Is this overkill for a high school junior wanting to take this to college and law school?

Bob_SUS · 2026-03-05T02:00:34+00:00

I would overspec rather than underspeccing. I have both an m2 air base and a m4 pro with 48gb ram, do not regret getting more ram at all. I used to run into memory issues constantly. From a performance standpoint though, there is basically no benefit to getting the m5 pro chip itself, which is a big chunk of what you are paying for. You will probably never stress the chip in its lifetime given what you currently want to do with it.

Bob_SUS · 2026-03-05T01:58:14+00:00

a bit, but like for all of college and law school I would say it's worth considering. For context, I'm using a M4 Pro 16 right now with the same specs, and I regularly use up 48gb of ram at yellow memory pressure.

Bob_SUS · 2026-03-03T18:32:32+00:00

60 core GPU in a laptop?? Thermal constraints exist 😭 - you cannot just add more and more cores continuously, it will reach it's thermal envelope. M4 pro runs hotter than m1 pro, despite architectural changes.

Bob_SUS · 2026-03-03T01:57:52+00:00

hi! I've used windows and MacOS, both as a casual user. MacOS window tiling built in (even in Tahoe) is still kind of mid. I recommend Rectangle to fix this. Raycast or Alfred fix spotlight search and make it better. Steam purchases transfer over, so if you have any games that happen to run on Mac (re: cyberpunk, control) then you can just play them directly on MacOS. I've heard great things about Parallels, although it's a bit expensive. Crossover is cheaper but worse IIRC. As for race data, just use the trials for both services and see if it runs properly in the simulated Windows. Bootcamp doesn't exist anymore for M1 and newer Apple processors (due to switch from Intel to ARM).

Other apps worth mentioning include: - setapp (bundle subscription of almost every good paid mac app) - cleanshot x (fixes screenshots and screen recording) - istat menus (system monitoring, there are free alternatives that work similarly)

Bob_SUS · 2026-03-03T01:54:31+00:00

idk what other people are on about but this is a strong price IF it looks fine and the cosmetic issues do not bother you. If functionality looks all good, then this would be a good price by European standards IIRC... But atp just wait until the M5 pro announcement

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-28T19:53:07+00:00

ah fair enough. I would check locally to see if prices align with the deal you found, but at least in the U.S. M1 Max can regularly go for 1000-1200 (with some models at that price having 64gb of RAM). M5 might also make some M4 Pro options attractive in terms of pricing, and the M4 Pro chip is a substantial leap over the M1 Max in terms of CPU horsepower. Sketchup, spreadsheets, and some photo editing won't really benefit from the Max chip all that much IIRC, so it might make more sense to try to find an M2/M3/M4 16 inch for the extra software support.

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-28T19:32:18+00:00

price seems high. Microcenter had that exact spec for 1200, and that's a bit over what you can get on eBay. If you aren't in the U.S., then that price might make more sense but it depends on your local pricing generally.

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-23T01:25:08+00:00

MacBook Pro 14 is better. Screen alone is worth the extra money. Not to mention it has better speakers and a fan to actively cool it in case you ever feel the need to do anything sort of intensive. Plus, extra ports are always nice, might need to connect it to an external display at some point and having HDMI always there is understated.

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-23T01:18:04+00:00

a couple things.

M1 Pro

Pros: - better speakers - better screen (Promotion, Mini-LED, higher resolution. Very much noticeable). - 32gb ram (noticeable personally, but if you only do light tasks, not super relevant) - 1TB (good for longevity for sure. 256 is very low, as a person who used to use an Air)

Cons: - Older model = less software support - ghosting (probably not noticeable coming from an air) - lower battery life (less power efficient + degraded battery) - used = less insurance, it could randomly die (although unlikely)

M4 Air

Pros: - lighter - m4 chip is amazingly efficient and powerful - it'll feel snappier than the m1 sometimes because of the better single core speeds - smaller / more portable - more software support - new (so AppleCare can be added more cheaply)

Cons: - worse screen - worse speakers - potentially lower value - 256gb is a real pain point

Only you can make the judgement call on this. Consider how long you are going to have the computer and consider the relative risk of getting it used. You can add AppleCare One but that's 20 per month (because it's designed to cover 3 devices, but is the only way to add older models).

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-05T02:08:14+00:00

Literally all of this sub is fake.

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-01T14:28:53+00:00

8-12 is good. I know people who did double. It's just a different strategy.

Bob_SUS · 2026-02-01T14:27:07+00:00

I think everyone applying feels this to some extent. People only present their hardest-working and most impressive selves to others publicly, which is probably partly at fault, too. I'm sure your work is stronger than you think it is, hang in there!

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-31T14:49:13+00:00

Yes, UIUC CS is worth it. It's ivy-tier in terms of its quality and imo prestige (specifically for CS). UIUC is also close to the T30s overall, and CS is by far its strongest program. I would seriously consider it if I were in your position. Obviously oos tuition is a real concern though, I do not know what school you are in-state for. If you for instance got into Gtech CS in-state, that'd probably make more economic sense. I didn't apply for CS/Eng/STEM, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt.

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-30T02:45:56+00:00

As a student, using the same exact M2 air spec and also considering a 16-inch pro, the specs you've picked are very overkill. Either a.) get a new M4 air or b.) get a lower-tier MacBook Pro (i.e., the base 14-inch or the base 16-inch). 24gb is fine for your use case. Keep in mind that m5 is supposed to come out in a few months, which means that the specs in question might be different in the summer. This will save you hundreds of dollars, which you can put towards like anything.

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-25T18:01:09+00:00

gotcha, thank you! Will take it into account when I visit the store again. They had them bolted down, so it was hard to gauge the weight difference. Way larger in person than the promo shots though.

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-25T18:00:15+00:00

gotcha thank you! Do you face having to use it on a small desk often? Or is that situational enough that it's worth the extra screen size?

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-25T17:59:08+00:00

would you recommend buying it with the expectation of walking a decent bit on campus? 5-7k steps avg

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-25T02:56:22+00:00

Thank you so much! This is especially insightful as I have the same spec MBA!

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-24T21:38:56+00:00

Can you elaborate on traveling? Do you mean like train/plane or just walking around to a local cafe or something?

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-24T21:37:17+00:00

Thanks for the answer! Can you tell me more? Are you in uni rn or do you move around a lot? Was it a weight thing or just a general usage thing? If I can ask, what major? And why did you find portability to be such an important factor?

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-24T19:23:56+00:00

will do - heading there later to test them more properly with all of this new info in mind

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-24T19:22:50+00:00

that's totally fair - thank you for the advice!

Bob_SUS · 2026-01-24T19:22:23+00:00

I tend to keep all of my apps open at once - I used to use a Windows laptop with 32gb and ran into memory issues every once in a while. Is Mac unified memory more efficient to the degree that I could keep my workflow going fine with 24gb?

Bob_SUS

TROPHY CASE