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toyotaharving

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 29, 2020
1
0
Hi all,

I need some purchasing advice. I currently have an early 2015 MacBook Air with the following specs:

Processor: 1.6 GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i5

Memory: 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

Now, the keyboard is failing me, and I'm doing a code-heavy PhD at the moment and working from home has made me realize the laptop is insufficient for the types of models I am running (taking 2+ hours for each one). I mostly do some online browsing for fun, but work includes using: Python, R + R Studio, MPlus, and SAS.

I'd like to upgrade to a Pro, and like that all the models now have the magic keyboard. I'm just not sure what model to go with AND when to jump the gun.

These are my two hesitations:

  1. Would I notice a difference if I went with the 13 inch Pro (2.0GHz Quad-Core, 512GB...or another model?) from my current air? Is it even worth the upgrade? There seems to be a lot of options for intel processors too (i5 vs i7), so if you could give me advice on that I'd appreciate it as well!
  2. If not, would it be worth looking into the 16 inch Pro, despite the high cost? I noticed that the 16 Pro was released in November 2019, which makes me wonder if it is worth waiting for an update instead of buying almost year-old technology, especially at such a cost.
I'd appreciate your input!
 
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