My macbook pro (from early 2011) just broke. I thought it was a RAM issue but it's not. I have a feeling it might not be worth repairing. In short I want a new laptop.
I would really love to get the cheapest macbook this time round (with the plan of going all out few years down the line). But, I have no clue when it comes to what different spec might mean.
Is macbook air a good laptop for programming? At the moment I'm all about node development, but regardless of what programming language I explore (say mobile development) is it a good laptop?
The cheap version is £949 (fantastic price)
1.8GHz Processor
128GB Storage
1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
128GB SSD storage1
Intel HD Graphics 6000
The other version is £1099
1.8GHz Processor
256GB Storage
1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 memory
256GB SSD storage1
Intel HD Graphics 6000
I have a strong feeling the storage of 128GB is too small.
I still want to get an apple product but would love to go as cheap as possible, but still not regret it
Any suggestion is greatly appreciated
Oldest comments (61)
What about a refurbished model?
Sometimes you can find great deals on a 1, 2 or 3 year old mac with high specs costing less than the equivalent new model.
Also, check this: marco.org/2017/11/14/best-laptop-ever
Dell XPS 13 developer edition is the best for programming
Only the 4K-model. The FullHD matte screen model have a "feature" called something like Dynamic Brightness or Dynamic Contrast. It lowers the background light when there's a predominantly dark picture on the screen, which is probably nice for movies, but terrible for reading light text on a dark background.
The "feature" can be disabled from Windows on the 4K system, but not on other system-combinations.
That has been fixed since the beginning of this year.
Nice, and about time!
Not that I don't believe you, but do you have a source?
Sure thing! Have the straight link to the patch here :)
That's probably why we haven't seen anyone complaining about this issue lately
Nice! I bought a Dell XPS 13 FHD last year, but returned it due to the screen issues... ended up buying a Macbook Pro on Black Friday instead (fix weren't available then).
I downloaded the patch and extracted this the PanelFWConfig.ini from the root of the exe-file. As far as I can see, it lists the compatible models:
QHDDBCOnFolder = 9343\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC on
QHDDBCOffFolder = 9343\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC off
QHDDBCOnFolder = 9350\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC on
QHDDBCOffFolder = 9350\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC off
FHDDBCOnFolder =
FHDDBCOffFolder =
QHDDBCOnFolder =
QHDDBCOffFolder =
FHDDBCOnFolder = 9550_5510\FHD_DBC_enable
FHDDBCOffFolder = 9550_5510\FHD_DBC_disable
QHDDBCOnFolder =
QHDDBCOffFolder =
FHDDBCOnFolder = 9550_5510\FHD_DBC_enable
FHDDBCOffFolder = 9550_5510\FHD_DBC_disable
QHDDBCOnFolder = 9350\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC on
QHDDBCOffFolder = 9350\DP_Rework_ToolV17 - CABC off
FHDDBCOnFolder = 9350\NT71395 FHD CABC on
FHDDBCOffFolder = 9350\NT71395 FHD CABC off
QHDDBCOnFolder = 9365\QHD_DBC_enable
QHDDBCOffFolder = 9365\QHD_DBC_disable
FHDDBCOnFolder = 9365\FHD_DBC_enable
FHDDBCOffFolder = 9365\FHD_DBC_disable
QHDDBCOnFolder =
QHDDBCOffFolder =
FHDDBCOnFolder = LGDANX2602\LGD_DBC_ON_20170915
FHDDBCOffFolder = LGDANX2602\LGD_DBC_OFF_20170915
That's basically all the recent models, except the newest one, which I believe is already patched out of the box.
If I can't find one the current MacBook Pro is good right? I was thinking of saving bit of cash only if it was possible.
Also would there be a way to connect my VGA monitor to these MacBooks (I'll ask them at the store but just wondering)
I'm a loony and I have the Macbook with the CD drive in it still. Got it in 2015. I like programming on it.
I had a Macbook Air a while back too, but there were some things I didn't like about it:
If portability is your concern then the retina MacBook Pro's aren't too bad still. Not as thin as an Air but still pretty portable.
If pricing is your concern, you could try to get a Mac Mini? You could reuse any of the peripherals you had with your old Mac but in a desktop form? New ones are only like $500 so that could be a good cheap option?
At the moment price is my concern.
Did you code with MacBook Air , are there any problems in that area ? As the 3 problems you mentioned I can live with.
I haven't even considered Mac mini
Thanks
Writing code wasn't bad honestly, but the limited space made it difficult for me to have all the SDKs and tools I'd want to develop with installed all at once.
Did you have the 126gb one. I'm thinking of getting the 256gb. Plus I have external harddrive and use git obviously.
I feel like am getting mixed reviews and I have no idea whether I should get the Air or tighten my belt and get the pro
I did work with a Macbook air 11'' as a web developer and didn't had any troubles. The major issue for me was the 4gb of ram in mine. It was limiting but I could get stuff done. And while working I would have an external monitor because 11'' was too little for full time working. But for doing things on the go, it was awesome.
Oh yea, I forgot how little RAM mine had! Lol
I have the external monitor and an external drive and the current model of MBA has 8gb ram so I really can't see why people are saying is bad choice
I'll just say that the lack of escape key is, in fact, annoying.
2016+ Macbook Pro Escape <3
But then how do you exit vim? How do Apple users live like this?!?!
Remap caps lock? Why haven’t you done this yet?
But then how do I spam? Removing keys from the keyboard is madness, MADNESS I say!
Remap jj as esc ? I like it..
I've developed using XCode for years on a late 2012 13" MBP.
Recently I "upgraded" to a 2014 15" MBP. The extra screen real estate is lovely. I spend considerably less time twiddling and resizing code/property/tree/storyboard panes. My recomendation to you - get 15" if you can.
I had Macbook AIr model of 2013, with 8gb of memory and 128 gb ssd. didn't had any problems programming ruby + js. Everything was running smooth and quick. One major plus of it against macbook pro of similar year was weight! It really makes the difference.
When I switched project I had to use Windows with Parallels. There I had 2 problems:
My recommendation is refubrished/used macbook pro 2015. It's reasonable price and have all the ports needed.
I currently own macbook 2016 with touch bar, and I'm pretty sure touchbar and 4 usb-c ports are not worth the money.
In any case Retina is a must for programming needs
I can't seem to find a used macbook pro, would you recommend the current macbook air
Only if you budget can't stretch. After trying retina, I think it's a must for a programmers or other people who work a lot with text
UK Apple refurbs: apple.com/uk/shop/browse/home/spec...
Our lead dev had been developing on a macbook air for a while, seemed to be more than fine even when compiling swift+obj-c projects. He only replaced it very recently since his the battery crapped out and wanted a shiny new toy :)
I'd say 128gb is too small but SSDs are only getting cheaper, you could probably get 250gb external SSD for <=£200 if you decide you still need more. (I forget, do MBA have SD cards? They would be a nice expansion option too if you don't want to carry an SSD around).
I have external hard drives that might help me with that problem
I currently own the Macbook Pro 13" 2017 with minimum specs: 128GB of storage + 8GB of RAM, and my storage usage is about 80-85Gbs after installing all the tools I use (Rider (.NET IDE), Android Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, VS Code, Docker, MySQL, DataGrip, NodeJS, and other regular apps).
Your concern about 128GBs actually makes sense. Due to college, I need to use some Microsoft tools and using Parallels to have a decent experience left me with about 3-5GBs left of storage (which is about the same if when I tried running other VM players). This is my specific scenario, so I think you should be good if that is not one of your needs.
MacBook Pro 2017 2.9 GHz 16GB Ram, 512GB SDD, 4Gb Ram Video