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M5 or M4 pro?

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soloz2

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 8, 2025
11
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I presently have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16gb/512gb, so the base version of M1 Pro. I've had it since launch and it's served me well. Lately, I've been running out of RAM which has been leading to lag and slowdowns. Use case is heavy multi tasking but nothing individually is super intensive. I spend most of my day on video conferencing and running multiple browsers, lots of tabs and lots of productivity programs open at once (usually 2-3 excel spreadsheets, 1-2 numbers spreadsheets, pages, 2-4 word documents, outlook, mail, one note, powerpoint, etc). The reason for some duplication is that my job(s) consists of a lot of content switching and a lot of back and forth between my primary role with some consulting and I'm also an adjunct professor. Lately, I can't even scroll a word document. It just freezes then goes back to the top which is super annoying when I'm trying to grade papers in-between meetings. I haven't been maxing out the processor power of my M1 Pro, but my memory pressure has been nearly constantly yellow or red so I'm looking at another 14" MacBook Pro. I'd consider Air, but am thinking I'd want the nano texture display option. I have a privacy filter on the screen now that is there to cut down reflections. Would a M5 32gb or M4 pro 48gb be better in my use case?
 
For your work seems either processor will work. If just a bit more RAM will fit the bill, the M5 at 32GB is $2000, while M4 Pro at 48GB is $2400. It sounds like the extra 8GB will handle your apps, so the M5 gets you there for less $. (sorry did not account for nano texture in prices). You could also buy that base M5, load up your workflow and see how the memory works for a week. If not enough, take it back and get M4!
 
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soloz2 said:
I presently have a 14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro 16gb/512gb, so the base version of M1 Pro. I've had it since launch and it's served me well. Lately, I've been running out of RAM which has been leading to lag and slowdowns. Use case is heavy multi tasking but nothing individually is super intensive. I spend most of my day on video conferencing and running multiple browsers, lots of tabs and lots of productivity programs open at once (usually 2-3 excel spreadsheets, 1-2 numbers spreadsheets, pages, 2-4 word documents, outlook, mail, one note, powerpoint, etc). The reason for some duplication is that my job(s) consists of a lot of content switching and a lot of back and forth between my primary role with some consulting and I'm also an adjunct professor. Lately, I can't even scroll a word document. It just freezes then goes back to the top which is super annoying when I'm trying to grade papers in-between meetings. I haven't been maxing out the processor power of my M1 Pro, but my memory pressure has been nearly constantly yellow or red so I'm looking at another 14" MacBook Pro. I'd consider Air, but am thinking I'd want the nano texture display option. I have a privacy filter on the screen now that is there to cut down reflections. Would a M5 32gb or M4 pro 48gb be better in my use case?
Click to expand...


For your current usage, I would recommend the M5 GB RAM.

Good luck on your decision!


richmlow
 
rb2112 said:
For your work seems either processor will work. If just a bit more RAM will fit the bill, the M5 at 32GB is $2000, while M4 Pro at 48GB is $2400. It sounds like the extra 8GB will handle your apps, so the M5 gets you there for less $. (sorry did not account for nano texture in prices). You could also buy that base M5, load up your workflow and see how the memory works for a week. If not enough, take it back and get M4!
Click to expand...
Yeah, I'm really thinking the M5 is enough on the processor front. The part that makes me hesitate is lower overall RAM and TB4 instead of TB5.
Corefile said:
Check what the experts say

Click to expand...
I watched that and am on the fence. I think for my use case the M5 would likely be a bit snappier, so it's really more a question of if 32Gb ram is good for the next 4-6 years or if it would be better to go with 48gb and M4 pro.
richmlow said:
For your current usage, I would recommend the M5 GB RAM.

Good luck on your decision!


richmlow
Click to expand...
How much?

It seems the consensus is the M5 would likely be sufficient and be a bit cheaper. I think as I said above I am hoping whatever I get will last me 5+ years. I had thought about upgrading last year or earlier this year during the back to school sale and didn't and now I'm kicking myself a bit, but I thought I'd be good for 5 or more years with what I had. It's just increasingly been frustrating to run into memory pressure issues on a daily basis.
 
soloz2 said:
Yeah, I'm really thinking the M5 is enough on the processor front. The part that makes me hesitate is lower overall RAM and TB4 instead of TB5.

I watched that and am on the fence. I think for my use case the M5 would likely be a bit snappier, so it's really more a question of if 32Gb ram is good for the next 4-6 years or if it would be better to go with 48gb and M4 pro.

How much?

It seems the consensus is the M5 would likely be sufficient and be a bit cheaper. I think as I said above I am hoping whatever I get will last me 5+ years. I had thought about upgrading last year or earlier this year during the back to school sale and didn't and now I'm kicking myself a bit, but I thought I'd be good for 5 or more years with what I had. It's just increasingly been frustrating to run into memory pressure issues on a daily basis.
Click to expand...

I recommend the 14" MacBook Pro M5, 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD.


richmlow
 
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