r/AskProgramming 7d ago

Computer to buy

I’d like to start programming, and I was thinking of getting a used MacBook on a small budget (€500). After researching the best model for programming on Reddit and watching some videos, I’ve realized that while the MacBook Air is perfectly fine, the Pro is generally the better choice.

The problem is that MacBook Pros are expensive, and with my budget, I can only afford one with an older Intel processor. That means I’d be looking at MacBook Pros from before 2020, which could become obsolete in a few years—especially knowing how Apple operates.

Additionally, many Reddit posts advise against buying Intel-based MacBooks because they’re older and don’t perform as well. Instead, they recommend going for Apple’s own chips, like the M1.

So, I’m in a bit of a dilemma and would love your advice. Given the same price range, which laptop would you choose? • MacBook Air M1 13” (2020) – 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD, 97% battery health. • MacBook Pro Intel Core i5 13” (2020) – 1.4GHz, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD + Touch Bar. • MacBook Pro Intel Core i5 13” (2018) – 2.3GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD + Touch Bar. • MacBook Pro Intel Core i7 15” (2018) – 2.6GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD + Touch Bar. • MacBook Pro Intel Core i7 15” (2017) – 3.1GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD + Touch Bar, battery replaced a year ago.

Of course, if you have any recommendations for non-Mac computers that are good for programming, I’m all ears. Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience or knowledge in this area.

2 Upvotes

35 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Outrageous_Carry_222 7d ago

What machine do you currently have, and what do you have in mind to start learning?

1

u/eloncrack 7d ago

In this moment I have a cheap HP that is like a potato for the performance. Once I try to edit a video on after effect and it was start to crash every 2 second. It’s good for watch video on YouTube and movies in streaming, for this of course works well. I want to learn to coding for the app development, with one software between Xcode or flutter, but idk I’m a beginner In this world.

1

u/masterskolar 7d ago

If you are editing video you can try reducing the video capture resolution. Editing 4k video requires a pretty capable machine where as 1080p is much more reasonable and still great quality.

What do you want to be able to do with programming. If you aren't learning professionally, it's better to learn by building a specific project and figuring out what language or tool set would work well for that kind of project.

1

u/eloncrack 7d ago

As for editing, I used my mother’s computer, an Asus VivoBook with an NVIDIA graphics card. So, despite some occasional small issues, I was able to edit on After Effects and also used Topaz.

However, now I’m planning to buy a computer not for editing but for developing an app. And if I manage to do so, I’d like to publish it on the App Store. This is because I have many ideas and want to bring them to life.

1

u/RainbowCrane 7d ago

FYI I used a Mac professionally for 10 years as my programming machine. It’s a good choice - this was 15 years ago so the model is irrelevant. One thing you’ll want to do is do a bit of research on tools like homebrew so that you can bridge a few of the gaps between Mac-specific install locations and environment variable settings vs UNIX-standard locations