I have been using Windows since 1994 and never thought I would switch—until now. Recently, I read multiple articles and forum discussions about MacBooks, particularly how both the Air and Pro models have significantly improved performance with Apple’s new "M" series processors.
After extensive research, I decided to give it a try. I found a great deal on a refurbished MacBook Air from Apple, complete with a one-year warranty.
The Apple M3 MacBook Air, equipped with 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, performs exceptionally well—far better than my Dell 7200 i7 with the same RAM and storage configuration.
To put this into perspective:
- DXO PureRaw 3 processes 10 pictures in just 2 minutes on the MacBook, whereas my Intel-based PC takes about 6.6 minutes for the same task.
- Lightroom Classic (LrC) Denoise takes 50 seconds to process a 24MB CR3 file on the M3 MacBook Air, compared to 5 minutes on the Intel PC.
- For years, I hesitated to test Lightroom Classic’s Slideshow feature because, on my Intel PC, rendering a video with my photos took hours. However, on the M3 MacBook Air, I created a slideshow with over 300 pictures in just 15 minutes!
This switch has been a game-changer for my workflow, and I can confidently say I’m glad I made the move.
Note: It seems that this deal was really good because the model that I bought is now Out of Stock.
the M3 MacBook Air blew my mind, and I can only imagine how powerful the M4 MacBook Pro would be.
ReplyDeleteFor work (the job that pays the bills), I still use a Windows laptop because many of the tools I rely on are Windows-based. While these applications can run on a VM in macOS (many of my colleagues do this), cost is always a factor. Migrating my entire workflow to macOS isn’t feasible right now. However, the performance I’m getting from this M3 MacBook Air is incredible—achieving the same level of performance in a Windows laptop would cost $2,000 or more, while I only paid $750 (before taxes) for this MacBook!
I’ve tested Adobe Lightroom Classic, Adobe Photoshop, Topaz Photo AI, and DXO PureRaw 3—all of them run smoothly on this MacBook.
I highly recommend getting 16GB of RAM or more if you can afford the extra $200 for 24GB of RAM. The difference between the MacBook Air and MacBook Pro mainly comes down to cooling. The MacBook Air is fanless, while the MacBook Pro has active cooling. In theory, if the Air reaches a certain temperature, it will start throttling, whereas the Pro’s fans will kick in to maintain peak performance.
That said, in all my testing, throttling has not been an issue, and the MacBook Air has only ever felt warm, never hot. Of course, I’m not a videographer, and video editing is more GPU-intensive. But for occasional short video edits, the MacBook Air handles everything without a problem.
One interesting observation:
When watching YouTube 4K videos for hours, my MacBook Air stays as cool as my iPad.
On my Windows laptop and iPad, YouTube defaults to 1080p as the optimal resolution.
On the MacBook Air, YouTube automatically selects 4K!
If you’re considering a MacBook, do not hesitate to buy a refurbished model from Apple (https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/mac). If I didn’t tell you mine was refurbished, you’d never know. It arrived in a sealed, original box, packed just like a brand-new device. More importantly, it comes with a 1-year warranty—just like a new MacBook!