New MacBook for O/H
Discussion
The good lady is going back to uni and fancies a new MacBook.
Had a look and left absolutely baffled by the sheer choice and similarities across the range
Couple of caveats.
Price sweet spot circa £1700 but happy to go up a bit if justifiable
15 inch screen rather than 13”
16gb ram(my suggestion as 8gb
In 2024 seems laughably low and cannot be upgraded down the line.
Apple only as well she is well embedded in the ecosystem and everything else seems to work seamlessly.
Uses basic uni work office365 etc not much else
Other than wait and see what the M4 mba is like any suggestions?
Had a look and left absolutely baffled by the sheer choice and similarities across the range
Couple of caveats.
Price sweet spot circa £1700 but happy to go up a bit if justifiable
15 inch screen rather than 13”
16gb ram(my suggestion as 8gb
In 2024 seems laughably low and cannot be upgraded down the line.
Apple only as well she is well embedded in the ecosystem and everything else seems to work seamlessly.
Uses basic uni work office365 etc not much else
Other than wait and see what the M4 mba is like any suggestions?
There are new macs due out in a month if you can wait - rumour is the base ram will be going up from 8gb to 16gb as well with the M4 chips.
The Apple refurbished machines are also good value if you are looking for something now. They give you the same warranty as a new machine and you can add AppleCare too.
For the use, the airs are all you need. I’m currently pushing an old M1 air to its limits as an interim machine until the M4 MacBook Pros are out - it’s able to handle everything but just very slow as 8gb is limiting it.
The Apple refurbished machines are also good value if you are looking for something now. They give you the same warranty as a new machine and you can add AppleCare too.
For the use, the airs are all you need. I’m currently pushing an old M1 air to its limits as an interim machine until the M4 MacBook Pros are out - it’s able to handle everything but just very slow as 8gb is limiting it.
Edited by Whataguy on Sunday 22 September 21:33
Just bought an M3 Air 16GB ram 512GB , 13" screen plenty big enough I previously had 15" and it's barely noticeable especially as the screen extends right to the edge of the case. Does most tasks easily, would say 8GB but i went 16GB for future proofing and the odd bit of editing and is handles everything a breeze. Baring in mind my last mac I got 12 years out of it was time for an upgrade
The M3 Air I bought two months ago is noticeably faster than the last of the MB Pro isomething it replaced.
It's all solid state/no fan so is essentially an ipad pro in a laptop configuration.
I use mine for work emails/Office/streaming etc and it is plenty fast enough with 8gb and 256gb hard drive (with icloud). I think I have around 50gb of films saved on it at any one time.
The biggest deal for me is the Air is now 500nits brightness (like the MB Pro) which means you can actually use it in daylight. Battery is fantastic and easily a day's worth of charge.
It was £945 from Currys price matched against Amazon at the time.
It's all solid state/no fan so is essentially an ipad pro in a laptop configuration.
I use mine for work emails/Office/streaming etc and it is plenty fast enough with 8gb and 256gb hard drive (with icloud). I think I have around 50gb of films saved on it at any one time.
The biggest deal for me is the Air is now 500nits brightness (like the MB Pro) which means you can actually use it in daylight. Battery is fantastic and easily a day's worth of charge.
It was £945 from Currys price matched against Amazon at the time.
I use an entry level MBA (M2, 8GB) for photography (Lightroom and Photo Mechanic mainly) when out and about and it works brilliantly. 8GB will be ample for Office etc. 13"/15" is just down to personal preference. I like the portability of 13", and the MBA is noticeably lighter than the Pro.
RAM - Don't worry... The Apple silicone (M1, M2, etc...) is a completely different architecture, which uses RAM differently.
If doing Office type stuff, the entry level will be fine but if you have a bit more money to spend, buy one of the later models as it'll be in support for longer. Then look at a larger SSD and then RAM.
I'd personally go for a smaller Mac for portability, as you can plug in an external screen & keyboard when required.
HTH
M
If doing Office type stuff, the entry level will be fine but if you have a bit more money to spend, buy one of the later models as it'll be in support for longer. Then look at a larger SSD and then RAM.
I'd personally go for a smaller Mac for portability, as you can plug in an external screen & keyboard when required.
HTH
M
TownIdiot said:
Double check with the Uni that any little bits of their software work easily with Mac.
My wife is doing a masters and the software they use is a dog on a Mac and I have to intervene as unpaid IT support.
Works fine on windows.
My wife is doing a masters and the software they use is a dog on a Mac and I have to intervene as unpaid IT support.
Works fine on windows.
this ^^ my son is doing engineering and has some specific Windows software he needs. It might run on Parallels but you won't know until too late unless you can find out on the web.
+1 for the Air for 99% of people, unless you are doing really specific activities which need power. Even cheap laptops in 2024 seem to have power which was ludicrous a few years ago.
The smaller size is also much easier to carry. Most people don't really want to carry a road-warrior-spec big-screen laptop.
The smaller size is also much easier to carry. Most people don't really want to carry a road-warrior-spec big-screen laptop.
I use a 13" MBP M3 for work with top spec (dock it in the office and carry it around) and a 15" MBA (I think also M3 w/16GB ram) at home and there is absolutely nothing to differentiate them in terms of speed etc and I do a little bit of picture and video work.
If I was getting a laptop to replace them both it'd be a MBA 13" but I would take at least 16GB ram just in case.
Anything with an M processor will do everything she needs and more.
If I was getting a laptop to replace them both it'd be a MBA 13" but I would take at least 16GB ram just in case.
Anything with an M processor will do everything she needs and more.
i have an 8gb M3 air.
It was stuttery at first, audio glitchy, and i thought about returning it and upgrading the RAM.
Life got in the way, but just reading this tread, made me realise I haven't given a moments thought to the RAM in over 2 months.
I've updated the OS in the mean time, perhaps thats helped. Either way, it's perfectly fine for me and no longer bothered about the 8
It was stuttery at first, audio glitchy, and i thought about returning it and upgrading the RAM.
Life got in the way, but just reading this tread, made me realise I haven't given a moments thought to the RAM in over 2 months.
I've updated the OS in the mean time, perhaps thats helped. Either way, it's perfectly fine for me and no longer bothered about the 8
thebraketester said:
Latest flavour of MacBook Air will be the answer... and 8gb is plenty. My MBA with 8GB never uses the swap file under normal use. 16gb will be a waste.
We may have different perspectives on "normal use". I'm typing this on an 8GB MBA with 12.6 GB of swap used. It copes remarkably well, but another 8GB would be very pleasant.xeny said:
thebraketester said:
Latest flavour of MacBook Air will be the answer... and 8gb is plenty. My MBA with 8GB never uses the swap file under normal use. 16gb will be a waste.
We may have different perspectives on "normal use". I'm typing this on an 8GB MBA with 12.6 GB of swap used. It copes remarkably well, but another 8GB would be very pleasant.Gassing Station | Computers, Gadgets & Stuff | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff