Macbook air or pro?

[yenefikirr]

Hello, Im looking to buy a macbook.

Which configuration is better?

I need a laptop for casual browsing, netflix, watching live streams on twitch, some school work. I want to be able to have multiple tabs open, keep a few apps running in the background or at the same time without slowing the laptop down. So basically a fast, reliable laptop for the next 4-5 years.

Which one would you choose:

Macbook air 2020 with 10 gen quad core i5 1.1ghz, configuration with 16 gb ram LPDDR4X 3733 MHz, 256gb ssd

Macbook pro 2020 with 8 gen quad core i5 1.4 ghz, 8 gm ram LPDDR3 2133 MHz, 256gb ssd


Price is the same on both.

I dont know much about tech,
could anyone briefly explain the difference between the CPUs and rams, how different those perform, which is better (i5 1.4ghz but 8th gen or i5 1.1ghz 10th gen)?

Also which of these specs is more ‘important’, the size of ram & mhz or cpu?

Would macbook pro still be better with less ram and older cpu?

I dont know much about tech so any help is appreciated

 

[johannnn]

Maybe I'm a minority, but I think there is a higher risk for annoying fan noise rather than the computer being too slow. For example, in the MBA forum, the most discussed thread by far is the heatsink modification thread since fan noise starts very easy (due to bad cooling).

So what I wanted to ask is, do you need it now or can you wait some months? I'd go with the 1st gen ARM laptop from Apple. I'm sure they will be cooler.

 

[Dave_H]

Maybe I'm a minority, but I think there is a higher risk for annoying fan noise rather than the computer being too slow. For example, in the MBA forum, the most discussed thread by far is the heatsink modification thread since fan noise starts very easy (due to bad cooling).

So what I wanted to ask is, do you need it now or can you wait some months? I'd go with the 1st gen ARM laptop from Apple. I'm sure they will be cooler.

But can we still be confident that this first generation of ARM won't have any issue, that would be probably ironed out with the following iterations ?

On one hand, we know is Apple and this decision hasn't probably been made o the top of their head. But OTOH I tend to avoid being early adopter of hardware, especially when It costs that much. I consider myself as tech-savvy and can crawl the forums and discussions to overcome an issue, but for a non tech person I don't know if this should be the way to go.

Don't want to sound too cautious, though, so... That's that.

 

[johannnn]

But can we still be confident that this first generation of ARM won't have any issue, that would be probably ironed out with the following iterations ?

On one hand, we know is Apple and this decision hasn't probably been made o the top of their head. But OTOH I tend to avoid being early adopter of hardware, especially when It costs that much. I consider myself as tech-savvy and can crawl the forums and discussions to overcome an issue, but for a non tech person I don't know if this should be the way to go.

Don't want to sound too cautious, though, so... That's that.

1st gen products can definitely have problems. But at the same time, Intel chips have been known to be hot garbage for quite many years.

 

[ian87w]

Hello, Im looking to buy a macbook.

Which configuration is better?

I need a laptop for casual browsing, netflix, watching live streams on twitch, some school work. I want to be able to have multiple tabs open, keep a few apps running in the background or at the same time without slowing the laptop down. So basically a fast, reliable laptop for the next 4-5 years.

Which one would you choose:

Macbook air 2020 with 10 gen quad core i5 1.1ghz, configuration with 16 gb ram LPDDR4X 3733 MHz, 256gb ssd

Macbook pro 2020 with 8 gen quad core i5 1.4 ghz, 8 gm ram LPDDR3 2133 MHz, 256gb ssd


Price is the same on both.

I dont know much about tech,
could anyone briefly explain the difference between the CPUs and rams, how different those perform, which is better (i5 1.4ghz but 8th gen or i5 1.1ghz 10th gen)?

Also which of these specs is more ‘important’, the size of ram & mhz or cpu?

Would macbook pro still be better with less ram and older cpu?

I dont know much about tech so any help is appreciated

I would go with Macbook Air, 100%. 16GB of RAM will give you more future proofing.

 

[kailesophia]

both are having advantage or disadvantages but acording to my knowledge you can go with
"Macbook air 2020 with 10 gen quad core i5 1.1ghz"

 

[Dave_H]

Thanks folks
Funny thing: I'm ordering one for my wife in the next few hours, so... If we go for the MBA, how about the fan issue underlined by @johannn?

 

[johannnn]

Thanks folks
Funny thing: I'm ordering one for my wife in the next few hours, so... If we go for the MBA, how about the fan issue underlined by @johannn?

Hard to say without knowing what she does at the computer. You can always install http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/ and enable it temporarily if she does something demanding (eg Zoom video call).

Both computers are great though. The MBA has great value. We all just wished it had active cooling.

 

[Dave_H]

Hard to say without knowing what she does at the computer. You can always install http://tbswitcher.rugarciap.com/ and enable it temporarily if she does something demanding (eg Zoom video call).

Both computers are great though. The MBA has great value. We all just wished it had active cooling.

Thank you. It's almost the same use case as OP. Maybe occasional Zoom as you suggest. She'll probably do a bit of R and SPSS too, but by the time it becomes more demanding she'll hopefully get a well paid job to buy a full-fledged MBP

 

[johannnn]

Thank you. It's almost the same use case as OP. Maybe occasional Zoom as you suggest. She'll probably do a bit of R and SPSS too, but by the time it becomes more demanding she'll hopefully get a well paid job to buy a full-fledged MBP

The i3 or the i5 MBA? I may remember incorrectly, but I think the i5 also have a better GPU. So maybe both hotter CPU and GPU. So maybe the i3 us better if you’re easily annoyed by fan noise. But I’m sure the folks in the MBA forum knows much more about this.

 

[Ericdjensen]

I’d go with the pro just for better cooling. I have the air and it’s very very hot. I mean it’s not even a laptop because you can’t use it on your lap

 

[pldelisle]

MacBook Pro without any doubt.