So my current laptop is dying. I did a couple of checks, and it’s 16Gb of Ram is not particularly troubled by Dorico, but it’s 8th gen Intel i5 processor struggles with large files and multiple flows.
So, with a budget of £1000, what am I better off getting? I will use it for Dorico, and nearly nothing else except standard internet and email use.
Options are:
12th gen i5 laptop with 16Gb ram
12th gen i7 laptop with 16Gb ram
MacBook air with M1 processor and the base specs, more or less.
Any thoughts?
Even though it’s the poverty spec Mac?
The M1 processor is extremely capable and works like a charm with Dorico. Search for Dorico benchmarks on this forum.
Assuming you have no preference between using macOS and Windows; and no costs in terms of switching software and data from one platform to the other: the base M1 MBA is very capable.
Geekbench CPU scores put the MBA M1 at 2332 / 8298; which is probably between the i5 and the i7 12th gen.
Apple Silicon seems to do very well with even 8Gb of RAM: it has quite aggressive memory compression; and swap to the (very fast) disk is managed efficiently.
However, Dorico is a ‘pro’ app, and needs a bit more RAM, if you’re going to do anything of size; or use third-party sample libraries; – or use it while you’re also checking the internet for stuff and writing things in Word. So, if you can spring for the extra 16Gb, I’d strongly recommend it.
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