College daughter's 6 year old Macbook pro is starting to have issues. Apple said it was fine, but it overheats constantly and barely holds a charge. Thinking of replacing it.

I am not an Apple guy. Question on current stuff. Looking at 14 inch Macbook pro. Appears there was a recent upgrade from the M3 to the M4 processors. How significant is that? Better to get the M4 with lower level peripherals or the M3 then higher Ram and such? Does it even matter for basic college school work? Would like to keep the cost down.

Keep in mind there are software and bootcamp limitations when going from an intel mac to an M-series. I'm keeping my 2019 until it dies. I have zero desire to own an M series Mac.

OP, not that much of a difference between the M3 and M4. If you can get a good deal on an M3 go for it. I just bought my wife a loaded M3 for Christmas.

My primary machine is a M1 Studio that has been the best computer I've ever owned, and I use on of the cheapest M2 Macbooks daily for engineering and software workloads.

Buy either with full confidence.

Thanks for the advice!

M2 MacBook Air is the move. Improved powertrain over her old Pro and updated hardware design to the current line-up of MacBooks. It's a great machine.

I'd go with the MacBook Air. The new M series Pros are much bigger and heavier than her current Pro.

What model specifically? (Year and machine model #)
What does she need to do with it?

I've replaced batteries in the "non replaceable" MacBooks before and overheating may be a result of bad batteries or just needing a good clean out - neither of which Apple will do for you that far out of warranty or AppleCare. I have a 2019 Intel that I use daily for work and I do a lot of pretty intensive stuff with it.

However I doubt unless you're doing a lot of computationally expensive operations (e.g. AV transcoding etc. ) you'd see much difference between any of the M series architecture.

As someone else said, an M2 Air would likely do everything she needs and save you a lot of $.

Where are you located?

Agree with the above. Most laptops these days are fine for most people. Other factors such as price, size, weight, noise, and battery life should matter. I went to Best Buy last year to touch and feel the M3 Airs before deciding on the smaller model. I do a lot of heavy lifting on it and couldn't be happier.

aggieforester05 said:

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Keep in mind there are software and bootcamp limitations when going from an intel mac to an M-series. I'm keeping my 2019 until it dies. I have zero desire to own an M series Mac.

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Inless you're doing something really specific this isn't going to be an issue.

Agreed with others she'd be great with an Air, 14" M3 Pro might give her an extra year of use.

EMY92 said:

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I'd go with the MacBook Air. The new M series Pros are much bigger and heavier than her current Pro.

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As someone who's worked daily on an older 15" MBP then a 13", 16", and currently a 14" for the past several years, they're really not.

The only one you'll notice the weight on is the 16".

Ended up buying a basic MacBook Air 15 with the m3

I have a 2018 15" MBP and an 16" M2 MBP. The 2018 is the same thickness (with the lid closed) as the bottom half (not including screen) of the M2. If I'm traveling and doing light work, I'll take the 2018. If I need to do a lot of work, the M2 is hard to beat with the battery life.