MBA: M2 (16 GB RAM) or M3 (8 GB RAM) or M3 (16 GB RAM) ?

[NewToApple*]

Friends,

My daughter will need a Macbook Air for her to take to school everyday. Assuming she will use the machine till her school finishes in the next 5 years (she may or may not study computer coding or design - unclear at the moment), which is the better option among:

1- M3 with 8GB RAM
2- M2 with 16GB RAM (+$100 compared to 1)
3- Go all out with M3 & 16 GB RAM (+$200 compared to 1)

Is 3 an overkill for a student?

 

[Basic75]

For these requirements I'd say any M1/2/3 with 16GB of RAM is fine. If "design" includes 3D with the likes of Cinema 4D then I'd recommend something more powerful with more RAM.

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

I use option 2 for work (with 512 GB disk) - teaching Front-end Development, which includes both design and coding - and I expect that to last me 5 years (barring any hardware failures).

 

[Surfsalot]

Go 3 what's $200 over 5 plus years

 

[1BadManVan]

m2 or m3 with 16gb of ram for sure. I love my m2 air. For the extra $100 jump to the m3, it seems like a no brainer to me but if you want to save a few bucks, the m2 is still a very fast chip

 

[bellflyer14]

If she is going to be doing coding and design, I would recommend 16gb. College kids tend to do a lot of multitasking and 16gb will help with that for sure. I don't think m2 vs m3 would matter much, but it's not a huge price jump, so I say just get the M3. My guess with the improvements added for AI, it will be supported by Apple for a decent amount longer. Also has an AV1 decoder which is what many YouTube videos are using. Just my thoughts

 

[SjoukeW]

I would go with option 3.

 

[cwwilson]

Always go for more RAM if you can. 8GB is fine for most day to day tasks but think of this as an investment and get your money's worth. The computer (and probably the kid) will he happier with 16GB and long term it'll pay dividends.

 

[User #07242024]

If,
On a budget - 1
Best price/value - 2
Have extra cash - 3

3 may be an overkill for a student who may or may not learn code & design. When she starts working as coder & designer in 5 years, 16 GB may be the next 8 GB of today because technology grows and bloats so fast.

 

[arc of the universe]

option 2
it will last 5 years. before she feels its slow.

option 1 will be ok for 2 more years only due to 8GB RAM.

with apple coming on heavily about AI, she will definitely appreciate the 16GB in option 2.
AI tasks are RAM intensive.

apple is in a rare paradigm shift phase. old school thinking about RAM requirements are no longer valid.
dont skimp on RAM.
the M2 is also way fine in terms of processor speed.

 

[bradman83]

apple is in a rare paradigm shift phase. old school thinking about RAM requirements are no longer valid.

Unified memory in the M series chips is faster and eliminates the need for separate VRAM, but it's not magically more efficient than Intel Macs in terms of the amount you need. An app that uses a gigabyte of RAM on an Intel system is going to need a gigabyte of RAM on Apple Silicon.

I would recommend 16GB for a student looking to get 4-5 years out of a laptop. Even if they're not using heavy duty professional programs, web pages can suck up enormous amounts of memory and a lot of work that students do nowadays is through web apps and web portals. She might be able to get by on 8GB in five years time but will be using swap heavily and may notice a performance hit.

As for M2 vs M3, if it's a five year investment go with the M3. The device will be supported longer with macOS updates.

 

[StoneJack]

M3