Tempted by M2 MBA but…

[James Godfrey]

Hi all

I am quite tempted by the M2 MBA as I have seen a good deal on it online…

My main use cases for the MacBook will be general web surfing, email, watching the odd things on YouTube, studying, typing up essays etc… also editing a website using an online editor and some music and video editing in iMovie/GarageBand, nothing too heavy.

Is there much difference in performance with the 8CPU/GPU 256GB model vs the 8CPU/10GPU 512GB model… I have read quite a bit online saying the 256GB models do suffer quite a bit in terms of performance in comparison to the 512GB models, and the price difference between the two models is about £240…

I am just not sure if the base model 256GB model will be sufficient for my needs, I don’t really need to worry about storage as I have a large iCloud storage available and don’t store a huge amount locally, so I would literally be getting the upgraded specs simply for the performance improvements.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[usagora]

I do more than you do with my base M1 MBA and it handles everything with ease. You will be just fine with the base model M2. Save your cash and apply it towards AppleCare or accessories (don't forget any dongles/adapters since you only have USB-C type ports on the current MBAs) if you're so inclined.

 

[James Godfrey]

I do more than you do with my base M1 MBA and it handles everything with ease. You will be just fine with the base model M2. Save your cash and apply it towards AppleCare or accessories (don't forget any dongles/adapters since you only have USB-C type ports on the current MBAs) if you're so inclined.

To be honest I never use the ports other than for charging or connecting with the headphone Jack I did have a 14” MBP but I couldn’t get on with the weight of it and tbh it was way overkill for my needs.

I probably will get a Magic Mouse with it though as sometimes I prefer that over a trackpad especially when editing music etc…

 

[EugW]

I am quite tempted by the M2 MBA as I have seen a good deal on it online…

My main use cases for the MacBook will be general web surfing, email, watching the odd things on YouTube, studying, typing up essays etc… also editing a website using an online editor and some music and video editing in iMovie/GarageBand, nothing too heavy.

Is there much difference in performance with the 8CPU/GPU 256GB model vs the 8CPU/10GPU 512GB model… I have read quite a bit online saying the 256GB models do suffer quite a bit in terms of performance in comparison to the 512GB models, and the price difference between the two models is about £240…

I am just not sure if the base model 256GB model will be sufficient for my needs, I don’t really need to worry about storage as I have a large iCloud storage available and don’t store a huge amount locally, so I would literally be getting the upgraded specs simply for the performance improvements.

Another option is the M1 MacBook Air.

Just a little anecdote: For my wife's 2017 MacBook Air, she had very little personal data on the machine. Probably between the OS and her data, she used about 50 GB, which was fine for her 128 GB SSD esp. since we have a 2 TB iCloud plan. However, over time she started losing space, and eventually ran out of space. Why? Because along with her 20 GB Messages storage, macOS was sticking junk into her System Data directory. I cleared some of it out manually, but couldn't find it all. In the end I just upgraded her SSD to 256 GB, and ironically for now she has much less usage than she did before, since the SSD upgrade meant an OS re-install of course, which cleared out all the junk in System Data.

So, what does this mean? Even if 256 GB should be more than enough for you, junk that accumulates in macOS on some systems over time can sometimes throw a wrench into things. Choose wisely.

 

[usagora]

To be honest I never use the ports other than for charging or connecting with the headphone Jack I did have a 14” MBP but I couldn’t get on with the weight of it and tbh it was way overkill for my needs.

I probably will get a Magic Mouse with it though as sometimes I prefer that over a trackpad especially when editing music etc…

I often connect an SD card, projector, or USB-A devices (audio recorder, memory stick, remote presenter receiver, etc.) which require adapters. So I thought I'd mention that just in case you had anything similar.

+1 for the Magic Mouse. I hate using trackpads unless I have to.

 

[4743913]

the base M1 macbook air may be the best laptop deal ever right now. I loved mine but needed more ssd so I went M2. Had I put 1TB in mine I would still be rocking the M1

 

[James Godfrey]

I often connect an SD card, projector, or USB-A devices (audio recorder, memory stick, remote presenter receiver, etc.) which require adapters. So I thought I'd mention that just in case you had anything similar.

+1 for the Magic Mouse. I hate using trackpads unless I have to.

Also would you recommend 16gb ram for my use case or is 8gb sufficient would you say?

 

[usagora]

Also would you recommend 16gb ram for my use case or is 8gb sufficient would you say?

8GB is more than sufficient. Many on here will tell you it's not, but it is (for our use cases). My first MBA was 4GB and my current is 8GB. Neither gave me any issues.

 

[v1ctorS]

Do not buy the base M2 MacBook Air or you will run into slowndowns as the SSD is too slow by today's standards. If you don't want to spend the extra money on the 512 GB model, I highly recommend the base M1 MacBook Air.

 

[v1ctorS]

Also would you recommend 16gb ram for my use case or is 8gb sufficient would you say?

For everyday use 8 GB unified memory are generally enough (Unless you intend to buy a M2 MacBook Air with 256 GB storage, in which case the additional ram will actually help with the slow SSD performance).

 

[playtech1]

8GB is more than sufficient. Many on here will tell you it's not, but it is (for our use cases). My first MBA was 4GB and my current is 8GB. Neither gave me any issues.

I'm afraid I'm one of those people - I view 16GB as a minimum (if you can afford it) even for typical office work. MacOS is great at memory management but we live in a world of increasing software bloat, with plenty of new apps being in reality a memory-hungry skinned web browser.

I ran my LC on 2MB without issue back in the day, but as time marches on so do memory requirements: important for something you want to last more than a few years.

 

[usagora]

I'm afraid I'm one of those people - I view 16GB as a minimum (if you can afford it) even for typical office work. MacOS is great at memory management but we live in a world of increasing software bloat, with plenty of new apps being in reality a memory-hungry skinned web browser.

I ran my LC on 2MB without issue back in the day, but as time marches on so do memory requirements: important for something you want to last more than a few years.

I used my 4GB 2013 MBA for nearly 10 years and only sold it because it was no longer compatible with the latest macOS releases, not because the performance was lacking. I have no doubt my 8GB 2020 MBA will give me the same use. In my mind, a decade qualifies as "a few years" 😉

 

[chrono1081]

Hi all

I am quite tempted by the M2 MBA as I have seen a good deal on it online…

My main use cases for the MacBook will be general web surfing, email, watching the odd things on YouTube, studying, typing up essays etc… also editing a website using an online editor and some music and video editing in iMovie/GarageBand, nothing too heavy.

Is there much difference in performance with the 8CPU/GPU 256GB model vs the 8CPU/10GPU 512GB model… I have read quite a bit online saying the 256GB models do suffer quite a bit in terms of performance in comparison to the 512GB models, and the price difference between the two models is about £240…

I am just not sure if the base model 256GB model will be sufficient for my needs, I don’t really need to worry about storage as I have a large iCloud storage available and don’t store a huge amount locally, so I would literally be getting the upgraded specs simply for the performance improvements.

Any help would be appreciated.

For your use case you're not going to see a difference. My buddy edits video on his all the time and I can't see a real world difference between his and mine even when we were both testing the same project files (we were using Final Cut).

I lost a ton of respect for many tech YouTubers after getting my M2 Air. It's a fantastic machine and I do a ton on it that people would never associate with an Air.