Is 256 GB enough for my usecase?

[MikSpik209202]

Hi,

I'm looking for a general purpose uni laptop to accompany my main desktop. I was thinking of getting the new M2 Air with 16 gb of ram , the only issue for me however is the drive size. I'm leaning towards 256 as looking at my current usage I realistically use 80-90 gb for everything including the OS and all my files (besides the stuff I store in my desktop ofc). Although the 90 gb figure is slightly inflated as I have a lot of junk over the years which should have realistically been purged a while ago.

My usecaze also seems to warrant this size since I don't use any professional type software and I only plan on browsing , watching YouTube and using general productivity apps with the very occasional small game like minecraft and a few presentations in keynote.

So by this metric 256 seems like a dair bit of leeway especially since I plan to shift a lot of my stuff to the cloud to make synchronizing between my phone desktop mac and tablet easier.

I also plan to keep my mav for 2-2.5 years if that makes any difference.

Us 256 a safe bet in my case or should I splurge for the 512 one?

 

[unrigestered]

i think 256GB is plenty for many users, unless you do
- a lot of video editing
- want to store a lot of videos locally on your device
- need to have a large photo library stored locally on your device
- do AAA gaming
- create music using large sample libraries
and maybe some fringe case i might have forgotten

 

[Slartibart]

What are you studying? A single text book PDFs can easily occupy hundreds of Megabytes depending on subject, if you have to do publication related research, annotate PDFs, get excerpts, etc., or use e.g. certain "obligatory" software - all while mobile, 256Gb might complicate the use of the MB unnecessarily.

 

[MikSpik209202]

I'm a law student

 

[mk313]

When I bought my 12" MacBook (I got a great deal on a 256 GB version), the only downside was it was 256 GB storage. I thought I was going to run into issues, but it's been fine for 7 years now & I still haven't maxed it out. With cloud storage for most things, 256 should be plenty if you are only using 90GB now.

 

[generationfourth]

Yeah it’s doable with cloud storage, especially with optimized iCloud documents (file is on HD but letting Mac OS store the file in the cloud if it hasn’t been touched in a while)

5 years ago I had a MBP with 256gb and I managed just fine and I’m a designer with lots of files. I kept my expansive raw photo collection on an external.

 

[jav6454]

Hi,

I'm looking for a general purpose uni laptop to accompany my main desktop. I was thinking of getting the new M2 Air with 16 gb of ram , the only issue for me however is the drive size. I'm leaning towards 256 as looking at my current usage I realistically use 80-90 gb for everything including the OS and all my files (besides the stuff I store in my desktop ofc). Although the 90 gb figure is slightly inflated as I have a lot of junk over the years which should have realistically been purged a while ago.

My usecaze also seems to warrant this size since I don't use any professional type software and I only plan on browsing , watching YouTube and using general productivity apps with the very occasional small game like minecraft and a few presentations in keynote.

So by this metric 256 seems like a dair bit of leeway especially since I plan to shift a lot of my stuff to the cloud to make synchronizing between my phone desktop mac and tablet easier.

I also plan to keep my mav for 2-2.5 years if that makes any difference.

Us 256 a safe bet in my case or should I splurge for the 512 one?

The answer will depend on your intended major. What are you majoring in?

 

[jav6454]

I'm a law student

256GB should suffice then, unless you plan to download all your books in PDF format to your Mac. Then I'd suggest 512GB.