Switching to Mac? Which Mac to buy?

[ChrisR244]

Hey everyone, I realize I might be asking a biased audience, but just looking for some advice and experience! I've been using a custom desktop PC for work and gaming since forever. I work as a Software Engineer by day, and for the last few years my gaming has crept down to virtually nothing. I verified the games I do play work nicely on the macOS M1 chip and I'm contemplating trading in my massive tower for a Mac.

• Outside of my PC desktop, I'm entirely in the mac ecosystem (iPhone Mini, iPad m1, Apple TV).
• My use case is mainly software engineering (mainly nodeJS software development, and some lighter machine learning stuff), and light gaming (mainly sports simulations like Football Manager)
• I have absolutely no need for anything portable

I'd like something with some longevity that will last me awhile. I was either looking at an M1 Mac Mini 16GB/512GB or 1 TB on the refurb store, or a low end Mac Studio (but this might be complete overkill). I don't have an immediate need for anything, so waiting for the M2 Mac Mini is certainly an option, but considering I waited until November for the new one...we all know how that goes.

Anyone in similar situation as me have any experience? Were you happy with the switch?
Any recommendations one way or another?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Whatever is using Apple SoC and is the cheapest honestly. Seems like a lot of people who have never used MacOS or are making the switch dump a bunch of money into an expensive device.

Use Apple’s holiday return policy, try out something easy to return and take it for a spin to see if it works for you.

 

[wilberforce]

Whatever is using Apple SoC and is the cheapest honestly. Seems like a lot of people who have never used MacOS or are making the switch dump a bunch of money into an expensive device.

Use Apple’s holiday return policy, try out something easy to return and take it for a spin to see if it works for you.

This is a good idea. Try out something moderately low end and see if it is sufficient. No risk involved.
Just don't get 8GB RAM

 

[rm5]

Yeah, don't spend a ton of money. The Mac mini should be fine for you for the tasks described. Find a cheap M1 Mac mini with 16 GB of RAM and go from there.

 

[richmlow]

Hey everyone, I realize I might be asking a biased audience, but just looking for some advice and experience! I've been using a custom desktop PC for work and gaming since forever. I work as a Software Engineer by day, and for the last few years my gaming has crept down to virtually nothing. I verified the games I do play work nicely on the macOS M1 chip and I'm contemplating trading in my massive tower for a Mac.

• Outside of my PC desktop, I'm entirely in the mac ecosystem (iPhone Mini, iPad m1, Apple TV).
• My use case is mainly software engineering (mainly nodeJS software development, and some lighter machine learning stuff), and light gaming (mainly sports simulations like Football Manager)
• I have absolutely no need for anything portable

I'd like something with some longevity that will last me awhile. I was either looking at an M1 Mac Mini 16GB/512GB or 1 TB on the refurb store, or a low end Mac Studio (but this might be complete overkill). I don't have an immediate need for anything, so waiting for the M2 Mac Mini is certainly an option, but considering I waited until November for the new one...we all know how that goes.

Anyone in similar situation as me have any experience? Were you happy with the switch?
Any recommendations one way or another?

Thanks in advance!

For your current usage, I would recommend the following:

M1 Mac mini
16GB RAM (at the very minimum)
512GB SSD

This configuration should last you for 5+ years!

Heck, my main workhorse is still a 2013 Mac Pro and it is more than adequate for my needs.

Best of luck in your purchase decision.


richmlow

 

[Fishrrman]

Base model Studio should last you a good while.
You might consider bumping up the drive from 512gb (standard) to 1tb (adds $200).

You didn't say anything about laptops, but the best Mac deal out there right now is either the MacBook Pro 14" or 16" models. Base model 14" is selling for $400 off Apple's list (at amazon). Same for 16". But again, these are laptops.