Which Macbook Air M2 configuration to get - medical student?

[appleuser97]

Hello,

I am planning on upgrading my computer from the 2019 Macbook pro to the 2022 m2 air. While my pro works well, I really dislike the keyboard as a key seems to get stuck every other week. I am going into first year medical school and will be using my computer strictly for browsing the web, note-taking (word or pages), writing research papers, downloading textbooks, and ppt presentations. I do not do any video editing or play games on my computer.

I am planning on keeping this computer for my entire study period (4 years) and was wondering if the base m2 air model is sufficient or if I should upgrade the RAM or SSD (only have the budget to upgrade one). I have 55gb left of SSD on my current computer, but will not be transferring everything. I also have 1tb of icloud but that is shared with family and I prefer to store stuff locally on my computer. My current computer normally runs pretty fast, but can get slow when too many tabs are open for too long. At most, I will have 40 safari/chrome tabs open, a few word/pages documents, PDF files, and my reminders app open. On my current pro, that equivalents to around 6.5-7gb of RAM used. Will upgrading the RAM or SSD be a good investment or is the base model good enough for me and I will not benefit from the upgrade.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Apple_Robert]

Given your usage description, I would upgrade the RAM. The new M2 can easily handle your workflow.

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/purchase-advice-for-m1-macbook-air-for-university-student.2351590/

 

[appleuser97]

Given your usage description, I would upgrade the RAM. The new M2 can easily handle your workflow.

thanks! Would you say that 8gb would be insufficient and I can get by with 256 ssd?

 

[Apple_Robert]

thanks! Would you say that 8gb would be insufficient and I can get by with 256 ssd?

You are looking at about 221 usable space with the base model. Given you plan to hang onto the Mac for at least 4 years, I would get the 512 SSD as well, if budget allows, unless you can keep a tidy Mac and don't mind offloading when needed.

 

[appleuser97]

You are looking at about 221 usable space with the base model. Given you plan to hang onto the Mac for at least 4 years, I would get the 512 SSD as well, if budget allows, unless you can keep a tidy Mac and don't mind offloading when needed.

Thanks! Ideally I'd upgrade both but I live in Canada which will make the total price over $1800, which I cant justify

 

[1BadManVan]

thanks! Would you say that 8gb would be insufficient and I can get by with 256 ssd?

Remember to purchase through the educational store as well, might be enough savings to just upgrade both. But if you’re really limited on budget to just one, definitely the ram. Your biggest bottle neck will be that if you’re going to have 40 tabs open and a few office apps as well. You can always grab an external ssd down the road if you need more space, but you can’t add more ram later