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scmac99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2020
5
10
Hey folks, I oversee IT at a small K-8 private school.

Should I go with the base i3 or spend the extra $100 to get i5's even if it means I end up with 1-2 fewer devices overall?

After not getting any funding for teacher devices for several years, we finally have a big pot of money to begin upgrading teacher devices. My boss has given me the go ahead to start getting macbook air's for the faculty. Normally I would get to the nearest Apple store to Demo both devices, but that isn't happening with COVID, as our nearest apple store is closed.

I'm hoping to replace about half of teacher computers with Macbook Air's this year. None of these devices will be doing graphics intensive work, mainly keynote/ google classroom/ word processing/ email/ zooming if we go distance learning/ and showing videos to students. Ideally we would want to get 5 years or more out of these machines and If ARM devices weren't on the horizon I would go for the i5, but now i'm second guessing that decision.
 

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,795
1,674
Destin, FL
i5 solely based on resale and reinvestment in new product at 4 year mark.
Resale will be worth more... current trends ( ARM may have unexpected up or down effect ) show about $350 - $450.
Comparison: 4 year old chromebook = $20 - $150, Dell i5 laptop $150 - $400
 
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adrianstuartt

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2020
53
54
i know the work is light, but i think you'll save everyone a few headaches going with the i5 model in your case. I think 5 years out of an i5 is just a lot more reasonable, for work, than getting it out of an i3 going forward
 

scmac99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2020
5
10
i know the work is light, but i think you'll save everyone a few headaches going with the i5 model in your case. I think 5 years out of an i5 is just a lot more reasonable, for work, than getting it out of an i3 going forward
That was my first instinct as well, but another complication is apple's institutional store. They have the base model even more discounted as a "5 pack" whereas they do not sell the i5 configuration as a multipack without doubling the storage and therefore increasing the price even more. I will likely have to come prepared to explain the extra $125-150 price increase to someone who does not understand computer specs.
 

majurg

macrumors member
Sep 11, 2014
48
114
Raleigh, NC
Keep in mind that the i5 is a quad-core (compared to dual core i3). This might make it easier to explain the cost difference to a layman. I think in this case, you can make the argument that the quad-core i5 will be significantly more future-proof than the i3.
 

lambertjohn

macrumors 68000
Jun 17, 2012
1,654
1,720
Several i5's on Apple's refurb website right now. $929 for the base i5. Not too shabby. Costco's also got the base i5 brand new for $949.
 

jpn

Cancelled
Feb 9, 2003
1,854
1,988
Hey folks, I oversee IT at a small K-8 private school.

Should I go with the base i3 or spend the extra $100 to get i5's even if it means I end up with 1-2 fewer devices overall?

After not getting any funding for teacher devices for several years, we finally have a big pot of money to begin upgrading teacher devices. My boss has given me the go ahead to start getting macbook air's for the faculty. Normally I would get to the nearest Apple store to Demo both devices, but that isn't happening with COVID, as our nearest apple store is closed.

I'm hoping to replace about half of teacher computers with Macbook Air's this year. None of these devices will be doing graphics intensive work, mainly keynote/ google classroom/ word processing/ email/ zooming if we go distance learning/ and showing videos to students. Ideally we would want to get 5 years or more out of these machines and If ARM devices weren't on the horizon I would go for the i5, but now i'm second guessing that decision.

although i have the new 2020 i5, in your case, especially now in these pandemic times, and especially that the timing for funding may not be known, your responsibility indeed your ethical obligation is to get as many computers into the hands of as many users as possible.
go for the i3. the i5 and the i3 are actually very comparable. the small price difference should provide you with that evidence.
those 6 or 7 more people who can get access to the platform will appreciate it and their health and livelihood is being better looked after by you.
 
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benredacted

macrumors member
May 21, 2020
33
26
Lots of good points here already. Another consideration is if you buy the more expensive i5, but end up with fewer machines, how does that affect you having spares in case of defect or damage? While you may be covered by warranty, repairs will still take time and there’s nothing better than being able to immediately swap out the defective machine for a spare. Of course if you intend on keeping some older machines as spares then maybe this is a non-issue.

Keep us updated on what you decide!
 

dmccloud

macrumors 68040
Sep 7, 2009
3,124
1,886
Anchorage, AK
If you think you may be using Zoom or a similar app even on a semi-regular basis (a very possible scenario given the increase in infection rates lately), I'd recommend the i5 model. Otherwise, your faculty might wind up in a scenario where their machine starts to lag and drop those calls because the i3 is a less capable processor than the i5.
 

Saturn007

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,590
1,478
Alternatively, the fan will be so loud running Zoom, no one will be able to hear the teacher! :cool:

Go for the i3. Quieter, cooler, and you'll cover more teachers or have a couple of spares.

What about also ordering extras as loaners for students whose parents or guardians cannot afford a laptop?!

Doesn't work well if the school goes on line and kids can't participate. The digital divide is real.
 

chrfr

macrumors G5
Jul 11, 2009
13,703
7,268
Keep in mind that the i5 is a quad-core (compared to dual core i3). This might make it easier to explain the cost difference to a layman. I think in this case, you can make the argument that the quad-core i5 will be significantly more future-proof than the i3.
No Intel Mac is “future-proof” at this point.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
6,023
2,615
Los Angeles, CA
Hey folks, I oversee IT at a small K-8 private school.

Should I go with the base i3 or spend the extra $100 to get i5's even if it means I end up with 1-2 fewer devices overall?

After not getting any funding for teacher devices for several years, we finally have a big pot of money to begin upgrading teacher devices. My boss has given me the go ahead to start getting macbook air's for the faculty. Normally I would get to the nearest Apple store to Demo both devices, but that isn't happening with COVID, as our nearest apple store is closed.

I'm hoping to replace about half of teacher computers with Macbook Air's this year. None of these devices will be doing graphics intensive work, mainly keynote/ google classroom/ word processing/ email/ zooming if we go distance learning/ and showing videos to students. Ideally we would want to get 5 years or more out of these machines and If ARM devices weren't on the horizon I would go for the i5, but now i'm second guessing that decision.

If you can't wait to see what the new 13" MacBook Pro based on ARM does to the sub-16" end of the Mac laptop lineup, I'd say definitely go i5. All models of 2020 MacBook Air are likely to lose support for a future macOS release at the same time, and the i5 model is said to be much more flexible in terms of how much performance you can get out of it. Last thing you want for the first refresh in years is the spinning beach ball and people complaining that the user experience is trash.

I might also give thought to bumping the RAM to 16GB on each machine, but that's just me.
 

scmac99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2020
5
10
If you can't wait to see what the new 13" MacBook Pro based on ARM does to the sub-16" end of the Mac laptop lineup, I'd say definitely go i5. All models of 2020 MacBook Air are likely to lose support for a future macOS release at the same time, and the i5 model is said to be much more flexible in terms of how much performance you can get out of it. Last thing you want for the first refresh in years is the spinning beach ball and people complaining that the user experience is trash.

I might also give thought to bumping the RAM to 16GB on each machine, but that's just me.
Would love to bump top 16GB but it just ain't in the budget. I might be able to get 1-2 for computer teachers and IT folks with higher specs. Again, Apple Silicon is on the horizon but the school needs computers this fall, not in 1-2 years. I could phase them in slowly throughout the year but folks need training and its much easier to train the entire faculty at once rather than in groups. Once school starts teachers are teaching. Many teachers are older and will need lots of handholding. The more I train at once, the more they can help one another. I know apple is talking up their ARM but we might not even see one of those machines for a while since they just put these out.
 

Seanm87

macrumors 68020
Oct 10, 2014
2,208
4,406
I actually would go for the i3. Its what I have and it handles all those tasks with a breeze.

I'm really not sure why you'd need a quad core for these tasks in all honestly. And that isn't going to change in 5 years either.
 
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RUGERMAN

macrumors regular
Jun 12, 2010
248
29
I actually would go for the i3. Its what I have and it handles all those tasks with a breeze.

I'm really not sure why you'd need a quad core for these tasks in all honestly. And that isn't going to change in 5 years either.
Buy an I3 and an I5 and try them out with what you will be doing. you have 14 days to return it. Then you can see how each will perform.
 

scmac99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2020
5
10
Buy an I3 and an I5 and try them out with what you will be doing. you have 14 days to return it. Then you can see how each will perform.
My closest apple store is back open now, so I definitely want to try out the floor models, but I like the idea of buying both and returning one within 14 days
 

Supra Mac

macrumors 6502
Jan 5, 2012
302
143
Texas
Another thing to consider making that 5 year mark is battery life. The i3 will give them longer uptime and in the end you will have less cycles on the battery, less complaints at the 4-5 year mark that their battery doesn't last long.

If you are able to test get an i3 and turn off turbo boost and see how it can handle basic task, its not fast but manageable, so with turbo boost 5 years should not be a problem.
 
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scmac99

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 29, 2020
5
10
Was finally able to get to the Apple store and demo some models. While the i3 was a tad more sluggish out of the box, I was still pleased with its performance for many tasks. The folks at the apple store were nice enough to let me use the machines with apple tv mirroring (a very important tool for teachers doing presentations.) Running external displays is a task requiring just a bit more oomph than the dual core machine possesses. It can get the job done, but that may change in the years to come. I came up with a clever hybrid method to get folks the machines they need at the right quantities.

First, Apples institutional store gives the standard educational discount plus an additional $20-30 off per device if you buy in increments of 5. That discount adds up when you are buying for a school. The institutional store also sells model configurations that are not available to the general public and are cheaper. They sell an i3 version of the air with only 120GB of storage for under $800. I was able to buy a handful of these models for instructional aides who do one on one extra help and primarily use the machine for email/ websurfing and one on one assistance not classroom teaching. I was also able to buy one specced up model for our ahem I.T. director. All in all was able to get 10 quad core models to our classroom teachers, a couple of solid and reliable low priced i3 productivity machines for classroom aides, and a stepped up model for a power user. One more device than I was planning on being able to get.
 

Saturn007

macrumors 68000
Jul 18, 2010
1,590
1,478
Thanks for following up with us all and giving us the update! You came up with a brilliant solution!
 
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