Third year CS student looking for opinions on M1 MacBook Pro

[Jen9]

Hi all,
I'm entering my third year as a computer science student and am hoping to start my co-op placement next May. I asked my faculty about M1 compatibility with the virtual lab machines and was told it would work fine but that there are much cheaper options that would be just fine for the program (minimum requirements: i5 or higher, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage).

I am so comfortable with MacOS that I would prefer to stick with it as I have only owned MacBooks for nearly the past 10 years (15'' in 2013, 13'' in 2017 - neither meet the requirements for my program).

Does anyone have any experience in the field to provide recommendations on specs?

I'm hoping it will last me a couple years into my career and I don't mind paying a bit more upfront. (I really regret buying the base model 13'' MBP in 2017 (121 GB SSD)... I have 4GB free. My 2013 15'' is not as compatible with new software, but still lots of space and works well for it's age.)

 

[Sanpete]

Any of the 16GB M1s should be more than plenty to cover what an i5 16GB would do.

 

[AmazingTechGeek]

What I learned in University was that min specs were just for labs, but I should have specced higher based my personal needs, not just as a scholar.

M1 is well-rounded for programming, but can be a lot to manage if you want to use a windows virtual machine. For versatility in being both a creative and a technical programmer, get the 14in Pro 16gb/512GB. That way you can explore the creative side of programming with no compromises.

I wish you well in your studies!