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Programming limitations of a 2018 MacBook Air?

KhakiHat
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A possibly simple question to answer.

 

While I know that using a MacBook Air instead of a MacBook Pro for programming will obviously have it's drawbacks, I'm curious as to what those drawbacks actually are?

I have heard that compiling times are longer but given the lowest tier of a 13" Pro (upgraded to 16GB of RAM) versus the 2018 lowest tier model of the Air (also upgraded to 16GB of RAM), what would be the significant downsides to one over the other? I am new to the Apple ecosystem (I come from a PC background).

 

P.S. I'm on a budget, hence not upgrading to a quad-core or 6-core system.

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The simple fact that it has a low clocked 2C/4T CPU with no real cooling will be the biggest limitation. The limitations really depend on what you plan to do with it. 

Laptop: 2019 16" MacBook Pro i7, 512GB, 5300M 4GB, 16GB DDR4 | Phone: iPhone 13 Pro Max 128GB | Wearables: Apple Watch SE | Car: 2007 Ford Taurus SE | CPU: R7 5700X | Mobo: ASRock B450M Pro4 | RAM: 32GB 3200 | GPU: ASRock RX 5700 8GB | Case: Apple PowerMac G5 | OS: Win 11 | Storage: 1TB Crucial P3 NVME SSD, 1TB PNY CS900, & 4TB WD Blue HDD | PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 600W | Display: LG 27GL83A-B 1440p @ 144Hz, Dell S2719DGF 1440p @144Hz | Cooling: Wraith Prism | Keyboard: G610 Orion Cherry MX Brown | Mouse: G305 | Audio: Audio Technica ATH-M50X & Blue Snowball | Server: 2018 Core i3 Mac mini, 128GB SSD, Intel UHD 630, 16GB DDR4 | Storage: OWC Mercury Elite Pro Quad (6TB WD Blue HDD, 12TB Seagate Barracuda, 1TB Crucial SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD)
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Performance wise I think it'll be fine, but I personally really fucking hate the keyboard and couldn't imagine using it for programming.

Quote me to see my reply!

SPECS:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X Motherboard: MSI B450-A Pro Max RAM: 32GB I forget GPU: MSI Vega 56 Storage: 256GB NVMe boot, 512GB Samsung 850 Pro, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 1TB WD Blue HDD PSU: Inwin P85 850w Case: Fractal Design Define C Cooling: Stock for CPU, be quiet! case fans, Morpheus Vega w/ be quiet! Pure Wings 2 for GPU Monitor: 3x Thinkvision P24Q on a Steelcase Eyesite triple monitor stand Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3 Keyboard: Focus FK-9000 (heavily modded) Mousepad: Aliexpress cat special Headphones:  Sennheiser HD598SE and Sony Linkbuds

 

🏳️‍🌈

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1 hour ago, DrMacintosh said:

The simple fact that it has a low clocked 2C/4T CPU with no real cooling will be the biggest limitation. The limitations really depend on what you plan to do with it. 

But because the processor does yield less power consumption, in theory wouldn't it generate less heat long-term? That's something I had completely forgotten about if I am honest.

 

Either machine depending on which is chosen, would be used for media consumption alongside writing and compiling programs (Not games, software in particular).

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1 hour ago, kelvinhall05 said:

Performance wise I think it'll be fine, but I personally really fucking hate the keyboard and couldn't imagine using it for programming.

I would be using a secondary keyboard and a dock for a secondary display.

 

I use a Vortex Race III keyboard.

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1 hour ago, KhakiHat said:

I would be using a secondary keyboard and a dock for a secondary display.

 

I use a Vortex Race III keyboard.

Nice keyboard :D

 

If that's the case, I'd go for the Macbook.

Quote me to see my reply!

SPECS:

CPU: Ryzen 7 3700X Motherboard: MSI B450-A Pro Max RAM: 32GB I forget GPU: MSI Vega 56 Storage: 256GB NVMe boot, 512GB Samsung 850 Pro, 1TB WD Blue SSD, 1TB WD Blue HDD PSU: Inwin P85 850w Case: Fractal Design Define C Cooling: Stock for CPU, be quiet! case fans, Morpheus Vega w/ be quiet! Pure Wings 2 for GPU Monitor: 3x Thinkvision P24Q on a Steelcase Eyesite triple monitor stand Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3 Keyboard: Focus FK-9000 (heavily modded) Mousepad: Aliexpress cat special Headphones:  Sennheiser HD598SE and Sony Linkbuds

 

🏳️‍🌈

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