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Which macbook I should purchase?

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Dr. House

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 18, 2015
12
0
Hello! I am a medical student from India. My use for buying notebook is web surfing, ebooks, documents, MS office, photo editing for my DSLR images and short-film editing (sometimes).

I can't decide which macbook I should buy in 13". One one hand I am getting an offer for latest 5th gen core-i5 128GB 13" macbook air for $850 (53,500 INR), on other macbook pro 13" 128GB model with 8GB RAM, brilliant IPS panel retina display, better processor and new touchpad for $1185 (74,600 INR).

The price difference is too much $335 (21,000 INR). Does it worth it as per my needs mentioned above? I think only 4GB of RAM looks very low in air. I can't decide which one I should go with. The offer is limited. Please help me out there
 
Mac-lover3

Mac-lover3

macrumors 6502a
Dec 2, 2014
559
412
Belgium
I agree with the post above, the MacBook Air and Macbook should do perfectly what you want to do with it. From your point if you have a little more money to spend and don't need USB/Thunderbolt connections the MacBook is the most portable but also the most expensive one..
 
D

Dr. House

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 18, 2015
12
0
Divergent17 said:
I think you should get either the macbook air (13in) or the new macbook (12in). If it is only for those reasons you mentioned, don't get a Macbook Pro. It will not be worth it. For more information, you should check out:

https://www.macrumors.com/guide/macbook-air-vs-macbook-pro-vs-macbook/

It has a lot of information you might find useful.
Good Luck :)
Click to expand...

So according to you in what need is pro 13" is worth?

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Mac-lover3 said:
I agree with the post above, the MacBook Air and Macbook should do perfectly what you want to do with it. From your point if you have a little more money to spend and don't need USB/Thunderbolt connections the MacBook is the most portable but also the most expensive one..
Click to expand...

I just hate the new 12" macbook. If someone even gift me, I won't ever use it. Most impractical invention by apple ever.
 
Divergent17

Divergent17

macrumors newbie
May 18, 2015
10
0
Well, it does not seem like you need the MacBook Pro. I think you should get the MacBook Air 13inch. It is perfect for your needs!
 
Last edited:
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Dr. House

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 18, 2015
12
0
Divergent17 said:
Well, it does not seem like you need the MacBook Pro. I think you should get the MacBook Air 13inch. It is perfect for your needs!
Click to expand...

Do you think MBA with 4GB RAM in OS X would backward in day to day use for a user who was using a 8GB RAM with quad core core i7 hp laptop from 4 years?
 
grockk

grockk

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2006
365
5
Dr. House said:
Do you think MBA with 4GB RAM in OS X would backward in day to day use for a user who was using a 8GB RAM with quad core core i7 hp laptop from 4 years?
Click to expand...

Check the geek bench score for your old laptop against the 2015 MBA and see. It'll probably feel faster even at slower clock speed just due to 4 years of improvements, but go ahead and check geek bench scores.
 
D

Dr. House

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 18, 2015
12
0
grockk said:
Check the geek bench score for your old laptop against the 2015 MBA and see. It'll probably feel faster even at slower clock speed just due to 4 years of improvements, but go ahead and check geek bench scores.
Click to expand...

These are the geekbench scores of my late 2011 hp pavilion laptop: http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/1171690
I don't know what's wrong with my hp laptop it becomes so slow. Like when type in chrome or open my computer, it appears after few seconds in it. Music and movie play is slow. Sometimes it glitches in itunes. Games run normal initially and then start to lag.
 
grockk

grockk

macrumors 6502
Mar 16, 2006
365
5
Dr. House said:
These are the geekbench scores of my late 2011 hp pavilion laptop: http://browser.primatelabs.com/geekbench3/1171690
I don't know what's wrong with my hp laptop it becomes so slow. Like when type in chrome or open my computer, it appears after few seconds in it. Music and movie play is slow. Sometimes it glitches in itunes. Games run normal initially and then start to lag.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a mba 13 will be an upgrade even i5 and 4gb. The single core score is better and that's most important. plus the hp has a bunch of cruft and glitches and who knows why that stuff is happening. You'll like the MBA.
 
M

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
Dr. House said:
Do you think MBA with 4GB RAM in OS X would backward in day to day use for a user who was using a 8GB RAM with quad core core i7 hp laptop from 4 years?
Click to expand...

The MacBook Pro's processor isn't much faster than the MacBook Air's, so that's not a concern.

If you are doing short video/film editing then you might benefit from 8GB RAM but that's the only time when you might need more memory.

Lots of people edit short videos with 4GB of RAM and report that it works fine, though. I haven't tried it myself so I don't know.
 
D

Dr. House

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 18, 2015
12
0
motrek said:
The MacBook Pro's processor isn't much faster than the MacBook Air's, so that's not a concern.

If you are doing short video/film editing then you might benefit from 8GB RAM but that's the only time when you might need more memory.

Lots of people edit short videos with 4GB of RAM and report that it works fine, though. I haven't tried it myself so I don't know.
Click to expand...

Having low 4GB RAM makes it slow while dropping clips in editing or while finishing and making final video clip?
 
Divergent17

Divergent17

macrumors newbie
May 18, 2015
10
0
Dr. House said:
Do you think MBA with 4GB RAM in OS X would backward in day to day use for a user who was using a 8GB RAM with quad core core i7 hp laptop from 4 years?
Click to expand...

Won't that much RAM be enough? If you are a medical student, it doesn't seem like you need that much. 4GB ram should be enough for your reasons to buy a MacBook Air. You can always get more storage in configurations.
 
M

motrek

macrumors 68030
Sep 14, 2012
2,613
305
Dr. House said:
Having low 4GB RAM makes it slow while dropping clips in editing or while finishing and making final video clip?
Click to expand...

I assume having more RAM will allow you to keep more of the video in RAM, which means you could quickly jump between different points in the video (presumably during editing).

I doubt RAM matters at all when "rendering" the video, i.e., making the final product.
 
placidity44

placidity44

macrumors 6502
May 20, 2015
367
166
I'd go with the MacBook Air 13". The flash storage is incredible and the battery life is nuts! 12 hour battery life and 30 days on standby. I wouldn't worry much about the ram. OS X is much more efficient at managing ram than Windows.
 
Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,994
46,456
In a coffee shop.
placidity44 said:
I'd go with the MacBook Air 13". The flash storage is incredible and the battery life is nuts! 12 hour battery life and 30 days on standby. I wouldn't worry much about the ram. OS X is much more efficient at managing ram than Windows.
Click to expand...

I'm in agreement with this post.

The 13" MBA is a first rate computer; reliable, fast, powerful, and portable. Moreover, the battery is excellent and the SSD is fantastically fast (and stable).

I have one and will readily attest to the fact that it is easily the best computer I have had in my life.
 
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