I am currently a college student going to school for computer engineering (which is a hybrid between computer science and electrical engineering) and I need to get a new laptop. I am familiar with both operating systems so the transfer wouldn’t be any major issues.

onHowever, the issue comes in when deciding what MacBook I need, which is why I am turning here. I have researched the new M3 chips extensively, and it’s nearly a 50/50 between “save your money and get an m2” versus “this chip is awesome.”

I am lost here and need some advice on what chip is the right move. Also, I have a Windows desktop at my home that can provide any Windows-specific software required.

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I appreciate your help in advance, thanks guys!

  • Relevant_Plane_2449@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    If you can afford , ger the M3 model, but it depends what softwares you’re gonna need, cause some of em are not available on Mac OS.

  • steven-aziz@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Here’s my advice as a Senior Undergraduate Computer Science student and Tier II Service Technician at Apple (a bit biased, I know): get a Mac. If you have the money, a 14" MacBook Pro with M3 Pro, 18 GB of memory, and 512 GB SSD. You won’t regret it. Coming from a Windows PC (a high-end one), I’ve never once thought about switching back. The Mac will outlive the PC in many ways and last a full day of moderate to heavy use. The number of peers in my program who tell me they’re considering a Mac but never buy one and yet complain about how slow or buggy their PC is is astounding.

    If you can’t afford a MacBook Pro, buy a MacBook Air with the M3 chip (at least M2) and 16GB of memory (DO NOT buy 8GB).

    You can thank me after you graduate with a 3.5+ GPA :)

  • InvestingNerd2020@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Just check with your engineering department to see if there will be software that doesn’t run on MacOS. Some colleges still use software that only works on Windows PC.

    Edit: Get an M1 MacBook Pro 14-inch to save money and get good quality if the college doesn’t have software limitations.

  • Relevant_Plane_2449@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    If you can afford , ger the M3 model, but it depends what softwares you’re gonna need, cause some of em are not available on Mac OS.

  • InvestingNerd2020@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Just check with your engineering department to see if there will be software that doesn’t run on MacOS. Some colleges still use software that only works on Windows PC.

    Edit: Get an M1 MacBook Pro 14-inch to save money and get good quality if the college doesn’t have software limitations.

  • gtd_rad@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I took computer engineering as well although it’s been like 12 years… Anyways you’ll likely be using Matlab which apparently is pretty well supported. There may be other software tools you need to use but that will generally be tied to specific hardware you won’t be able to use other than at the lab anyways such as specific IDE’s or FPGA development tools etc.

    I wouldn’t be too worried too much honestly.

  • gtd_rad@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    I took computer engineering as well although it’s been like 12 years… Anyways you’ll likely be using Matlab which apparently is pretty well supported. There may be other software tools you need to use but that will generally be tied to specific hardware you won’t be able to use other than at the lab anyways such as specific IDE’s or FPGA development tools etc.

    I wouldn’t be too worried too much honestly.