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MBA vs MBP 2020 refresh for University Student

R

Redsfan

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 26, 2012
185
13
Greater Toronto Area
Hey guys, our 18 year old daughter just finished her 1st year and has a 2014 MBP and wants to upgrade for University.

Now that the MBP refresh on the 13" was announced, and with the recent refresh of the 2020 MBA I'm wondering where you think the investment is most wise? In Canada:

MBP: $1949: 8gb/512, 1.4GHz i5
MBA: $1699: 1.1Ghz i5
$1929: 1.2GHz i7

She is using this for school purposes only, so the weight of the MBA could be more ideal, than the MBP. Otherwise, would she lose anything in terms of speed/power by moving down to a MBA? Whatever the University discount is would obviously apply as well
 
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kind of where I am leaning, it's our daughther by the way, lol...Wish stores would open so she could play around with both to be honest, so trying to keep her patience is a bit trying to say the least..

The other end of it is do we drop to i5, and upgrade the memory? Is 16gh even needed for most? She can go 1.1 with 8gb for a bit over $1500



Thanks
 
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MBP without a doubt - too many heat/throttling issues with the MBA - hopefully none with 2020 MBP but remains to be seen I guess.
 
what is her major? If it's math, science, engineering, web design, etc, I'd say MBP. If anything else, MBA
 
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Dhonk said:
what is her major? If it's math, science, engineering, web design, etc, I'd say MBP. If anything else, MBA
Click to expand...
Teaching..
[automerge]1588611165[/automerge]
Dlanod said:
MBP without a doubt - too many heat/throttling issues with the MBA - hopefully none with 2020 MBP but remains to be seen I guess.
Click to expand...
1.4 i5, 8gb for $1,819. Not convinced she needs anything more than i5 and 8gb to be honest..thoughts?
 
Dlanod said:
MBP without a doubt - too many heat/throttling issues with the MBA - hopefully none with 2020 MBP but remains to be seen I guess.
Click to expand...
Unless you consider not boosting above the base clock "throttling" then:
34yx3j.png

Jokes aside a MBA would work for any undergrad student just fine, save your $300 and go for the Air. But you should also consider that a 2014 MBP should be sufficient for 99% of uses as many students still use 2017 MBA which are less powerful than a 2014 Pro.
 
Dlanod said:
MBP without a doubt - too many heat/throttling issues with the MBA - hopefully none with 2020 MBP but remains to be seen I guess.
Click to expand...

Yet tons of folks have zero issues with any heat or fan noise on the 2020 MBAs.

Mine is cool and silent, only bumping up a little fan when I'm converting a batch of RAW images.

First couple of days when everything was indexing and going through Photos etc it ran a little warmer to the touch but never hot. Since then it's been perfectly fine, even with a seven participant Zoom meeting yesterday for 40 minutes.


Redsfan said:
Teaching..

1.4 i5, 8gb for $1,819. Not convinced she needs anything more than i5 and 8gb to be honest..thoughts?
Click to expand...

i5 / 8GB ram is going to be plenty for a teaching curriculum.
 
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The base MBP wasn't updated in CPU, just the new keyboard. It's still faster than the MBA, but it's probably not going to be night and day like the high end configuration.

It's really a choice of minor tradeoffs, MBA: cheaper, function keys, taper design, a little lighter. MBP: slightly faster, slightly better screen, Touch Bar.

I'm still waiting on my MBA, and thought briefly about returning for this new Pro... but for me I like the taper, function keys, reduced cost, and should be fast enough.
 
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Just get her a base model i3 MBA 2020. It'll likely have the best battery life.

She'll likely use it 90% it for social media, internet browsing, and taking notes. The i3/the MBA handles that just fine. Unless her major is something to do with graphics or programming or engineering. But even if it were CS related she should be fine with the i3. I see many of my colleagues doing advanced degrees and PhDs on old 2017 and prior MBAs, an undergrad should be fine with a new MBA.
 
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All great replies so far, thanks guys! Like many of you say, she will use it for social media, heavy school work back and forth from classes, etc. We see this lasting years for her, which is the only reason why I'm wondering if we should in the least upgrade to i7..if not, once things open up it will be worth a visit to a store and let her play around with it
[automerge]1588622621[/automerge]
hftvhftv said:
Unless you consider not boosting above the base clock "throttling" then:
34yx3j.png

Jokes aside a MBA would work for any undergrad student just fine, save your $300 and go for the Air. But you should also consider that a 2014 MBP should be sufficient for 99% of uses as many students still use 2017 MBA which are less powerful than a 2014 Pro.
Click to expand...
I have an 18 year old who wants something new and spend her own money, not so easy, lol. We also have a 2014 MBP and have zero issues with performance but for both of us the battery is pretty much done with next to no charge time. It's her purcahse so will let her decide in the end with guidance. We have 3 girls, so hers can be passed down to the middle one...
 
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Redsfan said:
Hey guys, our 18 year old daughter just finished her 1st year and has a 2014 MBP and wants to upgrade for University.

Now that the MBP refresh on the 13" was announced, and with the recent refresh of the 2020 MBA I'm wondering where you think the investment is most wise? In Canada:

MBP: $1949: 8gb/512, 1.4GHz i5
MBA: $1699: 1.1Ghz i5
$1929: 1.2GHz i7

She is using this for school purposes only, so the weight of the MBA could be more ideal, than the MBP. Otherwise, would she lose anything in terms of speed/power by moving down to a MBA? Whatever the University discount is would obviously apply as well
Click to expand...

I think the best choice is a MBA for a student. I just got the new 2020 i5 MBA and so far I love it. I think it would be perfect for a student. MBP is also a good machine but unless she has a specific need for the power the Air should be fine.

Personally, my vote would be to keep the 2014 MBP, but I understand teenagers. I actually just replaced my Mid 2010 13" MBP with the 2020 MBA. About 4 years ago I upped the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and swapped the old HDD out for a SSD and it still runs well. Only problem is I can't upgrade past High Sierra and I expect EOL and thus no more security updates this fall, so it was time to upgrade. If I could have kept upgrading I will still have the old MBP.
 
Fusion79 said:
I think the best choice is a MBA for a student. I just got the new 2020 i5 MBA and so far I love it. I think it would be perfect for a student. MBP is also a good machine but unless she has a specific need for the power the Air should be fine.

Personally, my vote would be to keep the 2014 MBP, but I understand teenagers. I actually just replaced my Mid 2010 13" MBP with the 2020 MBA. About 4 years ago I upped the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and swapped the old HDD out for a SSD and it still runs well. Only problem is I can't upgrade past High Sierra and I expect EOL and thus no more security updates this fall, so it was time to upgrade. If I could have kept upgrading I will still have the old MBP.
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Yep, she wants new and with the battery on next no charge and our ability to pass hers on to one of our other daughters it makes some sense.
 
The biggest pro for a university student is battery life imo. The i3 MBA should be perfect, maybe with 512gb storage.
 
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Redsfan said:
actually, after more thought I am leaning to get her the MBA config below for $1569:

1.1ghz
i5
8gb
512

Don't think she really needs more than this, and the lighter weight will be better.
Click to expand...

I think this will be a good machine. I think she’ll really appreciate the storage as well and that will help with the longevity too. Go for this!
 
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Redsfan said:
actually, after more thought I am leaning to get her the MBA config below for $1569:

1.1ghz
i5
8gb
512

Don't think she really needs more than this, and the lighter weight will be better.
Click to expand...

Exactly the config I got and I have been pleased. She will enjoy that.
 
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Fusion79 said:
Exactly the config I got and I have been pleased. She will enjoy that.
Click to expand...
Same one I got as well. Had a week or so of reading too much about the cooling issues. I would be vigilant for any upticks on the thermometer and any fan noise. 3rd or 4th week and I can say that it has been a total nonissue for me.

Granted, it seems like everyone is always basing their feedback on usage that includes a lot of image and video editing. Who knew there were so many out there? Since that just isn't my use case, I can't speak to it.

Glad to report that its been a great machine for me.
 
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Redsfan said:
actually, after more thought I am leaning to get her the MBA config below for $1569:

1.1ghz
i5
8gb
512

Don't think she really needs more than this, and the lighter weight will be better.
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I would do in your situation. She'll appreciate the relative lightness of the Air and the i5 is a "sweet spot" in my opinion.
 
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Redsfan said:
Thanks for all the great replies great, this will be our go to!
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Btw for the 2014 pro that’s going to be a hand me down consider getting the battery replaced at Apple, will seriously bump up its resale value and make it a lot more useable. Plus Apple most likely will be pulling the plug on providing parts for that Mac soon.
 
hftvhftv said:
Btw for the 2014 pro that’s going to be a hand me down consider getting the battery replaced at Apple, will seriously bump up its resale value and make it a lot more useable. Plus Apple most likely will be pulling the plug on providing parts for that Mac soon.
Click to expand...
Yeah we have two batteries needing to be replaced so we will have to contact. Not sure of the price up here, and wondering if we need to backup al our files before we bring it in?
 
Redsfan said:
Yeah we have two batteries needing to be replaced so we will have to contact. Not sure of the price up here, and wondering if we need to backup al our files before we bring it in?
Click to expand...

When taking a computer in for service / repair, you ALWAYS have at least one fresh full backup of all your important stuff, preferably two.

Which you should be doing on a regular basis anyway.

You probably won't need it, but always better to be safe.
 
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