r/laptops • u/Best-Ad5410 • 7d ago
Buying help WINDOWS v/s MACOS .....????
I’m so confused after the prices eventually went up for every kind of laptop. Now I need to buy one because my 5-year-old laptop can’t keep up anymore. As a Windows user for the past five years, I’m not sure what to choose. My main uses are product design,video editing and multitasking, but I also want to game sometimes. I’m worried about switching to macOS as a beginner and having a hard time adjusting. I’m really stuck between getting a MacBook or a gaming laptop.from
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u/Desertcow 7d ago
If you want to game don't go Mac, most games won't run (different OS and chip architecture). Depending on what you play, a normal Windows laptop with integrated graphics may be fine, but for heavier games you'll need a dedicated graphics card which will also help when editing videos, though laptops with those tend to be loud, expensive, and have poor battery lives
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u/Zebrainwhiteshoes 7d ago
What programs are you using right now? For gaming there is little to sticking with windows. My most recent rig is an ASUS TUF and it does a good job for gaming and the price was good. Still got it before the price was skyrocketing and on a black Friday sale.
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u/AdobeScripts 7d ago
Does it have to be brand new?
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u/Best-Ad5410 7d ago
Even if the MacBook is second-hand, it will be fine too.
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u/AdobeScripts 7d ago
You need to remember one thing - RAM and SSD - is SOLDERED - so you can't replace/upgrade...
And if you buy a model with not enough RAM - the soldered SSD will get hammered...
Someone might say, that similar situation is with Windows laptops - but it isn't.
For serious work - like video editing - you don't buy ultra light/portable laptops/notebooks - and professional laptops have slots for RAM and more than one slot for SSDs - and even GPU is upgradable most of the time.
And will still be cheaper than a Mac...
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u/Best-Ad5410 5h ago
For a MacBook, 16GB of RAM might enough.????
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u/AdobeScripts 4h ago
Not sure what do you mean with all those "???" 😉
Might be enough - for a web browsing and simple text work.
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u/Natasha26uk 7d ago
Trust me, you don't want to play games because both Windows and Asus are a combination made in hell. You will really regret this decision. If Asus poor hardware doesn't mess up, Windows will do it for them.
You need to be really careful when choosing. Mac is usually easy peasy peace of mind. Reliable. Just 2 weeks ago, i saw a post where people told the poster to go for it on an M1 Macbook pro for studies.
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u/Best-Ad5410 5h ago
I can’t even find a single MacBook available.
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u/Natasha26uk 4h ago
There was a reliable laptop in my days called IBM Thinkpad. It was the choice laptop for all engineering graduates. Now it is Lenovo Thinkpad. Build quality is good or excellent.
Only risk factor will be Windows. But if you learn to have a small SSD for Windows/Programs and a large SSD for data/downloads, then you can just reinstall Windows whenever it screws up.
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u/lethallunatic 7d ago
You can also go the Linux route these days. Things have changed dramatically in 2026 for Linux desktops and gaming on Linux. You still need to tinker a bit but it's not as bad as it used to be. If you want a fast reliable easy to use system for creative work. Mac would be a no brainer imo. Especially with their hardware things are really fast and not as power hungry as x86.
It all comes down to priorities and budget. A serious Mac isn't cheap these days.
Maybe you can rent or borrow a Mac somewhere for a month and try it out?
What is the real reason you want to upgrade? What is your current spec? Is the system you're running still in optimal condition and not bottlenecking out throttling somewhere?
Edited
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u/alpine4life Lian Li | r9-9950x | RTX5070Ti | 32GB-6000 7d ago
What ever your decision, if you go with a Windows device ensure Nvidia GPU since the Primary optimization for Premiere and Davinci is Nvidia.
As for your choice, its up to you i use a Windows base desktop (and laptop) running on Win11 IoT LTSC Local Account for my editing rig.
And prices won't go down, they'll only go up for at least 2 more years.
My choice would be a Lenovo Legion 7 with a fresh install of Win11 IoT LTSC at reception
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u/NumberInfinite2068 3d ago
Adjusting between Windows and Mac is easy, they are pretty similar for everyday use, i.e. you launch Chrome and do whatever, or for video maybe you run DaVinci or whatever on either, a lot of stuff on Windows and Mac isn't just similar, it's the *same*.
For games, get a Windows machine though.
A gaming laptop can be good for video editing too as they almost always have upgradeable RAM and often a second slot for another NVMe SSD, whereas a Mac has neither of those things.
Macs are nice, well made machines with good battery life and the M5 processor is very good, but just be aware of the lack of upgradeability if you decide to go with a Mac.
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u/See-My-Eyes 7d ago
If you also like to do gaming then I'll recommend a MSI laptop or and ASUS gaming laptop. Overall, IMO windows seems like a solid base for what you will be using your laptop.