Best budget student Mac notebook

[marclondon]

I have twins starting at university next month and need to get them a notebook computer each. They already have desktop gaming PCs but I'm not sure I'll be shipping these to their campuses...
This could get very expensive so am looking at refurb/used MacBook Airs and Pros as I refuse to buy Windows machines - what would be a sensible choice/config. They are doing maths and physics.
If we buy new we can get the educational discount and a gift voucher but Apple don't reduce prices by more than 10%.

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

The Walmart $650 M1 Air should do it if you’re in the US.

 

[Mainsail]

I would just get the most current M3 MBA on sale for about $899, or you can do the Apple college discount plus $150 gift card. The $250 difference between the M1 and M3 is minor when you put it in the context of the total cost of a college degree, which even at state schools will run ~$100K for tuition, fees, room and board. A good laptop is the single most important piece of equipment for college, and the M3 will last longer after graduation while continue to be eligible for OS updates beyond the M1.

 

[bellflyer14]

My vote would be the 13" MBA. Depending on how heavy their workflow will be, id say play it safe and opt for the upgraded model. Best Buy and other retailers are having constant price breaks on those, as they are currently on sale $200 making it $1299. If they would be fine with the base model 8gb ram and 256 ssd they can be had brand new from Best Buy for $899 currently

 

[specialstyle]

I have twins starting at university next month and need to get them a notebook computer each. They already have desktop gaming PCs but I'm not sure I'll be shipping these to their campuses...
This could get very expensive so am looking at refurb/used MacBook Airs and Pros as I refuse to buy Windows machines - what would be a sensible choice/config. They are doing maths and physics.
If we buy new we can get the educational discount and a gift voucher but Apple don't reduce prices by more than 10%.

So that's sort of half accurate, they actually do have a deal right where it's 18% off -- If you're trying to save money look at anything M1 and above. I would seriously look at the air too -- that is more than enough for what they'd be cranking out and they are overbuilt regarding specs, plenty of power.

 

[marclondon]

I'm in the UK so we also pay 20% VAT which hikes prices a lot. The educational discount looks to be about 8% here.
I'm loathe to buy 8GB/256GB models and if it were one machine 16GB/512GB would be fine on say an 13in M3 Air but two...

 

[bellflyer14]

I'm in the UK so we also pay 20% VAT which hikes prices a lot. The educational discount looks to be about 8% here.
I'm loathe to buy 8GB/256GB models and if it were one machine 16GB/512GB would be fine on say an 13in M3 Air but two...

8gb machines will most likely be fine for school. They are honestly very powerful machines with Apple Silicon chips these days

 

[marclondon]

8gb machines will most likely be fine for school. They are honestly very powerful machines with Apple Silicon chips these days

Perhaps - my two are doing university level maths, physics and probably some computer science, stats etc.

 

[bellflyer14]

Perhaps - my two are doing university level maths, physics and probably some computer science, stats etc.

If they won't be doing graphic work, heavy sustained video editing, they will be just fine. These silicon Macs can be pushed pretty hard without ever noticing a slow down

 

[jlc1978]

Perhaps - my two are doing university level maths, physics and probably some computer science, stats etc.

Any of the Airs should do that just fine; with the caveat you need to see what programs the university will require them to use so you can see if Mac OS versions are available. If they are, check to see the system requirements. If not, a VM might be a solution but then I'd opt for 16 GB. I've run Parallels on an 8GB M1 Air and it was fine for Office/Visio but I didn't try more memory/processor intense tools such as Mathmatica.

Apple refurbs are generally the best deals except during Back to School.

Given you mentioned gaming rigs I think your 2 kids upgrade needs and wants will be driven more by gaming than what they do on the Mac, so I would not worry too much about being future proof after they graduate.

Personally, I had 2 that used Airs for 4 years and still use them many years later for email, web browsing and photos. One reason they don't need an upgrade as their work machines run what they need for work and are free.

Edit: added refurb comment

 

[specialstyle]

Any of the Airs should do that just fine; with the caveat you need to see what programs the university will require them to use so you can see if Mac OS versions are available. If they are, check to see the system requirements. If not, a VM might be a solution but then I'd opt for 16 GB. I've run Parallels on an 8GB M1 Air and it was fine for Office/Visio but I didn't try more memory/processor intense tools such as Mathmatica.

Apple refurbs are generally the best deals except during Back to School.

Given you mentioned gaming rigs I think your 2 kids upgrade needs and wants will be driven more by gaming than what they do on the Mac, so I would not worry too much about being future proof after they graduate.

Personally, I had 2 that used Airs for 4 years and still use them many years later for email, web browsing and photos. One reason they don't need an upgrade as their work machines run what they need for work and are free.

Edit: added refurb comment

I second this -- the Air with an M1-M3 will be more than enough. The only limitation with those laptops is the lack of a cooling fan, but that isn't actually a limitation.... it's just the way they designed it and it must've performed well enough in testing to be more than fine. I can't fathom paying 20% VAT on top... that is egregious.

 

[Chuckeee]

I have twins starting at university next month and need to get them a notebook computer each. They already have desktop gaming PCs but I'm not sure I'll be shipping these to their campuses...
This could get very expensive so am looking at refurb/used MacBook Airs and Pros as I refuse to buy Windows machines - what would be a sensible choice/config. They are doing maths and physics.
If we buy new we can get the educational discount and a gift voucher but Apple don't reduce prices by more than 10%.

Check if the university has any recommendations. If they recommend windows and your twins are already acquainted with windows from their gaming PC, [I understand this borders on heresy] they might be better served with a windows laptop.

 

[jlc1978]

. I can't fathom paying 20% VAT on top... that is egregious.

Welcome to Europe, altough with some sales taxes coming in fro 8 % or higher the US isn’t far behind.

Check if the university has any recommendations. If they recommend windows and your twins are already acquainted with windows from their gaming PC, [I understand this borders on heresy] they might be better served with a windows laptop.

Exactly. Find out what programs the school requires you to run and go from there. Don’t get fixated on one OS. If they require specific programs be sure there are Mac versions or a VM will run them fine.

 

[specialstyle]

Welcome to Europe, altough with some sales taxes coming in fro 8 % or higher the US isn’t far behind.

Exactly. Find out what programs the school requires you to run and go from there. Don’t get fixated on one OS. If they require specific programs be sure there are Mac versions or a VM will run them fine.

some states no sales tax ;-)

 

[jlc1978]

some states no sales tax ;-)

True, but unless you in, live close enough to, one you're out of luck.

 

[specialstyle]

True, but unless you in, live close enough to, one you're out of luck.

absolutely