Alright, so I recently got my hands on a machine with the new M3 Pro chip, and I’ve also got my trusty desktop setup rocking a GeForce card. Naturally, I got curious. Forget the benchmarks and specs sheets for a minute, I wanted to see how these two actually felt side-by-side in stuff I do every day. So, I decided to spend some time putting them through their paces, my way.
Getting Started
First thing, I got both systems ready. My desktop, it’s got a decent GeForce card, not the absolute latest monster, but plenty capable for gaming and creative work. The new machine, a MacBook Pro with the M3 Pro chip. The goal wasn’t some super scientific test, just running the same kind of tasks on both and seeing what happened.
I planned to try a few things:
- Some video editing – I use DaVinci Resolve quite a bit.
- A bit of gaming – nothing too crazy, just something I play regularly.
- General everyday stuff – browsing, lots of tabs, maybe some light coding.
The Actual Doing
Video Editing First: I grabbed some 4K footage I had lying around and loaded it into Resolve on both machines. On the M3 Pro, scrubbing through the timeline was surprisingly smooth. Applying some basic color correction and effects felt responsive. When it came time to render the final video, it was pretty quick, definitely faster than older integrated graphics I’ve used. No crazy fan noise either, which was nice.
Then I did the same thing on the GeForce machine. Loading and scrubbing felt good too, maybe a tiny bit snappier but hard to say for sure without a timer. Where the GeForce really pulled ahead was rendering, especially with more complex effects or noise reduction. It just chewed through the export faster. But, you could definitely hear the fans kick in. The desktop made its presence known when working hard.
Gaming Time: Okay, this was less surprising. I fired up a game I often play (think something like an MMO or a popular online shooter). On the GeForce PC, smooth sailing. High settings, great frame rates, exactly what you’d expect from a dedicated gaming card. It just works.
On the M3 Pro? It ran the game, which is honestly impressive for integrated graphics on a thin laptop. But I had to dial back the settings quite a bit – lower resolution, medium-ish details – to get decent playable framerates. It was playable, for sure, but not the same visual feast or buttery smoothness as the GeForce. And while the laptop didn’t scream, it definitely got warm.
Day-to-Day Stuff: For just browsing the web, having like 20 tabs open, writing documents, maybe running a code editor, both machines felt great. Super responsive. The M3 Pro system felt incredibly efficient, though. Battery life was amazing, and it stayed completely silent and cool for all this regular work. The desktop handled it all easily too, of course, but it’s always plugged in and you get occasional fan noise even with light tasks.
My Thoughts After Messing Around
So, after spending time jumping between them, here’s the deal from my perspective. That GeForce card in my desktop? It’s raw power, plain and simple. If you’re serious about gaming at high settings or need the absolute fastest rendering times for heavy video work or 3D stuff, a dedicated GeForce card (especially the higher-end ones) is still king. No question about it.
But, that M3 Pro chip is seriously impressive in its own right. The performance it offers, especially for creative tasks like video editing, is fantastic for a chip that lives inside a thin laptop and sips power. It handles demanding workloads way better than I expected, stays quiet, and the battery life is just on another level. Plus, you can actually take it with you.
For me, it boils down to this:
- GeForce desktop: Best for peak performance, gaming, heavy rendering. You need power, you plug this in at your desk.
- M3 Pro laptop: Amazing balance of performance, efficiency, and portability. Great for creative work on the go, coding, and general use. Can handle some gaming too, just not at max settings.
Honestly, they’re different beasts for different needs. If I need maximum graphics power, I’ll use the desktop. But for the work I do most days, and the freedom to do it anywhere, this M3 Pro machine feels incredibly capable and convenient. It’s pretty cool to see how far integrated graphics have come.