Windows-powered MacBook Air rivals

Daniel Puchert

Daniel Puchert

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Don't buy anything, Mac or Windows, with only 8GB of RAM.

Browsers use way too much ram these days. It will swap to the SSD and since it's not replaceable on many laptops any more, there is no option to replace it. Also since ram is not upgradable, you also need to buy the ram you will need 3 to 7 years from now.
 
Sapphiron said:
Don't buy anything, Mac or Windows, with only 8GB of RAM.

Browsers use way too much ram these days. It will swap to the SSD and since it's not replaceable on many laptops any more, there is no option to replace it. Also since ram is not upgradable, you also need to buy the ram you will need 3 to 7 years from now.
Click to expand...
lol we have 8GB Macbooks running VM's for dev and 30+ chrome tabs open and they're not even nearly breaking a sweat.

i think you're mixing up other OSs with MacOS :)
 
Also, avoid Intel in anything you want to have battery life. They are terrible when doing anything more than standing idle, or things that are not GPU accelerated.

AMD is a much better choice in the portable market segment
 
buy a macbook they said,
maybe if you work in certain fields, especially in creatives and journalism, then Mac OS in a go to,

everybody else will struggle, especially if you do anything that isn't something Apple does well,
 
neoprema said:
lol we have 8GB Macbooks running VM's for dev and 30+ chrome tabs open and they're not even nearly breaking a sweat.

i think you're mixing up other OSs with MacOS :)
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Mac's have fast SSD's that are masking some real deficiencies, that will show up not too long in the future.

I just know what happened to all the MacBook Air's and Windows PC's with 4GB of RAM at recyclers.

The macs are piled up on shelves waiting to be scrapped, and the PCs got ram upgrades and a second life.
 
You also have to consider end of support date. Get M1 MacBook air now and in two years istore staff tell you it's a legacy product, they cannot offer you any support.
 
susefan said:
You also have to consider end of support date. Get M1 MacBook air now and in two years istore staff tell you it's a legacy product, they cannot offer you any support.
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From a hardware perspective, nearly all macs are unsupported the moment your warranty runs out. They are made to be unrepairable. They could be so much better, but Apple designs product for the landfill, so you always have to buy a new one.

and in the PC world is copying all the worst things from apple instead of the good things, like high quality screens and fast SSD's
 
neoprema said:
lol we have 8GB Macbooks running VM's for dev and 30+ chrome tabs open and they're not even nearly breaking a sweat.

i think you're mixing up other OSs with MacOS :)
Click to expand...
exactly. Had my doubts about a Mac air M2 with 8GB ram.

Running Windows 11 inside Mac Os with Safari tabs open. Barely makes a dent.
Plus have a machine that wakes on demand just like an iPad and has a battery life of around 15 hours for 20k? How can one complain?
 
Sapphiron said:
From a hardware perspective, nearly all macs are unsupported the moment your warranty runs out. They are made to be unrepairable. They could be so much better, but Apple designs product for the landfill, so you always have to buy a new one.

and in the PC world is copying all the worst things from apple instead of the good things, like high quality screens and fast SSD's
Click to expand...

Apple got a hinge that might actually make it past the warranty;)
 
Advantages of a Windows Machine?

You can upgrade the ram. R450 for 8gb. R5000 for 8gb on a Macbook. Thats a huge difference.

256gb to 512gb NVME well you can buy one for R1000 on a Windows. R4000 on a mac.

And support? There honestly isnt any in South Africa. HP and Dell does Next day repair or replace service. With a Mac? Wait a month.
 
susefan said:
You also have to consider end of support date. Get M1 MacBook air now and in two years istore staff tell you it's a legacy product, they cannot offer you any support.
Click to expand...
No they will be like the Gill Bates movie thats actually more Apple than Windows.

Its antique, its scrap, its 10x slower than the new model. Throw it in the bin, and buy a new one.

and yes I have heard an Istore person say that to a client before. Their Superdrive broke years ago, they were told to replace the entire unit.

Hell, they made my friend buy a new Mac Pro because her heatsink clip was faulty, and by itself it disconnected, causing the Mac to crash. They told her the machine cant work anymore and she must buy a new one. She did, but when I visited her the weekend, we opened it up, ordered a new heatsink bracket from the US and replaced it when it arrived. Worked like a charm again.

Yip thats Apple SA for you. They suck.
 
And yes I do like Macs. I got a brand new Apple 2E when I was 6 years old. Shipped from the states. I've had Powermacs etc. And I work with both Mac and PC. But for value for money PC will come first (unless you were into Adobe work, or lately Music editing etc). Most of the world is on Windows or on some form of it. And Windows products are easier to chop and change and maintain.

These days, you can simply create a Virtual Machine that runs Windows 11, Windows Server, Linux, Ubuntu or Mac OS. You can run this from the cheapest junkest machine that will effectively just be a terminal unit.

The sad reality though it schoolkids/students who tell parents who are already cash strapped, that they need to spend R30k on a Mac, to be able to take notes at school/University. (Not my kids), but had that when I was still selling Pcs and Laptops for both private and corporate companies. To take notes? You can spend R4k on a laptop, will do the same. Save your parents a fortune.
 
RudderVator said:
exactly. Had my doubts about a Mac air M2 with 8GB ram.

Running Windows 11 inside Mac Os with Safari tabs open. Barely makes a dent.
Plus have a machine that wakes on demand just like an iPad and has a battery life of around 15 hours for 20k? How can one complain?
Click to expand...
Most PCS does wake on demand, and depending on your drive speeds, it does it very quickly. Get a Samsung Pro NVME in one, and watch it beat the mac, because it will.

And battery life?

"
Up to 18 hours 15 minutes (76 Wh) 28 W

Up to 19 hours (76 Wh) 15 W

Note:
Battery life varies depending on the product model, configuration (apps, features, power management settings, wireless functionality), and other factors. The maximum capacity of the battery naturally decreases with time and usage."

Thats an HP Elitebook.
 
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