reviews on the M3, this configuration seems to be the sweet spot for the price. I'm still getting familiar with it, but man, the build quality on this machine is fantastic.
Is it just me or does that setup start at $1999? Can’t seem to find those features for 1799
@@filipeas17 Like I said, I got mine from Microcenter recently for 1799, discounted from 1999. I just checked the site and the discount is still good. If you don't have a Microcenter near you, they probably ship their products also. Other stores like Best Buy might also have them discounted, but I didn't check around.
Basically don't get caught with only 8 GB on a M3 MacBook Pro machine of any kind. Treat yourself to at least 16 GB, don't cheat yourself.
Good advice. RAM should be the first upgrade component if you have spare funds to spend on extras. For office users like me, 8GB has been fine for 25+ years, and TBH, I could probably use 4GB and get away with it. There are many of us out there; I know four in my family, where 8GB is more than enough (my elderly parents and brother), and we appreciate the cheaper price of entry that an 8GB base model offers us. I 100% know that if it started at 16GB, it would cost $150-200 more (so Apple did not lose profits).
Hoping 12GB becomes the industry standard base sooner rather than later to make it better for those with restricted budgets who want a Mac and need a bit more headroom than I do.
Consumers should be boycotting the product for even making an 8gb model. My phone has 8gb of ram. Absolutely ridiculous offering in 2023 for a "pro" model.
@@uglyasian4164you have a point
Can you tell how well it runs After Effects? Nobody talks about that so it would be rly helpful
@@uglyasian4164 Consumers should just buy what they need and not what youtubers think everyone needs because they actually think, everyone uses a laptop like them. Thats the feeling most of the reviews left by me. They think, they workflow is the standard.
And u have the choice. U need more? Get more.
It absolutely should’ve been 12gb. I messed with it at Best Buy and it didn’t take much at all to run into swap- which means I’d regularly be using swap. It’s a crime we get a terrible amount of ram for $1600.. or even the a $1000 Air. So so so much money.
espeically since the 1300 dollar 14 inch m1 has twice the ram
The fact that obviously can do unified memory at odd numbers like 18gb for the Pro chip then Apple could have done an odd amount like 10 or 12 for the base M3 chip.
@@onedollasnake Exactly. Freaking terrible.
@@PLANETWATERMELON They could've made everything much simpler and NOT embarrassing for the company and disrespectful to the consumer, by simply giving the base 12gb ram and having 2 of those for the pro chips, to start at 24gb instead of 18. It's what it should be, for the top tier price it already costs.
indeed. @@mootsym
traded in my macbook air M1 for M3 14" base macbook pro. total different animal. better build quality, better keyboard and screen, hdmi port is sweet along with mag safe charger. Wish it was $1000 but thats the same price as base macbook air, so yeah it needs to be more because it has more. overall very happy 1 month in.
The macbook air is a scam
Got this M3 pro with 8gb at a $300 discount at Best Buy
For a student this is fine
It runs so smoothly
These reviews focus so much on synthetic benchmarks and editing that they forget that 80% of people will rarely do any of that
They are very out of touch with the average consumer’s needs
If you’re a student, now is a great time to purchase the base model M3 with the crazy discounts…thank me later
You could get the M1 MacBook Pro 14-inch for less than $1,400 USD. Same 120hz refresh rate, more ports, and a better multi-core performance.
Only advantage of the base M3 is the new GPU and single core performance. Just wait for the M3 Air if that is the case.
I bought the this laptop and for me the screen is great especially when watching HDR. I could never do a non pro motion screen again its that good for me. the M1 Pro is two years old..... if he can get better why shouldn't he.@@akin242002
@@akin242002 Its very difficult to get the M1 Pro brand new and not refurbished
I’m generally against refurbished stuff unless it’s apple and even then the cheapest option with tax is $1569
As I said earlier, if you’re a student you will rarely ever need the multi core performance to the degree others who edit videos do
So the best thing is to get the cheaper option - whatever that is will depend on if you’re comfortable with refurbished Mac’s, sometimes without warranty
I'm an American living in South Africa and hearing your wonderful mid west American accent really makes me feel at home.... lol. Love your demeanour, and computer knowledge as well. I subscribed.... I'm getting one of these for my wife's birthday, but here in this country, this same model is just under 2 grand. Yeah, I know.... ouch! Lol, but she's well worth it! God bless!!!!
I think one of the best tips I got from this channel is that the M2 Studio has a revamped cooling system. One that is, supposedly, quiet. When I bought my M1 Studio it was a bit of a shock to find out that it is audible at certain points.
Watching this on a 14" MacBook Pro Max, with 40 cores, 96 GB memory, and 1 TB. Very much overkill, but I love it.
Whats the price of that exact one?
@@DennisBonich About 15K lol
@@johannesdj3455 you got to be kidding
Watching this on a 14in M3 max base model with 36GB/1TB. Upgraded from the M2Pro 14in 16GB/512 base model. Honestly, you are Better off getting the 14 in M2Pro Base model. The battery life was amazing and It performs just as fast as the M3pro base . Save $200-300 dollars and throw it at an iPad Air so you have a portable extra screen and backup device. The M3max is over kill, but I’ll never have to worry about swap or SSD speed/ longevity. That piece of mind is worth the extra $. Besides I got back a ton of $ selling the M2Pro on eBay and got to recycle my old cases and accessories on the new one! Only 2 down sides, that M3Max… you can feel it drain the battery faster even in low power mode. I get 10 hrs on the m3 max. My old M2Pro got 14-16 easy. Second, the M2Pro speakers were better tuned. The M3s still sound good, but the M2Pro was much more satisfying favoring the mid range and highs
Great video Greg! I am perfectly happy with the base 14” M3 MacBook Pro. For my purposes it is awesome.Thanks again for a great and very informative video. Much appreciated!
What a weird sponsor.
For Macs, 16GB is the basic RAM needed with 1TB SSD if 1 wants to use the laptop after spending so much for at least 5-7 years (and if 1 wants to be help protect nature).
For Windows 32GB is the basic with 1TB SSD
no
Yep! I have 64 GB of DDR4 RAM for my home Windows desktop using an Intel NUC 13 Pro. Great while working from home 🏡. I can code and run multiple browser tabs flawlessly.
SOLID VIDEO! Thank you so much!
I have the M2 MacBook Air since September 2022. The laptop is fast, and storage is relatively smooth as the base model. I use it for iWork Suite (Manly Keynote for large presentations and Pages) and Safari for schooling.
Great video. This laptop immediately struck me as the #1 seller to corporate executives. Every manufacturer has one and this is Apple’s offering. I think this is a good fit for academia as well.
It's a good academia fit, if you don't have to juggle multiple tabs and PDFs and Pages/Word open. I have an M1 Air with 8GB of RAM, and it is not comfortable with me hoarding tabs in Safari for researching and writing assignments, creating presentations and doing the occasional creative thing. I'd absolutely go with Greg here and recommend the 16 GB upgrade. And I definitely need an upgrade...
If you’re wanting to get the M3 MacBook Pro, if you’re spending the money to get 16GB of Ram and upgrading the SSD to 1TB ($1999), it’s worth it to just skip the M3 and go straight to the M3 Pro MacBook Pro so you have the extra Thunderbolt 4 port, extra cores and an extra fan to keep it cool. You also get an additional 2GB of Ram for the same price and then you can add a 1TB SSD for $200 making it $2199.
Yes, I returned my base model modified with 16GB of RAM w/1TB HD for the space black 1TB HD with the Pro chip for that reason and could not be happier on that decision.
Thanks for the tip!
I'm using this device is a nice upgrade coming from a M1 13. I can record/stream at the same time and only use less then 10% of power with no fans, the m1 did streaming or recording and the fan always turned on. I can manage with only 8gigs of ram because I wanted this laptop for the screen. I also learned you can ps remote play on this device and using the pro motion screen with games that are compatible with it is fun
How has your experience been with 8GB of RAM now that you have been using it for a couple of months?
Once the M3 MBA comes out, that model will become redundant… more SSD and RAM at a lower price point (and silent) just seems more appealing to most
no fan noise on this model. never heard it once in a month of solid use.
For my use case to pay (in Australia) another $300 for another 8gb of ram is not worth it. This laptop has worked brilliantly and I have never said, ‘wow this is slow I need another 8gb of ram!). As you said this is for Air users who want much more in screen, sound, battery etc. When charged to 100% I have found that even using it for use case (writing) it is still on 100%. Much better than I got out of my M2 Pro which had 16gb of ram. So I do not need 16gb of ram and I save myself $300!
For the casual email checking, web browsing, excel word , watching content, i also found that 8gb is more than enough, no need to pay extra ram if all i do is have multiple excel sheets open😂
Who was this machine for? Me, it was for me. I want promotion since it’s on all my other devices, Mini-LED but I don’t need the power of even the M3 Pro
Same here 😅
I just (today) got the base M3 Pro model via Costco for $1,399. It replaces my 2013 MacBook Pro that was bulletproof for me and what I use it for.
Is the MacBook Pro 14 basic model! Enough for light video and photo editing ?
Love it when you young people talk about the high price of Apple products. Steve Jobs unveiled the first Mac I ever owned the 1984 Apple Macintosh computer with at $2,500.00 US price tag. Today adjusted for inflation cost of that original 1984 Apple McIntosh would be $7,388.14 US in December 2023.
My problem is the same usual suspects say the same thing every time an Apple product is released despite knowing that Apple is premium and has always been expensive.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Thanks for the reality check. 🙂
Steve Jobs didn't want to reveal it at that price actually. It was the new CEO, along with the Board of Directors, that chose that strategy and it backfired. He fought with the Board telling them that they would price themselves out of the consumer market. It was a big part for why he was thrown out of the Apple during those days.
IMO the problem with it is not 8GB alone. There is a threshold of performance, after that point people will do demanding tasks with it and 8GB don’t cut it. I’d say the whole reason for this laptop existence is to upsell. I would not be even surprised if it was a very limited model. People that don’t care for performance will get the air. People that do care for performance will avoid this laptop like a plague.
Possibly a missed opportunity. If I understand correctly, this is recommended for short form video and for not doing four 4K streams for a 40 minute export. How many people do that and are considering a base model? It’s doesn’t seem like a base model use case? The way you stated it sounded like most people work with 40 minutes of footage, is that true?
Apple strategy is to show us that 16gb ram upgrade is very expensive, now getting it in the base model is good value for us. And don't get me started with SSDs.
You can get a whole windows laptop with 16gb and 1 TB for less than the cost of upgrade options shown by apple for additional 8 gb and 256 gb.
And still no touchscreen for that amount of money
Yeah but it’s still a windows machine with meh build quality. I pay for quality
Will this benefit from 24gb of memory?
This is also going for around $1100-1200 on the open box / mint refurbished market. Makes it very easy to decide vs the m3 air for $899 or so
Could you please do a RAM STRESS TEST between 18GB vs 36GB RAM BASE M3 PRO?
Wow. Glad I found this channel. Really clearly presented info.
Question: In my country I could get for the same $1,700:
1)MBP14 M2 Pro CPU10/GPU16 RAM16GB/512SSD (Used);
Or
2)MBP14 M3 CPU8/GPU10 RAM16GB/512SSD (New)
Which one should I go for? Why?
Great review man❤
What about the 512 SSD? Is it the same in the 14 M3 compare to the SSD in the 14 M3 Pro?
I am a normal user but will be using Photoshop , illustrator and doing UX Design so is this good or should i go back to Macbook m3 Air?
I returned my base model modified with 16GB of RAM w/1TB HD for the space black 1TB HD with the Pro chip and could not be happier on that decision.
why?
Is M3 16 gigabyte ram and 1TB ssd a good deal rather than a M3 pro base model?
Just get the M3 Pro MBP with external storage. The base M3 with those specs boosts would cost $1,999.
The M3 Pro MBP with 1 TB of external storage costs $2,064. Better CPU, better GPU, and 1.5 TB of storage.
Is the MacBook Air basic model enough for light video and photo editing!
The 16GB M3 MBP pricing is inhumane. They just want you to buy M3 Pro at $2,000.
just received my M3 macbook pro. Bought Apple certified refurbished 16GB 512 SSD for $1376 !!! (10% military veterans discount.
I just purchased the same model for the same price with the veterans discount. received it today it has 18 battery cycles with 100 percent health. think i still got a good deal.
Great video.... Well ... Im probably the only one in the world that is gonna miss the touchbar hahah
So what would you pick for basic computing and for watching the best quality content, the iPad pro 12.9 or this laptop? Thanks! And I can get the laptop on sale for $1,349
Which one you went for?
@@Gingerlion777 The Laptop but probably selling it for the new iPad Pro. The laptop just takes up too much room and weight for what I use it for.
@jettav88 I also considered waiting for the new iPad pro, but since the prices with a keyboard are pretty much the same, I'm leaning more towards the macbook. Anyway thanks for your input! I hope you gonna enjoy the iPad! And it's beautiful screen.
All good points. My build, is that your recommendations seem geared to the RRP. The only way to upgrade the RAM on an M3, in the UK at least, is to buy it direct from Apple, and as Apple never offer any discounts, the price difference to just buying the M3 pro from a third party, with a modest discount, is close to negligible.
This laptop at this configuration and price cannot be recommended. It isn't just future proofing, it is resale value. That 8GB of RAM will become more and more problematic and in 2-3 years will crush this laptop's usability as we see memory demands increase over time. And if you are going to blow $200 on extra memory, might as well blow $400 and get a much better machine with the M3 Pro.
My M1 MB Pro 13 base model still flies after three years with no slowdowns or issues. In fact, it appears faster than when new due to the updates. If 8GB was enough for me back in 2020, then it is fine for me now as I still do the same stuff. The advantage is the base model gets great discounts and I have already seen £200 off the base MB Pro 14 M3 and expect more over the New Year sales.
@@andyH_England Interesting. I experienced slowdowns with 8gb on an Intel MBP eventually. I understand that Mac OS uses around 50% of the 8gb of RAM on the M machines, so anything past light use will slow it down as it relies on the SDD, but perhaps the slowdown is not really noticeable as those SDDs are fast.You do run the risk however of shortening the lifespan of your SDDs.
@@flaviusbelisarius3240 Apple uses the SSD RAM rather than the flash storage for swap. Each RAM module has up to 2GB of disk RAM, so 4GB in base M1 MB Air. That disk RAM is enterprise resistant and will last longer than most of the rest of the laptop. So I wouldn't be concerned with a reasonable 4GB use of swap. Of course, if you're using over 12 GB of RAM then you have only yourself to blame as you should be buying 16GB minimum.
I got the MacBook pro m3 pro but i dont see the point of the MacBook pro m3 base model.
So Amazon currently has this base model M3 MacBook Pro 14 inch for $300 off at $1399. I’m considering this since the last MacBook Pro I bought was 10 years and the screen is finally starting to go on it. But having only 8 GB of memory concerns me. I don’t do any video editing or music mixing or anything like that. Most maybe three or four tabs open on Google Chrome. Watching Netflix surfing the web and so on. Well I don’t think I need that much ram my concern is later on when updates come. Since I do plan to keep this computer until it basically starts falling apart like my 2014 MacBook Pro currently is. Unfortunately the 16 GB version isn’t on sale. So I think I might wait until it goes on sale. Maybe bump up the storage to one terabyte as well. It’d be nice to not use an external hard drive to put all my photos in.
İ bought the same one. but upgraded the ram too 16gb. 8 just wasnt enough! it works perfect!!
Thanks for sharing. Christmas blessings to you.
Nice, Greg. Say, is that a coffee shop you sometimes film in or your studio????
Does its screen still have PWM?
that these are hobbled from the start with pathetic ram and storage that cannot be remedied once the user is beyond the return window really flies in the face for anything remotely connected to "value"
It's a CON how apple uses memory as a pricing point considering how cheap it is.
It actually has less ports than my M1 MacBook. My M1 has a USB-C on the right side for a total of 3 on both sides.
Thank you for the videos
Thanks for watching 👍
the 14 inch m3 isnt a PRO machine.. its a heavy air... look at it like that an you will stop worry about the 8gb thing :)
Non discounted retail pricing this isn't a very good value. However I've seen a few different outlets offer an upgraded 16/512 version for $1499. So the savings for someone over the also discounted M3 Pro version at $1749 it could be a good value.
Hard pass. No 16GB of RAM = No consumer love.
M3 Air (March 2024)
M3 Mac Mini (March 2024)
M3 Pro MBP 14-inch
M3 Max MBP 16-inch
Hey, I am a student and need a new Laptop, preferably a MacBook. Would you advise me to buy the 13 inch air 512gb (m1 or m2), because I fear that it might be to small for real work. But on the other hand the 15 inch or 14 pro is so much more expensive. Is it really worth it if I don't really want to spend a lot of money?
The TRUTH is, that this base Pro with 8 gig ram is for those, who just want the other benefits of the pro models. The better screen, the better speakers and the better connectivity. I don't get the flame over the 8 gigs. No one does it on the Air. Not like that. If u need more ram. U know it. U can buy it with more ram or even get the model with the m3 pro.
I think the base pro is well placed as an alternative for those who want that bit more over an air.
Actually it's the same with the iPad or iPhone. U want some of those pro feature? Just go for the pro. My wife bought an iPad Air. I bought the pro. Specially with Pro Motion in mind.
It's so easy: Just buy, what u think u need. Most people wouldn't rly mind those 8 gigs of ram.
I have such a big problem with all those review who build the picture of the mainstream customer who opens 30 tabs, do photo and video progressing at the same time and even connect it to more than 1 display. Actually: Most of us would just use the buildin-display the most of the time.... But more of it: U know, before u buy.
"The TRUTH is, that this base Pro with 8 gig ram is for those, who just want the other benefits of the pro models. The better screen, the better speakers and the better connectivity. "
Well said.
That’s exactly right. I’m that kind of person. I’m tired of the 60hz display. I got an M1 in 2020, but the base ram and ssd no longer do it for me so I just paid $1,600 for a brand new MBP M3 16g and 1T. This is $300 less than Apple’s listed price, a great deal to me 💪🏽😎
Where’s the 3rd thunderbolt port, only seeing 2? I’m wanting 4 Thunderbolt ports like the 2018 models.
I got it and besides 8gb ram it's a perfect laptop. screen is insane, it is very fast with opening everything, keyboard is pretty good which surprised me, but ram goes to swap even with a few safari tabs.
Not all of us are salesmen, I need more the sad storage screen and longevity
The M3 MacBook Pro 💻 with 8gb of RAM is the biggest joke of all time they might as well call it the chrome book pro lmfaooo
It doesn't check every box. #1 It doesn't have a num pad. #2 It's OS isn't great.
Good review. At this price a bump to at least 12 GB RAM would have made it more attractive.
I*m want to thank you for the informative details, and balanced assessment of The M3 14 inch base modal .I agree for my use case memior/ poetry and photo editing, it makes sense to upgrade the ram to 16 GB. Thank You. !
If you tell them you work in education, you’ll get the edu discount. Best Buy and Amazon will also have sales too.
0:26 far left, there is a small scratch (worn)
Everybody hated the touch bar
I just want the XDR display on a model as slim as as light as the macbook air 13.6 inch.
I had 2 MBA displays go bad. I hope this space black pro model does not have these issues or any.
What a weird sponsor. No offense but I'd have passed on that offer if I was you.
NGL paying 1600 for 8gb of ram is a scam no one can convince me it isn't fr ,yh it's a great laptop but I ain't got that much cash for just 8gb ram
YES the battery :D
Buy the m3 cos its GOOOD!!!!! even with 8gb ram
Just bought mine for $1,300 on Amazon.
m3 pro has lower memory bandwith than the m2 pro or even the m1 pro. so depending on your tasks upgrading to m3 pro even with a 16gb memory, from the m2 pro with an 8gb memory, can in fact slow you down, the only true upgrade from an m2 pro is an m3 max. For those coding or gaming, memory bandwith matters and it matters a lot, memory capacity also but bandwith is not irrelevant! Why would apple do that, is beyond me. My guess is that they are having big issues with betting on china and now having to pull out in a rush with no plan b, leads to weird stuff happening. It tells you a lot that the youtuber here chose to compare the M3 pro to the M2 air. not a fair comparisson at all. Better machine than the M2 pro it can never be. This M3 in particular is the most out of place macbook in recent times, it is neither, neither better nor cheaper than what came before it.
Disappointed that you recommended this. It's a waste of silicon and should have either started with 16gb or start at 1300. It gets crippling slow even on mundane tasks once ram gets filled.
I really wish Apple would drop the MacBook “Pro” naming and just go with “M3 MacBook”, “M3 Pro MacBook”, and “M3 Max MacBook” naming.
Should I get m2 air 16 gb or this one with 8 gb ram
Depends on what you'd use it for. If you always have LOADS of browser tabs open whilst having music app etc running you would be better off with 16GB. If your use case isn't too intense then prob be good to go for the laptop in this video as you get way better screen, speakers, battery life etc.
Greg touches the SWEET SPOT 4:05. on its bottom, oooohhhhh!!!
I disagree many people don't have a £1600 budget, so you either get a refurbished or used one for cheaper, or join the rich crowd and buy it new with its poxy 8gb of memory. If your going to start bumping up the ram opt for the next model up and get the darker space gray look.
This looks like a paid review from Apple itself😂 !!
Omg I love the asuka figure
someone please fire Tim Cook!!!! 8GB of (soldered) RAM is an ABOMINATION. Tim is an ABOMINATION
Rather have previous m2 model
Don’t get into the hype of these RUclipsrs
The gameplay is super laggy
have you heard DELL XPS...
95% need only the Air
Great laptop killed by those 8gb ram
Ray tracing does not make gaming better its make is worse unless you have a 4090.
Nice video
If you’ve watched his videos…He ONLY COVERS APPLE PRODUCTS! 😅 He’s the definition of of FAN BOY…I own M2 MacBook Pro 14 and several Windows laptops…They all have there Ups and Downs
They all have pros and cons correct.
Apple fans will pay anything for Apple products. Me included. The Apple tax is real and what everyone will pay. If they can sell a cloth for $19 we will pay anything
Fanboy alert
copped it for roblox🔥🔥🔥
First person to comment here..😅
Thank you 🙏
You so talkative