MacBook Air M2 (24GB RAM) vs. MacBook Pro M1 (16GB RAM) vs. MacBook Pro M1 Max (32GB RAM)

[sdg123]

Hello,

I'm looking to buy a refurbished MacBook primarily for Music Production, Programming and general entertainment and would like some advice/suggestions on these two options:

MacBook Pro (2021) 14.2-inch
Apple M1 Pro Max
32GB RAM
SSD 1000GB
$1,500

MacBook Pro (2021) 14.2-inch
Apple M1 Pro 10-core and 16-core GPU
16GB RAM
SSD 1000GB
$1,150

MacBook Air (2022) 13.3-inch
Apple M2 8-core and 10-core GPU
24GB RAM
SSD 2000GB
$1,330

Here is some more detail on how I will be using the device:

Music Production
I primarily make EDM music with a decent amount of VSTs and not too many samples. I make a lot of music and will need sufficient sotrage for this.

Programming
I make apps using vscode, xcode and mobile phone simulators. Nothing crazy.

Entertainment
I mostly watch YouTube and Netflix, so nothing intensive, but would like to get some steam games on there too so I can waste even more time.

Thanks!

 

[Bigwaff]

would like some advice/suggestions

Pick the model w/ the most amount of memory you can buy based on your budget.

 

[bradman83]

Based on your workflow get the M1 Max machine for $1500.

If you're using DAW apps then you'll want an actively cooled system for sustained performance. You'll also want as much memory as you can spare.

Storage is the one thing you can legitimately expand upon. 1TB is more than adequate to keep all of your current working projects on the laptop, and you can offload prior/archived projects to an external SSD or the cloud, same with Steam games.