2011 MBP 15 or 2012 MBA 13

[fleawannabe]

*I currently own a late 2007 iMac*

Main Questions

1. Is the MBA 13 enough for me?
2. Can I change out the SSD later on down the road myself or is it permanent like the ram?

Since the release of the RMBP craigslist is overflowing with used MBP 15's with Apple Care until June or 2015 for 1500 dollars. Im debating on that or a new MBA 13 2.0 with 256GB HD and 8GB 1812 with Apple Care.

I do not travel much, but I will be taking the mac to school some days so I do not need crazy portability.

My uses will consist of surfing web, Aperture, Garageband(Logic soon), Word, Excel, Emulators (nes,snes,genesis,ps1,ps2,n64)

The Pros of the MBP 15

1. Dedicated Gpu(not sure ill need it)
2. Bigger Screen
3. Bigger Harddrive
4. Quadcore(more future proof?)
5. Superdrive
6. Option of doing the optibay thing with SSD

Will the MBA 13 more than meet my needs? My main concern is Logic and Aperture.

Thank You,
Flea

 

[mikeo007]

*I currently own a late 2007 iMac*

Main Questions

1. Is the MBA 13 enough for me?
2. Can I change out the SSD later on down the road myself or is it permanent like the ram?

Since the release of the RMBP craigslist is overflowing with used MBP 15's with Apple Care until June or 2015 for 1500 dollars. Im debating on that or a new MBA 13 2.0 with 256GB HD and 8GB 1812 with Apple Care.

I do not travel much, but I will be taking the mac to school some days so I do not need crazy portability.

My uses will consist of surfing web, Aperture, Garageband(Logic soon), Word, Excel, Imulators (nes,snes,genesis,ps1,ps2,n64)

The Pros of the MBP 15

1. Dedicated Gpu(not sure ill need it)
2. Bigger Screen
3. Bigger Harddrive
4. Quadcore(more future proof?)
5. Superdrive
6. Option of doing the optibay thing with SSD

Will the MBA 13 more than meet my needs? My main concern is Logic and Aperture.

Thank You,
Flea

*Emulator

I'd suggest the 15" only because you'll be better off with a larger screen using aperature. Otherwise, if gaming (other than emulators) is of no concern to you, I'd go with the 13" Air 100%.

 

[fleawannabe]

Thanks for the correction, and I do not photo edit nearly as much as I record music if that helps. Would photo editing be that bad on the 13? Would it be unbearable? I will also probably be using an external monitor when I am at home.

 

[mikeo007]

Thanks for the correction, and I do not photo edit nearly as much as I record music if that helps. Would photo editing be that bad on the 13? Would it be unbearable? I will also probably be using an external monitor when I am at home.

That's exactly what I do with my 13". It's got a worse resolution than the MBA (1280x800) and it's tolerable, but you'll want a monitor for any prolonged editing sessions. If you're going to be plugging into a monitor most of the time, the 13" is just fine.

 

[fleawannabe]

Thanks! And do you think the MBA 13 will run Logic smoothly?

 

[fleawannabe]

Did some more shopping and now I am thinking of getting the MBA 13, 8GB, 1.8, 128 SSD for 1422.00 with Apple Care. This is is because I could upgrade the 128 to a 512 for around 700 dollars at OWC later on down the road when I have more money. It seems the difference between the 1.8 and 2.0 is very small.

Any thoughts?