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I don't know. I really wish I hadn't listened to the conventional wisdom that 8GB of ram is fine in the M1.

I should have known better, but now I'm stuck with an expensive proposition to upgrade because my memory pressure is constantly yellow/red. I'm the kind of guy who doesn't even really "need" a Mac. It's photos, Banktivity, iMessage, a few safari tabs. I feel like I am always having to close background apps to keep my memory pressure in the green. Apples support page says yellow/read means you need more memory. It's a shame, because the computer does run fairly well, I am just thinking that a long term purchase... it wasn't a good investment as Macs before. Not to mention, resale is in the toilet so trying to recoup...

All that to say, the MBA is a poor value when you get a decent amount of SSD and memory. M1 Pro 14" sales are regularly just a little bit more.
This all depends on where you place value. Your statement places value in tech specs. However, IMO, the value of the MBA is its size / weight.
 
You're playing those games natively on there and not via some cloud service? What are you getting, 5 FPS?

Locally non-cloud on $400 Ryzen 4650U APU (newer 6000U are faster) 8GB 256GB. Not perfect but at least they run unlike on my M1 MBA. Anyhow, back to the point that in 2022 you should be getting more than 8GB and 256GB for $1200.

Cyberpunk 2077 ~30fps @ 720p low FSR 2.0
1657135069334.png


Doom Eternal ~49fps 1080p low
DOOMEternal 7_6_2022 12_56_54 PM.png


Have to reinstall GoW.
 
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// someone who develops software and plays diablo 3 in 4k/medium graphics settings/25-30fps on a M1 MBA

🤣Diablo 3 is a decade old game that you can play on a phone. Try something more recent within the past few years.😂

 
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I need help on what MacBook configuration to get. This will be my first one. I don't do any heavy gaming or editing or anything, but I multitask a lot with several windows/tabs open. I'm often busy (mom of 6 and I'm a teacher and student) and don't have tons of patience waiting on pages to load. I tried a refurbished MacBook Air 2017 and it was too slow for me. Do I need a different configuration than the base model maybe?

I've done okay with my Acer A515-51 in terms of speed, but it is falling apart and I need to switch to Apple to be more compatible with school technology. But I want something at least as fast as that, and the Air 2017 really struggled by like the 4th tab I opened (I currently have 6 open on my Acer with zero struggle).
 
😂 That's how I feel using MacOS with some weird design decisions like dragging and sliding an icon over when installing new software then ejecting. No other mainstream OS makes you do that. Or worse, the messy software uninstall where you have to use finder and/or terminal to manually delete leftover files from a bunch of directories. Imagine being worse than Windows uninstall. o_O

b2fef5a3744be43ac6525156ba24bd29.jpg

I'm pretty sure that dates back to Xerox Parc!
 
I’m pondering what model to get now

I’m a light user, using only Spotify, Twitter, 35 safari tabs and maybe the odd iMessage or email.

Leaning towards base model in midnight.
 
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It is nice but I am not falling for it again. Will let others spend their money and be the Apple test monkeys.
Its a risk free trial as you have 14 days to return it, so you can test it personally.. but I know what you mean.

I'll prob wait until it starts to be offered with discounts - from Amazon or Costco. But being the Air it might not get heavy discounts. Anyway, Im very happy with my 2020 M1 Air so I'm in no rush to buy... maybe even wait 1-2 years.
 
Its a risk free trial as you have 14 days to return it, so you can test it personally.. but I know what you mean.

It took more than 14 days for my first (happened on 2 devices) butterfly keyboard to fail, I had to fight with them to fix it. It was out of warranty when the stage lighting effect appeared.

All I am saying is that I am not taking the chance with a redesigned device on launch ever again until someone else runs it for a while and finds out it is fit for purpose.

That said my M1 devices are running great, no need to upgrade right now.
 
Its a risk free trial as you have 14 days to return it, so you can test it personally.. but I know what you mean.

I'll prob wait until it starts to be offered with discounts - from Amazon or Costco. But being the Air it might not get heavy discounts. Anyway, Im very happy with my 2020 M1 Air so I'm in no rush to buy... maybe even wait 1-2 years.

14 days isn't sufficient to discover all the issues. Ask me how I know.

Problem with buying from Costco is they don't carry the 16GB model since Apple controls the supply and pricing on those. And, Amazon 3rd party is iffy.
 
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thinking about getting a base air and selling off my iPad Pro 12.9, just considering it
 
Locally non-cloud on $400 Ryzen 4650U APU (newer 6000U are faster) 8GB 256GB. Not perfect but at least they run unlike on my M1 MBA. Anyhow, back to the point that in 2022 you should be getting more than 8GB and 256GB for $1200.

Cyberpunk 2077 ~30fps @ 720p low FSR 2.0View attachment 2026865

Doom Eternal ~49fps 1080p low
View attachment 2026889

Have to reinstall GoW.

Glad you can play already released games at a barely acceptable level. I hope you don't anticipate new releases to run even this well.
 
thinking about getting a base air and selling off my iPad Pro 12.9, just considering it

I sold my 12.9 last week for this. I wouldn't get the base model...but it IS the more portable device once you factor in the magic keyboard.
 
It's not an obvious question. The GPU is only used for some types of calculations or for graphics intensive applications. If you need it for calculations like in Blender, you already know you need it. If you play a lot of graphics intensive games then the 10-core will be helpful too. If you don't know why you need 10 GPU cores, then you almost certainly don't need the extra two.

Edit: This Wikipedia article has a list of games that use Apple’s Metal graphics framework. All of these games would likely benefit from the extra GPU cores.
Ahh! Ok, I do use the Adobe Creative Suite, but this machine will be for writing, planning, and emailing. I'll save the heavy lifting for my MBP. Thanks!
 
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Was the SSD on the MBP throttled down for cooling or some other reason?
No.

It was one model (13-inch MBP with 256GB RAM) that was slower than the previous M1 version of the machine, because the newer one used a single 256 GB NAND chip, so read/write was slower than the older machine that used two 128GB NAND chips in parallel. That bottleneck is why the M1 version was faster in that task.

 
Not trying to be the negative voice in the room because I really want one of these if it as good as we all hope it is. But from reviews of the M2 MBP I've heard that the 5nm M2 pulls in higher voltage then the M1 and thus produces more heat. That doesn't sound like a good recipe for a fanless laptop. I really hope this isn't the case and await reviews on it from everyday use and not ones purely based off of running benchmark tests.
 
Can't decide between the M2 MBA base vs x13s lenovo 5g. I had the M1 MBA liked it except for the constant tethering. If only MBA would come with 5g. Guess will have to get both devices.
 
I need help on what MacBook configuration to get. This will be my first one. I don't do any heavy gaming or editing or anything, but I multitask a lot with several windows/tabs open. I'm often busy (mom of 6 and I'm a teacher and student) and don't have tons of patience waiting on pages to load. I tried a refurbished MacBook Air 2017 and it was too slow for me. Do I need a different configuration than the base model maybe?

I've done okay with my Acer A515-51 in terms of speed, but it is falling apart and I need to switch to Apple to be more compatible with school technology. But I want something at least as fast as that, and the Air 2017 really struggled by like the 4th tab I opened (I currently have 6 open on my Acer with zero struggle).
You might be best served by an M1 MBA with 16GB RAM And a 512GB SSD. That is much faster than that old 2017 Air. Yes, you could try to get one of the new M2 Airs but it will be more money for only incrementally better performance and supplies will be limited for months. You probably don’t want the M2 13” MBP unless you like the old look or the touchbar. Any other MBP is going to start at $2000.

Look at how much storage space you use now and maybe add 50% for expansion. 256GB is probably going to be tight. If 512GB is not enough you could splurge on 1TB but I would not recommend going beyond that from a cost standpoint.
 
The notch is a deal breaker.
For anyone who actually has one, the notch is not a big deal and you quickly start to ignore it. Remember too, it isn’t really a notch, it is ears that allow the menubar to be moved out of the main application space. The space below is exactly the space available on the older screens. The OS handles the space just fine and apps are not bothered by it. If you have a whole bunch of menubar icons you probably want to get Bartender or something like it. You probably need that even without a notch as those little icons just multiply like cockroaches and fill the space.
 
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I'm in desperate need for a new computer -- my MacBook is from early 2016 and crawling to its grave. I hope I can get in early enough to get the MBA without ridiculous wait times.
Why not just get the M1 Air which is essentially the same machine for $200 less or the 14” MBP for 1799 which is about the same price as the M2 Air with the same 16/512 configuration but you get a bigger and better display, ability to drive more than 1 external display, ports, and none of the M2 stability and overheating issues?
 
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Does this also mean that companies such as Amazon will start shipping on the 15 (or to arrive that day)?
Not necessarily, orders from third party retailers often arrive later, though you might get lucky.

Amazon and Apple don’t always play nicely together, so there’s also no guarantee that you’ll be able to preorder on Amazon on the 8th, just from Apple.
 
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