13" Macbook Pro or 13" Macbook Air?

[iThink Apple]

This is greatly generalized...

If you want portability and can rely on wifi only, no optical media and basic tasks (mail, music, surfing, productivity), go Air.

If you want performance and portability go MBP 13" (with an SSD, mine weighs in around 4.1lbs, 1.2lbs heavier than the Air).

If you want real performance, go MBP 15".

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If they refresh the Pros as above, I'll sell my current MBP and upgrade first week.

MBP 15" is way too big for me lol. When do you guys think there will be a refresh of the MPB or AIR?

 

[Augure]

What would you recomend? I'm looking for performance
13"Macbook Air
Specifications
1.8GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
256GB flash storage
Or
13" Macbook Pro
2.8GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM — 2x2GB
750GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm

Either way, you're stupid enough to upgrade now so it doesn't matter which one you chose

 

[iThink Apple]

Either way, you're stupid enough to upgrade now so it doesn't matter which one you chose

Wow relax dude....I'm not going to upgrade now I'm waiting for the refresh

 

[NickZac]

Buying an SSD and more memory, or even buying a higher end system, will not make a difference unless you actually use it. If I had a 15" MBP with an i7, 16GB of memory, and an SSD, it would not be a single bit quicker for what I use my 13" for.

To the OP, the bigger question is, what are you going to use this system for? The performance of a system is completely dependent on what you will use it for. Nobody can give a completely accurate answer to your question until you provide us with that piece of information.

The OP said he was looking for "performance". If you are looking for performance, then a SATA3 SSD, more memory, and a dual core CPU with about 1 GHz higher clock speed (or a quad core CPU with discrete graphics for that matter) will make a difference. The MBA is a great computer but for users looking for "performance", I would personally go for the little extra weight and thickness of the 13 inch MBP. Also, if you want more performance down the line, the MBP is more upgradable than the MBA, and so you could say it is slightly more future proof.

I agree it depends on what you use it for but I have to assume "performance" means heavier loads such as the CS. We still have the original MBA with the original 64 GB SSD and it works as well as it did they day we bought it (even after a drop down a flight of concrete stairs and off a ledge onto a concrete sidewalk). We also have the second and latest revision of the MBA. They are great computers and the current MBA can do quite a lot, but the performance advantage of the MBP13 IMO justifies the slight loss in portability.

With all of the said, the OP won't regret either.