13" MacBook Pro or 13" MacBook Air

[toongorissen]

Hi,

I am on a (workly assigned) budget of 1100 euros, give or take 50 euros. Right now, I'm using a white MacBook (revision 1.1) with a Core Duo (not Core 2 Duo) 2GHz CPU and 2 GB of RAM. This thing just turned five years, and it's starting to show. I had to replace several parts (hard drive, battery, charger, keyboard) and my screen started flickering in the first few months (learned to live with it). So now you know what I come from.

As I'm a teacher in Adobe's webdesign applications (Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Flash, eventually Muse,...) and cherish some general 3D app interest (Cinema 4D), I'm a bit doubty on what MacBook to choose.

I'm one of those people who always is running Mail, Safari (lots of tabs...), Photoshop, Word, Vox (a lightweight music player) and a plethora of Finder windows. I only seem to be closing applications at the end of the day...

Things I made our for myself.

• I need the 4 GB of RAM.
• 1280 by 800 pixels is... not much, really.
• I hate the idea of having a spinning hard drive in my computer.
• When having a smaller SSD drive, I guess having a ethernet port comes in handy when pulling data from my NAS drive.
• I'm very careful with my stuff (hey, my laptop is five years old), but I have to be able to take it with me in my Eastpak almost everyday. I don't own a car and try to do everything by bike or public transport.

I like the idea of having a small laptop with an SSD (MacBook Air), but guess I need the performance of a MacBook Pro.

I read the wiki on this site, and it tends to push me to a MacBook Pro. However, when I try to equip the base model with an SSD, I will overspend.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[maflynn]

You realize that you can put a SSD into a MBP

You seem fixated on the idea of SSD and that's fine, but that shouldn't cause you to buy a MBA if the MBP's other features better fit your needs. I have 2 SSDs in my MBP and they work fine (the second is in place of where the optical drive should be)

 

[Rhodan]

The OP mentioned that he would overspend if he puts a SSD in the MBP.

The MBA with an SSD will be extremely fast, it rivals a 2010 MBP: http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/20/macbook-air-2011-benchmarks/

I'm not sure how GPU intensive the apps are that you mentioned. If they are, then it sounds like a MBP would be a better fit for you, especially with the built-in Ethernet port for your NAS.

 

[hafr]

It seems like half of these threads are written by people who realize they need an MBP, but want the design of the MBA and are basically just asking people to tell them it's okay to buy an MBA so that they won't feel like they've made the wrong choice. It's actually quite ridiculous.

 

[Naimfan]

You need the MBP for the applications you've listed. You'll need the space of the hard drive, the increased CPU power, the ability to upgrade the RAM and the hard drive, and so on. The Air charges a lot in exchange for giving up a lot of capability.

 

[Chasesmith]

I'd really suggest going with the Macbook Air - even though you're looking for something with a stronger performance. When the Air first came it was used more for portability than performance - although performance was amazing - if you were using something on a daily basis for work then I wouldn't suggest you get the Air.

But with their current release of the Air there really isn't much difference in performance either plus it's extremely convenient and portable. The Intel Core i5 processor in the Air makes all the difference.

Here's another great review that might help you decide.

 

[philipt42]

You'll be okay with the MBA!

 

[jmpnop]

MBP would be better for you since it has more power, expandability and more storage space. You can upgrade RAM and add SSD down the lane, you can't change anything in the MBA.

 

[vernajane11]

MacBook Air is an ultraportable sexy, thin computer. but because the applications I typically use are pretty processor intensive, e.g. Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Logic Express. The Air is a super fast machine and I love it.