Is it worth it to get a macbook?

[Hideki Ryuga]

I am currently using a 7840u framework with 64 GB of RAM. Looking for input whether or not to jump ship to a macOS device. I already have an iPhone.

 

I like the framework ideal, but I live in Japan so getting replacement parts is a lot more difficult. Honestly it's more trouble than it's worth for me to keep the laptop. I have the upgraded screen too. But I don't know it just seems like more and more, and this is very much a Windows problem, that the anything not Apple is simply inferior hardware, like Apple is just generations ahead of everyone else.

 

Macbook Pro pluses

- 14" form factor which I think is nice
- CPU that is one of the best in class
- Amazing battery life

- The best screen on any laptop
- Better access to repairs in Japan (via AppleCare, it's actually easier for me to get my devices fixed with Apple than framework, and cheaper)

Framework pluses
- 64 GB memory
- 7840u is not that much slower
- Future upgradability

My battery is at like 85% life with only 120 cycles, and it will only last for like 2 hours if I take it with me somewhere without a backup charger. It will run out of battery if I try to watch a movie on my bed like lol. I need to get a new one but the bigger 61 Wh batteries are out of stock so I'd be forced to get a 55 Wh and then find a way to ship it here. And the added battery life won't be a lot more. And I'd still be using windows which has honestly been god awful. If Linux had decent app/Japanese language support I would be using that instead. All of the apps I need are native on macOS, though. And they have first party Japanese language typing support. I don't need a strong GPU because I just use geforce now.

Honestly it just feels like non-Apple hardware is just so far behind it doesn't really make sense not to switch at this point. They still haven't gotten lpcamm2 into an actual product yet. All they can do is poorly copy apple it seems. I'm just really frustrated because it feels like my fancy laptop is really just a desktop at this point, but I need it to be a laptop and not a device I also need to lug around a big battery along with it just to get half the life a MBP gets out of the box.

[KidKid]

23 minutes ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I am currently using a 7840u framework with 64 GB of RAM. Looking for input whether or not to jump ship to a macOS device. I already have an iPhone.

 

I like the framework ideal, but I live in Japan so getting replacement parts is a lot more difficult. Honestly it's more trouble than it's worth for me to keep the laptop. I have the upgraded screen too. But I don't know it just seems like more and more, and this is very much a Windows problem, that the anything not Apple is simply inferior hardware, like Apple is just generations ahead of everyone else.

 

Macbook Pro pluses

- 14" form factor which I think is nice
- CPU that is one of the best in class
- Amazing battery life

- The best screen on any laptop
- Better access to repairs in Japan (via AppleCare, it's actually easier for me to get my devices fixed with Apple than framework, and cheaper)

Framework pluses
- 64 GB memory
- 7840u is not that much slower
- Future upgradability

My battery is at like 85% life with only 120 cycles, and it will only last for like 2 hours if I take it with me somewhere without a backup charger. It will run out of battery if I try to watch a movie on my bed like lol. I need to get a new one but the bigger 61 Wh batteries are out of stock so I'd be forced to get a 55 Wh and then find a way to ship it here. And the added battery life won't be a lot more. And I'd still be using windows which has honestly been god awful. If Linux had decent app/Japanese language support I would be using that instead. All of the apps I need are native on macOS, though. And they have first party Japanese language typing support. I don't need a strong GPU because I just use geforce now.

Honestly it just feels like non-Apple hardware is just so far behind it doesn't really make sense not to switch at this point. They still haven't gotten lpcamm2 into an actual product yet. All they can do is poorly copy apple it seems. I'm just really frustrated because it feels like my fancy laptop is really just a desktop at this point, but I need it to be a laptop and not a device I also need to lug around a big battery along with it just to get half the life a MBP gets out of the box.

if you want 64GB of memory on a Macbook that will cost you a fortune, as costs of getting more than the default RAM with Apple is 'the literal price of gold', according to Linus at LTT. Yes, Macbooks have very good battery, as you will find out in LTT videos too.

[Hideki Ryuga]

12 minutes ago, KidKid said:

if you want 64GB of memory on a Macbook that will cost you a fortune, as costs of getting more than the default RAM with Apple is 'the literal price of gold', according to Linus at LTT. Yes, Macbooks have very good battery, as you will find out in LTT videos too.

I forgot to add that I don't need that much, it was just cheap to upgrade it to that amount.

 

I think 16 GB would probably be okay on macOS? That's really a question I have because like I don't want to run out of RAM but I'm not sure it would even matter. While I do programming, it's not like I often need large amounts of RAM. I suppose it would be handy for VMs and real heavy dev work, but then again I still do have my framework lol.

 

It almost makes it worth it to get the MBA but the pro screen and size really draws me in.

[KidKid]

3 minutes ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I forgot to add that I don't need that much, it was just cheap to upgrade it to that amount.

 

I think 16 GB would probably be okay on macOS? That's really a question I have because like I don't want to run out of RAM but I'm not sure it would even matter. While I do programming, it's not like I often need large amounts of RAM. I suppose it would be handy for VMs and real heavy dev work, but then again I still do have my framework lol.

 

It almost makes it worth it to get the MBA but the pro screen and size really draws me in.

Yeah, Windows is a RAM hog; I'm sure MacOS would use less RAM. They claim (take this with a grain of salt) that 8GB of RAM on a Apple device is equivalent to 16GB on a PC. It may be worth more, but not 2x probably. 32GB seems good for you. By the way, can you check your RAM usage while doing the stuff you do on your current PC to see how much RAM is being used, thus helping you find how much RAM you need?

[strange13930]

12 minutes ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I forgot to add that I don't need that much, it was just cheap to upgrade it to that amount.

 

I think 16 GB would probably be okay on macOS? That's really a question I have because like I don't want to run out of RAM but I'm not sure it would even matter. While I do programming, it's not like I often need large amounts of RAM. I suppose it would be handy for VMs and real heavy dev work, but then again I still do have my framework lol.

 

It almost makes it worth it to get the MBA but the pro screen and size really draws me in.

 

7 minutes ago, KidKid said:

Yeah, Windows is a RAM hog; I'm sure MacOS would use less RAM. They claim (take this with a grain of salt) that 8GB of RAM on a Apple device is equivalent to 16GB on a PC. It may be worth more, but not 2x probably. 32GB seems good for you. By the way, can you check your RAM usage while doing the stuff you do on your current PC to see how much RAM is being used, thus helping you find how much RAM you need?

I am using a little over 4 gb of my MacBooks 8 gbs with only safari open with a tab for copilot and LTT forum open, but it is a MacBook  from 2017 so not the most accurate comparison

[Hideki Ryuga]

35 minutes ago, KidKid said:

Yeah, Windows is a RAM hog; I'm sure MacOS would use less RAM. They claim (take this with a grain of salt) that 8GB of RAM on a Apple device is equivalent to 16GB on a PC. It may be worth more, but not 2x probably. 32GB seems good for you. By the way, can you check your RAM usage while doing the stuff you do on your current PC to see how much RAM is being used, thus helping you find how much RAM you need?

I'm using about 13 GB just doing regular usage; I'm pretty normal but I definitely could stack up some memory use opening something like visual studio. Mostly I just find that the system will dedicate ~30 GB to the GPU from my main memory if I try to run a game or something. Which again, I use geforce now so I don't actually really need.

I don't know what it uses on linux because I've never checked and windows is what's currently installed.

 

26 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

 

I am using a little over 4 gb of my MacBooks 8 gbs with only safari open with a tab for copilot and LTT forum open, but it is a MacBook  from 2017 so not the most accurate comparison

-snip-

OSes tend to use what they have. I'm sure with unlimited RAM Windows would load the entirety of System32 into it. This is useful because the OS is the same. I know macOS isn't the greatest but they do have some really good low level optimizations that Windows seems to lack.

[Thomas53]

It depends mainly on how much you need to impress everyone around you.

 

As for Windows and RAM, a few years ago, I picked up an Eclipse (?) Envoy for $49 (open box) it was normally $89, running Win 10 Educational with 2GB RAM, and for a lark I installed Win 10 Pro and while admittedly being slow, though not that bad (I DON'T GAME), I was still impressed by its way to be able to multi-task, having a YouTube video playing in the background while being able to edit a 250 page document, albeit using LibreOffice and Firefox.

[KidKid]

34 minutes ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I'm using about 13 GB just doing regular usage; I'm pretty normal but I definitely could stack up some memory use opening something like visual studio. Mostly I just find that the system will dedicate ~30 GB to the GPU from my main memory if I try to run a game or something. Which again, I use geforce now so I don't actually really need.

I don't know what it uses on linux because I've never checked and windows is what's currently installed.

 

OSes tend to use what they have. I'm sure with unlimited RAM Windows would load the entirety of System32 into it. This is useful because the OS is the same. I know macOS isn't the greatest but they do have some really good low level optimizations that Windows seems to lack.

Since it uses 13GB, 16GB might be small (though it would allocate however much it could to RAM), 32GB would perform better. But yeah, the more RAM there is, the more of Windows it can put into the RAM, and if you had hundreds of gigabytes, it probably would put nearly the entire Windows into RAM lol

[thevictor390]

25 minutes ago, KidKid said:

Since it uses 13GB, 16GB might be small (though it would allocate however much it could to RAM), 32GB would perform better. But yeah, the more RAM there is, the more of Windows it can put into the RAM, and if you had hundreds of gigabytes, it probably would put nearly the entire Windows into RAM lol

I recently tested out an old tablet I dug up with 1.6 GB RAM (400 MB reserved for graphics). Windows 11 idled at around 900 MB usage.

[KidKid]

6 hours ago, thevictor390 said:

I recently tested out an old tablet I dug up with 1.6 GB RAM (400 MB reserved for graphics). Windows 11 idled at around 900 MB usage.

I guess Windows doesn't need a lot of RAM if it can't get it!

[Hideki Ryuga]

15 hours ago, KidKid said:

Since it uses 13GB, 16GB might be small (though it would allocate however much it could to RAM), 32GB would perform better. But yeah, the more RAM there is, the more of Windows it can put into the RAM, and if you had hundreds of gigabytes, it probably would put nearly the entire Windows into RAM lol

I went over 16 GB just today, though I have 64 GB available total. I don't think I can imagine it going over that much. I've only ever run out of memory doing AI dev work tbh.

 

[KidKid]

7 hours ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I went over 16 GB just today, though I have 64 GB available total. I don't think I can imagine it going over that much. I've only ever run out of memory doing AI dev work tbh.

 

Wow! On MacOS though, it shouldn't use that much. If it doesn't have enough, it won't use it.

 

Does your Framework have dedicated graphics?

 

Remember that with a Macbook, the RAM is shared and dynamically allocated to the CPU or the GPU, whichever one needs it. You could probably get ~14GB of VRAM on the GPU if needed at certain times, and other times, you could use 16GB toward the CPU (if your Macbook had 16GB). This is different than a CPU+dGPU setup, where maybe the CPU has, say 16GB of RAM, and the GPU has 16GB too. The GPU is stuck with 16GB, and so is the CPU. Or, if the CPU and GPU both are doing intensive tasks, they have to share that 16GB of RAM however, 8+8 or however needed.

 

Also keep in mind that Macbooks are not upgradeable like the Framework is, for RAM and other things like SSDs.

 

[Commodus]

On 6/19/2025 at 8:55 AM, Hideki Ryuga said:

I am currently using a 7840u framework with 64 GB of RAM. Looking for input whether or not to jump ship to a macOS device. I already have an iPhone.

 

I like the framework ideal, but I live in Japan so getting replacement parts is a lot more difficult. Honestly it's more trouble than it's worth for me to keep the laptop. I have the upgraded screen too. But I don't know it just seems like more and more, and this is very much a Windows problem, that the anything not Apple is simply inferior hardware, like Apple is just generations ahead of everyone else.

 

Macbook Pro pluses

- 14" form factor which I think is nice
- CPU that is one of the best in class
- Amazing battery life

- The best screen on any laptop
- Better access to repairs in Japan (via AppleCare, it's actually easier for me to get my devices fixed with Apple than framework, and cheaper)

Framework pluses
- 64 GB memory
- 7840u is not that much slower
- Future upgradability

My battery is at like 85% life with only 120 cycles, and it will only last for like 2 hours if I take it with me somewhere without a backup charger. It will run out of battery if I try to watch a movie on my bed like lol. I need to get a new one but the bigger 61 Wh batteries are out of stock so I'd be forced to get a 55 Wh and then find a way to ship it here. And the added battery life won't be a lot more. And I'd still be using windows which has honestly been god awful. If Linux had decent app/Japanese language support I would be using that instead. All of the apps I need are native on macOS, though. And they have first party Japanese language typing support. I don't need a strong GPU because I just use geforce now.

Honestly it just feels like non-Apple hardware is just so far behind it doesn't really make sense not to switch at this point. They still haven't gotten lpcamm2 into an actual product yet. All they can do is poorly copy apple it seems. I'm just really frustrated because it feels like my fancy laptop is really just a desktop at this point, but I need it to be a laptop and not a device I also need to lug around a big battery along with it just to get half the life a MBP gets out of the box.

I have a 14-inch MacBook Pro M4 (the base chip, not the Pro or Max), so I can comment with some directly relevant experience.

 

I love it, and I can say that having used multiple recent Windows laptops (ranging from the Surface Laptop 7 through to gaming beasts like the ROG Zephyrus G14). I'm not sure it has the absolute best screen on any laptop, but it's excellent. Real-world battery life is superb, and unlike most Windows laptops the performance stays the same when unplugged. You'd also be surprised at the speaker quality. I also like how macOS is considerably less pushy than Windows, even if Apple clearly wants to reel you into its services.

 

You can get away with 16GB of RAM in macOS, but if you have the budget I'd consider bumping it up to 24GB (what I did) or 32GB for a little extra futureproofing.  The regular M4 chip is more than enough for daily use; I'd go for the M4 Pro if you do a lot of coding or audiovisual editing.

 

To be clear, there are some great Windows laptops (Lenovo in particular is on a roll lately). I just find Apple delivers a consistently good experience and avoids common pitfalls.

[Hideki Ryuga]

As an update I did end up getting a macbook pro. Thank you for the advice here, after some deliberation I decided to go for the m4 pro model with 24GB of RAM. It's the base model of m4 pro.

 

It really is incredible and a world better than my framework. Absolutely blows any windows laptop I've used away. Screen is amazing, the build quality is incredible, and speakers, microphone and camera quality are basically second to none it feels like. Sleep function works. Battery life is incredible.

 

I don't know what Microsoft is doing but they're so far behind the game here it's laughable. The hardware is soooo much worse. Even the newer snapdragon x elite chips that can compete in power efficiency can't compete in raw compute performance at the same time. Apple is just hands down beating everyone :c

I wish it wasn't like this but it is I guess.

[RKPC10]

Me sitting here on MacBook thinking about getting a framework because I thought the upgradability was really cool: 

[Hideki Ryuga]

3 hours ago, RKPC10 said:

Me sitting here on MacBook thinking about getting a framework because I thought the upgradability was really cool: 

It's probably fine if you use linux and live in a country that can actually get parts. A major problem for me was that even if the laptop is repairable I can't get parts because they won't sell them to my country.

 

That said the m4 mac is really good.

[RKPC10]

the on thing I love about MacBooks though is that their screens always loom better than windows machines, I dont know why, I love the clean gloss look, but it just doesn't feel the same on windows screens, even If its higher resolution. It's really weird lol. 

[Hideki Ryuga]

2 hours ago, RKPC10 said:

the on thing I love about MacBooks though is that their screens always loom better than windows machines, I dont know why, I love the clean gloss look, but it just doesn't feel the same on windows screens, even If its higher resolution. It's really weird lol. 

I think there's a fundamental software problem with Windows implementing HDR screens in their display drivers. Even on my HDR monitors everything would look very bad. It could have been the quality of the screens, though. But iirc it never looked that way on linux.

 

It's wild to me that Windows has so many problems but they keep laying people off.

[bamboobandit]

8 hours ago, Hideki Ryuga said:

I think there's a fundamental software problem with Windows implementing HDR screens in their display drivers. Even on my HDR monitors everything would look very bad. It could have been the quality of the screens, though. But iirc it never looked that way on linux.

 

It's wild to me that Windows has so many problems but they keep laying people off.

I have just jumped ship to MacOS and I am a real heavy user, so think this all should be helpful.

 

I bought 14" MacBook Pro M3 Pro 18gb RAM 512gb Storage

 

1. 14" Screen is really nice. BUT this laptop is heavy and you WILL feel it, I have used it for about 6 months daily now and I still feel it.

 

2. CPU is really good, No other "LAPTOP" can match it. (which is this size and weight)

 

3. Battery Life is not "Amazing", but it is pretty good. The main difference that I can say on battery power MacOS will retain 80% of the peak performance while a windows laptop will go to 30~40%.

 

More on Battery: I usually have 8-10  Safari Tabs open, with 2-3 random apps like spotify, discord, slack. In addition to this I always have open either Blender or After Effects, and I almost get 5 hours of "USAGE" not Heavy usage. (I only charge my Mac till 80%)

 

4. Screen Really is Amazing.

 

5. 18GB Memory is enough for me, I usually am around 14used and when I render stuff, I close everything else and it goes to about 16gb.

 

 

So, just go with the base model M4 macbook air, because MacOS for 80% of the time stays in 60-90hz and goes to 120hz rarely, mostly while scrolling and Games (i play only CSGO).

 

If you think you can really feel you will be able to FEEL the difference between 60-120hz on Geforce Now then only it makes sense to get the Macbook pro.

 

 

 

Conclusion/Options:

 

1. (Base) Macbook Air M4 - Hell Yes, if you are okay with 60hz. (512GB upgrade also worth it) (This is the Best option for 80% of the Mac Users)

 

2. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 - Just NO.

 

3. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 Pro - If you are a Pro user (you will know if you are, don't lie to yourself)

 

4. (Base) Macbook pro M4 - Just NO, You will be able to get M3 Pro for the same price. even if you dont want the power that comes with it 

 

 

 Hope this helps.

 

AND GET APPLE CARE+, It is worth every penny (or Yen)

 

 

 

[Hideki Ryuga]

54 minutes ago, bamboobandit said:

I have just jumped ship to MacOS and I am a real heavy user, so think this all should be helpful.

 

I bought 14" MacBook Pro M3 Pro 18gb RAM 512gb Storage

 

1. 14" Screen is really nice. BUT this laptop is heavy and you WILL feel it, I have used it for about 6 months daily now and I still feel it.

 

2. CPU is really good, No other "LAPTOP" can match it. (which is this size and weight)

 

3. Battery Life is not "Amazing", but it is pretty good. The main difference that I can say on battery power MacOS will retain 80% of the peak performance while a windows laptop will go to 30~40%.

 

More on Battery: I usually have 8-10  Safari Tabs open, with 2-3 random apps like spotify, discord, slack. In addition to this I always have open either Blender or After Effects, and I almost get 5 hours of "USAGE" not Heavy usage. (I only charge my Mac till 80%)

 

4. Screen Really is Amazing.

 

5. 18GB Memory is enough for me, I usually am around 14used and when I render stuff, I close everything else and it goes to about 16gb.

 

 

So, just go with the base model M4 macbook air, because MacOS for 80% of the time stays in 60-90hz and goes to 120hz rarely, mostly while scrolling and Games (i play only CSGO).

 

If you think you can really feel you will be able to FEEL the difference between 60-120hz on Geforce Now then only it makes sense to get the Macbook pro.

 

 

 

Conclusion/Options:

 

1. (Base) Macbook Air M4 - Hell Yes, if you are okay with 60hz. (512GB upgrade also worth it) (This is the Best option for 80% of the Mac Users)

 

2. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 - Just NO.

 

3. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 Pro - If you are a Pro user (you will know if you are, don't lie to yourself)

 

4. (Base) Macbook pro M4 - Just NO, You will be able to get M3 Pro for the same price. even if you dont want the power that comes with it 

 

 

 Hope this helps.

 

AND GET APPLE CARE+, It is worth every penny (or Yen)

 

 

 

 

Beat you to it

I did get applecare+

[bamboobandit]

Lol Enjoy!! 

 

[RKPC10]

9 hours ago, bamboobandit said:

I have just jumped ship to MacOS and I am a real heavy user, so think this all should be helpful.

 

I bought 14" MacBook Pro M3 Pro 18gb RAM 512gb Storage

 

1. 14" Screen is really nice. BUT this laptop is heavy and you WILL feel it, I have used it for about 6 months daily now and I still feel it.

 

2. CPU is really good, No other "LAPTOP" can match it. (which is this size and weight)

 

3. Battery Life is not "Amazing", but it is pretty good. The main difference that I can say on battery power MacOS will retain 80% of the peak performance while a windows laptop will go to 30~40%.

 

More on Battery: I usually have 8-10  Safari Tabs open, with 2-3 random apps like spotify, discord, slack. In addition to this I always have open either Blender or After Effects, and I almost get 5 hours of "USAGE" not Heavy usage. (I only charge my Mac till 80%)

 

4. Screen Really is Amazing.

 

5. 18GB Memory is enough for me, I usually am around 14used and when I render stuff, I close everything else and it goes to about 16gb.

 

 

So, just go with the base model M4 macbook air, because MacOS for 80% of the time stays in 60-90hz and goes to 120hz rarely, mostly while scrolling and Games (i play only CSGO).

 

If you think you can really feel you will be able to FEEL the difference between 60-120hz on Geforce Now then only it makes sense to get the Macbook pro.

 

 

 

Conclusion/Options:

 

1. (Base) Macbook Air M4 - Hell Yes, if you are okay with 60hz. (512GB upgrade also worth it) (This is the Best option for 80% of the Mac Users)

 

2. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 - Just NO.

 

3. (Base) Macbook Pro M3 Pro - If you are a Pro user (you will know if you are, don't lie to yourself)

 

4. (Base) Macbook pro M4 - Just NO, You will be able to get M3 Pro for the same price. even if you dont want the power that comes with it 

 

 

 Hope this helps.

 

AND GET APPLE CARE+, It is worth every penny (or Yen)

 

 

 

YES I AGREE get AppleCare, I cracked my MacBook screen and saved myself 100 dollars with it, it's so worth it. Also MacBooks are HEAVY lol. I picked up my friend's Thinkpad and tried it and I was amazed how light it was compared to my big aluminum slab lol. Kind of jealous now but I swill love the build quality of MacBooks better.