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Buying Advice
- Thread starter Itzsteak
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"New" as in latest models or "new" as in used but "new" to you? Budget? Help us, help you.
How much money do you want to spend?
And what do you mean by using it in school? If you mean watching someone's presentation and writing a report, then the base model MacBook Air should be fine.
If you mean you want to run some statistical software for Principal Component Analysis on a billion data points, for your Ph.D. dissertation, then buy a MacBook Pro with M3 Max chip.
The M1 processors that came in 2020 represented a very big jump in CPU power on personal computers. The more recent M2/M3 not so much. At this point in time this means that because many people are upgrading their M1 laptops, thrilled by the upstep in M-number, you can get fantastic second hand M1 laptops for very little money, that will last you many years. And you don't even need a 'Pro'. A Macbook Air M1 wil be a fantastic machine for games or anything, and I think its beautifully sleek design makes it one of the most lovely apple products ever. Good luck.
Agree with other sentiments that a MacBook Air would be a great option. Really anything you step up to from a 15 year old machine is going to be screaming fast.
Unlike some of the other respondents I would argue to get the newest machine now rather than a secondhand model. If you keep your laptop for even half the length of time you've had your 2009 model the M1 will age much more quickly than an M2 or M3 (or future M4) model, to say nothing about the non-replaceable SSD having years of pre-owned wear. I would also upgrade the RAM to 16 or 24 GB. That would future-proof it until at least 2030 and beyond. It'll be more expensive up front but last you much longer.
Unlike some of the other respondents I would argue to get the newest machine now rather than a secondhand model. If you keep your laptop for even half the length of time you've had your 2009 model the M1 will age much more quickly than an M2 or M3 (or future M4) model, to say nothing about the non-replaceable SSD having years of pre-owned wear. I would also upgrade the RAM to 16 or 24 GB. That would future-proof it until at least 2030 and beyond. It'll be more expensive up front but last you much longer.
No budget and not used. For school I would use it for presentations and notes. That’s basic it. But I would also like it for personal use. (Gaming, web browsing, TV)
Thanks for all the replies! I wasn’t expecting much 😁
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#1 thing for school, buy the lightest one you can, Macbook Air is the one you want. Actually my daughter did that and found it was still too big and then bought an iPad. The iPad is MUCH better because you can write on the screen with a pencil and it fits on those desk/chair things some rooms have.
For presentations, the iPad is really better. You can show slides and draw over them on screen with finger or pencil and you can hold the iPad in you hand as you talk and move around
#2 You probably do need a "real computer" with keyboard and mouse. But you can keep it at home on your desk. For that, a Mini would work but the Air is more flexible because you can take it with you.
#3 buy a large monitor for your desk at home
#4 Finally about performance. Even the low-end base model will be overkill and so much better than what you have. If you are rich and have extra cash, buy more RAM then you can do silly things like run a Linux server in a virtual machine while you are taking notes in class. But if funds are limited buy a 10th-generation iPad rather than the extra RAM.
If you have listed a few RAM-hungry apps, like perhaps you are studying AI in school and want to run experiments on the notebook or if you were in film school then bump the RAM up
Some people will say "to be safe, just in case, maybe in the future, you might, maybe need more RAM so buy it now. This is good advice so long as you can still afford the iPad. More RAM can do no harm.
Buy a plastic "skin" case.
When I first. went to school for a computer science degree, you needed professional movers if you wanted to move a computer. Even a small one would need a dolly. But more recently in "retirement" I went back to grad school and also taught high school. What a change, I never needed to bring my Macbook Pro to either school, iPads "win" if you are on your feet all day. But you still can't do serious document creation with an iPad. Best top have both.
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