My family say I’m stupid for not wanting to spend more than £1.1k on a laptop

My family are really annoying me.
They keep pressuring me and calling me a stupid for not wanting to spend more than £1.1K on a MacBook for uni when I’ve never used a laptop in my life and know nothing about them.

I’ve researched them a little to see what would be budget friendly for me and originally wanted a cheaper laptop between £600-£900 but was convinced by their pestering that all laptops other than apple are crap and thought since I don’t know anything about laptops maybe I’m being stupid and don’t understand anything so I began researching MacBooks but didn’t want to spend more than £1.1k (increased my budget thanks to their criticisms and constantly calling me stupid since they have experience with computers and I don’t). I didn’t want the new m3 as it was more expensive and my older brother called me stupid and dumb and said I **** him off and I was like bruh you acting like I’m making you pay for the laptop or use it, like I only asked for advice.

Later I texted him saying I’ll just buy an iPad and use the laptops they let us borrow at uni in the library if I have to and he told me to k myself :l

My family keeps saying M3 is so so much better and will last longer than M2 and I’m an idiot for not wanting to spend another hundred quid and it’s nothing. Well, when buying an expensive MacBook another £100 seems like nothing but for me £100 is a lot and can be spent on so many other things, I just started uni and this is kinda frustrating because I wanna get a device to make notes on but I don’t wanna spend my life savings at the same time 😭

I then went to my dad for advice and decided I’ll get the m2 MacBook Air with 8ram and 512gb and he said that is not enough storage and also said get m3 cos it lasts longer and is more advanced and also get more ram

(maybe they’re right cos I do not understand computers at all but I’m pretty sure not every student spends over a grand on laptops??)

I cringed at the price and my dad said I got dumber after leaving school (cos I did pretty bad with A level chemistry and got a D but did very well on GCSEs and also cringed at the price of a new phone cos they also wanted me to buy the latest then which was over 1k too and I was 16) and he said people like me are miserable and depressed and obsessed with saving money. And my mom start telling me off too and calling me a cheapskate and told me to follow my brother’s advice.

I just didn’t wanna waste money that took me so long to save and splash it at once 😭😭😭 I wanted to budget and save but alright I guess.

Anyway it kinda sucks being called stupid and criticised for not wanting to spend my life savings on a laptop when I don’t even know much about laptops.

But I also don’t want to make the wrong decision and buy something cheap that’ll make uni tougher or break.

I was thinking of getting an iPad Air m2 11 inch (for economics btw) and using computers at the library if I have to. And an Apple Pencil pro which would be around £700. And I’d love to use it for art. (But I heard they have really bad battery).

Or getting a 8gb ram 512gb m2 MacBook Air which would be around £1100.

Now I have no idea if either are even the right option and whether I should just get m3 so my family stops criticising me. I don’t really understand m2 or m3 or the difference so maybe they’re right but damn.

I’m gonna be honest. I’m bad at making decisions. I’m a really indecisive person. I have no idea what to do. I should follow their advice buy damn that’s a lot of money 😞

I have no clue what to get, does anyone have any advice? Should I just get the m3?

Reply 1

N1.GOAT

Theres definitely capable laptops for less than 1.1k, Hp offer student discount for example

Reply 2

TNGFR

Your family sound like snobbish d*ckheads with the way they're talking to you, especially when even an M1 MacBook Air is going to be more than enough power for an economics undergrad.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 3

Afhmrrh

Original post by Anonymous

My family are really annoying me.
They keep pressuring me and calling me a stupid for not wanting to spend more than £1.1K on a MacBook for uni when I’ve never used a laptop in my life and know nothing about them.
I’ve researched them a little to see what would be budget friendly for me and originally wanted a cheaper laptop between £600-£900 but was convinced by their pestering that all laptops other than apple are crap and thought since I don’t know anything about laptops maybe I’m being stupid and don’t understand anything so I began researching MacBooks but didn’t want to spend more than £1.1k (increased my budget thanks to their criticisms and constantly calling me stupid since they have experience with computers and I don’t). I didn’t want the new m3 as it was more expensive and my older brother called me stupid and dumb and said I **** him off and I was like bruh you acting like I’m making you pay for the laptop or use it, like I only asked for advice.
Later I texted him saying I’ll just buy an iPad and use the laptops they let us borrow at uni in the library if I have to and he told me to k myself :l
My family keeps saying M3 is so so much better and will last longer than M2 and I’m an idiot for not wanting to spend another hundred quid and it’s nothing. Well, when buying an expensive MacBook another £100 seems like nothing but for me £100 is a lot and can be spent on so many other things, I just started uni and this is kinda frustrating because I wanna get a device to make notes on but I don’t wanna spend my life savings at the same time 😭
I then went to my dad for advice and decided I’ll get the m2 MacBook Air with 8ram and 512gb and he said that is not enough storage and also said get m3 cos it lasts longer and is more advanced and also get more ram
(maybe they’re right cos I do not understand computers at all but I’m pretty sure not every student spends over a grand on laptops??)
I cringed at the price and my dad said I got dumber after leaving school (cos I did pretty bad with A level chemistry and got a D but did very well on GCSEs and also cringed at the price of a new phone cos they also wanted me to buy the latest then which was over 1k too and I was 16) and he said people like me are miserable and depressed and obsessed with saving money. And my mom start telling me off too and calling me a cheapskate and told me to follow my brother’s advice.
I just didn’t wanna waste money that took me so long to save and splash it at once 😭😭😭 I wanted to budget and save but alright I guess.
Anyway it kinda sucks being called stupid and criticised for not wanting to spend my life savings on a laptop when I don’t even know much about laptops.
But I also don’t want to make the wrong decision and buy something cheap that’ll make uni tougher or break.
I was thinking of getting an iPad Air m2 11 inch (for economics btw) and using computers at the library if I have to. And an Apple Pencil pro which would be around £700. And I’d love to use it for art. (But I heard they have really bad battery).
Or getting a 8gb ram 512gb m2 MacBook Air which would be around £1100.
Now I have no idea if either are even the right option and whether I should just get m3 so my family stops criticising me. I don’t really understand m2 or m3 or the difference so maybe they’re right but damn.
I’m gonna be honest. I’m bad at making decisions. I’m a really indecisive person. I have no idea what to do. I should follow their advice buy damn that’s a lot of money 😞
I have no clue what to get, does anyone have any advice? Should I just get the m3?

Mum* not mom

Reply 4

Dunnig Kruger

What experience does your family have when it comes to IT procurement?
Or IT support?

You are so so right to want to spend less than £1100 on a laptop.
They are so so wrong for telling you to spend more than £1100 on a laptop.

You haven't mentioned your mobility profile. That's as good a place as any for starting to establish what laptop you should buy.
The right laptop for a student that's built like Tyson Fury would not be the right laptop for a student built like Ariana Grande.
The bigger the better for working on. The smaller the better for carrying around.
Someone transporting their laptop by car with short walks with the laptop from wherever they park their car, is a different kettle of fish to someone with a 2 mile walk to campus every day.

Tell me your mobility profile and I can give you specific laptop recommendations.

Whilst Apple M2's and M3's are nice machines in some ways, in others they're not all that.
Modern Linux, eg Debian with KDE Plasma makes macOS look crap in several key respects.
Windows 10 and 11 are pretty pants, but you can install Linux for free on any Windows laptop.
Dell Precision (7xx0 series) mobile workstation laptops make Apple M3's look crap in several respects.
As do HP 830, 840, 850 laptops.
Apple's policy of soldered RAM, soldered SSD's, glued in batteries is terrible from a longevity and future repair point of view.
With a properly engineered laptop, one with a removable SSD, if you ever need more storage space, you just go and buy a bigger SSD and install it.

A great way to shut your family up, would be for you to buy a fully working used premium business laptop for £150ish.
And for you to use that to support your studies and for personal use. And to chuckle to yourself whenever you remember how little you paid for it.
Your parents are so so wrong for calling you a cheapskate.

A key question for happiness and contentment in life is "What else?"
EG what else could I do with my time apart from what I'm doing now? If it's something better, do that.
EG what else could you buy apart from a new M2 or M3? If it's something worse in some ways, better in some ways and overall at least as good for what you will be doing on it, that costs £180; buy that!

Another key for happiness and contentment in life is to get on well with the people around you. One factor in doing that is in not being negative and criticising the people around you, especially when they don't deserve criticism.

A laptop is a tool for job. It makes sense to spend as little as you can on your tools, whilst still having great tools for what you will be doing with them.

You have my moral support in fighting against the overbearing ignorant interference of your family.

Reply 5

yra.70

you absolutely do not need to spend an insane amount of money on a laptop. although I do have a macbook pro (m2 pro chip), not everyone needs something like it as I mostly use it to code.
if you're not doing a subject that requires lots of computational power, an iPad + stylus should be more than enough for daily use. lots of my friends use that and a Bluetooth keyboard as a laptop replacement. samsung also has some really nice tablets that are cheaper than ipads + apple sell refurbished products if you're set on getting something from them.

Reply 6

Dunnig Kruger

Original post by yra.70

Do you have colleagues that are doing similar coding to you on laptops that they got for less than £200 and on which they're running Linux?

Reply 7

Ciel.

they are right. macbooks are just built different. it will literally last you years, they never freeze, almost never get viruses etc

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 8

Dunnig Kruger

Original post by Ciel.

they are right. macbooks are just built different. it will literally last you years, they never freeze, almost never get viruses etc

Do you know anyone that's bought a used premium business laptop? For example, a Dell Precision 7xx0 mobile workstation? Or an HP 830, 840 or 850?

Do you know anyone that's running Linux on their laptop or desktop PC?

Reply 9

lai_unknown_la

Original post by Anonymous

My family are really annoying me.
They keep pressuring me and calling me a stupid for not wanting to spend more than £1.1K on a MacBook for uni when I’ve never used a laptop in my life and know nothing about them.
I’ve researched them a little to see what would be budget friendly for me and originally wanted a cheaper laptop between £600-£900 but was convinced by their pestering that all laptops other than apple are crap and thought since I don’t know anything about laptops maybe I’m being stupid and don’t understand anything so I began researching MacBooks but didn’t want to spend more than £1.1k (increased my budget thanks to their criticisms and constantly calling me stupid since they have experience with computers and I don’t). I didn’t want the new m3 as it was more expensive and my older brother called me stupid and dumb and said I **** him off and I was like bruh you acting like I’m making you pay for the laptop or use it, like I only asked for advice.
Later I texted him saying I’ll just buy an iPad and use the laptops they let us borrow at uni in the library if I have to and he told me to k myself :l
My family keeps saying M3 is so so much better and will last longer than M2 and I’m an idiot for not wanting to spend another hundred quid and it’s nothing. Well, when buying an expensive MacBook another £100 seems like nothing but for me £100 is a lot and can be spent on so many other things, I just started uni and this is kinda frustrating because I wanna get a device to make notes on but I don’t wanna spend my life savings at the same time 😭
I then went to my dad for advice and decided I’ll get the m2 MacBook Air with 8ram and 512gb and he said that is not enough storage and also said get m3 cos it lasts longer and is more advanced and also get more ram
(maybe they’re right cos I do not understand computers at all but I’m pretty sure not every student spends over a grand on laptops??)
I cringed at the price and my dad said I got dumber after leaving school (cos I did pretty bad with A level chemistry and got a D but did very well on GCSEs and also cringed at the price of a new phone cos they also wanted me to buy the latest then which was over 1k too and I was 16) and he said people like me are miserable and depressed and obsessed with saving money. And my mom start telling me off too and calling me a cheapskate and told me to follow my brother’s advice.
I just didn’t wanna waste money that took me so long to save and splash it at once 😭😭😭 I wanted to budget and save but alright I guess.
Anyway it kinda sucks being called stupid and criticised for not wanting to spend my life savings on a laptop when I don’t even know much about laptops.
But I also don’t want to make the wrong decision and buy something cheap that’ll make uni tougher or break.
I was thinking of getting an iPad Air m2 11 inch (for economics btw) and using computers at the library if I have to. And an Apple Pencil pro which would be around £700. And I’d love to use it for art. (But I heard they have really bad battery).
Or getting a 8gb ram 512gb m2 MacBook Air which would be around £1100.
Now I have no idea if either are even the right option and whether I should just get m3 so my family stops criticising me. I don’t really understand m2 or m3 or the difference so maybe they’re right but damn.
I’m gonna be honest. I’m bad at making decisions. I’m a really indecisive person. I have no idea what to do. I should follow their advice buy damn that’s a lot of money 😞
I have no clue what to get, does anyone have any advice? Should I just get the m3?

I'd defo recommend the HP Envy x360 16-ad0004na Convertible Laptop. It costs about £750 (last time i checked) and it comes with a pen plus it can convert into an ipad when needed

Reply 10

Ciel.

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

Do you know anyone that's bought a used premium business laptop? For example, a Dell Precision 7xx0 mobile workstation? Or an HP 830, 840 or 850?
Do you know anyone that's running Linux on their laptop or desktop PC?

my boyfriend had one of the dell laptops for work—not sure which model, but it was a pretty pricey one. he ended up crashing it against the wall in a fit of rage, haha. he's now an apple fanboy.
i'm sure linux works great for some people but os and windows are more mainstream and less technical i think, like for an average person

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 11

Dunnig Kruger

Original post by Ciel.

Do you think a macbook would have survived the same smash against the wall?

Linux with KDE Plasma or Gnome are easier to use for the average person than Windows 10 and 11. Due to Gnome and KDE having better default settings, a more intuitive interface, that's easier to customise, less annoying features, such as the horrible Windows Updates.

EG Debian with KDE Plasma detects networked printers and installs them automatically with no user input required. With Windows 10 or 11 you're looking at faffing around telling the computer to search for printers and telling Windows to add them as print queues. And who was the moron at Microsoft that buried the printer install and setup menu behind an option labelled "Bluetooth & devices"? How unintuitive is that?!

20 years ago Linux was more for the techie types. Modern Linux has come on a long way since those times.

macOS and Windows are more mainstream than Linux because of the huge marketing spending of Apple and Microsoft and inertia.

Reply 12

Issy783

Original post by Anonymous

My family are really annoying me.
They keep pressuring me and calling me a stupid for not wanting to spend more than £1.1K on a MacBook for uni when I’ve never used a laptop in my life and know nothing about them.
I’ve researched them a little to see what would be budget friendly for me and originally wanted a cheaper laptop between £600-£900 but was convinced by their pestering that all laptops other than apple are crap and thought since I don’t know anything about laptops maybe I’m being stupid and don’t understand anything so I began researching MacBooks but didn’t want to spend more than £1.1k (increased my budget thanks to their criticisms and constantly calling me stupid since they have experience with computers and I don’t). I didn’t want the new m3 as it was more expensive and my older brother called me stupid and dumb and said I **** him off and I was like bruh you acting like I’m making you pay for the laptop or use it, like I only asked for advice.
Later I texted him saying I’ll just buy an iPad and use the laptops they let us borrow at uni in the library if I have to and he told me to k myself :l
My family keeps saying M3 is so so much better and will last longer than M2 and I’m an idiot for not wanting to spend another hundred quid and it’s nothing. Well, when buying an expensive MacBook another £100 seems like nothing but for me £100 is a lot and can be spent on so many other things, I just started uni and this is kinda frustrating because I wanna get a device to make notes on but I don’t wanna spend my life savings at the same time 😭
I then went to my dad for advice and decided I’ll get the m2 MacBook Air with 8ram and 512gb and he said that is not enough storage and also said get m3 cos it lasts longer and is more advanced and also get more ram
(maybe they’re right cos I do not understand computers at all but I’m pretty sure not every student spends over a grand on laptops??)
I cringed at the price and my dad said I got dumber after leaving school (cos I did pretty bad with A level chemistry and got a D but did very well on GCSEs and also cringed at the price of a new phone cos they also wanted me to buy the latest then which was over 1k too and I was 16) and he said people like me are miserable and depressed and obsessed with saving money. And my mom start telling me off too and calling me a cheapskate and told me to follow my brother’s advice.
I just didn’t wanna waste money that took me so long to save and splash it at once 😭😭😭 I wanted to budget and save but alright I guess.
Anyway it kinda sucks being called stupid and criticised for not wanting to spend my life savings on a laptop when I don’t even know much about laptops.
But I also don’t want to make the wrong decision and buy something cheap that’ll make uni tougher or break.
I was thinking of getting an iPad Air m2 11 inch (for economics btw) and using computers at the library if I have to. And an Apple Pencil pro which would be around £700. And I’d love to use it for art. (But I heard they have really bad battery).
Or getting a 8gb ram 512gb m2 MacBook Air which would be around £1100.
Now I have no idea if either are even the right option and whether I should just get m3 so my family stops criticising me. I don’t really understand m2 or m3 or the difference so maybe they’re right but damn.
I’m gonna be honest. I’m bad at making decisions. I’m a really indecisive person. I have no idea what to do. I should follow their advice buy damn that’s a lot of money 😞
I have no clue what to get, does anyone have any advice? Should I just get the m3?

Thank you all for your advice. I ended up buying an m2 macbook and they didn’t say anything about it. I thought I’d go with apple since I have iCloud and can link my phone easily. My dad also offered to pay.

Reply 13

Ciel.

Original post by Dunnig Kruger

Do you think a macbook would have survived the same smash against the wall?
Linux with KDE Plasma or Gnome are easier to use for the average person than Windows 10 and 11. Due to Gnome and KDE having better default settings, a more intuitive interface, that's easier to customise, less annoying features, such as the horrible Windows Updates.
EG Debian with KDE Plasma detects networked printers and installs them automatically with no user input required. With Windows 10 or 11 you're looking at faffing around telling the computer to search for printers and telling Windows to add them as print queues. And who was the moron at Microsoft that buried the printer install and setup menu behind an option labelled "Bluetooth & devices"? How unintuitive is that?!
20 years ago Linux was more for the techie types. Modern Linux has come on a long way since those times.
macOS and Windows are more mainstream than Linux because of the huge marketing spending of Apple and Microsoft and inertia.

no, i meant that a macbook wouldn't have ****ed him as much off in the first place. because it never freezes, you never lose your work etc. i never recommended windows? i think mac os is far superior. i've no personal experience with linux

Reply 14

random_matt

Well, they don't say apple users are tech illiterate for nothing, lol.

(edited 9 months ago)

Reply 15

anosmianAcrimony

I am currently typing on a 2017 MacBook Air that I bought on Backmarket (which sells refurbished electronics) about a year ago for around £400. I've had zero problems with it - it's not showing its age at all. Backmarket is nice because you can filter by the specs you want and you can get older, high-spec laptops for surprisingly cheap.

Reply 16

anosmianAcrimony

To address the other part of your question, I agree your family is being completely unreasonable and pushy. This is a ridiculous thing to give you grief about.