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It’s an exciting time to be a Mac person – particularly if you’d been waiting for the next MacBook Pro redesign to hit the shelves.
Well, now it has. And, as always, there are several choices to be made when it comes to picking the right spec for you.
Unfortunately, this is where that initial rush of excitement often turns into extended periods of frustration, buyer’s remorse, and complete bewilderment.
This time around, it’s made all the more confusing due to the fact there are two versions of Apple’s M1 chip to choose from. I’ve already covered the M1 Pro vs M1 Max shopping conundrum, but I appreciate that if you opt for the former, there’s another question you’ll have on your mind.
Should you go for the 8-core CPU or the 10-core CPU?
Does it even matter?
Why is there an 8-core version?
The 14-inch MacBook Pro is the only version of Apple’s new laptop that has an 8-core CPU option. Beyond that, it’s 10-cores only, and no choice on the matter if you opt for the 16-inch MacBook Pro.
There are two reasons the 8-core option exists. The first is to enable Apple to maximise the profitability of its production lines by avoiding throwing away the 10-core M1 Pro chips that don’t quite make the grade. Known as ‘binning’, this is when the production of a 10-core chip results in something that isn’t quite up to spec and cannot, therefore, be classed as the chip in question.
So, if a couple of cores are lost along the way, rather than chucking the resulting CPU in the trash, Apple places it in a ‘bin’ that denotes it as an 8-core variant of the M1 Pro.
This is all incredibly boring, but it results in a base model version of the 14-inch MacBook Pro which features an 8-core CPU and 14-core GPU. And that’s the second reason an 8-core option exists; Apple needs a base-spec to even out its pricing structure for the new MacBook Pro.
I have one, and it is superb. It’s easily the fastest Mac I’ve ever owned and blows my old Intel-based 16” MacBook Pro out of the water for video editing (a laptop that was nearly double the price).
This is why focusing on the 8-core vs 10-core choice is entirely the wrong thing to do.
Ignore the CPU cores
I’m writing this on the M1 MacBook Air. It’s the base spec with 8GB of unified memory and a 7-core GPU (thanks again to that binning strategy I mentioned earlier).
It’s the best laptop I’ve ever owned, and I have a feeling it’ll remain that way until the next version is released.
When I first published my review of the MacBook Air, one of the main questions I received – beyond the 8GB vs 16GB debate – centred around the 7-core GPU option.
Let me confirm once again: it doesn’t make any difference to anything. No one – bar those who review every tiny detail of benchmark results – will ever notice any performance gains when grabbing one extra GPU core.
The same goes for the M1 Pro. The question isn’t whether or not you need 8 or 10 CPU cores – it’s whether you want the base-level 14-inch MacBook Pro or something that’s more tuned to your requirements.
So, stop worrying about those two CPU cores and read on.
Where to spend the extra cash
Firstly, if the thought of spending more than $1,999 on your new MacBook Pro gives you heart palpitations, just buy the cheapest one. For 90% of people, it will be the perfect laptop, and they’ll never reach into the upper echelons of its performance capabilities.
However, if you’ve got a bit more cash to spend, whacking another $200 down just to get the 10-core CPU doesn’t make any sense. You won’t notice any difference, day-to-day, trust me; it’ll be $200 down the drain.
So, what’s next? Well, adding an extra $300 gets you the 10-core CPU and the 16-core GPU, thus upping the latter by two cores. Again, this doesn’t make any sense; it’ll offer no tangible difference in performance.
If you instead start with the base spec and spend an additional $400, you can upgrade the unified memory to 32GB. And if you work with large files or simply want to further future proof your investment, that does make a tonne of sense.
Similarly, if you’d rather not lay down that much more, you could simply spend $200 and upgrade the 512GB SSD to 1TB, thus equipping your shiny new laptop with more meaningful storage.
See? It’s easy when you ignore that 8-core CPU, isn’t it?
Conclusion
The decision you need to make has nothing to two with those two CPU cores. They’re red herrings; confusing road signs. Nothing more.
Instead, think about the unified memory you may need, or the onboard storage that’ll help you get by without the hassle of relying on multiple external drives.
Oh, and if your work requires more graphical horsepower, then it might be best to bite the bullet and opt for the 24- or 32-core GPU in the considerably more powerful M1 Max.
29 Comments
thanks for answering my question
No problem!
For someone just looking to do some photoshop, indesign, and *occasional* Final Cut Pro work would the base $1999 model be sufficient?
Yep!
Thank you so much for the section “Where to spend…”. Now I know what to choose
Happy to help 🙂
Thank you for the thoughtful and insightful article, Mark.
Thank you for such a lovely comment!
I have to strongly disagree. Comparing the binned M1 Pro CPU to the MacBook Air’s GPU cores, is just not correct in my opinion. The 10-core model has 33% more Performance cores than the base model, and for CPU heavy tasks, that can mean as big of a jump as from the M1 to the 8-core M1 Pro. For software or web development, that can make a difference. I agree in terms of the GPU though.
Fair enough, Chris – thanks for your input!
Looking at the configurator this was my conclusion as well. Save on the processors and double storage space and ram for $100 more than the next tier laptop.
Super helpful article, thank you!
No problem – glad it could help!
I have noticed that the binned model 14″ at max load the fans never turn on but with the 10 core ..the fans turn on …and then i feel apple is thrittling the chip at this point for whatever reason…my question is , withthe binned chip design . is itpartly faulty in design..can we expect an issue in the future?
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I have followed your advice and do not regret 🙂 I do not create videos so I took the 8 core, 512GB, 32GB
I think the other advantage of 8 core is the power requirement is 67W instead of 96W which should provide more compatibilities with third parties powers such screens, usbc hubs, …etc
Awesome!
That comment on the power requirement isn’t actually accurate, all USB C MacBooks are very flexible with what power supplies they can use-you can even charge them (or slow the draining at least) using a 5w output from a standard USB A-to USB C cable! What the binned version is actually getting you is just a slower included charging brick, but it can still charge at up to the same 96w as the more expensive models.
Thanks!! Great insight and helpful information.
No problem!
Very helpful article. Thanks. So that answers that.
The only question I have now is whether I Should be getting the 2021 pro or the Air. I’m what you might call a heavy casual user. In front of my laptop most of the day for work (some spreadsheets, lots of internet browsing) and in the evenings sometimes casting videos to my TV. I was leaning towards the Pro because I hate charging and the Pro battery seems to last a bit longer (although the Air’s battery goes for long enough that this might be a moot point) and also because I tend to keep my laptops for a long time (currently on a macbook air from 2013!), and I think the Pro might last me longer.
Would be grateful for a suggestion! Thanks.
Glad it could help! They’re very different machines, to be honest. But the MacBook Air is a killer laptop in terms of bang-for-buck. It doesn’t sound like you’re doing a huge amount of intensive creative or computationally taxing work, therefore the MacBook Pro will probably be overkill. I’d save yourself some money 😉
This is really helpful, thanks Mark. I have gone for the base model and upgraded the RAM to 32GB. I was tempted to go for the storage upgrade, but portable storage is so much cheaper and it will stop me from just keeping files in one place and increasing the risk of data loss.
Glad it helped, Phil. Enjoy!
Great advice Mark, I’m a photographer and use heavily Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere sometimes all at once, would the 14″ 8-core CPU with 16RAM and 1TB be enough? Thanks!
it would indeed, Lucia!
Great insights you share! However i still got a question. I am a musician and use a lot of vst plugins en vst instruments in the softwaresequencer like Logic pro or ableton live. I am about to get myself a 14 inch, 32 gb ram, 2 TB harddisk Macbook pro M1. Now I can choose between the 8 core or the 10 core version. If this really doestn’t make any difference i prefer the 8 core because I read that it makes less noise compared with the 10 core due to the fan. Now I have got the 13 inch M1. On that machine when I want to use a lot of plugins on the lowest sample buffersize possible, which is 32, the computer starts to crackel and I have to increase the buffersize unfortunatly. That’s why i thougt; the more performance cores the better.
So I would like to ask you if you tell what you ythink and know about this.
Thanks again for this article
Glad you enjoyed it, Eric. I’d spec it up as much as you can without breaking the bank. If you’re concerned about the number of cores, bite the bullet and go for the most you can afford. That way, no buyer’s remorse 😉
thanks so much for this review. It made my life easier ????