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About to buy first ever mac (mb vs mba)

T

tonyt3rry

macrumors member
Original poster
Aug 5, 2010
41
0
Hi, In a few weeks im going to have enough to buy my first ever mac. Thing is im torn between the macbook and the macbook air, I do love the look of the air I love how quick it is having tried both out in the Apple store I found the trackpad crap on the macbook standard, but found the air alot better. I thought it could have just been a battered display model as the store has loads of visitors.

The main thing that is keeping me from buying is the air has a 64gb ssd on the base and 2 gig but if you pay 200 pounds extra you get the 128gb ssd but I thought with the macbook for the same base price you are geting more or less the same specs eg ram wise and gfx but bigger harddrive and battery. I know the refresh is soon but I really dont have a clue what one to buy could someone who has owned both please give me an opinion, Ive heard people saying the ultimate mba being better than the mb pros.

thanks
 
tonyt3rry said:
Hi, In a few weeks im going to have enough to buy my first ever mac. Thing is im torn between the macbook and the macbook air, I do love the look of the air I love how quick it is having tried both out in the Apple store I found the trackpad crap on the macbook standard, but found the air alot better. I thought it could have just been a battered display model as the store has loads of visitors.

The main thing that is keeping me from buying is the air has a 64gb ssd on the base and 2 gig but if you pay 200 pounds extra you get the 128gb ssd but I thought with the macbook for the same base price you are geting more or less the same specs eg ram wise and gfx but bigger harddrive and battery. I know the refresh is soon but I really dont have a clue what one to buy could someone who has owned both please give me an opinion, Ive heard people saying the ultimate mba being better than the mb pros.

thanks
Click to expand...

The MBA is certainly snappier than the MBPs. It's even snappier than a Mac Pro with 2x 8-core. The MBA takes 15 secs to boot and 1-2 seconds to start Photoshop. This is because of the flash storage - so you would see something similar if you had a SSD in a MB(P)

If I had the choice between a MB plastic (sorry... polycarbonate) and the MBA, I would choose the MBA any time. I'm currently in the market for a new 13", but I think I'll go with a MBP and put a SSD in it myself later. Then I will have the best from both worlds.
 
I Guess I'll have to skin myself to buy the air thanks for the comment :). what about gaming?
 
tonyt3rry said:
I Guess I'll have to skin myself to buy the air thanks for the comment :). what about gaming?
Click to expand...

Oh, are you going to play games on it? If you're planning to play CoD or WoW on your Mac, I would recommend you to go for the 15" MBP - but if you're willing to play on the lowest acceptable resolution, a 13" MBP can do.
 
I dont have a High Income I only work part time gaming would be the likes of Left for dead 2 and counterstrike source I have a i3 desktop so I dont need any stupid insane games for my mac Id just like some to play when the mrs plays on the ps3
 
thanks for all the information Im still on the first video ive seen alot of videos but I think ill just wait and upgrade ram and get 128gb
 
I would recommend against the air. It's certainly snappy with its SSD-based system. However, it's got a 1.4 GHz Core2 Duo vs the 2.4 GHz Core2 Duo in the MacBook (assuming the same price-point, the Air can go up to 2.13 GHz in the 13" model, but it's at least $1,699). The air is not meant to be a primary computer, whereas the MacBook certainly can be.

If portability is key, and you have another computer that can be your primary computer, and processing power isn't very important, then the Air is great. If you care at all about processing power, then the Air won't perform very well on things that need it.

The MacBook and the MBA are close to identical otherwise, the processor is pretty much the only difference. 1.4 GHz vs 2.4 GHz. The choice is yours.

Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the RAM is soldered on the MBA, so a post-purchase upgrade is out of the question. The MacBook can also be upgraded to a max of 8 GB RAM, whereas the MBA maxes out at 4 GB (and you have to pay Apple's upgrade price, more than aftermarket).
 
Would recommend waiting for a refresh on the MacBook, if that's the way you're headed.
 
iThinkergoiMac said:
Also, someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the RAM is soldered on the MBA, so a post-purchase upgrade is out of the question. The MacBook can also be upgraded to a max of 8 GB RAM, whereas the MBA maxes out at 4 GB (and you have to pay Apple's upgrade price, more than aftermarket).
Click to expand...

That's affirmative. When you have a MBA, you're totally stuck with all of its soon-to-be-inferior specs.
 
See thats what is killing me off, I work part time so I earn roughly 360 a month I only get to spend about 100-170 I think after all my bills and that. and I dont think I can handle paying the extra 200 pounds for the 128gb harddrive and then the 80 pounds extra with the ram on top of that, Knowing I am f'd when it comes to upgrades

Im liking How I could upgrade the ram if I see it Cheaper online for instance or I fancy a bigger hdd in the future not that I'll need one that is but knowing it is there is a plus for me, Id be taking it out with me alot as I have a three MiFi on contract so I need to use it alot. I suppose a messenger bag would be easy to lug it about, I get thrown off by the cheap plastic look of the macbook tho. Id like to see the refresh keep a same price point otherwise I Think Ill be thrown off the whole getting a mac thing.

also someone said using the macbook as a main computer I have a core i3 that handles hd video fine for me , I built it from scratch so with win 7 64bit and it only needs a gfx card, It will play games that I want fine , but for now youtube hd and iPlayer hd is fine for me :)
 
tonyt3rry said:
Hi, In a few weeks im going to have enough to buy my first ever mac. Thing is im torn between the macbook and the macbook air, I do love the look of the air I love how quick it is having tried both out in the Apple store I found the trackpad crap on the macbook standard, but found the air alot better. I thought it could have just been a battered display model as the store has loads of visitors.

The main thing that is keeping me from buying is the air has a 64gb ssd on the base and 2 gig but if you pay 200 pounds extra you get the 128gb ssd but I thought with the macbook for the same base price you are geting more or less the same specs eg ram wise and gfx but bigger harddrive and battery. I know the refresh is soon but I really dont have a clue what one to buy could someone who has owned both please give me an opinion, Ive heard people saying the ultimate mba being better than the mb pros.

thanks
Click to expand...

Go White MB, unless you need more speed, in which case then go for the higher of the two 13" MBPs, and if that's too slow, go for a 15" MBP. I'd pass on the Air unless it was your second Mac (laptop) or unless you need ultra-portability.
 
Yebubbleman said:
Go White MB, unless you need more speed, in which case then go for the higher of the two 13" MBPs, and if that's too slow, go for a 15" MBP. I'd pass on the Air unless it was your second Mac (laptop) or unless you need ultra-portability.
Click to expand...

+1

This is my opinion as well.
 
I think im just going to put my money in a savings account and wait for the refresh
 
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