Resolved Buying advice for Air M2 configuration

[Tchecker67]

Hi from France

I am currently on Windows (Surface Pro 2018) and want to buy myself a Macbook Air, except that I need advice not knowing the Mac environment

My use:
- office (word, excel)
- web browsing (multi tabs)
- multimedia (movies / series, Netflix...)
- a few light games (Football Manager - which mainly consumes RAM I believe) or management games such as Simcity / Cities Skyline, Two Point Hospital, Zoo Tycon...
- intensive use of the cloud (documents, photos...): a storage capacity of 256 GB is more than enough for me on Windows
- shelf life: at least 4-5 years (5 years for my current pc)

I saw that the Air 256 GB was "restricted" by having only one chip... However, I don't transfer large files or very very occasionally (if I want to watch a movie or install a game which is on an external drive - with MacOS it may be different) ; I am rather an intensive user of the Cloud (documents, photos).
=> Is it better to favor the 16 GB RAM option rather than 512 GB SSD (it seems to be the case according to my research and YT videos).
I think so but what is your opinion ?

My reflection leads to retain two configs:
1- Macbook Air M2 8GB / 256GB: €1499 - discounts = €1050
2- Macbook Air M2 16GB / 256GB: €1729 - discounts = €1400

What would you advise me? I think 8 GB should probably be enough for my use, but 16 GB will hold up better over time, and in situations where 8 isn't enough (games like football manager).

What is your opinion ?

Thanks in advance

PS : many would probably advice to purchase the Air M1. But I favor the M2 because of its design, thin screen borders and release date (2022 vs 2020).

 

[chrono1081]

Personally I would go with option 2 if it's in your budget but if not, option 1 is fine. My buddy has the 256 and in real world usage you don't see a difference in speed between his and mine.

 

[TorbenIbsen]

Just a few things I suggest you give a bit extra thought before you make your decision.

First. From what you describe there seems to be no reason at all to move to a Mac with the things you want to do. You will gainjabsolutely no advantage or any extra, useful features from moving to the Mac. - So think about why you really are considering moving. Is it simply the brand name?

Second. As a Windows PC user you have a lot of focus on the hardware. But things are somewhat different on a Mac. - Because Apple makes both the hardware, the operating system and their own apps, including the Safari browser there is a tight integration between the hardware and the software. So you cannot compare 1:1 with hardware specs.

But moving to a Mac means a lot more than getting new hardware. This often seems to surprise PC users. So think bout this:

You write that you use a cloud very much. So here is much to consider. Because this is where former Windows users really seem to misunderstand things totally. Expecially these two things:

a) iCloud is NOT a "normal" cloud solution. It is not designed to be a remote storage for "extra data". It is designed to DISTRIBUTE data betwen Apple devices. So if you "only" have one Apple device (your Mac) then iCloud does not really provide you with anything.

b) Photos. Users from the Windows world mostly seem to be organizing photos in neatly organized and sorted folders. A digital storage which is completely identical to the way we organized our physical photos long ago. - But this is not the way it is done in Apple Photos. - Apple Photos is a DATABASE solution where all photos are stored in one big basket, the All Photos folder. There is then a ton of ways to organize and present fotos, all done via meta-data. Either those which come automatically or via manually added "Keywords" of your own making. Many often also use "smart folder" which automatically populate folders with photos based upon all the available meta-data according to rules you decide. - What you organize is not really the photos but links which points to the one and only actual photo. Like music playlists. But you do not organize physical photos. It just looks like that.

So. Take some time before you decide. Go to Apple's support homepage (or Google search) and read the user guide for MacOS, the userguide for iCloud and the user guide for Apple Photos. That way you can make a much more qualified decision and avoid all the surprises which are waiting for you over in the Apple world.

I don't use games, myself, but I have never heard about anybody who want a Mac to use for games. This is someting which should be done on a PC. So check carefully to avoid any disappointment in this area.

Don't pay so much attention to the chip model. It is not nearly as important on the Mac as on a PC. All the other, above mentioned things are what you should be thinking about. Because a Mac is not a PC with an Apple logo. The Mac and Macos are an entirely different way of doing the same things which you can do on a Windows PC. Be prepared to experience that everytning is done a little or a LOT different on the Mac.

So why do you want the Mac?

If you get one then go for 16 GB RAM and ignore the M1/M2 consideration. - And remember that you also could chose an iPad or an iMac.

 

[Tchecker67]

Hi

Thanks for your advice & warning. I already have an iPhone 13 Pro and an iPad Pro 11'.

I think jumping into the Mac universe might be interesting for me. And, my geeky mind tells me to give it a try and find out

I hesitate a lot between 8GB and 16GB, because of the price difference of 350 €...
8 GB should be enough for my current user, but Football Manager mainly consumes RAM (rather than video memory) and RAM memory demands will also change (browsers are asking for more and more)...

The store released an offer today only: 10 € credited to the store card for every 100 € of purchase.
- 8GB: €1050 => €100 credited to the store card => €950
- 16 GB: €1400=> €140 credited to the store card => €1260

 

[BlaineL]

If you plan to keep your computer for 5 years, I recommend the M2 with 16GB. 350/5 = 70 euro/yr = 1 meal for 2 at a decent restaurant. Too many times I've taken the lower end, only to need upgrading after a couple of years. Once you move to Mac, I'm sure you will also want to experience other apps/games and perhaps get into video. I find Mac much more superior over Windows for photos/video. For office apps, they're about equal.

 

[bojack981]

Hi

Thanks for your advice & warning. I already have an iPhone 13 Pro and an iPad Pro 11'.

I think jumping into the Mac universe might be interesting for me. And, my geeky mind tells me to give it a try and find out

I hesitate a lot between 8GB and 16GB, because of the price difference of 350 €...
8 GB should be enough for my current user, but Football Manager mainly consumes RAM (rather than video memory) and RAM memory demands will also change (browsers are asking for more and more)...

The store released an offer today only: 10 € credited to the store card for every 100 € of purchase.
- 8GB: €1050 => €100 credited to the store card => €950
- 16 GB: €1400=> €140 credited to the store card => €1260

which model did you end up buying? I'm in same situation. I would be fine with the 8gb m2 MacBook Air but worried it might not be able to handle FM23.