I've finally decided after seeing all the new ultrabooks that my next laptop will be (my first!) Macbook but ive had some trouble deciding which one to get. My 3 choices are all refurbished models from the CAD Apple website.
The laptop will primarily be used at school (lectures notes ect.) I will have it docked to an external display at home. I wont be playing any games on it and no Photoshop or video editing. Just web browsing, email, MS Word and spreadsheet apps. My main concerns come from the the overall speed of the macbook air with its ULV processor and whether its display is up to the standard of the MBP despite having more screen real estate.
The 128SSD is enough storage for me, I have a 1TB USB 3.0 HDD for backing up. I will be using boot camp to run windows 7 on whatever mac i chose, only for a few windows only programs, OS X will still be my primary OS. The USB 3 ports really are definitely great to have but i don't really see myself getting much use out of the CD Drive.
In regards to the Macbook pro's are the screens really that cramped? 1280x800 seems awfully small for any real side by side multitasking, that said if the quality of the panel really is much better than the MBA than its probably something i can overlook. Im also interested in the processor and GPU upgrade from SB to IB on the MBP, big difference? I also may look into investing in a SSD for the MBP, not sure yet. Keep in mind this laptop needs to last me until 2015, the duration of my degree.
Any input would be appreciated, its crunch time and i need to decide on one to get ASAP.
- Macbook Air 2011 13" base configuration Core i5, 128GB, 4GB RAM. Retails for $939
- Macbook Pro 2011 13" base configuration Core i5, 500GB, 4GB RAM. Retails for $959
- Macbook Pro 2012 13" base configuration Core i5, 500GB, 4GB RAM. Retails for $1039
The laptop will primarily be used at school (lectures notes ect.) I will have it docked to an external display at home. I wont be playing any games on it and no Photoshop or video editing. Just web browsing, email, MS Word and spreadsheet apps. My main concerns come from the the overall speed of the macbook air with its ULV processor and whether its display is up to the standard of the MBP despite having more screen real estate.
The 128SSD is enough storage for me, I have a 1TB USB 3.0 HDD for backing up. I will be using boot camp to run windows 7 on whatever mac i chose, only for a few windows only programs, OS X will still be my primary OS. The USB 3 ports really are definitely great to have but i don't really see myself getting much use out of the CD Drive.
In regards to the Macbook pro's are the screens really that cramped? 1280x800 seems awfully small for any real side by side multitasking, that said if the quality of the panel really is much better than the MBA than its probably something i can overlook. Im also interested in the processor and GPU upgrade from SB to IB on the MBP, big difference? I also may look into investing in a SSD for the MBP, not sure yet. Keep in mind this laptop needs to last me until 2015, the duration of my degree.
Any input would be appreciated, its crunch time and i need to decide on one to get ASAP.
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