How good is the macbook air 2020? (not the m1 model)

[TwilightLink]

Hello!

I was looking to upgrade my old laptop (it has a Core i3 2350M and 8GB RAM DD3) because lately it's been too slow (a fresh windows install did not solve the problem, it kinda got worse). So I started searching for laptops and came across the air from early this year was any good (the new model with M1 chip is not available here yet).

 

I was wondering if I can run Visual studio on a virtual machine to use it when I'm away from my pc, also how good it is for web browsing (youtube, netflix, etc).

I checked windows pc with similar specs but here they are almost as expensive as the macbook air and are from last year or older. At least the macbook is from this year.

 

Thanks for your answers!

 

PS: sorry if I'm not clear, english is not my main languaje.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

One phrase: Very good.

 

But if you need to do stuff like run Windows on it, perhaps stay away for now. 

[TwilightLink]

Thanks for the answer!

 

4 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

But if you need to do stuff like run Windows on it, perhaps stay away for now. 

 

I just need Visual Studio for class, it doesn't even have to be windows 10 I think, and not all the time. Is the performance of windows very bad?

 

[GDRRiley]

I'd go probook 445/455 G7 running ryzen.

[TwilightLink]

9 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

I'd go probook 445/455 G7 running ryzen.

Thanks for the answer!

I coudlnt find that model here, only the 440 running an i5, is it still good?

[GDRRiley]

4 minutes ago, TwilightLink said:

Thanks for the answer!

I coudlnt find that model here, only the 440 running an i5, is it still good?

which I5. the ryzen is what really makes the 445/455 G7 good

[TwilightLink]

3 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

which I5.

According to the page 10210U.

 

3 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

the ryzen is what really makes the 445/455 G7 good

Nobody sells it here it seems, the i5 one was the only probook I could find. There's not much ryzen here, only found ones with bad resolution (1024x768) or poor RAM.

[BlueChinchillaEatingDorito]

31 minutes ago, TwilightLink said:

Thanks for the answer!

 

 

I just need Visual Studio for class, it doesn't even have to be windows 10 I think, and not all the time. Is the performance of windows very bad?

 

Well as far as I know there is no good way to get Windows to work on the new M1 based Macs outside of Virtual Machines. Apple has no intention to make a version of Bootcamp for the M1 and has placed the onus on Microsoft to make Windows on a M1 Mac a reality. Parallels is also not available yet for the M1. 

[GDRRiley]

3 minutes ago, TwilightLink said:

According to the page 10210U.

 

Nobody sells it here it seems, the i5 one was the only probook I could find. There's not much ryzen here, only found ones with bad resolution (1024x768) or poor RAM.

so a low end meh CPU, not horrible but only 4/8 C/T and on 14nm.

ram on some machines can be upgraded. what did you find with ryzen

[TwilightLink]

20 minutes ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Well as far as I know there is no way to get Windows to work on the new M1 based Macs outside of Virtual Machines. Apple has no intention to make a version of Bootcamp for the M1 and has placed the onus on Microsoft to make Windows on a M1 Mac a reality. 

Oh, I'm talking about the other macbook air that came in march this year, the M1 is not yet available where I live and I don't know when it will be.

 

17 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

ram on some machines can be upgraded. what did you find with ryzen

Just found an IdeaPad S340 with ryzen 5 but I think that one is not 1080p (most of the laptops I find are only 768p)

There's also an Asus one, with Ryzen 7 and a GTX1650 but I think that's kinda over kill.

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by TwilightLink
Missing a few words

[GDRRiley]

44 minutes ago, TwilightLink said:

Oh, I'm talking about the other macbook air that came in march this year, the M1 is not yet available where I live and I don't know when it will be.

 

Just found an IdeaPad S340 with ryzen 5 but I think that one is not 1080p (most of the laptops I find are only 768p)

There's also an Asus one, with Ryzen 7 and a GTX1650 but I think that's kinda over kill.

 

the ideapad S340 should be 1080p. its got 1 slot with 4-8gb of ram and 4gb fixed.

the 3500U in it makes it very similar to a probook 445R G6/455R G6

 

it isn't a bad buy. asus G14/G15?

[TwilightLink]

6 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

the ideapad S340 should be 1080p. its got 1 slot with 4-8gb of ram and 4gb fixed.

Yeah, but in the description it says HD, not Full HD in the screen part, that's why I'm not sure, I'll ask the store

 

9 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

asus G14/G15?

The model is Tuf Gaming FX505DT

[GDRRiley]

6 minutes ago, TwilightLink said:

Yeah, but in the description it says HD, not Full HD in the screen part, that's why I'm not sure, I'll ask the store

 

The model is Tuf Gaming FX505DT

see what it has.

ah thats not a bad model but it isn't going to be great battery life

[TwilightLink]

2 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

see what it has.

Already sent them a mail, I will wait for the response

 

3 minutes ago, GDRRiley said:

ah thats not a bad model but it isn't going to be great battery life

I see, that's not so good, it's also way more expensive than the IdeaPad

 

Maybe I will get the IdeaPad if it's 1080p then, the CPU is good, right? and I can expand the RAM up to 12GB

[Darkseth]

15 hours ago, TwilightLink said:

Oh, I'm talking about the other macbook air that came in march this year, the M1 is not yet available where I live and I don't know when it will be.

 

Compared to the M1 model, utterly Garbage.

The Chip is so bad, it gets hot even for basic tasks, and Fan can be heared. For example, Zoom Calls. It's slow, gets loud fast, and hot when you do more than the most low-end basic things.

 

The difference between the Intel Air and the M1 air is much bigger, than the Intel Macbook Pro and M1 Macbook Pro.

 

M1 is not available? Wait for it. It's THAT good. Please, do NOT waste Money on the Intel Air.

MaxTech compared both Base Models:

 

Consider Windows Notebooks, if you actually need Windows for something, or special applications.

If you can survive 100% on only MacOS, and you can afford the Macbook air, there is nothing better for that price or below in the Windows World.

 

Doesn't mean, that you can't get your stuff done with a 30-40% cheaper HP ProBook / Thinkpad E14 Gen 2 with Ryzen 4000.

Or an Ideapad with Rzyen 4000 is also a good, solid Choice in the Windows World below 800~ Bucks or so.

 

 

Macbook Air has some big strenghts for around it's Price (and below), it's a VERY good Display with 400+ Nits brightness and good color calibration, and it has very very good speakers, which makes Videos watching really good. The overall incredible good Speed, and that optimization also is just next level.

So maybe it can be worth for you. Maybe not.

[TwilightLink]

16 hours ago, GDRRiley said:

see what it has.

It has Full HD, so I think I'll get that instead

 

1 hour ago, Darkseth said:

Compared to the M1 model, utterly Garbage.

The Chip is so bad, it gets hot even for basic tasks, and Fan can be heared. For example, Zoom Calls. It's slow, gets loud fast, and hot when you do more than the most low-end basic things.

Thanks for the answer!

That sounds exactly like my current laptop, I think maybe I'll pass from the Intel one.

 

1 hour ago, Darkseth said:

If you can survive 100% on only MacOS, and you can afford the Macbook air, there is nothing better for that price or below in the Windows World.

 

Doesn't mean, that you can't get your stuff done with a 30-40% cheaper HP ProBook / Thinkpad E14 Gen 2 with Ryzen 4000.

Or an Ideapad with Rzyen 4000 is also a good, solid Choice in the Windows World below 800~ Bucks or so.

I'm actually considering an IdeaPad with a Ryzen 5, seems good enough and is a lot cheaper than other intel laptops

 

I need some Windows programs for class, so I can't survive only MacOS, so I think I'll stick to that IdeaPad

[Darkseth]

Fair enough, I think an Ideapad is a solid choice, especially if it's a Ryzen 4000 series.

[TwilightLink]

6 minutes ago, Darkseth said:

especially if it's a Ryzen 4000 series.

I think it has a Ryzen 5 3500U (I don't know much about Ryzen, I always had intel cpus)

[Lord Vile]

18 hours ago, BlueChinchillaEatingDorito said:

Well as far as I know there is no good way to get Windows to work on the new M1 based Macs outside of Virtual Machines. Apple has no intention to make a version of Bootcamp for the M1 and has placed the onus on Microsoft to make Windows on a M1 Mac a reality. Parallels is also not available yet for the M1. 

Apple would do it they just can't because of windows for ARM licencing. Fully expect it to be a drop in feature they've already got working but they're just waiting for microsoft.