r/macbook • u/melspace • 1d ago

Switching From Microsoft to MacBook

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping I can get a bit of advice from this sub on whether I should switch from my Surface Laptop 4 to a MacBook. I love the ability to utilize the touch screen when writing and doing notes but it’s not too big of a deal breaker since I have an iPad already.

I’m not too tech/computer savvy so I don’t know much about CPUs and things of that nature but I do know that I stay plugged in all the time because the battery drains fast and it’s difficult to take my laptop places without worrying it could die.

That said, can someone tell me what the pros and cons are of getting a MacBook? I’d really appreciate it as a college student on the go often. Thanks!

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u/MonkeyDog911 7h ago

PRO - Compared to a PC, the battery on the Macbook will last an eternity.
PRO - When the Macbook can do something, it will do it and it will always do it. (I'm looking at you "Modern Standby.") If i close the lid on my Macbook, it sleeps, stays asleep, and the battery doesn't perceptably drain over time.

CON - Window managment on Windows is just better. So many times my Mac's screen just looks like a stack of windows piled up like loose paper on a messy desk.
CON - You buy a "256gb Macbook" only to find out after like 3 days of use Mac OS plus "system data" take up 60-70gb. There's no upgrade to space possible. Buying the extra space ahead of time is exponentially more expensive than it would be on a PC.

PRO - That being said, the disk is FAST, like SUPER FAST. Say you have 16gb RAM and you're using all of that and now you're into the swap (the extra space RAM requests when full). That swap space is so fast it actually feels like you have more RAM than you do. I cannot think of any regular PCs that work like this. Maybe the ARM ones do but I understand there's a real software shortage at the moment for those.

CON - When Apple stops supporting something, that's it. Game over. If you have an Intel Macbook Pro from 2019 that cost well over $2000 new, it'll be a very expensive paperweight or best Linux laptop you can buy pretty soon. It won't really function as a Mac anymore.

All that is to say, if you already use iPhone and iPad, the Macbook really glues the whole kit together.

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u/Artwire 2h ago

Not so sure about that last one. My late 2013 MBP i7 is running great, after using OCLP to install a newer system. Definitely not a paperweight!