u/GoodLittleTerrorist

If no one presents one, I'll make one. I'd love a fellow mod.

I got a new job, and a friend advised I "take 25% of the first paycheck and f**k off with it. Get what you want." That's about $700.I want a Macbook. I want a good laptop with decent battery life that's quiet. My primary uses will be to learn SQL and ArcGIS.

options I've considered:

$0 iPad Pro 11" that I already own

$400 Macbook Pro 2019 i9 32gb 512ssd that a friend has

$350-$450 Macbook Air 2020 M1 (on Swappa)

$500 Macbook Neo brand new. Main reservation here is that 8gb ram would fail to run ArcGIS.

Those are just the options I've really considered. I'd prefer not to use the full $700, but I'm absolutely willing to invest in the best machine I can afford if it will last. I'll take any input.