Is an M5 MacBook Pro worth upgrading from an M1 model? What the numbers tell us

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

M5 MacBook Pro is much cheaper than the M5 Max and M5 Pro.
M5 upgrades are noticeable the further you go back in Apple’s catalog.
Older Macs still work fine. Not everyone needs to upgrade.

Apple launched the MacBook Pro with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips earlier this month. While they tend to get a lot of attention, the base model M5 MacBook Pro is still an incredibly competitive device. Plus, at just $1,599, it’s significantly cheaper than the Pro models.

Also: MacBook Neo review: My biggest concern with Apple’s near-perfect budget laptop

The base model M5 is especially impressive when you stack it next to the M1 MacBook Pro, which is now over five years old. Its display is nearly an inch larger, the M5 boasts over six hours more battery life on one charge, has 3.5 times faster AI performance, more storage, and more base memory at 16GB.

Going off core hardware alone, that’s a significant step up. But is it worth shelling out the cash for the upgrade? Let’s take a closer look at the numbers.

How the M5 MacBook Pro compares to the M1

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNET

In terms of pricing, the M1 MacBook Pro is not available new, but you can still get renewed devices for around $699. The base model M5 MacBook Pro starts at $1,599 and comes with 16GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD. When it’s on sale, which is quite often, you can grab it for around $1,399.

First, let’s take a look at graphical performance. The 10-core GPU in the M5 chip shows up the 8-core GPU in the M1 with some substantial improvements:

Up to 3.2 times higher frame rates while gaming compared to M1 (1.7 times faster than the M4)
Up to 6.8 times faster 3D rendering in Blender compared to M1 (1.6 times faster than the M4)
Up to 7.7 times faster AI video-enhancing performance in Topaz Video compared to M1 (1.2 times faster than the M4)

The M5 also has faster SSD performance when compared to previous generations, and…

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