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Almighty MacBook Pro (or not?). Help?

andreibutilca said:
Appreciated.

The thing is, I've never experienced a Mac before, so I'm still leaning on owners' impressions to guide me through.

I own a pretty decent desktop rig: i7 920, 3GB RAM, 8800GT @ 512MB, OCZ Vertex 2 SSD 60GB, running W7 Ultimate. The most hardcore thing I ever did with it was some random gaming (played Crysis 2 on very high @ 1920x1080 i.e. just to try it out; it ran fine), but as I stated before, I am NOT a gamer, so rolling out gaming from the "What I want my Macbook to do list" is perfectly fine.

As in the problems I had with the Vostro, I definitely want a clean & smooth machine, on which I don't need to worry about drivers and viruses and the registry getting corrupted and BSODs and weird errors popping up, lock ups and system faults. I really want it to be super stable and rock solid.

As for activities, I will mainly stick to the usual: browsing, YouTube (basically everything else browser-related), watching some 1080p movies (locally), music (and some casual DJ-ing), documents for University, Photoshop, printing and probably some lightweight video edit once or twice. Oh yeah, and probably some HTML, if I ever want to resume my learning sessions.

Good enough?:cool:

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I am kind of looking to get rid of the "advanced user maintenance" Windows requires.
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Definitely go with a 13" Macbook Air. I have basically the same needs as you (In college, web-browse, e-mail, edit photos, documents, watching movies, DJ-ing, etc.) and I have a 13" MBP. While I love the pro, and it is definitely a great computer, I don't think I need it. I now wish I had the MBA, it's so much lighter and comes with an SSD.

Either way, you can't go wrong with a 13" MBA or MBP, but if I were you, I'd opt for the Air :cool:
 
I'd get a 13" MBP and a 11" MBA, if you can afford it. Then you have it all pretty much.
 
I have both a MBP and MBA. You should get the 13" MBP. The MBP is user upgradable and will be far more future proof. The MBA is nice but for the price you can't beat the power to dollars ratio of the MBP. You can easily add more RAM and the SSD you want cheaply with guide from iFixit, or even Apple has install instructions. You really don't need very much know how to do it either, if you can use a screwdriver you can install your own RAM and SSD.
 
Medic278 said:
I have both a MBP and MBA. You should get the 13" MBP. The MBP is user upgradable and will be far more future proof. The MBA is nice but for the price you can't beat the power to dollars ratio of the MBP. You can easily add more RAM and the SSD you want cheaply with guide from iFixit, or even Apple has install instructions. You really don't need very much know how to do it either, if you can use a screwdriver you can install your own RAM and SSD.
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I agree with this. Even for someone that's not much of a techie, it's pretty simple. I've installed my own RAM and just this weekend installed a Crucial M4 256GB SSD with no problems whatsoever. There's tons of helpful people here and lots of videos online to show you how to do that stuff. I think the biggest problem with the Air is that the RAM is soldered, so you can't upgrade it yourself. That means you're forever stuck with 4GB, or stuck paying Apple a fortune for extra when you first order it.

If you're thinking about a MBP but aren't happy with the price, check Apple's refurbished section on the Apple Store site. You can get some good deals, and they come with the same warranty as a new one does. My current MBP is a refurb ad I couldn't be happier with it.
 
If you go 13", I say take the Air only if you really need the extreme portability.
Don't rule out the 13" Pro, in which you can later put a SSD yourself.

Check out the screens also: the Air has an higher resolution, but the Pro is better quality.

Whatever you choose, you probably won't go back.
 
andreibutilca said:
Seems legit, but most of the info I checked on the Air suggest it overheats in even the lightest of processes and it's only recommended for really lightweight things. .
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That is absolutely false.

1) the MBA runs fact quieter and cooler than MBPs

2) The MBA is a *very* capable machine. I am a professional web developer and I run my entire business off a MBA 13". It runs flawlessly :)
 
Yeah, the small monitor is quite nice and so is the portability. If you need more a second monitor is the way to go.

I should also mention that you don't have to forgo your MS ways. Install windows on it; it'll run quite nicely. That way you can gradually move to mac applications or just keep using the Windows applications you've already invested in. Or go wit virtualization; Virtual Box is free and works well.
 
I am very happy with the considerable number of replies I reveived. Greatly appreciated, thank you all!

I went to the Apple reseller in my city, and all the tech guys there (all of them own a Macbook of some sort) pretty much recommended I go for the 13" MBA for my budget and needs. They basically stated that if performance is my thing, then at least a MBP 15" should be considered. I know upgrading a MBP 13" is fairly easy and going for a 15" is kind of unjustified, but after a couple of days of youtube-ing MBA videos + the time in store spent playing with one, I think I totally fell in love with the MBA.
Smooth and slick, fast, robust, and snapping with an integrated SSD, I don't think there's anything else I'd need in the following years.

I'm waiting until after the Macbook refresh + Mountain Lion release. MBA is my pick.

Thank you all for your kindness and time! Enjoy your products!

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NewbieCanada said:
If your editing will include re-encoding video and you're not particularly patient, you'll want a MBP. Other than that, the Air is fine for your needs.

However, since you're waiting until autumn, all bets are off as to what model will best suit your needs and budget.

As for the Windows -> Mac transition, you'll be fine and will be pleased with it.

The one concern I have is the DJing. I don't know anything about it, or what apps are involved. Do the tools you use exist on the Mac platform? If not, are the equivalents suitable for your needs?
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Thanks for dropping by!

I'm just enthusiastic about DJ-ing, not a pro. I will be messing around with it randomly, won't invest in it.
 
andreibutilca said:
after a couple of days of youtube-ing MBA videos + the time in store spent playing with one, I think I totally fell in love with the MBA.
Smooth and slick, fast, robust, and snapping with an integrated SSD, I don't think there's anything else I'd need in the following years.
Click to expand...

It's hard not to fall in love with it, and it will only be better after the refresh (or if for some reason it isn't, you can buy the current one for a lower price).
 
Totally agreed. Will save up a bit more until Q3 2012, when rumors point we should see a refresh. I'm stalking Macbooks for a year now, I'll be fine until September (will prolly get it for my bday and film myself unboxing it while eating cake). Haha
 
Btw, I'm looking forward into the changes to the display that are rumored. I'm really excited about a *possible* retina on Macbooks. That's just tech cruelty that makes competition want to cry in the corner.
 
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