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If you were new to Macs desktop and Macbooks laptops which would you buy as your first machine?
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Yep, and it doesn't hurt to also do some web searches for Firefox + macOS + your plugins if there's some you can't live without, before committing to a purchase.
Of course. Normally people say it in reviews which can be difficult to search through. Still it works.
Also note the retail people at Apple Stores can be great with operational questions, but not very solid for tech info. For tech come here.
Can’t agree more with the brain damage, changed to macOS in 2023 after using Windows for all my life and it took a bit of readjusting, but now I wouldn’t change macOS for anything
If I had to buy an Mac today as an first time user, then I would buy an Mac mini or an iMac. I have seen multiple times that the Mac mini is $100 off (total discounted price for $499) at Best Buy in the pass couple of months. For the iMac you can buy at an discounted price on Apple's website but it is used but it pass all of Apple's tests.
I also have seen the MacBook Air M1 as low as $749 at Best Buy.
I also have seen the MacBook Air M1 as low as $749 at Best Buy.
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For a desktop computer I would buy the one I have, a blue M3 iMac. The only thing I would change maybe is that I would max it out, I got the 16 GB 1 TB version and I love it but maybe I would max it out to 24 GB 2 TB.
As for the laptop: I got the 15 inch MacBook Air but if I knew that a basic M3 MacBook Pro with 14 inches was going to come out I would have waited and got the Pro, even if that would have meant downgrading in size from my Windows laptop. And if I knew I was going to get into photo and video editing I no doubt would have gotten an M3 Pro.
where to buy it? I dunno whether you have better options but at least in Spain I would buy it from the Apple Store, especially if you can do as I did and get education discounts
As for the laptop: I got the 15 inch MacBook Air but if I knew that a basic M3 MacBook Pro with 14 inches was going to come out I would have waited and got the Pro, even if that would have meant downgrading in size from my Windows laptop. And if I knew I was going to get into photo and video editing I no doubt would have gotten an M3 Pro.
where to buy it? I dunno whether you have better options but at least in Spain I would buy it from the Apple Store, especially if you can do as I did and get education discounts
Browser add ons are normally written in javascript and should work on any OS.
For the RAM, I'd definitely agree. As much RAM as you can afford. But for the SSD, with Apple's ridiculous pricing, I'd get as low as you can tolerate and spend your savings on external storage utilising the Thunderbolt port on an iMac.
The mac mini really is a steal for what it is.
And again if you already have a PC monitor/mouse/keyboard you can just get the mini and be done with it.
Unless you really need a laptop of course.
But i suspect for most people, unless they genuinely need to do "real OS" type things on the go, a mac mini plus an ipad is probably a better use of funds than buying a mac laptop.
Then again, if you like using the computer on the couch or don't have a desk or whatever the Macbook Air is a fine alternative - just more expensive, is all.
RE: SSDs
Yes, apple charge a lot. But don't be TOO stingy on SSD because you'll just make life painful for yourself. Much of the "it just works" of the mac kinda goes out the window when you're constantly micromanaging resources. And isn't that the entire point of buying into Apple devices/macOS in the first place? If you want a cheap (but crappy) experience, netbooks are much cheaper! If you KNOW all you need will be covered by the baseline... be my guest. Just saying if you aren't sure and want much more beyond basic browser stuff... the baseline spec is TIGHT.
I'd go for the first tier upgrade at least (well, if you want macOS to be a pleasant experience at least). Don't over-commit on SSD, but the baseline options are generally PAIN.
I mean i see Mac specs like this:
- baseline = i just want a web browser, if i plan much more than that i'll be playing resource management games and living with a much more crippled machine than the CPU would otherwise allow. Yes, you can edit video, etc. with 8 GB, but baseline storage you're going to be needing to hang external devices off the machine and especially if its a laptop - that's just a really crappy idea. it means the machine isn't a LAP TOP any more, its only really useful as a portable deskto (unless you like storage devices randomly disconnecting if they fall off the chair, etc.)
- one tier up in both RAM/SSD = "reasonable" minimum for pleasant experience running much more than that without having to micromanage resources or crippling your machine before its time
- beyond that: most people will not need unless you have specific use case. if you use the machine professionally then determine your application's requirements and purchase accordingly. if in doubt, the one-tier upgrade above should be a good starting point.
edit:
just realised the above isn't even mac specific. if you were to buy for example - a microsoft surface the same advice above also applies. The baseline spec is the hook to get you interested with the low sticker price pretty much regardless of brand. it's very much NOT the cost/benefit sweet spot, which IMHO as above is 1 tier above baseline, pretty much.
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The M1 Air is hands-down the best value in Apple's lineup. That's where I'd start if you're just looking to try it out and don't do anything requiring a ton of GPU power (I haven't seen you mention any, so I assume you're just doing normal people computer stuff).
If you hate laptops, a Mini is also a good first machine, but then you need to get a monitor and peripherals, so it's a bit more of a hassle than jsut getting a laptop.
If you hate laptops, a Mini is also a good first machine, but then you need to get a monitor and peripherals, so it's a bit more of a hassle than jsut getting a laptop.
Err... really? How so? I, err... I'm asking for a friend... who may be receiving an iMac M3 with 24GB and 256GB tomorrow... you know... hypothetically...
There's no way to upgrade storage later, so you'll be relying on external or cloud storage if you run out, or have to sell your laptop and get a specced up one. Maybe not an issue for you, but something to be aware of.
For the time being, I would build a Hackintosh. I'm considering it anyway. When Apple doesn't support x86 anymore, and the macOS I have isn't supported by important apps any longer, I'll probably switch to Linux.
Things like time machine local backups won't have as much capacity.
Things like large applications take space on the system SSD if installed from the app store.
I mean, depends what you use, but say Baldurs Gate 3 is 150 gigs. 256 GB of space is NOT MUCH any more.
You can make it work, but you need to be selective. I've got like 300-400 GB of applications on my macbook pro...
Yeah i'm a bit of a pack-rat but...
Also having free space is nice! Lets say i want to import a bunch of footage from my gopro for processing? It has a 64 GB memory card, that's like 1/4 of the storage gone right there, never mind having space to work with copies of it or export an end result. Sure, maybe i could do that from an external drive, but the high speed internal SSD is literally made for that workflow.
Lets say you need/want a copy of Windows 10 or 11 in a VM? That's 60-100 GB right there... Want to upgrade to the next macOS release? You'll need at least 10-20 GB free!
Anything iCloud (or OneDrive, etc.) synced needs to be located on the system drive, at least until it is uploaded only to the cloud.
I'm just saying that it isn't unexpected for a copy of macOS + apps to be 100-200 GB quite easily leaving you only 1/4 of your storage to actually use for data. Even less if you want to leave SOME free space to not constantly run out, and help the SSD last longer. That's not much.
Sure you can store it externally, but... external drives suck, and cheap external drives suck even more. For desktops it isn't quite so bad, but especially for a macbook... Even for desktops, not sure if time machine backups can protect external drives?
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If you haven't done hackintosh before, be prepared for a bunch of stuff to not work and need babysitting every update in case it breaks, need to pick hardware carefully, etc.
IMHO unless you really know what you're doing and have a specific workload you can build a hacktosh for much cheaper... i didn't find it to be worth it.
Again, half the point of owning a mac (for me at least) is not having to constantly fight the machine or worry about it taking a dump when i need it to work. Running a hackintosh makes that experience less of a thing.
Okay, I thought it might be some sort of system thing I wasn't aware of but...
...I think I'll be fine
ON the other hand... my usage....Okay, I thought it might be some sort of system thing I wasn't aware of but...
View attachment 2342453
...I think I'll be fine
265 GB in applications at the moment.
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Even if I got 1 TB I rely on external storage for Time Machine and storing other stuff so if you have any advice re external storage feel free to send it my way please! Even though I happily spent the money I must say I totally agree with you on the ridiculous upgrade prices for RAM and SSD.
Very useful advice indeed, I went two tiers up in SSD and one in RAM
Samsung T7 external SSDs aren't too expensive these days and perform well. However if its just for time machine backups, i personally use a 4TB external hard drive for that, for my 1 TB storage.
This way i can have MANY backups going back literally years. I leave the external disk at work on my desk (it's encrypted) so that if i ever have a house fire, etc. my data is safe at work (as well as most of it in iCloud).
M2… not because of the chip, because M1 is more than powerful enough but, the smaller bezels and nicer look in my opinion.
As to ram and storage size, you can stir up hornets nest in these forms by asking that question.
You have a PC before so you know how much storage you need and you probably know how much ram you need. If you’re using a PC with 8 GB now, then you’ll be fine with it on the Mac. It all depends on what you want to do. Only you know that and I won’t tell you to waste money on storage and ram upgrades that you don’t need. I don’t get a commission from those sales 🤣
Edit: I was just reviewing the whole thread, and saw some mention of a Mac mini. This is a great choice if you’re on a budget. The downside is unless you spend a fortune, you’re going to be missing in my opinion one of the best aspects of a Mac, the beautiful display. This sounds silly until you see one in person. If you’re looking for a computer that will never leave the desk consider the iMac. If you can go to the Apple Store and look at the displays.
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It can. By default external drives are excluded so if you want TM to back them up you have to remove them from the exclusion list.
I know it's more work, but since I'm retired I have all the time in the world. It could be a kind of hobby, even! But for now my Mac mini Late 2012 is soldiering on with Sonoma thanks to OCLP.