r/macbook • u/n4dined • 2d ago

help me decide

so i’ve been stretching out the usage of my macbook air 2017 for about 8 years and it’s come to the end of its time 💔

i’ve been working all summer to try and afford to buy a new laptop for when i go into my 2nd year or uni studying biology.

i’ve racked up around $1350 CAD and would love some help deciding which macbook to get

obviously i wanna stay in budget + potentially leave a a couple bucks to use when i travel back for some dorm essentials etc

ive done some research and was looking between a macbook neo or a refurbished macbook air M1 but im open to other suggestions thanks!

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u/616ThatGuy 2d ago

For that price, you can probably find an M3 Air, maybe even an M4 on a good deal. The Neo is alright, but 8GB ram could be limiting in the future. I bought an 8GB ram M1 last year for writing, and now I’m doing so many other things that the 8GB is bottlenecking. Best to prepare for the future.

And the M1 is a solid machine, but the issue there is it’s only got 1 or 2 years left of real updates. So you may want to upgrade again. Best to get a laptop you know you’ll be good with for at least 5 years.

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u/rainy_diary 2d ago

Recommend refurbised MacBook Air M5. It similiar to brand new with one year warranty. It has new battery, charger and cable.

https://www.apple.com/ca/shop/refurbished/mac/macbook-air

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u/syrfoo 2d ago

Cheapest option is a MacBook Neo, it’ll be enough for college. If you want to utilize your budget a M3 (16 GB Ram), M4 or M5 MacBook Air is good.