For someone doing a PhD, is it better to get a MacBook or a laptop with Windows?

“For someone doing a PhD, is it better to get a MacBook or a laptop with Windows?”

As someone who has experience with both computers as used for graduate work (albeit indirectly, my S.O. is in medical school and has a Macbook Pro), my suggestion is Seriously, get the PC.

Overall the reason you’re going to want a PC over a Mac is that the PC is going to have a higher utility per unit cost than the Mac, and it’s not even close.

For example, my S.O. has a Macbook Pro[1] and the important specs for her computer are the following:

2.3 GHz i5 processor (up to 3.6 GHz turbo)
8.0 GB RAM
128 GB SSD

basically a standard model Macbook Pro. Currently these run for $1300.00

For comparison, here are the important specs of my PC (Eluktronics N151RF1, no longer in production because it got an update[2])

2.6 GHz i7 6700 HQ (up to 3.5 GHz turbo)
Nvidia GTX 965M Graphics Card
32.0 GB RAM
512GB SSD + 1TB HDD
HDMI port + 2 Mini DisplayPorts

to which I spent $1500.00 on.

My S.O. is consistently frustrated by her computer seizing up due to how many browser tabs she has open running her various flashcards, textbooks, and study sources all on a tiny 13.5 inch display. I have no such problems, even with work spread out over 3 external monitors, with 30 chrome tabs and 2 Word documents open, a PowerPoint presentation in idle, iTunes playing music in the back, and executing python code via the Spyder PDE.

Someday I’ll get her to leave her beloved Macbook.

In the meantime, I’ll suffice knowing you didn’t go that route. Seriously thought, get a PC.

EDIT: Here’s my workstation setup