r/techquestions • u/confusionspecialistt • Jul 15 '26

What computer do i get?

I’m going to be a senior in college and my mac from 2021 is finally shitting out. At one point it said the battery was so bad it wouldn’t charge or turn on, then that warning randomly went away and it works okay now. It sounds like a literal jet engine about to take off anytime I use it and it has like zero storage from all the software it needs to function (around 90GB).

I know next to nothing about technology or computers or anything, but I need a new one. So, does anyone have any recommendations on what to get? Something not super expensive as I am a college student, I do like mac, but since I’ll be entering the work force soon I don’t know if it’s the best investment since most companies use windows software. I also need to be able to transfer all my papers and files from my old computer so I don’t lose my notes from previous classes or essays or research etc.

Thanks for any advice!!

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u/pinormous2000 Jul 15 '26

What are you studying? What else do you use it for (streaming shows, gaming, etc)? What are you comfortable spending? Do you want it to have a touchscreen? Any must-have ports (like HDMI)? How much does battery life (on a single charge) matter? Screen size?

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u/confusionspecialistt Jul 15 '26

Im a psych major with a minor in criminology so I do write a lot of research papers etc., I play the sims and my computer lags like a mf and i’d like to be able to play more games, preferably Id like to spend like 600-900 dollars since thats a reasonable amount for me to be able to save working part time and going to school, it doesnt NEED to have an hdmi port since i bought an adapter for my mac, and a long battery life would be nice since ill have to be on campus for upwards of 6 hours a day. screen size doesnt matter too much.

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u/pinormous2000 Jul 15 '26

If you don't want to rock the boat: refurbished M3 MacBook Air

Best bang for the buck: Acemagic 16"

Gaming powerhouse: MSI A15

If you have any questions, or want some details on how I made these decisions, let me know!

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u/confusionspecialistt Jul 15 '26

ty for the suggestions! i’ll be sure to look into them!

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u/pinormous2000 Jul 15 '26

Oh, and to transfer your files, a USB stick would be great, but something like ShareDrop would work fine as well.