hello freecodecamper’s ,
i want some help from you for choosing my new Laptop.
i’m going to replace my old PC (core I3 gen.2) with a brand new Laptop.
I’ve been searching and filtering for a while and i got these laptops :
(First of all , My budget is 900-1000$ , no more)
3- Apple Macbook Air (MQD32) :
Processor : I5 / 1.8GHz
RAM : 8 G
HardDisk : 128 SSD
GPU : HD Graphics 6000
Monitor : 13 inch
My usage for the laptop will be as follow :
1- Video editing for youtube (premier - aftereffect - sonyvegas)
2- graphic design (photoshop - illustrator )
3- coding web and android (android studio - eclipse - IntelliJ)
4- some other programs like (3d max - adobe audition - adobe animation)
5- gaming (fortnite…etc) ===> it’s not important as the items above cause i know Apple mac is not for gaming so i can cancel gaming.
so, which one is suitable for me , Notice that i’m not using this programs as a professional it just for myself. but i want smooth work and rendering.
You’re editing videos & using 3D graphics programs & poss running games so second one. The Air is probably not much use, it’s a lovely computer but its old, has no GC and will have dufficulty handling what you want smoothly. Also you need RAM, so second one wins. If first one has upgradeable RAM, then decision could be based on which one is easiest to replace the small SSD with a large one, and/or replace the HDD with an SSD (I’m assuming both are 128Gb SSD + 1Tb HDD?). You ideally want a fast CPU, as many cores as possible, as much RAM as possible, and lots of storage. Apple make beautiful computers, but for the money you get the lowest possible specs and 2015 components.
your words make sense to me, but you know i’m very attracted to the Mac-Book because of the brand i’m struggling between the need and the want.
the first two laptops have a storage of 1T HDD + 128 SSD (i don’t know if i can upgrade the SSD or they are merged together)
Yeah, you’re in the same position I was in when I was looking at new laptops last year - same budget, with similar needs. I looked seriously at the Air as well. On the plus side, it’s one of the best laptops ever made, battery life is nuts good, software is fantastic, it’s very reliable. On the downside, it’s maybe not got the power, and definitely lacks storage. I had a series of work laptops over the past few years, all high-spec MacBook pros, and they dealt with most of the stuff you want (though gaming killed even them - Civ 5 I used to play the hell out of, and it would trip the laptop out without fail after a couple of hours). MacBook Air I’m not sure will do what you want smoothly (though looking around for an officially refurbed 2015/16 MacBook Pro might be worthwhile? Prices don’t drop much though because they’re fantastically good computers).
Downsides of the PCs - those 128Gb flash SSD + 1Tb HDD seem to have gotten fashionable recently and umm, it’s not a great combination (that’s what the one I settled on has). Price goes up steeply for just a single big SSD, which is really what you’d want, but you definitely need storage so at least that HDD is somewhere to dump big video files. Look to see if it’s possible to upgrade the flash SSD and the HDD in future, that would make it attractive. Windows is ok, but it’s not great for coding. All the Adobe stuff/3DS Max etc will be totally fine though, and obvs really good for games. The key thing I think that swings it towards the PCs is the processors, RAM, and the discrete graphics. For Adobe video stuff more cores generally equals better, in general, and you want as much RAM as can be stuffed in.
If you can find one with upgradable storage and RAM thats a massive thing - flash storage is hard to upgrade and manufacturers like soldering RAM on, so
One thing I would say: If you can hang on, Dell always have excellent sales, and you can probably get an XPS for within your budget in a sale; they are fantastic computers.
I don’t envy you, that price point & those requirements make it a bit difficult: go higher and you can get whatever, go lower and the machines are [occasionally nicely packaged] crap.
That MacBook Air is so outdated, it’s not even funny. I’d go with your second option and dual boot / run Linux VM.
Like previously said above, get as much RAM/SSD as you can. It can bite you in the butt later if you don’t. If you’re interested in developing hybrid apps later ( with Flutter or React Native ), those take a LOT of RAM to run the emulators, and sometimes the builds take forever.
Another thumbs up for the Dell XPS line, also. If you don’t need the absolute latest generation, you can pick up a lightly used for cheaper than your budget. They’re built like absolute tanks. If you’re patient and want to get the latest specs, wait until their Black Friday sale
I think i will Search for Refurbished Macbook Pro and if i didn’t found any, i will go with lenovo or Dell XPS (But I can’t get a brand new XPS with my budget)
thanks alot.
But frankly. The mac is a toy. You won’t be able to upgrade it, the software you want runs on PC in exactly the same way, you’re paying too much for outdated and tech that is over priced.
The air is outdated enough, you may not be able to run the software you want.
PCs get a bad rap because you have to learn how to use them but once you do their power far outweighs a Mac.
Some of the great options under $1000 that you can use for video editing youtube videos are Acer Predator Helios 300, MSI GV62, ASUS TUF FX505, Dell G7 15, etc…
