About to buy my first Macbook

[Ixon2001]

I've decided to sell my Gaming Laptop which is very decent, I've lost interest in gaming on the PC & have been doing for a while now, more so while i have both the Nintendo Switch & Xbox Series X for my gaming needs, it's just easier pick up and play sat on the sofa without screaming fan noise and worrying about heat when gaming as i don't have the room for a proper Rig.

But i still need a Laptop & while i'm in the Apple ecosystem with the iPhone 12 Mini, Apple Watch SE, Airpods Pro & a erm Samsung Tab S7 not an iPad , I thought I'll give a Macbook a try as I've never used Mac OS before.

Now I'm undecided to go for either the Macbook Air M1 or the Macbook Pro M1 both with the 512GB SSD & will 8GB be enough for basic tasks & maybe some picture & video editing every now & again, as i can get a decent discount on the 8GB versions from my Wife place of work as they don't sell any 16GB versions of the Macbook M1, don't think any retailer outside of Apple does tbh in the UK.

So what do you think i should go for, & will 8GB be enough for next couple of years?

 

[Apple_Robert]

That will be more than enough for your simple needs.

 

[leons]

Agreed, and you will love it!

 

[TopherMan12]

Initially I bought the Pro but ultimately decided that the feature set of the Pro was not worth the extra money for me. I returned the Pro and got the Air. Very glad I did. I opted for the 16GB Air and still came out cheaper than the 8GB Pro.

 

[Spudlicious]

For the OP's self-described needs the Air is more than adequate and is the class act of the laptop field. And he will never suffer fan noise from it.

 

[awsom82]

So what do you think i should go for, & will 8GB be enough for next couple of years?

I think this be enough. But hold till WWDC21 (June 9) maybe some announcements are made. I don't think MBP14 appears (as rumors say), most likely only MBP16 with an M2 chip.

For basic usage, MBP13 is good, but I prefer bigger screens. I own iMac21 purchased more than 11 years ago, it still works, even its power supply unit was damaged half a year ago. Incredible reliability. But I work currently on my MB12, the screen is too small. And my eyes are damaged. Can't wait to order a few new iMacs.

If you don't need some excessive power and don't need mobility. iMac 24 is the jam. In my humble opinion.

 

[M5RahuL]

I have both, albeit with the 16GB RAM option.. and imho, the MBA is a better buy for your needs..unless you must have that touch bar.

 

[Darkseth]

I also think, for most people: MB Air with 16gb Ram > MBP with 8gb Ram. It should even be slightly cheaper as well.
Differences are too small for most people.
8 will be fine, but depending on how long you plan to use it, i would probably upgrade to 16gb Ram. Maybe you don't "need" it today, maybe your usecase will change over the years, and maybe Applications will have increased Memory needs in the future. Also, for reselling it might be more appealing, when your model is one of the few, that's not a "base model".
But: 8gb is perfectly fine for basic tasks.

Oh yea: ima call you selling your Tab S7 for an iPad just because of the Ecosystem, if you happen to like the Macbook ^^ Just imagine Sidecar!

 

[Ixon2001]

Ok I've ordered the 8GB 512GB Macbook Pro Space Grey, I don't intend on pushing this Macbook to much & from what I've seen on Youtube 8GB will be perfectly fine for my needs.

I'll probably keep it for around 3 years then upgrade to whatever Macbook out in 2024, I think hopfully i've done with Windows now.
As for the Price it worked out less than a base Macbook Air 8GB 256GB hence why i went for the Pro.

 

[LFC2020]

will 8GB be enough for next couple of years?

For your basic needs, 8gb ram will be enough for the next 5-6 years lol.

Had my base model M1 Pro since launch day, also a basic user, safari, media consumption, not many apps, hasn't missed a beat, very quick and smooth, go with the base model air or pro, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[Okta]

IMO I'd save a bit of money going to the air and spend it on 16GB. It's not to say that 8GB won't last for a few years but I still have a 2013 rMBP running strong. These things can last 10+ years if you spec them out right

 

[Ixon2001]

My Macbook Pro M1 came this morning.

 

[Spudlicious]

My Macbook Pro M1 came this morning.

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Congrats on your new Mac, you’re sure to love it. There’s nothing like a MacBook, nothing at all.

 

[Apple_Robert]

My Macbook Pro M1 came this morning.

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Congrats. I hope you ordered some white cotton gloves off Amazon.

 

[BigMcGuire]

My Macbook Pro M1 came this morning.

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I'm using one just like this to type out this message. This laptop is the best laptop I've ever used and I've been using 13' MBPs since 2017. Absolutely love this thing.

 

[Ixon2001]

Agreed still getting to grips with Mac OS after being a Windows user for the past 20+ years.

At first I thought i'll struggle with the 13" display because this thing is tiny compared to my 17" gaming laptop, but the more i use it the more i'm becoming accustomed to the smaller screen size.

I'm also really liking the fact that this Macbook Pro is silent, " the fan hasn't kicked in yet" & running off battery rather than having the power plugged in all of the time.

One thing i'm really glad about is that my HP Laser Printer works without any problems, i was worried i may run into a few troubles with the M1 being still quite new, but nope all is working great ?.

So that it I've finished with both Windows & PC gaming, my gaming is now done on my 55" TV with the Xbox Series X & all of my computer related stuff will be done on a Macbook.

 

[spiderman0616]

Agreed still getting to grips with Mac OS after being a Windows user for the past 20+ years.

At first I thought i'll struggle with the 13" display because this thing is tiny compared to my 17" gaming laptop, but the more i use it the more i'm becoming accustomed to the smaller screen size.

I'm also really liking the fact that this Macbook Pro is silent, " the fan hasn't kicked in yet" & running off battery rather than having the power plugged in all of the time.

One thing i'm really glad about is that my HP Laser Printer works without any problems, i was worried i may run into a few troubles with the M1 being still quite new, but nope all is working great ?.

So that it I've finished with both Windows & PC gaming, my gaming is now done on my 55" TV with the Xbox Series X & all of my computer related stuff will be done on a Macbook.

I have been using iPhones and iPads since 2010, but it took me until about 2012 to finally ditch my Windows gaming PC and move over to Mac full time. I had used Macs here and there at work, and I had used Macs here and there for school growing up, but I had never had one in my house or used one with any regularity. And this time I didn't have a PC to fall back on anymore, so I was pretty nervous. By the end of the second day, my nervousness was gone. I didn't miss Windows at all, and my 2012 Mac mini was doing a great job as both my workhorse desktop machine as well as a streaming box for my TV.

You are in for a major treat in the upcoming months as you get to know the ins and outs of your new Mac. These M1s are WONDERFUL machines, and they allow macOS to finally run in the way that I feel like Apple has always designed it to run but have been held back by Intel's increasingly minimal speed bumps. I'm going to squeeze as much use out of my M1 Air as I can--I love the fact that I got in at ground level of what I think is the most successful architecture transition in history.