2020 MacBook Air i5 vs 2020 MacBook Pro Base i5

[keithdwat]

Hi!

I'm having a real tough time deciding between a new 2020 MacBook Air with i5, 16gb RAM, 512gb storage, or a MacBook Pro 13 Base with i5, 16gb storage, 256/512gb storage.

I'm a student who does the normal student things- writing, web browsing, watching videos, normal laptop stuff. But I also do a bit of music editing and photo editing, Apple Arcade, and I may do some video editing in the future. My main issue is with the thermal issues with MBA, what are your experiences?

What do you guys think I should get?

 

[26139]

Hi!

I'm having a real tough time deciding between a new 2020 MacBook Air with i5, 16gb RAM, 512gb storage, or a MacBook Pro 13 Base with i5, 16gb storage, 256/512gb storage.

I'm a student who does the normal student things- writing, web browsing, watching videos, normal laptop stuff. But I also do a bit of music editing and photo editing, Apple Arcade, and I may do some video editing in the future. My main issue is with the thermal issues with MBA, what are your experiences?

What do you guys think I should get?

Every time I've purchased a MBA ( 2012 11" i7 and my current 2018 i5 MBA with 16/256), it's been for financial reasons and I wish I'd bought a MBP.

Though I dug the MBA, every time I push it with video and podcast editing, it slows with the fans going nuts and disrupts my workflow.

However...the MBA can do the job, it's just not been ideal for me.

 

[edubfromktown]

I can’t speak to Apple Arcade but the other stuff you mentioned would perform just fine on the base MacBook Air (not even the i5).

 

[mtneer]

If you are only going to occasionally (non-professionally) edit videos or edit music - the MBA is more than enough.

 

[EugW]

I'd be curious how loud both these Macs get, and how much workload they can handle before getting loud.

 

[KFridman]

I'm having a similar time on my decision but the specs are a bit different. I'm considering a MBA with the i5/8GB/256 vs the base MBP. Right now at Best Buy you can get the 2020 MBP for $1099.00. That's the same price as the MBA with the i5. I guess what's holding me back is the 8th generation processor in the MBP.