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Anyone know Mac?

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BugFreak

Joined
Apr 29, 2010
Location
Central FL
My daughter is starting college and of course wants a mac laptop but I don't know Apple products at all. The laptops listed on the Apple website seem way underpowered compared to what I'm used to. A $2000 laptop has 16G of memory and a 512GB SSD. She will be using Adobe and doing graphical work on this machine so I'm assuming will need storage space and as much memory as I can get but that bumps the laptop up to AT LEAST $3000 which seems insane to me. Browsing around the net I find various info about how much memory to get and what looks like fanboys sayings its faster so I can buy lower amounts. I'm lost to say the least.

Does anyone have experience with Macs and can help me understand this a little better. I want something that will handle the workload but not break the bank. She will be using it for graphics classes, editing photos and videos, drawing, etc. She likes the smaller air style but that seems even more underpowered and small. I appreciate any help.
 
Is the MAC a requirement, or she just wants it?
The point is that everything works on PCs. Not everything works on MACs. However, if she only uses Adobe, then it works on everything, and MACs are not required.

As you noticed, Apple prices are ridiculous, and at least for me, 16GB is not enough for graphics or video. I work on a PC, but it's not so much different in graphics, as files and operations on them still use a lot of RAM. When I edit photos with some typical stuff in the background, then I already pass 16GB. It's not even something at a large resolution with multiple layers. Well, you can work using 16GB, but it's not enough for some things, and you never know what she will need in some time.

I guess you find some MAC guys who will tell you some more.
 
Interesting , my daughter switched off Apple in 2015 when she went to college. Needed a Windows PC.

Had a couple Macbook airs circa 2012 or so. No help now tho. I use a Chromebook and a Gaming Laptop. Good luck. :thup:
 
Interesting , my daughter switched off Apple in 2015 when she went to college. Needed a Windows PC.

Had a couple Macbook airs circa 2012 or so. No help now tho. I use a Chromebook and a Gaming Laptop. Good luck. :thup:

In 2017, I was back in college for graphics design classes, and I remember problems with Macs. Some guys were doing 3D graphics professionally, and no one wanted a Mac because of the high prices and problems with support for some applications. I was also preparing offers for a graphics studio moving away from Macs because of the same issues. It was some years ago, so the reality might change.

I'm not saying that Macs are pure evil, but you need a workstation series and software that is optimized for Macs. Higher Macs are way too expensive compared to PCs. The Air series is not meant for graphics design or work (no matter what marketing tries to push). For that, there is the Pro series, and we start from about $3k.
 
I feel that @Woomack starts with the proper question. Is it necessary or just wanted? I only do light editing and really don't know the answers to your root question but Apple is more glitz than I care for and I really hate to pay for just glitz. Function over form for me please.
 
There are two types of needs with school, and lots of wants. Most people only need a Chromebook for school as they are just doing web, and office tasks. The other type of needs are people with specific requirements like video production, graphics production, math or data simulation, architecture, and other programs that require a full fat OS as well as computer.

Then you get to the wants, lots of people want to game on their laptops, lots of people want to broadcast their status, and this is where Macbooks and apple products show up the most.

Unless she NEEDS something that is Mac specific (which these days is nothing other than iMessage) then the main reason she wants it is so people know she has enough status to own apple products.

The happy compromise IMO is a high quality windows laptop like a Dell XPS 13, or Asus Zenbook.

Good luck, expect a fight!
 
Alright so to actually answer the question about Macs... :D

YES: I've been using MacBooks for years now and I'm well-versed on all the latest versions and features:

1. By "Graphical Work" do you mean "Design" or "Video"? Design isn't going to take up so much space... video is going to take up ALL the space. But basically you're thinking of MacBooks in the wrong way:

2. No one really (besides people working on photos) uses the main drive on a MacBook for storage. It's mostly to keep the OS and applications going. Most of the actual WORK for these computers is stored/done on fast external drives like the Samsung T5/T7 shield or larger (or faster) external storage solutions.

The M1 MacBook air I'm typing this on has 256GB of storage. That's the OS and whatever programs I have installed and that's IT.

3. Never pay thousands of dollars for more internal storage.

It's generally UNDERSTOOD, with Macs, that you're going to be using some kind of external storage. Previously this came in the way of Thunderbolt drives... now it's all USB-C.

4. Apple's M-Series of Processors are EXTREMELY powerful. I've had this M1 since 2020 now and have found no need to upgrade it. The most common CPU they have these days is the M3 (though the M4 already exists). It's roughly about 1.5x as fast as what I have... which was already pretty damned fast. Next up would be the M3 Max followed by the M3 Ultra. That's the fastest. (Unless they invent something new for the M4.)

Really ANY of those would be good enough to last your daughter for years.

I use far more powerful software than anything Adobe ever put out... and I have yet to be disappointed with my MacBook. (I also do a lot of 3D work now that I have a 3D printer.)

So, in summary:

A. I'd say a 512GB of any kind... even an Air... would be the sweet spot.

B. But the build quality is slightly better with the MacBook Pro line. Plus they have a fan... though you'll never need it. M-Series processors do NOT get hot. (I insisted on a 3-fan cooler for my RTX 4060 on my desktop PC... This was ridiculous for pretty much the same reason.)

C. Try to avoid overspending. These aren't the 2012 MacBooks that were built like tanks... Spending more money will NOT get you a better build quality. Apple's latest machines... from my 2020 onwards... are rather flimsy. So an M3 Max MacBook Pro or even just a regular M3 would more than suffice. If you get the Ultra? It's going to be the same build quality as the cheaper version.

D. BUY THE APPLE CARE WARRANTY! Something will, inevitably, go horribly wrong with your daughter's computer. Probably just after the initial warranty expires. You want Apple Care for when that happens. They will be absolutely merciless if you don't have it. $600 repair $800 repair... Trust me: You don't want to put yourself in that situation.

That's about all. If you have more specific questions... Let me know.
 
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Great info so far, thanks. She will be using it for editing photos primarily but design and video editing will be done as well. The school is almost 100% Mac from what I saw.

I have no idea where the stuff is stored but I'm assuming a mix of shared drives for the teachers to review and her main so a secondary should work.

What about the memory specifically? That seems the most expensive upgrade for it but seems reasonable for editing and all that.

At this point its a want but I do anticipate it becoming a need. Right now she has a good windows laptop but it is showing its age imo. She is at Savannah College of Art and Design to give you some insight into what type of degree she is working on.
 
Great info so far, thanks. She will be using it for editing photos primarily but design and video editing will be done as well. The school is almost 100% Mac from what I saw.

I have no idea where the stuff is stored but I'm assuming a mix of shared drives for the teachers to review and her main so a secondary should work.

What about the memory specifically? That seems the most expensive upgrade for it but seems reasonable for editing and all that.

At this point its a want but I do anticipate it becoming a need. Right now she has a good windows laptop but it is showing its age imo. She is at Savannah College of Art and Design to give you some insight into what type of degree she is working on.


I'd get 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage on ANY M3 or higher MacBook. (School just started again like last week or something).

As long as it's an M3 or higher... then nothing else matters. Don't concern yourself over whether it's the Max, Ultra, or whatever the sub-name is... For your daughter's purposes... this will be irrelevant for at least the next four years. (At which point college will be over anyway).

For a college kid her age... I think the T7 Shield would be the way to go for external storage. (Say it with me now: "T7 SHIELD"... not the regular T7.) It's the kind of SSD you can throw in a backpack and not have to worry about.

I believe they even have a 2TB version... And they cost next to nothing compared to what you would pay for more space on the computer itself.

If the school is almost 100% Mac... then just get her a Mac... It'll help her to avoid extremely stupid problems in the long run.
 
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If the school is almost 100% Mac... then just get her a Mac... It'll help her to avoid extremely stupid problems in the long run.
Not knowing Mac or Apple at all, that was my thought process. Thanks for the recommendation on the drive too.
 
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