I switched to mba last year but miss the larger screen 15/17. How many would buy a mbp over mba now? i would be looking at a standard config mbp with a hard drive. is it worth going mbp now with it still having optical drive and no ssd. i could put a ssd in my self but no trim.
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2012 how many would buy a mbp over mba
- Thread starter tim100
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At the moment I have both. My 17" MBP and the Top spec Air, I love the Air, but as things stand (assuming I needed to replace my Pro) I would still opt for the MBP.
BUT........If Apple bring out a 15" Air with RAM options, and a lot more SSD storage, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. For now, I need them both.
BUT........If Apple bring out a 15" Air with RAM options, and a lot more SSD storage, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. For now, I need them both.
I'm not buying another laptop any time soon, but my choice between an Air and a Pro really depends on ...
1. Does the Air have Ethernet?
2. Does the Air have at least 8GB DDR3 RAM?
3. Does the Air have enough processing power?
4. Price?
Honestly, the reason I've preferred the Pro all these years is ... It's just a much more capable machine at a much lower price point.
Sure the Air is portable and all, but ... So is the Pro. Just because the Air weighs 1.5lbs less, doesn't mean the Pro just becomes a Desktop overnight.
The Air is a decent machine, but the Pro just gives you more for your money is all.
1. Does the Air have Ethernet?
2. Does the Air have at least 8GB DDR3 RAM?
3. Does the Air have enough processing power?
4. Price?
Honestly, the reason I've preferred the Pro all these years is ... It's just a much more capable machine at a much lower price point.
Sure the Air is portable and all, but ... So is the Pro. Just because the Air weighs 1.5lbs less, doesn't mean the Pro just becomes a Desktop overnight.
The Air is a decent machine, but the Pro just gives you more for your money is all.
MacBook Pro, on the condition that you buy it with, or install, a solid state drive.
Can't abide spinning disks as primary drives anymore, it's only when you get an SSD that you realise just how much they ruin the computing experience.
Can't abide spinning disks as primary drives anymore, it's only when you get an SSD that you realise just how much they ruin the computing experience.
there is no question the 13 mba is apples best 13 inch laptop. the question becomes would you still buy a 15/17 over 13 mba and what will happen at the 15 size in 2012.
The materials of the current MBA have some stability problems and the screen could be better. The current 13" MBP has probably a much longer life than the current MBA. The best choice for me, is a 13" IB-based MBP and an iPad 3.
Absolutely not...
The 13" Air has an inferior screen (better resolution, but overall worse screen) to the 13" Pro. It's slower across the board and priced higher with an equivalent SSD in a Pro.
It's a slimmed down, slower, less capable Pro. That's all there is to it. But at the same, the portability can be a great strength for certain user and will more than compensate for the lower quality display and slower processing power.
your asking this question in the MBP MacBook Pro forum, what do you seriously expect the answer to be?
Depends entirely on what I'm doing with it. For my purposes, a Macbook Air just isn't enough. In a laptop, I want:
- A firewire port for an audio interface (I'm getting sick of using a USB interface).
- A quad core processor with hyperthreading for the many plugins I use (Logic and all the plugins in it benefit very heavily from having as many cores as possible, be they real or virtual courtesy of hyper threading).
- At least 8gb of RAM.
- 500gb + of internal storage (I don't want to increase my reliance on external drives).
- Dedicated graphics for the occasional game, now that I've sold my gaming desktop.
I love the Macbook Air. If my desires were a bit less demanding, or if I wanted two computers (desktop and notebook), I'd be all over it. But, that isn't the case right now. So, when the new 15" Pro is released, I'll be going with that.
- A firewire port for an audio interface (I'm getting sick of using a USB interface).
- A quad core processor with hyperthreading for the many plugins I use (Logic and all the plugins in it benefit very heavily from having as many cores as possible, be they real or virtual courtesy of hyper threading).
- At least 8gb of RAM.
- 500gb + of internal storage (I don't want to increase my reliance on external drives).
- Dedicated graphics for the occasional game, now that I've sold my gaming desktop.
I love the Macbook Air. If my desires were a bit less demanding, or if I wanted two computers (desktop and notebook), I'd be all over it. But, that isn't the case right now. So, when the new 15" Pro is released, I'll be going with that.
^ lol, he raises a fair point.
I'm a Laptop user. I've never bought a desktop. My last 4 computers have been the highest level Powerbook I could afford, and now the MacBook Pro.
There's no way I'd consider switching to the MBA as my only computer.
I'm a Laptop user. I've never bought a desktop. My last 4 computers have been the highest level Powerbook I could afford, and now the MacBook Pro.
There's no way I'd consider switching to the MBA as my only computer.
I have a 27" iMac (2011) with a 3.4ghz Core i7 and a 6970M..
And I also have a MBP 15" Quad w/ 6750M. Both are irreplaceable. I need the optical drive on the go for a variety of reasons (RedBox, hand braking stuff). I need the processing power because I literally do the exact same things on my MBP - including Diablo 3 beta, Skyrim, Streetfighter etc... The 15" screen size is a must for usability etc etc etc.
My MBP is literally my iMac on the go, and so I need it to come as close as possible in performance.
When I'm at home however, I don't use my MBP at all. The 27" IPS "thunderbolt display" is so much superior.
Why do I not keep a MBP + plug into an external monitor? Cloud Sync keeps files synced up. Laptop stays in bag. Desktop is still much more powerful.
Now there will come a day when Macbook Pros become more powerful than my iMac, that's when the iMac gets turned into a Thunderbolt display as a secondary monitor either for a new iMac or a Macbook Pro.
in the macbook pro forum, im sure it's to be expected that the macbook pro wins.
MBA or MBP in MBA forum with poll
lets see how this plays out
The only reason I chose a MBP over a MBA is the ports. I do Apple service work, and if I can't connect FireWire devices, my workflow is fairly crippled. If I wasn't doing that on a regular basis, though, I would have grabbed a MBA in a heartbeat.
jW
jW
That wasn't the original question, which is why I didn't respond to the poll. You only stated you missed the screen size of a 15/17" screen, but the question was regarding MBP vs. MBA. That's why I answered why I did.
If I had to pick between 13" MBA and 15" MBP, I'd go with the 15" Pro. I wish the Pro was a little cheaper, but would still be more pleased with the 15" Pro.
As I said over the MBA forums, it depends.
For 2011 models, the MBP 13" didnt hold any significant advantage over the MBA (face it, the performance gap is minimum), thus I went for the MBA 13" because it's lighter.
In 2012, if MBP 13" loses the DVD drive (which I never use) and thus gains some room to pack in enough muscle to differentiate itself from the MBA 13", then I will go for MBP 13".
For 2011 models, the MBP 13" didnt hold any significant advantage over the MBA (face it, the performance gap is minimum), thus I went for the MBA 13" because it's lighter.
In 2012, if MBP 13" loses the DVD drive (which I never use) and thus gains some room to pack in enough muscle to differentiate itself from the MBA 13", then I will go for MBP 13".
If they came out with a 15" MBA with the same processing power as my Early 2011 MBP I'd be all in.
I do a lot of video conversion and spreadsheets....not to mention that I love the 15" size.
Yup
I do a lot of video conversion and spreadsheets....not to mention that I love the 15" size.
Yup
I've played with them quite a bit (as I said, I service Macs, so I've seen it all). If I was working with graphics or video work, yeah, that would matter. As it happens, I don't. That simply wouldn't matter to me very much at all (and I really love the higher resolution). I get that it makes a difference to some, and they should definitely look into the differences.
jW
I have a very powerful desktop. I love the MacBook Air form factor, as well as its incredible speed. But I bought my MacBook Pro last year from the early refresh, and my decision would be the same this year.
I am on 4GB of RAM on my MBP and I find it far from enough for my basic day-to-day usage. MBA screen, though has a higher res than its 13" MBP counter part, but the picture quality and viewing angles leave much to desire.
Even as a student, I prefer to have both a laptop and an iPad combination rather than just a mixture of both in the MBA.
I am on 4GB of RAM on my MBP and I find it far from enough for my basic day-to-day usage. MBA screen, though has a higher res than its 13" MBP counter part, but the picture quality and viewing angles leave much to desire.
Even as a student, I prefer to have both a laptop and an iPad combination rather than just a mixture of both in the MBA.