MacBook Pro 13" or MacBook Air 13"

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The-_-Joker

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Hey everyone,

I just need a bit of insight from the more experienced as it will be my first ever Apple machine and I have only very limited experience using Mac's.

Anyway, it's between the two above mentioned as they fall within the same price range.

It will be the standard machines.

Air:

1.3 GHz i5
128gb SSD
4GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 5000

Pro (non-retina):

2.5 GHz i5
500gb standard hard drive
4gb RAM
Intel HD Graphics 5000

What will I be using the machine for?

General use (Internet, watching movies, etc...)
Design - Illustrator, Photoshop, Sketch and perhaps other's from the Adobe Suite
Development (Web and App)

I'll also have to use MS Visual Studio which means I'll have to set up a Virtual Machine and install Windows 8 on it.

I think I'll definitely need at least 8gb of RAM for the above usage to run smoothly and as far as I understand the Hardrive and Memory of the Air cannot be upgraded after purchase right? While the Pro can be upgraded?

My main attraction to the Air is the amazing battery life, it being so lightweight and the overall speed of it but if I'm gonna be stuck with 4gb of RAM on it then is it really worth it?

This is a long term purchase so I really want to make the correct decision.

All help will be appreciated :)

Thanks!
 
Personally, one of the two main things that made me buy the Air was the screen bevel, as it is light in colour and the screen doesn't have that glass stuff in front of it. It's like a cross between gloss and matte.

The other was of course the size. It's really lightweight and you can basically cart it around like a tablet. Mine is the mid 2011 i7 I think and Photoshop runs super quickly.
 
One of the nicest things about the AIR would be the SSD , this is 100% win, but you need an external and need to only keep the files you are working on at that time on the Mac and then back-up as IMO 128gb is little...

The pro has the higher pseced CPU it seems, but if I am not mistaken if you are looking at the MD101 model, then it is HD 4000 not 5000...lots of places have mis printed this from what I have seen.

Running VM is a definite need for more RAM from what I have heard also..here I think it can be done with 4gb, but 8gb is MUCH better! On a side note...are you mainly using Windows then or Mac os with your work? If its windows, ditch the Mac. NO sense in buying a Mac to mainly use it with Windows.

The battery life is better and ncier on the Air, but compared to the other points, its much of a muchness!

CONCLUSION:

Based on you saying that you want more ram and a machine to be "lasting" I would get the pro as it can be upgraded with RAM, HDD (SSD) and additional HDD in the CD DRIVE bay should you wish! The programs will benefit from a future SSD, as this makes a big difference.

Cheers
 
Pooky said:
Personally, one of the two main things that made me buy the Air was the screen bevel, as it is light in colour and the screen doesn't have that glass stuff in front of it. It's like a cross between gloss and matte.

The other was of course the size. It's really lightweight and you can basically cart it around like a tablet. Mine is the mid 2011 i7 I think and Photoshop runs super quickly.
Click to expand...

Cool and how much of RAM are you running on it?
 
Last edited:
iFan said:
One of the nicest things about the AIR would be the SSD , this is 100% win, but you need an external and need to only keep the files you are working on at that time on the Mac and then back-up as IMO 128gb is little...

The pro has the higher pseced CPU it seems, but if I am not mistaken if you are looking at the MD101 model, then it is HD 4000 not 5000...lots of places have mis printed this from what I have seen.

Running VM is a definite need for more RAM from what I have heard also..here I think it can be done with 4gb, but 8gb is MUCH better! On a side note...are you mainly using Windows then or Mac os with your work? If its windows, ditch the Mac. NO sense in buying a Mac to mainly use it with Windows.

The battery life is better and ncier on the Air, but compared to the other points, its much of a muchness!

CONCLUSION:

Based on you saying that you want more ram and a machine to be "lasting" I would get the pro as it can be upgraded with RAM, HDD (SSD) and additional HDD in the CD DRIVE bay should you wish! The programs will benefit from a future SSD, as this makes a big difference.

Cheers
Click to expand...



Thanks for the input.

I will mainly be using Mac OS but need Visual Studio for campus purposes. Is there a way to run it without using a VM? If not then I might as well go for the Pro so that I can upgrade the RAM as I've also heard that 4gb can be really sluggish if running a VM with just 4gb of RAM.
 
Sorry wrong post there :)

No problem :)

If Visual Studio only runs on Windows, then only option as far as I know is VM, and yes 4Gb is sluggish from what I hear!
 
Last edited:
iFan said:
Sorry wrong post there :)

No problem :)

If Visual Studio only runs on Windows, then only option as far as I know is VM, and yes 4Gb is sluggish from what I hear!
Click to expand...

I see.

I notice that you're a Graphic Designer, etc. What do you use? :)
 
From someone that has the Air, the screen resolution sucks. 1366. It's usable, just not always pleasant.
 
i decided on macbook pro 15inch in 2012. I felt the cpu on the Air was a bit weak, and I wanted a bigger screen size.

btw, the mac keyboard is going to drive you nuts. Getting used to the "cmd" key takes awhile. And little things no key for the hash char. I think this on the UK and EU models, which should affect you as SA usually gets US keyboards.

I still do all my Windows and Android dev on my desktop though. Just haven't got round to setting up a VM for windows. I have one for Solaris 11.
 
I have the stock-standard Mid-2012 i5 MBP. Running a dual SSD/HDD setup now, with the external optibay, and about to install 16GB of RAM once I'm done cloning this evening....

There have been 1 or two times that I've gazed longingly at the thin-form factor of the MBA's that are floating around - before reminding myself of how I've managed to configure my machine to perfectly suit my particular requirements...

I'm still fearful of the time that will come, which will see me having to upgrade. I know I'm going to have to spend some serious dosh to get even close to the storage and ram I'm now accustomed too... :sick:
 
Got the i7 MBP. Doubled the ram, because I could, took out the SuperDrive and replaced it with a ssd, because I could, and no regrets.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm definitely gonna go with the Pro simply because of the upgrade factor.

Much appreciated all you cool folks :)
 
Don't the new Macbooks have soldered on components? (making it more difficult to upgrade)
 
omar_blac said:
Don't the new Macbooks have soldered on components? (making it more difficult to upgrade)
Click to expand...

OP is looking at the cMBP, not one of the rMBP's. The latter range is significantly less upgrade-friendly - the former still is, afaik.
 
Cassady said:
OP is looking at the cMBP, not one of the rMBP's. The latter range is significantly less upgrade-friendly - the former still is, afaik.
Click to expand...

Correct you are! I spent the money buying a cMBP and upgrading to an SSD and additional RAM. Money well spent.
 
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