Macbook pro or asus rog flow for electrical engineering

[Percept1onn]

I can get a brand new 2020 macbook (M1) with 256gb ssd and 8gb ram for $800 or i can get the asus rog flow with ryzen 9, 3050ti, 16gb ram and 1 tb ssd for $1350 for electrical engineering. i know the asus is a clear winner but the macbook is cheaper and looks nicer but the flow is more powerful. The mac is worrying because 8 gb is a small amount nowadays and 256gb is low( external ssd is always an option) so give me some opinions. And programs i’m gonna use is like office and mayeb multsim(there’s an online version) 

[Aviisclueless]

On 8/1/2021 at 3:11 PM, Percept1onn said:

I can get a brand new 2020 macbook (M1) with 256gb ssd and 8gb ram for $800 or i can get the asus rog flow with ryzen 9, 3050ti, 16gb ram and 1 tb ssd for $1350 for electrical engineering. i know the asus is a clear winner but the macbook is cheaper and looks nicer but the flow is more powerful. The mac is worrying because 8 gb is a small amount nowadays and 256gb is low( external ssd is always an option) so give me some opinions. And programs i’m gonna use is like office and mayeb multsim(there’s an online version) 

The flow kicks the m1 macbook. You should probably use the asus rog flow

[Darkseth]

I strongly disagree.

 

M1 Macbook Pro will have 3-4x the battery life.

No, literaly. Notebookcheck measured 20 hours~ battery life on the M1 Macbook Pro during webbrowsing, and i personally can confirm that, also with MS Office.

ROG Flow 13 was measured with 5:47 hours on the same Wifi test. More than 3x, it will NOT last you one Day and you will have to handle chargers.

 

Screen: Slightly sharper and brighter (500 nits vs 360~) on the Macbook.

 

Performance: Yeah, M1 can't beat the raw Power of 8 Zen3 Cores going ham with 40-60 watt. However, this is only Multicore Performance, and noticeable in 100% Multicore Load. Which is not Office. Also, that comes with a Powerdraw that is multiple times higher.

Everyday performance, M1 Macs will feel the snappiest, because of that huge Single Core performance, and all Background Tasks using only the high efficiency cores, leaving the high performance cores entirely free for everything you open.

There's more than Synthetic benchmark numbers to performance, that won't be measured by Benchmarks.

 

Noise: More powerdraw = more heat = more fan noise. M1 Macbook Pro will be 100% silent, as long you don't go for 100% Loads. Even with Videoconferences with 100 people, you will not hear any Fan. Not because it's slow, but because it won't even go on.

 

 

So yea, more Power.. it does, but the System will NOT feel faster, and it's only faster if you use all Cores at the same Time.
In everyday usage, M1 will be a better experience, because it's still very fast, but battery lasts forever, and no heat/noise. While the Flow will have severe problems lasting even a shorter Workday.

 

 

But there are a few problems here: Flow comes with a GTX 1650 and x86 Windows, which allows for maximum compatibility, also with Gaming.

Multisim doesn't work on Macs, so there's that.

And the Flow is a Convertible with a Digitizer + Pen Support.

 

8gb won't be a problem for Office, Unified memory and MacOS Swapping is really damn good.

 

If you could resell the Macbook for at least 800 Dollar or more, then you might give it a shot. If it doesn't work, you can still switch without losing Money.

Or you just go for the Flow, if Batterylife is not an issue for you, or if 5 hours~ is enough for you.

[Samusasuke]

I have no idea where you are finding a brand new macbook PRO for 800 usd but good for you, make sure you are not mistaking it for the air.

@above said only true things about battery life and heat, but the point will be whether you actually need to run any simulations on your laptop. I'm in a similar situation as i do CS/EE in MIT and I have no idea exactly what software I'll need to run and if all of them are even available in macos. Take a look in the recently launched acer swift x as i think it more closely compares to the macbooks in price and form factor

[Darkseth]

Or, if you don't need the dedicated GPU and Convertible + Pen functions, Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 Pro 14" is pretty good.

That 2880x1800 Display with 16:10 is quite unique.