The SHOCKING TRUTH about the 8GB M3 MacBook Pro!

The 8GB M3 MacBook Pro has got a lot of people hot under the collar. But in this video, I explain why it might be right for you and, if it isn’t, how you should approach the upgrade process!

GET A PEEK BEHIND THE SCENES: 

JOIN MY SUBSTACK

CHECK OUT MY OTHER CHANNEL

JOIN THE CREATOR ACADEMY

BECOME A PATRON (IF YOU’RE NOT ALREADY)!

FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA

SOME OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Some of the links below will direct you to the Amazon website.

MY FREE ONLINE COURSES

LISTEN TO/WATCH THE EIGHT OR SIXTEEN PODCAST

HIRE ME!

WHAT IS THIS CHANNEL ALL ABOUT?
I have zero interest in deep spec dives or long-winded comparisons. I review laptops, smartphones, tablets, headphones and the latest tech based on real experience. I'll tell you how it'll make you feel, whether or not it's worth your time (and money) and help you find the tech you need to get stuff done.

WHO AM I?
I'm a UK-based freelance marketer and broke free of a regular job many years ago. Watch my videos to find the tech you need, without the jargon.

GET IN TOUCH

Oh, and some of the links in this description are affiliate links from which I earn a small commission!

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Intro
02:20 - The case for 8GB
06:17 - The case for upgrading
08:47 - The case for the iMac
09:33 - MIA Macs

[MarkEllisReviews]

...and tell me which MacBook Pro configuration you think is the sweet spot (and why)!

[ulfw]

Here in Sweden the base M3 MacBook Pro is $2350 and that is just insane for an 8 gb ”pro” laptop. 🤷‍♂️

[GwaPuhon]

I got macbook pro m3 8g ram from the company where I work. As a developer I have no problem with this setup. I am not a mac user before but I think this laptop is really awesome. The battery is incredible. I can work all day without bringing a charger from my bag 😄.. Everything runs smoothly.

[julienb_ms]

I'm still very happy with my M1 Pro 16". Gonna wait for that M4 or even M5 before I'll update

[LazarkGaming]

I bought the M2 Pro base model. Somewhat regretting it, for the same price I could have the M3 with 16gb, but 1TB instead of 512GB. I also think the base line M3 would have a longer battery life, not that mine is bad, 20 hours of normal day to day use is pretty amazing from my 2013 retina macbook pro which now lasts about 20 minutes on battery alone.

[sujithkumar]

I don't know why peoples are complaining about this base model, I'm too using this same base model 8gb ram with m3 chip, it's really super fast and I never got a lag in it, it's display and it's performance is really awesome and it's battery backup is really too good. By the way, Finally I saw a video who reviewed it properly in a normal day to day usage instead of doing many benchmark tests. Thanks Mark !

[lennardvonstein]

I got an M1 MacBook Air with 8GB and my gf has a M2 15'' MacBook Air with 8GB recently and both have been seriously bottlenecked by 8GB ram since macOS Sonoma. I used to love using my iPad as a second display but this is no longer possible as there is too much lag with ram usage spiking.

[robocobrabot]

He’s not wrong. My only computer is a base M2 air and it never breaks a sweat, unplugged all day. Recording in garage band, photo editing in affinity pro, texting, messaging, web browsing, and VDI to my work PC is never an issue.

[b]

I still think the base M1 Air is the best Mac for everyone and you can buy two of those for the price of a base M3 MacBook Pro. Personally, I think MacBooks with a notch display without Face ID seems a bit ridiculous at this time, if you're going to use up that much space for a webcam it seems super silly.

[aalexis]

I got a MacBook Air M2 16GB RAM 512 GB and the M3 iMac 16 GB 256 GB in purple.
Your videos were as always a great help in deciding and thank you for that.
I think I am set for the next decade, but I will keep watching your videos because you are just amazing.
Thank you 🙏 ❤

[robboyd]

I got a base model restored MacBook M3 for $1197 and I love it.

[williamburkholder]

I think you're providing sound advice, here. We have three M1 MacBook Airs. The first has 8GB memory and 512GB storage. The other two each have 16GB memory and 1TB storage. On SUSTAINED heavy lifting in Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, and Final Cut Pro, the 8GB model bogs down quickly. The other two get warm, but finish renders and exports much sooner. It's worth the extra few hundred to get the sweet spot of 16GB/1TB, IF you do video editing and photo rendering, or if you're lazy and leave a ton of apps open all the time. TIP: Closing apps not in use is a good, sometimes necessary strategy for owners of 8GB models. So is using only half your internal storage if you have 256GB or 512GB. External storage is where to keep files and backups. With little unified memory, the system needs breathing room on the internal SSD for virtual memory/swap memory operations.

[aliridwan]

Just bought Macbook Pro M3 with 512 GB SSD and so far so good got no problems with adaptation from Windows to Mac, and the battery life is great. For those of you who's. still in doubt buying this, I suggest you just buy it, cause you won' regret it.

[agustingalano]

Thanks for the video Mark!! I finally made up my mind. I tried both, the Air 15 with 512gb and the base M3 Macbook Pro. For the price difference and after comparing just the screen and the speakers, i think the Pro is better option for someone like me who doesn't rely on performance for my everyday work.

[stephengoodwin]

Ordered the MacBook Pro M3 8gb 1tb 14” sent it back because was worried it wouldn’t be enough to run FL Studio and Adobe. Now ordered a MacBook Pro M3 18gb 1tb 14” instead. Thought it best to change and have the peace of mind knowing it will hopefully last a few years. But boy are they expensive 😮

[filip-hx]

What about the swap to the SSD with 8 GB of RAM? The lifespan of the SSD is also important. That's why I went for the 16 GB. 😊

[tkusterb]

For me, my current setup (for about 6 months now) is an M2 Mac mini (8GB, 512) mated with the 27-inch Studio Display. I was nervous about the display due to cost and criticism online (mostly due to that cost), but I LOVE my setup currently. The Mini has been just fine with everything I throw at it (mostly surfing the web, YouTube, email, etc., but occasionally a bit of video and photo editing) and the display has really spoiled me. I love learning about the latest and greatest but I can't imagine needing (or wanting) anything more than what I have for a very long time.

[cyruschan]

yes, I just want a macbook with a bigger battery and that miniled and the 120hz monitor but with the m3 chips. Thats what I need.

[JMNTN]

as of this moment using my 16gb macbook air i'm using 10gb of it, I just have safari and Spotify open. Yea the 8gb will probably manage the ram a bit differently but there is just no way it is as fluent. Raw speed probably won't be affected but if you leave safari open for a couple of days and it really starts filling up the ram i can imagine it starting to struggle a bit.

[erec]

Sir, what I think you’re failing to present to the audience is running several applications at once. Surely, an 8GB MacBook Pro model can handle any one task with ease. However, when trying to multitask on your laptop with video and audio play, web browsing, Microsoft/Google applications, that 8 GB is not going to keep up as easy. In 2024, most online websites, web browsers (chrome especially) and social media sites deal a great need of memory space. I believe that 16 GB offers the opportunity to multitask. Whereas, having an 8 GB model is very limiting. Especially, if you want to do just a bit more but can’t because you’re stuck with 8GB. 😊