Hi all.

About to decide where to burn my money at - the new MBA or new MBP. I specced them both to increase RAM and CPU, but I'm concerned about thermal throttling, etc etc. i.e if I'm shelling out an extra 2k, waiting longer to get the MBP since who the heck knows when it'll actually be available, I want to make the right decision.

I use my laptop mostly for work. Shit ton of Google Docs, Slides, Canva, Youtube tabs (most amount of energy is consumed by Chrome), Zoom, Slack, Whatsapp, and Spotify.

- I also do video recordings so not thrilled about the 720 webcam but whatever.
- I have steam but don't usually play on my laptop (have a gaming desktop) so gaming isn't a concern.
- I value portability (as light as possible) with high functionality.

So internet strangers, what should I do?



edit: part of the question is whether or not it's even worth it to max to an i7 given that it's unlikely to be able to keep running that for long periods of time due to the heating. i just want a really smooth, fast experience while keeping my bajillion apps open.

This post has been edited by James_Padfoot: May 15 2020, 10:03 PM

Mbp

realised should've made this a poll. thanks m8

If you need a laptop for heavy duty then go for MBP.
If normal use then go for MBA.

I think a MBA would fit your use case since ur workload isnt that large and does not warrant a powerful processing speed.

Plus u mentioned u want portability, Mba for you is a great choice.

But, if u plan to do video editing etc, mbp for sure.

thanks for the response. do you think going for the i7 spec on the MBA is too much? as in it wont really show that much of a performance increase to justify the additional cost?

The things to you intend to use on ur Macbook are as per you said. Mostly they are not RAM consuming but only Chrome is. So for this reason, add more RAM.
Zoom, Slack, Whatsapp and Spotify will also work great on MBA. So there's no issue here.

Webcam -> Both Macbook's webcam quality sucks. Get an external one.
Game -> Yea, don't bother gaming on the Mac.
Portability + High Functionality -> Well you are asking something that is still pretty impossible today. If you want portability, sacrifice high functionality. Same goes for the other way around.

From what I can see here, you are mainly using it for web stuffs.
Specs recommendation:
- i5 (more than enough. i7 is proven not much difference in performance in Macs[i5 vs i7])
- 16gb (32gb if you intend to keep it for at least 10 years)
- 512GB (to cater future updates and whatever stuffs you gonna store as programs are getting larger by the year)
(still, these are up to you to decide)

Now for the model recommendation:
MBP 13"

Justification:
- you want to use Chrome, which heats up the cpu, which the MBA has a bad thermal system. So MBP is the choice as their thermal system is way better than the MBA.
- i5 on MBA is actually not much of a performance difference and since they have a bad thermal system, it's useless to have a good processor inside. But if you want to go with MBA, take the i3 will do.

Get this one (according to your specs)


This post has been edited by PoisonSoul: May 16 2020, 12:23 AM

MBP, usually I would max out the RAM.
macOS really knows how to utilize RAM to the max usually my 64GB mini would hover around 80-100% of the RAM, tons of browser windows and tabs, apps and one Windows VM.

This guy sums it up pretty well.

Apparently, the MBA doesn't heat up as much if you're browsing on Safari.

Apple delibarely handicapped the MBA by not improving the coolings:(
It's honestly very disappointing they did this.

MBP13 base model will do.

Get a MBA. As per Wirecutter:-

We recommend the $1,100 model with a quad-core 10th-generation Core i5 processor, a 256 GB SSD, and 8 GB of memory. If you regularly work with a couple dozen browser tabs open or if you edit large image files or videos, consider upgrading to 16 GB of memory for an extra $200. If you need more storage, we recommend adding an external hard drive or portable SSD rather than paying Apple’s upgrade prices.

https://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-macb...ir-13-inch-2020

This post has been edited by hafiziza: May 16 2020, 09:12 AM

IF he's willing to switch to using Safari instead of Chrome. That's something this article did not touch.
Another thing they did not touch in the article is the thermal system. MBA's thermal system is just plain bad for his workload on Chrome.

There's alot of bench testing done by youtubers comparing 2020 MBA i3 vs i5 and showed little improvements only. So there's no point spending the extra on the processor if TS would like MBA. Add the ram instead.

A note to TS, buy through Apple's Education Store. Generally they do not check if you are in the education sector or not. It's cheaper over there.

Oh wow. Thank you for this very detailed response. I'll go with the MBP i5 then. Definitely upgrading the RAM. Not really planning to upgrade storage, since everything is on cloud, and even my current MBA I've only used 63 GB out of 12x.

Now, if only I knew when I could order it, since it says not able to deliver yet.

Thanks so much for all the advice


Thank you everyone else who inputted as well.

So far, none of these MBPs passed SIRIM yet so gotta wait longer.

512GB MBP 2020 with 16GB RAM. No brainer.

This post has been edited by westlife: May 17 2020, 12:03 AM

Going for the MBP. Now, just to wait. Leaving this thread open in case anyone else have similar dilemmas as me.


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MBP no brainer.

update: i bought my mbp liao. waiting for delivery now.

What is your usage?

As someone that uses F2 (excel) 90% of the time, i couldnt get used to without having the physical F2 button

ada virtual one lohhhh...

WOW!!!

You'll benefit from having the MBP with the demands of your work.

Try to consider the other route of purchasing a powerful windows machine and then run Mac OS on VM. Would be cheaper.

for your usage normal mba also enough already. I used to use a mba for ps, ai and ae. unless you are working with ai or ps file more than 2gb or other software that is super heavy. normal usage mba is way more than enough. besides half the spec from a mac can work better than a windows that is double its spec. you will forgot the meaning of lag, hang and sudden restart. i used a mba from 2011 till 2019. works super great. and i used to open like 20 to 30 tabs for research purpose. if you are planning for gaming, mac is really bad at it even those expensive ones. they cannot handle heat at all.

Read all the replies, didnt know Chrome wiill cause heating 😱

By this, is Safari better app for browsing then the rest? I’ve been using chrome as it is connected to my google account, which is easier.

This post has been edited by shazmiey: Jun 16 2020, 09:23 PM