Realistic expectations for upgrading from 2019 Intel MacBook Pro to MacBook Pro M5

PeerNorway wrote:

My main question is: For those who have upgraded from an Intel-based MacBook Pro (2019 or older) to Apple Silicon, how noticeable was the difference in everyday use, responsiveness, and overall user experience?

I have two comparisons.

My daughter was using a 2019 Macbook Pro 16" (Intel) since she acquired it new. She runs a photography business and makes heavy use of Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. She accesses some TBs of image files (raw files and jpg files mostly) through external hard drives. I just set up a new (Dec 2025) M4 Max MacBook Pro for her. She has compared them side by side. The new Silicon Mac handles her most intensive image editing, conversion and exporting chores about ten times faster than the old one did. Both of these Macs are "cleanly set up" (by me), e.g. no "cleaner apps," no third party security, no VPN, no anti-virus. Also, external drive transfers (to the external storage drives, and for Time Machine and "clone" apps that are used daily) are much faster with the new Mac.

The second comparison is between a second Macbook Pro 2019 16" Intel (same model as above) and a new M5 Macbook Air just acquired last week. Both are also "cleanly set up" like the others. I don't have quantitative comparisons like my daughter but everything on the new M5 Macbook Air seems MUCH MUCH more responsive and nimble versus the 2019 Macbook Pro. Opening apps is instant, browsing is much faster, and notably the MS-365 apps (Excel, Word, Powerpoint) open instantly and also opening DMGs and installing software seems almost instant on the M5 MBA versus the 2019 MBP.

Keep in mind that memory and free disk space can impact these comparisons. The 2019 MBP has 16 GB RAM, the MBA M5 has 24 GB, the MBP M4 has 36 GB, and all these Macs have plenty of free disk space (200 GB+).

We also have an iMac 2021 M1 that my wife uses with 16 GB memory. It is noticeably faster than the 2019 Intel 16" MBP, but also is noticeably less responsive and slower than the M5 MBA 2026. I can't put it side by side with the M4 2025 MBP as that is in another location but the M4 MBP qualitatively was considerably faster than the M1 iMac.

If I were you, I would circle back and examine your setup. I suspect something installed or running in the background is causing this. And your M5 MBP is certainly faster than our 2025 MBP M4 Max.

<< I'd also be very interested in any practical tests you could suggest to evaluate its performance and responsiveness >>

Consider downloading and running this little "discovery" utility, Etrecheck. It changes NOTHING. Etrecheck was developed by a senior contributor here, and uses mostly system calls and simple tests to collect often-needed information.

it contains little tests for speeds of devices, CPU utilization, memory usage, energy usage and a digest of recent problems, in one easy to use package. it does not even need to be Installed. Because less can be learned when your Mac is running great, best time to run is when your problems are actually occurring, if possible.

if you follow the directions faithfully, its report (pre-laundered of all personally-identifiable information) can be "Shared" to the System ClipBoard, then Pasted into an ‘Additional Text’ window in a reply on the forums.

Use Etrecheck Pro for free:

http://Etrecheck.com

The amount of data you get can be daunting. If you POST your report, some Readers here are willing to look over those reports, and can provide valuable insights.

Copy your report

In order to post your EtreCheck report, you must first copy it to the clipboard.

An easy way to copy your report is to use the "Share report" control in the toolbar. This text version of the report automatically removes any personal information. Never post personal information on the internet. Screenshots have been disabled for EtreCheck when running in trial mode. They are difficult to read and, unlike the text report, they can show personal information.

Then start a new reply on the forums, click the "Additional Text" icon, and PASTE



I asked my daughter again what specifically was faster for her on her new 2025 M4 Macbook Pro versus the 2019 Macbook Pro. Her answer: "everything, no exceptions. It all is ten times faster."

I recall doing large exports for her in Lightroom with thousands of high resolution raw file images to produce the corresponding jpgs with file size constrained. This is ten times faster with the new Mac.

Also, try a very large, panoramic image file with many pixels and high resolution using Photoshop's AI to remove a complex blended item in the background of the image.

If you have a large Word or Powerpoint document, say 300 MB or larger, try opening that and making some changes and "save as" -- this is also remarkably faster with the M4 versus Intel.

You said you use Chrome -- try opening many tabs of overly complex sites with lots of background video ads such as Macworld and CNN, all at once, compare performance, maybe while doing some of the above chores simultaneously.

Convert a video file format for a very large video.

I am starting to wonder if something might be wrong with your new Mac.

any M-series Mac with enough RAM (more than 8 GB in my opinion) should be able to run circles around the fastest Intel MacBook Pro.

By far the easiest way to cause poor performance, instability, overheating and crashing is to install ANY third-party speeder-uppers, Cleaners, Optimizers, Third-party Virus scanners, Bit Torrent, or a VPN that you installed yourself. 

¿Are you running any of those?

By the way, the next most invasive resource hog is google Chrome, and you should consider un-installing that as well.

PeerNorway wrote:

I've actually been somewhat disappointed with the overall experience from the very beginning, almost immediately after purchasing and setting it up.

I think how you were "setting it up" is a key factor. I suspect you migrated from an older Mac and brought over configurations and/or software.

Grant's suggestion for the Etrecheck report is an excellent one. Not only does Etrecheck run some simple system performance tests, it also shows info about the computer's configuration and what has been ported over or installed.

What puzzles me is that the experience never really felt quite right, especially compared with the older M1 loaner I've been using recently.

This surprises me as my wife's 2021 M1 iMac is noticeably slower and less responsive that our new M5 Macbook Air (2026).

The M5 has now had macOS reinstalled by an Apple-authorized technician, and I'll be comparing it directly with the M1 before restoring my usual setup.

Is it a plain vanilla machine or does it have your setup and programs installed.

Given your experience, is there anything in particular you would recommend checking on a freshly installed M5 Pro?

Compare speed of opening and saving very large MS-Word and Powerpoint files. Or speed of executing macros on large Excel files. Compare speed of using Chrome (a known resource hog) with dozens of tabs open. Compare speed of exporting thousands of high resolution raw file images to jpgs in Lightroom. Compare use of AI editing tools in Photoshop on very large, high resolution images with multiple layers and complex filters. Compare video editing speed.

<< I'd really appreciate any suggestions that might help us identify why my experience has been so different from what you and others have described. >>

You are getting more and more evidence that something is wrong.

I recommend you run Etrecheck at your earliest opportunity, and post the report. Its use may sounds a little complicated, but is really not difficult at all.

I would suggest performing a DFU Firmware Restore which will reset the security enclave chip, system firmware, and internal SSD (all data on the internal SSD is destroyed). This process will also push a clean copy of macOS onto the internal SSD. I wouldn't waste time on any other type of erase & reinstall.

Keep in mind that if your new Mac is running Golden Gate, then that could possibly have some impact especially since Apple Intelligence is always on. Some third party app & services may still have some compatibility issues. While I installed Golden Gate on a test system, I haven't had the time to really use it or explore it.

Make sure disconnect all external devices during your testing to make sure one of them is not causing an issue (this also includes cables, adapters, docks & hubs).

From what you describe....it sounds like a good manual setup & configuration plus a junk free system. That is the most optimal setup around. (I am still skeptical since I've heard this before & later found out the truth...not saying that is the case here, but I'm always skeptical until seeing proof...sorry...just the nature of the job ;-) ). Third party hardware & software are the most common reasons for problems (regardless of the OS being used). Otherwise, it may have some odd hardware issue with the device itself.

I went from a 2016 Macbook to an M2 MBP. The only noteable difference was that it was faster when doing video conversion with Handbrake which isn't something I do very often, so the M2 hasn't really made any difference to me.

PeerNorway wrote:

For those who have upgraded from an Intel-based MacBook Pro (2019 or older) to Apple Silicon, how noticeable was the difference in everyday use, responsiveness, and overall user experience?

Light night and day. Now, to be honest, I was updating more regularly back then, so my 2021 M1 was running macOS 11 and the 2017 probably was too. The 2017 is now running macOS 13 and is even slower. The M1 is still holding its own on Sequoia.

But if you're like most people these days and running the very latest version of the OS on these computers, then who knows. Let's be honest, Apple has been really struggling with software quality the past few years.

I shouldn't base the quality of anything on how Safari performs. It's a dinosaur** of an app stuck in a past that Apple clearly misremembers in the same nostalgic way that I remember the sunny summer holidays and snow-filled Christmases of my childhood.

**perhaps that's why it worked better on the older Mac!

Zurarczurx wrote:

Yep - I forgot to mention that I'm still on Sequoia on the M2 and intend to stay on it until Apple finds a way to force or con me into updating.

Sequoia is still eligible to receive the latest versions of Safari (Safari 27.*) – although I don't believe that it will be eligible to run next fall's Safari 28. I suppose it's possible that for a given release of Safari 27, Sequoia might run that version better or worse than Tahoe or Golden Gate would.

Safari Release Notes | Apple Developer Documentation