Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

what to do...

C

cali breeze

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2010
2
0
Hey guys, I'm looking for a laptop which will be for home use, replacing my desktop, and I will be bringing to school everyday. Basically I have a couple of questions and I hope some tech savs can help me out. I'm split between,

15" macbook pro with the 2.4 ghz i5, 320gb at 5200rpm, 1680x1050 screen, and 4gb ram
Or
13" macbook Air with the 2.13 ghz core 2 duo, 256ssd, 1440x900 screen, and 4gb ram

Basically, will I notice the difference in proccessors, I don't particularly do anything labor intensive some video editing but not much

Also, how much of a difference will ssd make compared to the slow 5200rpm

Lastly, do you think the increase battery in the pro, or the portability of the air benifit me more carrying to and from college every day? I am usually at school for around 5 hours.

Thanks for any ideas you can offer, I know I may seem a little ocd but I ve been saving those mcdonalds paychecks for a long time and this is a huge investment for me.



P.s. is either book stronger incase of a fall??
 
D

Daelos

macrumors member
Aug 3, 2008
66
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Id suggest if spending that much money on a laptop, you protect it from falls at all costs, mine has survived a fall, powered off with nothing but a faint rubbing sound when opening the lid. Scared the life out of me.

It thoroughly depends on your needs. How much video editing? Hobby or job? What are career interests at this time? If it's one that would require a Mbp in the future, the choice is obvious. Otherwise, can't see why an air wouldn't suffice, especially if your not to intensive in use. Why spend more than already have to? However, If you game slot, as this is replacing your desktop, the Mbp might be best.

My advice. Look at what you do now. Look at what you want to do. Your question should answer itself, even (god forbid) the answer us to get a windows system.

The SSD will be much faster. The air, lighter an more portable, though I dont find 17" laptops to be a particular burden so. Processor I can't comment on, but I guess again, depends what you want it for.

Hope that's any use at all
 
Tears Apart

Tears Apart

macrumors 6502a
Jun 10, 2009
564
13
Outside Closer
To me the deal breaker would be the screen size. No matter the advantages of the MBA over the MBP, the larger screen it's the factor I'd keep in mind if I was to replace my desktop with a portable. Hence I'd go for the MBP.

That said, I got to admit the portability of the MBA is stunning. Perhaps in a couple of years all the MB family will share the MBA portability, that day your choice will be easier...
 
C

cali breeze

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 11, 2010
2
0
Daelos said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/532.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0.5 Mobile/8B117 Safari/6531.22.7)

Id suggest if spending that much money on a laptop, you protect it from falls at all costs, mine has survived a fall, powered off with nothing but a faint rubbing sound when opening the lid. Scared the life out of me.

It thoroughly depends on your needs. How much video editing? Hobby or job? What are career interests at this time? If it's one that would require a Mbp in the future, the choice is obvious. Otherwise, can't see why an air wouldn't suffice, especially if your not to intensive in use. Why spend more than already have to? However, If you game slot, as this is replacing your desktop, the Mbp might be best.

My advice. Look at what you do now. Look at what you want to do. Your question should answer itself, even (god forbid) the answer us to get a windows system.

The SSD will be much faster. The air, lighter an more portable, though I dont find 17" laptops to be a particular burden so. Processor I can't comment on, but I guess again, depends what you want it for.

Hope that's any use at all
Click to expand...



Thanks for the reply, just to clarify I would protect this as much as possible, but accidents happen, I was just curious if one has a stronger body than the other

Video editing is deffenity just a hobby, I'm probably going to major in poly sci or buussness (I just need a degree, my ultamite goal is to be a pilot in the air force and you need 4 years of school) so I'm mostly goking to be browsing, watching videos, writing and probably making powerpoint presentations, and I have always hated video games.

You have the 17 inch? Is it light wnough that it would be any burden in a backpack that's pretty full already?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom