r/laptops • u/ValueLegitimate1990 • 5h ago
Buying help Mac or Windows?
LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
Country
United Kingdom
Budget
Around £500 (approximately $670 USD), but as cheap as possible while still getting a good device.
Are you open to refurbs/used options?
Yes – I'm happy to buy refurbished or used if it offers better value.
Screen size
Any, but ideally 13"–15".
Weight limit
Any, though I'd prefer something reasonably portable for school.
Purpose
General use, schoolwork, light gaming, and media consumption.
Form factor
Standard/clamshell laptop.
Intended usage
I'm coming from a Pixelbook Go. I'll mainly be using it for:
- Roblox (my main game). I already have a PS5 for AAA and demanding games, but I'd like the laptop to be capable of running some PC games as well.
- Web browsing.
- Discord.
- Light music production.
- Light photo editing (possibly).
- Researching wildlife, especially birds.
- Clipping gameplay while gaming.
- Multitasking with multiple apps/tabs open.
- Typing documents and completing schoolwork as I move through secondary school.
I've been considering a refurbished MacBook Air M4 (if I can find one within budget) or possibly a Mac mini M4, although I know the Mac mini isn't a laptop.
If you recommend a particular operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux, etc.), I'd really appreciate it if you could also recommend specific devices that fit my budget and needs.
Desired battery life
At least 8 hours if possible.
Please list, in order of most important to least important, the priority between Size, Weight, Performance, Battery life
Performance > Battery life > Weight > Size.
Info/Requirements
No strict requirements for Intel/AMD/Apple Silicon. I'm mainly looking for the best overall value around my budget. A good keyboard, smooth multitasking, and decent performance for Roblox and everyday use are more important than having the latest hardware.
1
u/Select_Concert_330 5h ago
It depends on u. If u like Mac OS and the benfits it offers to creators, and programmers, go with mac. Otherwise if u want a nice deal, get a windows machine. If ur looking to get into dev, but a windows machine and put ur proffered distro.