Wich macbook

[Airchtit]

Hi,

I'm planning to buy a Macbook for my wife for christmas but I'm not quite sure which one to go for.
The laptop will mostly be used for video watching, web browsing and citrix receiver (and Plex server during travels).
I am not considering the m3 version as I do not see it as a future proof choice.
I am a bit skeptical as to the differences between the i5 and i7, both are two cores only and both should be more than powerful enough for her usage. I do however want the laptop to last at least 3 years with all the OS updates (and potentially different use).
Regarding memory, I would go for 16Gb as I am a gamer but is there any point in that? Will there actually be a visible performance difference?

Should I just future proof it and go for both an i7 and 16Gb?

We do travel an awful lot and the pro version is not an option, the air's screen can't compare.

Money is not an issue but I do want to make an informed buy.

If you have suggestions, criterias or remarks, feel free to contribute.

B.

 

[960design]

13" or the 15" version?

 

[Mlrollin91]

13" or the 15" version?

MacBook, not MBP.
[doublepost=1510332887][/doublepost]

Hi,

I'm planning to buy a Macbook for my wife for christmas but I'm not quite sure which one to go for.
The laptop will mostly be used for video watching, web browsing and citrix receiver (and Plex server during travels).
I am not considering the m3 version as I do not see it as a future proof choice.
I am a bit skeptical as to the differences between the i5 and i7, both are two cores only and both should be more than powerful enough for her usage. I do however want the laptop to last at least 3 years with all the OS updates (and potentially different use).
Regarding memory, I would go for 16Gb as I am a gamer but is there any point in that? Will there actually be a visible performance difference?

Should I just future proof it and go for both an i7 and 16Gb?

We do travel an awful lot and the pro version is not an option, the air's screen can't compare.

Money is not an issue but I do want to make an informed buy.

If you have suggestions, criterias or remarks, feel free to contribute.

B.

The difference between the M3 and i7 are really not that big. I think its only 10%, which in my opinion is not worth the money. 16GB of ram on the other hand would be more of "future-proofing".

 

[960design]

MacBook, not MBP.
[doublepost=1510332887][/doublepost]

The difference between the M3 and i7 are really not that big. I think its only 10%, which in my opinion is not worth the money. 16GB of ram on the other hand would be more of "future-proofing".

Opps, sorry. The 'wich' in the title made me hungry. Hungry makes me dumb.

 

[Airchtit]

Opps, sorry. The 'wich' in the title made me hungry. Hungry makes me dumb.

Yeah, sorry for the typo, saw it too late.

 

[ZapNZs]

The m3/i5/i7 are all the same chip IIRC and the differences between them are not all that significant - the i5/i7 models are theoretically more efficient - the testing we have done on this forum has found that the performance gains of the i5/i7 is limited, plus some of what we have found indicates quite a bit of variation among individual models. Unless you plan to use the system with a 4k display, multiple sub-4k displays, for gaming (all where a 13-inch MacBook Pro would arguably be the much better choice), or need more than 256 GB of storage, the base m3/8GB/256SSD configuration should be more than sufficient for such usage.

I do not think the i7/16GB is easy to justify because it places the pricing within the ballpark of the MacBook Pro 13-inch (which is obviously a far more capable system). Further, where as you can find the base m3/8GB/256 model for sales as high as $250 off MSRP (usually $100-150 is more common and easier to find), an i7/16GB is a BTO model and you are going to almost surely going to pay full retail or close to it - and the ultimate performance difference between the two models for the described usage should be minimal-to-unnoticeable.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

For that usage buy whatever you like it’ll make little difference. There is no such thing as future proofing in tech.