I just recently purchased an M1 Macbook Pro with 16GB of ram and 512GB SSD. I wanted to compare it to my existing intel based 2017 MacBook Pro, with an i5 processor, 16GB of ram, and a 512GB SSD. The categories I would like to look at the performance, multi-monitor support, cost, OS support, and application compatibility.
Performance
The M1 Macbook Pro has been given high praise in terms of performance. I first ran the disk speed test from Black Magic Design:
We see that the speed of the M1 based SSD is approximately 50% faster which is great. The next application we check is GeekBench 5 for CPU compute performance:
From a benchmark perspective, the M1 is clearly the better CPU. Next we take a look at xcode performance:
The M1 Macbook Pro is three times faster than the intel i5 Macbook Pro running the benchmarking tool located here: https://github.com/devMEremenko/XcodeBenchmark . This author of the tool states that it will “help developers to make the right cost/performance trade-off decision when choosing their next Mac”.
Multi-monitor Support
One of the known downsides of the M1 mac is that it only supports one external monitor natively. The workaround would be to get a 3rd party device like the startech.com usb-c to dual display port adapter found here. There is some incompability using the 3rd party adapter with netflix or amazon prime. This is why having an intel based mac for multi-monitor support is far more convenient.
OS Support
If using Windows and Linux natively on your Mac, the intel version is the way to go as bootcamp and installing a linux distro natively is still possible. On the M1, Windows via bootcamp is not possible. But a technical preview for arm on Windows was just released and can be used in conjuction with parallels desktop 16.5. I was also able to install Kali Linux(arm version) on an M1 mac using parallels. The virtual machine instance did not seem to have any lag.
Application Support
Application optimization for M1 macs is getting better day by day. I havent come across any major issues running any software. The website: https://isapplesiliconready.com provides details if the application is compatible. For example, lets take a look at Microsoft apps on M1 apple silicon:
The majority of the apps are fully compatible with the M1 MacBook, and more and more apps are getting fully optimized.
Cost
The current price of a M1 macbook pro with 16GB of memory and a 512SSD is:
A cheaper option might be the refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook pro 1.4GHz quad-core intel core i5 for $1229.
Conclusion
The price/performance ratio on the M1 MacBook for someone all-in on the Apple ecosystem is fantastic. If you are using other platforms on your Mac, such as Windows or Linux, then the Intel MacBook might be a more prudent way to go. Also, Intel Macbooks are at a discount compared to the M1 macs. Another point is if someone already has a 2020 13" MacBook pro or a 2020 16" MacBook Pro, the M1 isn’t big enough of an upgrade despite what tech YouTubers say.
