Macbook Recommendation

[theereal]

So, im looking to buy a Macbook, im primarily going to be using it for programming, ill be doing Unity in C#, aswell as running emulators with XCode. I was wondering if there are any considerations i should make with respects to CPU and Ram, could i get by with an Air? or do i need a 8/10core Pro? Would i be okay with 16gb or should i spring for 24/Air or 32/Pro?

 

[LIGISTX]

5 minutes ago, theereal said:

So, im looking to buy a Macbook, im primarily going to be using it for programming, ill be doing Unity in C#, aswell as running emulators with XCode. I was wondering if there are any considerations i should make with respects to CPU and Ram, could i get by with an Air? or do i need a 8/10core Pro? Would i be okay with 16gb or should i spring for 24/Air or 32/Pro?

 

I would get an air with 16 GB of RAM and base CPU. Honestly, an 8 GB RAM system is "enough". A buddy just knee-jerk got a base model air and does webdev and android emulation, he said so far its been more than plenty. But if he didn't just knee jerk it and would have just ordered exactly what he wanted, he wouldn't have done 8 GB, nor would I...

[Commodus]

21 minutes ago, theereal said:

So, im looking to buy a Macbook, im primarily going to be using it for programming, ill be doing Unity in C#, aswell as running emulators with XCode. I was wondering if there are any considerations i should make with respects to CPU and Ram, could i get by with an Air? or do i need a 8/10core Pro? Would i be okay with 16gb or should i spring for 24/Air or 32/Pro?

 

I would lean toward the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The price gap is relatively narrow once you configure with similar specs — and that's before the discounts you get shopping on the likes of Amazon (if you're content with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, at least). The Pro will still be faster overall, and the fan system will help with sustained heavy workloads.

 

16GB of RAM will probably be okay, but if you have the money for more, do it. More memory helps with programming and emulators, especially if you're going to be using an external display.

[seanondemand]

12 minutes ago, Commodus said:

I would lean toward the 14-inch MacBook Pro. The price gap is relatively narrow once you configure with similar specs — and that's before the discounts you get shopping on the likes of Amazon (if you're content with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, at least). The Pro will still be faster overall, and the fan system will help with sustained heavy workloads.

 

16GB of RAM will probably be okay, but if you have the money for more, do it. More memory helps with programming and emulators, especially if you're going to be using an external display.

I will 2nd all of this, the 14-inch Pro is a powerhouse. More cores do scale pretty linearly with performance in Xcode for compiles. Plus if you're looking to save a few bucks, check out Apple's refurb store, you still get the full warranty and the option to get Applecare like you would on a non-refurb. 

[MonkeyBomb]

32 minutes ago, seanondemand said:

I will 2nd all of this, the 14-inch Pro is a powerhouse. More cores do scale pretty linearly with performance in Xcode for compiles. Plus if you're looking to save a few bucks, check out Apple's refurb store, you still get the full warranty and the option to get Applecare like you would on a non-refurb. 

Apple's refurb store can be a great option to save some money.  Bought the m1 air through the refurb store and you couldn't tell it was ever used.

[rikitikitavi]

Also, if you are using it mostly portably, then Air M2, beside the size/weight, might last longer on a charge and (I assume) be more responsive in battery saving mode due to having 4 efficiency cores vs 2 on M1Pro.

 

Edit: top up your RAM if you think/know you are going to be running way more stuff simultaneously (extra servers, vms etc). Also, given the nature of unified memory - whatever Unity needs or even your windowServer (external monitor) will be taken from the main pool.

[Darkseth]

On 11/25/2022 at 10:48 PM, theereal said:

So, im looking to buy a Macbook, im primarily going to be using it for programming, ill be doing Unity in C#, aswell as running emulators with XCode. I was wondering if there are any considerations i should make with respects to CPU and Ram, could i get by with an Air? or do i need a 8/10core Pro? Would i be okay with 16gb or should i spring for 24/Air or 32/Pro?

i'm not sure about Unity with C# on MacOS, but about the M2 Macbook Air: As soon you hit a 512/16gb Configuration, the price already is very near a Macbook Pro 14".

 

Go for that. Rather go for a Macbook Pro 14" Base model, than a 24gb Ram Macbook Air.

 

If you're from the US, you guys should have quite nice 14" deals going on. I think i've seen $1599? If you can afford it, go for it. It has all you want from a Macbook Pro.