Originally Posted by
firedept10 Welcome to iMore!
You're looking at an entry level MacBook (i5, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD) for that price, and in all honesty, that machine is not really viable for what you need to do. You could look at refurbs and wait for awhile until one becomes available. Ideally you would like an i7 processor and possibly upping the RAM to 16GB. The 128GB SSD is fine as long as you plan on storing your files externally. Hope this info helps you.
I've read where the 256gb SSD is faster than the 128gb. For those kind of files, the speed can help, and the additional storage won't hurt, either!
There are (and have been) talks of new models this month, which should push the higher-end current models closer to your budget. But like @firedept10 said, keep an eye on the Apple refurb store. They are "like new" and come with a full warranty.