What would you do if you where in my place?

[LegendJxli]

Hey so, im in a really hard place deciding what to do and i need some input and opinions from others.

So my problem:
I just got finished with school. I just started a business/sidehustle as a cutter. So im cutting videos for youtubers. Also i just got very interested in graphics design.
My laptop i currently use is about 7 years old. It could handle the graphics apps (adobe or affinity) i guess really well. But when it comes to video editing in Davinci (4k Videos) it is at its limits. I cant watch the preview without hard lags so its rly hard to do anything even if i make proxys… Also it takes about 1h for an 8min 4k (iphone quality) video to export (with few effects).
At August 1st i need to work for 9 months (something in austria its duty). In these 9 months i want to learn/see if graphic design is what i would like to do as my job later. If so i will design a portfolio and try to get to college for graphics design.
Or i will do software engineering as i learned that in highschool. Else idk what i would do if neither of these 2 things work… but this is a other problem.
So to come back to my problem. My Pc cant do video editing and if i work 40h a week, play soccer 4x a week, try to figure out if graphic design suits me (watch videos, learn basics, learn adobe or affinity programs step by step) and get my business (video editing) going its rly hard to wait like 40mins to finish proxys, then hardly cut a video (takes about 1.5h) cause it lags so hard and its just a pain to edit and then render it again 1h (so 3h for ONE video) and then send it to my client. I cant say to him that i made that video in 3h cause thats way too long. He expects me to take 1-2h max. And as it is just a sidehustle/sidebusiness i will just earn about 12-15€/h so i cant say the MacBook Pro will be „payed off“ withing this year.

Now the other problem is, i know that i can use macos at graphics design collage (the collage i would love to go to), but idk if at software engineering collage macos is allowed (they dont response to my email) and i also know that an other graphics design collage (my 2nd choice if i cant go to graphics design at the 1st collage) is only allowing macos in certain curcumstances.
Now idk if i should just quit my business
OR
Just say f it and buy 16“ MBP with M1 Max, 32GB RAM and just assume i will like graphics design and i will get accepted at collage, cause if thats the case i would buy a Mac by 2023 at latest cause i need a new laptop as the collage says they need more power than my current laptop and it would just boost my workflow/the speed i can edit so much (for my business). I know it would cost me about 3.5k i know its much but i can pay for it (jobs in the past and thanks to my family). I would see that as an investment into the future. But i just dont want to waste money.
OR
idk what else… pls share your thoughts and maybe solutions…

The worst cases could be that after a while trying to learn graphics design i get to know that its nothing for me and i will go to software engineering (idk if i can use macos there)
or i get declined at collage. I guess if i like graphics design i will be getting accepted but yea you never know.

An other solution would be:
I do all that graphics stuff on my current laptop and get an MacMini. Problem here, when i know that i like graphics design i need to get a more powerful laptop for collage. Then these 1000€ for the MacMini would be just a „waste“ for 1 year.

Can someone pls help me to decide what i should do…

 

[CTown03]

If you really need the power then drop the money. You won’t regret it.

Don’t forget that when getting some of the higher in MTO models they tend to hold their value. If money isn’t a problem then go for it, you won’t regret it.

 

[LegendJxli]

If you really need the power then drop the money. You won’t regret it.

Don’t forget that when getting some of the higher in MTO models they tend to hold their value. If money isn’t a problem then go for it, you won’t regret it.

Yes thats prbly the best way to think about it. It will serve me well this 1 year. If i need to sell it then so be it. And if not i will be happy to made that decision and it will serve me well through collage…

 

[G5isAlive]

Yes thats prbly the best way to think about it. It will serve me well this 1 year. If i need to sell it then so be it. And if not i will be happy to made that decision and it will serve me well through collage…

Yep, was going to point out the same. Sell it when done, you’ll get most of your money back. Alternatively, let someone else pay for that new car feel, and buy a used M1 machine which may not be the best today, it’s still much much better than what you are torturing yourself with now. And then sell it when you need more.

 

[James_C]

To be honest I would buy an M1 MacBook Air. It is more than capable of doing what you need in the short term. I don't see the advantage in spending money you don't have now on something you are not 100% sure you want to do. The M1 Air will run rings around your current laptop. Once you start earning money from what you are doing, you can then sell the Air and buy something better like the 16" MBP, when you can better afford it. The M1 Air is more than capable of editing multiple 4k streams without using proxies. I would suggest you get a 16GB model.

 

[LegendJxli]

To be honest I would buy an M1 MacBook Air. It is more than capable of doing what you need in the short term. I don't see the advantage in spending money you don't have now on something you are not 100% sure you want to do. The M1 Air will run rings around your current laptop. Once you start earning money from what you are doing, you can then sell the Air and buy something better like the 16" MBP, when you can better afford it. The M1 Air is more than capable of editing multiple 4k streams without using proxies. I would suggest you get a 16GB model.

But the export times are away longer with the M1 Chip then with the M1 Max and also i dont know if its possible to export 1 video while editing the next or designing something in illustrator…
Also the M1 is only capable of 1 external monitor and i like to work with 2 .
Otherwise yes it would be a really good idea but with 16GB of RAM and 1TB SSD it would cost me 1.7k€. Thats plenty for that, that i dont know if i can rly sell it next year. I mean i could give it to my mom since she wants a new laptop but yea idk… Only 1 external display is a bit sad, also no Magsafe and no HDMI Port rly sucks.

 

[James_C]

Yes export times will be longer with M1 than M1 Max, but is that really a big issue if you are only going to be learning over the next 9 months? You should be able to use illustrator while it is exporting.

However looks like only 1 external monitor could be a problem for you. Is not laptop screen and one external not sufficient ?

Macs have a higher resale value than a PC typically does. You can normally get around 40% of its original cost back after 3 years. I sold my 2016 15" MacBook Pro when the M1 MBA's came out, I got £1,120 for it in Nov 2020, I originally paid £2,599 for it in Dec 2016. Used the money to Buy a MBA that had around twice the performance of the MBP. After a year I gave my MBA to my daughter and bought a 16 MBP M1Pro.

If you are using two external screens then consider a 14" MBP, as it will save some money. Max is also probably overkill as Pro will be more than sufficient. I am only saying this as it is is really easy to spend a lot of money, but if you are just starting out and not 100% sure then you could end of wasting it.

 

[LegendJxli]

Yes export times will be longer with M1 than M1 Max, but is that really a big issue if you are only going to be learning over the next 9 months? You should be able to use illustrator while it is exporting.

However looks like only 1 external monitor could be a problem for you. Is not laptop screen and one external not sufficient ?

Macs have a higher resale value than a PC typically does. You can normally get around 40% of its original cost back after 3 years. I sold my 2016 15" MacBook Pro when the M1 MBA's came out, I got £1,120 for it in Nov 2020, I originally paid £2,599 for it in Dec 2016. Used the money to Buy a MBA that had around twice the performance of the MBP. After a year I gave my MBA to my daughter and bought a 16 MBP M1Pro.

If you are using two external screens then consider a 14" MBP, as it will save some money. Max is also probably overkill as Pro will be more than sufficient. I am only saying this as it is is really easy to spend a lot of money, but if you are just starting out and not 100% sure then you could end of wasting it.

All your points are 100% true.
Just a few things i want to mention… M1MBA have currently longer shipping times than M1 Max MBP.
Also i know that the max is overkilled and i guess also the pro chip is so powerful i will only take advantage a few times. But as i said if im getting home from work at 5am, download the material that my client sent me, go to soccer at 6am come home at 9pm eat and put all my dirty clothes into the washing machine so i get to cut the video at 10pm and maybe need 2 videos to cut. Its way more easy and chill if i can edit one, export it, while its exporting start editing the other, when export is finished sent it to my client, editing the second video and export it and sent it to the client and while the 2nd video is exporting i can do a bit of graphics design. Idk if the M1 MBA can handle it…
Yes maybe one screen and the laptop would be enough but the 13“ is so small i would prever 2 bigger screens. As with the 16“MBP it would be better but still not perfect.
Yes 14“ is also a good idea but i hate fan noise and the thermal throtteling with the m1max chip is really bad… Also i felt in love with the huge trackpad and screen real estate (when not working on my desk) of the 16“…

 

[James_C]

Well, I know you were asking for advice, but it looks like you have already decided

If you can afford the 16" MBP Max then go for it, it will last you for many years, and is a great machine. I have the 16" MBP M1 Pro and it's the best Apple Laptop I have ever owned ( and I go all the way back to the 2002 Powerbooks ).

 

[Toutou]

I agree that the M1 Air could probably handle what you're describing, but it also sounds like you've already fallen in love with the 16" MBP. If you can afford it, by all means go ahead, it will be powerful enough for your side hustle and then anything you would need at any college, including graphical design and software engineering.

If you're on a tight budget or unsure, get an M1 Mini, which will allow you to connect two screens and will still be powerful enough for editing video, graphics and software engineering.

I know it's tempting to blow money on the best hardware once you start feeling like a pro, but unless you're really up there with the best, you don't usually need every last drop of performance for the exponentially-crazier prices.

I'm a software developer, I work on web apps for sales and accounting for a living, I code a lot on the side, I shoot photos on a DSLR and edit them, I do a little bit of graphics and even 3D modeling, and I do all this on a M1 Air connected to a single 43" screen. Comfortably, with zero regrets.

 

[LegendJxli]

Well, I know you were asking for advice, but it looks like you have already decided

If you can afford the 16" MBP Max then go for it, it will last you for many years, and is a great machine. I have the 16" MBP M1 Pro and it's the best Apple Laptop I have ever owned ( and I go all the way back to the 2002 Powerbooks ).

Yea i just dont want to waste money… Its just so hard haha. But yea i really like the 16“ its just really expensive… Maybe i should consider the MBA with M2 Chip?

 

[LegendJxli]

I agree that the M1 Air could probably handle what you're describing, but it also sounds like you've already fallen in love with the 16" MBP. If you can afford it, by all means go ahead, it will be powerful enough for your side hustle and then anything you would need at any college, including graphical design and software engineering.

If you're on a tight budget or unsure, get an M1 Mini, which will allow you to connect two screens and will still be powerful enough for editing video, graphics and software engineering.

I know it's tempting to blow money on the best hardware once you start feeling like a pro, but unless you're really up there with the best, you don't usually need every last drop of performance for the exponentially-crazier prices.

I'm a software developer, I work on web apps for sales and accounting for a living, I code a lot on the side, I shoot photos on a DSLR and edit them, I do a little bit of graphics and even 3D modeling, and I do all this on a M1 Air connected to a single 43" screen. Comfortably, with zero regrets.

Yea i also thought of getting the MacMini but its a desktop pc and i kinda like to have a laptop with me (16“ is big and heave but its okey im used to it due to my current laptop which is bigger and heavier). I thought maybe the M2 Air is good? But what Chip i take? 8 or 10 Core GPU? 16GB of RAM i guess and 1TB of SSD.

 

[James_C]

Yea i just dont want to waste money… Its just so hard haha. But yea i really like the 16“ its just really expensive… Maybe i should consider the MBA with M2 Chip?

Trouble is a M2 Air with 16GB and 1TB is £1,949 in the UK. You can get a 14" MBP M1Pro with 16GB and 1TB for £2,399. For the price difference I would not hesitate with going with the 14" MBP. In fact I would also take a look at the Apple Refurb store as you may be able to pick up a 14" MBP for close to the cost of the M2 Air.

 

[James_C]

Also check out Amazon, in the UK they often discount Apple Laptops - They are currently offering the Spec I suggested above with a 10% discount, £2,155.

 

[LegendJxli]

Trouble is a M2 Air with 16GB and 1TB is £1,949 in the UK. You can get a 14" MBP M1Pro with 16GB and 1TB for £2,399. For the price difference I would not hesitate with going with the 14" MBP. In fact I would also take a look at the Apple Refurb store as you may be able to pick up a 14" MBP for close to the cost of the M2 Air.

Ill probably can buy things from
the student discount store from apple. I also considered getting an refurbed macbook but it wont be cheaper than the student discount… So yes the M2 is prbly not to expensive for what i get so i should either get the M1 Air or the MBP 14“ or 16“…

 

[LegendJxli]

Also check out Amazon, in the UK they often discount Apple Laptops - They are currently offering the Spec I suggested above with a 10% discount, £2,155.

View attachment 2031700

Just looked up amazon. Yes some are cheaper but not rly that config i need…

 

[velocityg4]

Since this is just practice to see if you like it. Why don't you just work with videos at 720p on your current Mac? While 4K increases the detail of the final product. The workflow will be the same.

If the course description for Software Engineering in your country is similar to Computer Science here. A Mac is usually an acceptable choice for colleges. The only issue I'd see. Is the first semester or two might be confusing if you know bupkis and you are doing programming in a different OS and program on your computer than the college uses for instruction.

 

[LegendJxli]

Since this is just practice to see if you like it. Why don't you just work with videos at 720p on your current Mac? While 4K increases the detail of the final product. The workflow will be the same.

If the course description for Software Engineering in your country is similar to Computer Science here. A Mac is usually an acceptable choice for colleges. The only issue I'd see. Is the first semester or two might be confusing if you know bupkis and you are doing programming in a different OS and program on your computer than the college uses for instruction.

I have a windows laptop… and idk davinci is just so weird like i can drop every resolution to like 144p but it still lags…
Yes probably they say mac is ok for software engineering.
I compared for hours now and i rly think of getting an MBA M1 16GB RAM and 1TB SSD as i get used to the OS and also i can work with FinalCut and take it everywhere and either sell it next year or give it to my mom for normal mom work or my brother for school!

 

[satcomer]

Yea if you crunch video save up your Money and get the Mac Book Pro to crunch video! It's made for portable power to to do Art/pictures or video Pros to crunch video on daily basis!