Hi Folks,

Was active here back in the before kids days...not so much anymore. So, i'm hoping the collective wisdom of the group can help me shortcut my research process.

My employer is offering to buy me a laptop. They're not flush with cash or anything (public sector), so they asked that I approach them with a low cost option and the "ideal" option.

I'm replacing a mid 2015 MacBook pro 15". It's working fine, but i'm getting some kernel panics from time to time, some weirdness, slow, etc. It is my personal machine, so I'm going to pass it down to my wife who is a very low level user.

I'm a mid-level user at best. I'm in my 50's so I like the bigger screen for when i'm not at my workstation running 2 other monitors. No video editing or photoshop or anything. Usually have lots of MS apps open, large spreadsheet files, etc. I need at least a 512mb HD. I currently have 16gb RAM. I have one now and using cloud storage, i have 200gb available. Before moving to cloud storage, I had very little available. A lot of that is old music from pre spotify days, so I suppose it could be archived. Yes, I'm behind the times.

On first look, sounds like either a M2 13.3 Air or the 14" or 16" pro. There is a M1 16" pro for $2k at Costco.

Do I want to makes sure I get an M2 chip? I seriously have not been paying attention at all to product development. Shop via the educational discount, refurbished, or costco or other?

thank you for making my life way easier.

EDIT: it looks like the 14 and 16" MBP haven't seen updates for a year, so if that is the choice, I assume need to wait on those.

matt

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2022 11:05AM by Kiva.

M1 Pro is still faster than the M2. M2 Pro is now rumored to be coming out in (early?) 2023.

Sounds like you just need to buy based on your preference for screen size and SSD size (and price). Any of those choices (M2 Air, 14/16 Pro) would be fine for you.

No bad options with the M1/2 chips.

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Refurb can get you a better price than education, but with limited selection of course. Same warranty as new though, so it's always good to check there first.

Sometimes Costco can be even better, but usually only on the base models. You can get an extra year of warranty going that route.

If you're not hitting walls with the current 16GB RAM then you might be fine with 8GB on an M1 or M2. I'd personally opt for 16GB since you can't ever change it. 512GB internal storage seems fine given your usage.

I recently upgraded my 15" MBP to a 14" M1Pro MBP. I've got 16 GB of RAM which is more than enough even though I am running a virtual machine 24/7 in addition to using all of my regular apps. I opted to increase the HD to a 1 TB, but I moved all of my photos and music to an SD card and I probably could have gone with a 512 GB.

Any machine of the ones mentioned you will love. The M's are really snappy and since they are the future of Apple, I wouldn't consider anything else.

Happy shopping!

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Based upon what you described, your best bang for your buck and will fill your needs just fine -- M1 MBA 8/512 for $1060 at Apple Refurb

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

Public sector was mentioned, there are discounts available for government purchases as well as purchases for those in education. Those discounts are on new items only though. Depending on which organization is doing the purchase, you may be limited to purchasing new and not from the refurb store by organizational policies.

Depending on the organization you may be able to purchase from places like Costco, B&H, Amazon, or other retailers with better discounts than through the educational or government portals.

I am was sold on a MacBook Air 13" M2 or a MacBook Pro 13" but now that I'm seeing the M1 Pro's in the 14" and 16" MBP and seeing $400 discounts on these at best buy (and other retailers) I'm starting to reconsider my choices and at least grab a 14" MBP with 16GB memory and 1TB drive.

From what you describe, that 16" M1 Pro for $2099 at Costco ($400 off Apple list) is a very, very good choice. Not sure what channels your employer uses to purchase, but the bang for the buck on this (or the base 14" model for $1599) is fantastic.

The M2 Air is really good, but you are getting more for your money with the Pros. For your use case, you'd probably even be fine with an M1 Air as long as you have enough RAM and SSD storage. Just keep in mind that either of the Airs would require you to use a Displaylink adapter to run those two external displays. Not the end of the world, but it's not ideal either—especially when you have less ports in the first place.

It's critical that you compare the form factor and size of these machines in person because that may be the deciding factor. The prices on the above configs are better than EDU, and if you plan to get it the AppleCare+ price from Costco is better than EDU as well (must be done at purchase).

There is still a remote chance that the M2 Pros could be announced this month, but it's sounding more and more like it may not be until 2023, possibly as late as March. Even if you're willing to wait, you're not going to see these types of discounts, and I doubt any improvements would be important to you anyway. I'm not in a hurry, so I'm waiting. I hope I'm not kicking myself for failing to snap up one of these deals.

Take a look at your port requirements - the 14/16 have more ports, including HDMI, SD card, extra thunderbolt vs the Air

If you can't get by with limited ports by using a dock or something, then go for 14/16

You mentioned screen size is important, so sounds like 14/16 would suit your eyes better than the Air

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My music blog: [www.auditorymusings.net]


The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado

No offense to anyone, but I would NOT recommend 8GB even if you think it would suit your needs

Kiva,

Great that they're willing to get you a new machine! Something not brought up by anyone in the thread is software. Newer flavors of the OS only support 64-bit apps. If the software you're using is 32-bit, you'll need to see if there are 64-bit versions of it or viable 64-bit alternatives to it. Based on what you've said, 32-bit vs 64-bit apps should be a non-issue but I wanted to at least mention it.

Robert

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Robert M
Kiva,

Great that they're willing to get you a new machine! Something not brought up by anyone in the thread is software. Newer flavors of the OS only support 64-bit apps. If the software you're using is 32-bit, you'll need to see if there are 64-bit versions of it or viable 64-bit alternatives to it. Based on what you've said, 32-bit vs 64-bit apps should be a non-issue but I wanted to at least mention it.

Robert

I was just about to mention this too. No mention of the OS running on the current Mac, if it's Catalina or newer then the big 64 bit hurdle has already been cleared. Then all you have to worry about is if there's any other reason why some important apps might not run on the latest OS and for performance critical ones, if an Apple Silicon version of the app exists.

"Just keep in mind that either of the Airs would require you to use a Displaylink adapter to run those two external displays. Not the end of the world, but it's not ideal either—especially when you have less ports in the first place."

How do you enable those two external monitors on an MBA? AFAIK, those monitors would be mirrored, not extended desktop. so you're not gaining real estate?
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Just got back from Apple to do some comparing and I ended up ordering the 14" from Costco.

[www.costco.com]

Was pretty set on a 13" MacBook Air with an M2 but for the extra $100 (with the $450 discount at costco) I think the 14" is a better choice for "me" (Personally I thought the 16" was a little big and slightly heavy but still a beautiful machine). I do get a education discount (from my kids school) so I "may" still get a MacBook Air or a iMac to replace our 17" iMac that is pretty slow.

Good luck.

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Ombligo
Based upon what you described, your best bang for your buck and will fill your needs just fine -- M1 MBA 8/512 for $1060 at Apple Refurb

I mostly agree with this. If there’s room in the budget for it, though, I’d go with 16 GB RAM.

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It is what it is.

yes, 8gb is fine for grandma, but after living with an 8gb M1 Mini for 1.5 years, I'd say it's better to go minimum 16gb for most folks.

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clay
yes, 8gb is fine for grandma, but after living with an 8gb M1 Mini for 1.5 years, I'd say it's better to go minimum 16gb for most folks.

I'm wondering if 16GB is good enough for me. I have an i7 MBP and just ordered a M1 Pro MBP with 16GB. My i7 only has 8.

Thank you everybody for your responses. This has been incredibly helpful.

I think I'll roll the dice and order now vs. waiting until next announcement.

I think the 14" is a nice in between size for me and isn't too big.

I looked at all my typical apps, and it appears everything comes in 64 bit. Thank you for that reminder, as it made me make sure MacJournal has a 64-bit version (does).

I really like the idea of extra ports of the pro vs. air. I use them all the time now. My monitors are old here and I'm currently using thunderbolt adapters to VGA. Yup.

I'm pretty sure my school can buy from Costco but will cruise refurbs if needed. Hopefully I can get the 16gb of RAM.

Thank you again, everybody. This is *exactly* what I needed. Saved me hours.

kiva

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The 14" and 16" start at 16GB RAM - there is no 8GB option (thankfully!)

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My music blog: [www.auditorymusings.net]


The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado

last I was active here, I worked for a much sh!ttier school. Super Anti-mac. I've since changed employers. I sent a list of 3 machines to them after doing the above post, progressively lower in price.

They responded within 30 seconds saying, "you're getting this one" and linked to the top option.

Very different public sector experience. They manage their $ and people well here.

Thank you again. They're actually in stock at Costco locally so I'll have it in hand by tonite!

kiva

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2022 05:01PM by Kiva.

Is it too early for a LEADER

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pinkoos
Is it too early for a LEADER

maybe, but certainly imminent....

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well, Costco only had Space Gray so ordered silver online. Should be here tomorrow or Th. We'll see.

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LEADER



So, adapters....any old USB-C to USB will work for old peripherals and TM drive, or need to get apple branded?

Any other must-haves?

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/2022 07:30PM by Kiva.

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Buzz
"Just keep in mind that either of the Airs would require you to use a Displaylink adapter to run those two external displays. Not the end of the world, but it's not ideal either—especially when you have less ports in the first place."

How do you enable those two external monitors on an MBA? AFAIK, those monitors would be mirrored, not extended desktop. so you're not gaining real estate?
==

Missed this earlier, but your assumption is incorrect. A Displaylink adapter (with its accompanying software) allows you to mimic up to 2 additional non-mirrored monitor connections via USB.

Probably the best example is this one offered by our sponsor (but currently our of stock):

[eshop.macsales.com]

My wife already has an external dock, so she has been using this USB adapter in addition to one of the dock's built in HDMI outputs to run two independent external dipalays with her M1 MacBook Air:

[www.amazon.com]