My “possible first” Mac book

[Arcade80]

Hi all.

A quick hello to you all being a new user here. Now onto the important bits. My current i3 laptop is really starting to show its age (almost 10 years old now I believe) with it using Win 11. In probably going to wipe it and throw a Debian distro of some sort on it eventually. Now, I’ve always wanted to buy a MacBook but never have as I could never justify the price.

I now think I’m ready to buy one and I’m looking at the 14” model with the M2 chip for 1,999. I’m not a power user in anyway, maybe some light photo editing, internet and I do like to play mame, and some simple games off of Steam. Will this model give me a good experience for the next 10 years? Sorry for sounding basic but I really have no experience with a Mac but they do peak my interest. Any help/ recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[DarkPremiumCho]

Since you mentioned $1999, I assume you're talking about the M2 Pro base model 14 inch.

I can't say it will do 10 years because Apple Silicon is only 2-3 years old.

Based on my experience with both Intel and Apple Silicon machines, and considering the overall advantages of Apple Silicon, I believe it will provide you with an excellent user experience for the next 7-8 years.

I am not a gamer and can't say about MAME and Steam games. Your costs and results may vary.

 

[dmccloud]

That MBP shouldn't have any issues running MAME as long as you use the correct version (needs to be ARM64 ready). I have done some testing with RetroArch, OpenEMU, and haven't run into any real issues there. With Steam games, performance obviously depends on what games you are looking at, and not everything in your Steam library will have 64-bit Mac versions.

 

[Arcade80]

Since you mentioned $1999, I assume you're talking about the M2 Pro base model 14 inch.

I can't say it will do 10 years because Apple Silicon is only 2-3 years old.

Based on my experience with both Intel and Apple Silicon machines, and considering the overall advantages of Apple Silicon, I believe it will provide you with an excellent user experience for the next 7-8 years.

I am not a gamer and can't say about MAME and Steam games. Your costs and results may vary.

I’d be happy with 7-8 years.

 

[Arcade80]

That MBP shouldn't have any issues running MAME as long as you use the correct version (needs to be ARM64 ready). I have done some testing with RetroArch, OpenEMU, and haven't run into any real issues there. With Steam games, performance obviously depends on what games you are looking at, and not everything in your Steam library will have 64-bit Mac versions.

Thanks. Didn’t think mame would be an issue.

 

[Toutou]

I could never justify the price

Since you're mentioning having to justify the price, you should consider getting the Air. Nothing wrong with the Pro, but the Air is just so good now. Should have plenty of power for your kind of usage, and while the screen is worse, the machine is passively cooled, thinner and lighter. It all depends on your preferences and budget.

 

[Fishrrman]

OP:

If you're leaning towards the MacBook Air, WAIT until June.
Apple is rumored to be releasing a new MacBook Air 15" model at the World Wide Developer's conference.
Looks like it's going to be very nice.

Then again...
The MacBook Pro 14" (base model) is a good choice.
Well equipped with lots of ports, etc.