Macbook - how much memory and storage?

[Whealspeed]

I have never used any apple product.

I need to get a macbook - long story - and I don't know how much memory and storage to get. I don't have a computer at all currently and I find my phone is always running out of storage. I do use cloud storage.

I will be using the macbook for essays, spreadsheets, photo editing, watching films and wasting my life online. I do not have a tv and do everything on my phone. I have a great many photos and when I get a new camera I might want to try video editing. I also have ADHD and have too many tabs open at once and I lack the discipline to deal with things at once.

I don't think the basic 8GB/256GB will be enough but I am basing that on my phone having 256GB of storage and being always full. When I have had laptops in the past they have always run quite slowly after a while.

Any advice please before I make a mistake?

For a Macbook it probably doesn't matter that much. The whole idea is they have thought of everything for you.

I am cheerfully using a ten year old one that doesn't update anymore and it is fine.

Make sure whichever you buy has your preferred screen size, I find the smallest one a bit small.

Thanks. I was going to go for the smallest screen as I will have to carry it around.

8GB of memory (RAM) should be sufficient for the tasks that you mention.

So far as storage, 256GB is usually a bit tight for most people, so I would consider 512GB a minimum.

One factor to consider with Apple products is their back-up and syncing solution, called iCloud. It works fairly transparently and is free up to 50GB
(200GB is £2.99 per month)

It's fairly transparent, and gives you the option of leaving some of the data in the cloud if you wish. So you can often get away with a smaller storage, especially on iPhones.

You can also use iCloud on the web, iPhone or on windows PCs.

Do you have a budget in mind, I may be able to advise as to which model / size to consider?

If portability is important I would consider a 13 or 15 inch MacBook Air with the M2 chip. If you want to edit video, you may find the 15 inch more suitable, unless you're able to plug into a bigger monitor when editing.

MacBooks don't tend to slow down in the same way Windows machines do so you don't need to factor that into memory decisions. It might be cheaper to buy external storage than extra built in memory, if you don't want to rely on cloud storage. I find a MacBook Air sufficient for my needs, and it's the lightest of the options, I think.

I have a voucher code which will cover most of it, which is why I am going for apple. I have £800 in voucher. I don't have loads of spare cash but I would like to top it up myself to get the storage I need. I have cloud storage that I use and I use external storage for some of my photos so I am familiar with both of those but I have a habit of clogging up devices.

You may find it easier to use iCloud, as it integrates really well. Either way, I hope you enjoy your new purchase.

Very lucky. I am currently saving for one. My imac is about 12 years old, although has had a new hard drive. Ive upgraded the ram and its still running at a decent speed, but considering that you cannot upgrade RAM or storage, unless you buy an external hard drive, (cloud excluded), personally when I get one, Ill upgrade both RAM and storage to as much as I can afford, as I'm planning on keeping it long term so will try and future proof as best I can.

I've got 256GB, which is nearly full, but that's mostly my own fault for not utilising the cloud storage enough!

If you can use cloud storage for most things then it's not really a big deal.

They do seem to last far longer than windows PCs, I've just retired a 9 year old MacBook Pro, which was still working fine with a new battery a couple of years ago.

My Windows laptops have usually been unusable after 3-4 years.

The voucher isn't a gift, it's from an insurance company.

I think getting the 512 SSD would give you peace of mind so I’d go with that.

MacBook Pro owner here of ten years and I regret not upgrading the 8GB Ram because in 2016 after one update, it became a little slower and over the next six years it became even slower. It stopped updating in 2020 but other than that, the slowness (still much faster than most ten year old Windows laptops!) and the weight, I’ve had great value from it. I’m saving up for a 16GB MacBook Air M2.

Will you be carrying it about with you when you’re out and about? I guess so if you’re a student. My MBP weighs almost 2 kilos and was a pain in the arse when I was studying in the library and taking notes in lectures, more carrying it with me I mean. So as a PP says, consider a MBA.

Also worth thinking about is that you can’t upgrade your Ram after purchasing the MacBook but you can of course add extra storage. And that I believe only buying directly from Apple can you upgrade both ram and storage.

Yes, that's whats worrying me. I'm unlikely to be in a position to buy anything like this in the coming years so I want to future proof it as much as possible. I'm leaning towards the 16/512. My DS says get the pro but I don't know why he is saying that. He says he would choose the air for himself. I won't be carrying it around all day but it needs to go in a bag to go from A to B. Size is really more of a consideration than weight for me. I study from home so it would only be carried if I was going to study elsewhere for a change of scene. I travel for my photography but in a car, never a plane. And I wouldn't be carrying the laptop while I'm out taking photos.

I would go for the most you can reasonably afford. It will help to future proof it a bit - more memory means more apps can be open at one time and more storage means more space, but also having extra free space vs very little free space also helps things run a bit more quickly. Also if you decide to do photo editing or similar tasks, more RAM would be a bit better. I would get a refurbished one from Apple rather than a new one, as you can get a higher spec for less. Just as good as new. And get it insured for accidental damage on your home insurance!

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Not sure a about all this spam .... but as an IT bod with both a 5y old mac book pro that is still going strong (256GB/32GB) and 2 x win laptops, one high end, one more basic - both 512GB/16GB, you need the 512GB/16GB mem one <gavel>.

I had spade issue with the 256GB macbook pro and ios update sizes etc when I used it for work, I even had memory issues with the lower end win one at work as 16GB wasnt enough for multitasking. My brand new, top of the range win 11 laptop is perfect with 16GB memory but I wouldn't consider 8GB memory. Its just not enough. Things like google chrome will use much of that if you use it!

You'd be fine with 256GB storage because of cloud storage I think if its significantly cheaper, but I dont think it is these days, but 16GB is really the bare minimum memory now unless you are literally just browsing the web and sending emails.

When my 2017 year old MacBook slowed down a couple of years ago I just got the Apple Store to replace the battery and it’s been like new since then

I have loads stored on my MacBook and keep waiting for it to breakdown as it’s used daily for work and Netflix etc but it just keeps going so there’s no point me replacing it yet.

I have transferred a lot into flash drives though because I just don’t use those files anymore.