Hello! My 2015 MacBook Air is about to die and I need a laptop. I'm stuck between MBA 2020 i3 (the base model), and 2017 i5. The latter is ~350$ cheaper in my local stores.
I mainly use my current Air for some coding, multitasking (approx. 10 tabs open in Safari at any given time) and college (assignments, online education, etc.).
Optionally I would like to be able to use it for light gaming (specifically, Hearthstone and/or Magic the Gathering Arena).
Basically, the name 'i5' and the -350$ price tag on the 2017 model is attractive, but seeing that I'm using a 2015 model I can't shake the feeling that I'll be buying something that'll be out of date soon.
On the other hand, even though the Geekbench scores are pretty good, seeing the label 'i3' makes me question whether the 2020 base model will be sufficient for me, or if it's worth the +350$ upgrade.
I'm also worried, as my current Air was faring quite well until I started using Zoom for school, if I need to really tighten my belt and go for a 2020 i5.
I have also seen some posts about some thermal paste application to MBA 2020. It worries me, as I do not want to have to make any alterations to my MacBook myself. Should I be worried about that too?
I mainly use my current Air for some coding, multitasking (approx. 10 tabs open in Safari at any given time) and college (assignments, online education, etc.).
Optionally I would like to be able to use it for light gaming (specifically, Hearthstone and/or Magic the Gathering Arena).
Basically, the name 'i5' and the -350$ price tag on the 2017 model is attractive, but seeing that I'm using a 2015 model I can't shake the feeling that I'll be buying something that'll be out of date soon.
On the other hand, even though the Geekbench scores are pretty good, seeing the label 'i3' makes me question whether the 2020 base model will be sufficient for me, or if it's worth the +350$ upgrade.
I'm also worried, as my current Air was faring quite well until I started using Zoom for school, if I need to really tighten my belt and go for a 2020 i5.
I have also seen some posts about some thermal paste application to MBA 2020. It worries me, as I do not want to have to make any alterations to my MacBook myself. Should I be worried about that too?
