Alternatively, why not buy a MBA?
In the UK at least, the price difference isn't that big - adding an equivalent SSD to the MBP ramps the price way up. The two seem to be pretty evenly matched at the moment!
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Anyone using MacBook Air solely as a desktop?
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Alternatively, why not buy a MBA?
In the UK at least, the price difference isn't that big - adding an equivalent SSD to the MBP ramps the price way up. The two seem to be pretty evenly matched at the moment!
Because you may prefer the aesthetics of the MacBook Air over the MacBook Pro... Personal preference - it does exist....
Me.
I play all my games on my Desktop PC and that's about it. MacBook Air is for email, contacts, browsing, working... etc
Edit: i should say I do all my video conversion on the PC (i7 960) strictly for the processing power.
I play all my games on my Desktop PC and that's about it. MacBook Air is for email, contacts, browsing, working... etc
Edit: i should say I do all my video conversion on the PC (i7 960) strictly for the processing power.
Alternatively, why not buy a MBA?
In the UK at least, the price difference isn't that big - adding an equivalent SSD to the MBP ramps the price way up. The two seem to be pretty evenly matched at the moment!
Have you even read my post?
I just told you that I configured my MBP with a 256gb aftermarket SSD and an optibay and it still came out to be cheaper than the 256gb MBA13. For that price I get a faster SSD, a faster processor, additional ports, 5x as much storage, a better thunderbolt port and arguably a better screen.
Are you guys just stubborn or what?
256gb MBA 13 + i7 upgrade = 1679 Euro
MBP 13 base = 1199 Euro
Samsung / corsair / ocz ssd 240gb =420 euro
Total = 1619 Euro
Not a considerable difference now is it.
MBA = slimmer form factor & higher res screen
MBP = few more ports and optical drive
It's personal preference - just because you opted for the MBP and upgraded does it mean that you are right and others are wrong. Likewise those that are saying go for the MBA.
You are actually the one being resolutely stubborn as you refuse to see any other opinion as valid.
Well even though those prices are preposterous the MBP is still cheaper.
But you can get a brand new MBP13 as cheap as $999, a SATA3 256gb SSD for around $450 and an optibay for around $30. So in total that's $1479. While the 256gb i7 Air is $1699.
So I am saving $250, I have a faster SSD, I have better screen, a better thunderbolt port, more ports in general, a faster processor and 320gb more storage (stock hdd). Heck I could even buy 8gigs of RAM and it would still be cheaper than a fully decked out MBA13.
Btw I mentioned this because why would you need mobility if you are using your notebook 95% at home anyway. Btw the MBP13 is mobile too. Don't kid yourself
But you can get a brand new MBP13 as cheap as $999, a SATA3 256gb SSD for around $450 and an optibay for around $30. So in total that's $1479. While the 256gb i7 Air is $1699.
So I am saving $250, I have a faster SSD, I have better screen, a better thunderbolt port, more ports in general, a faster processor and 320gb more storage (stock hdd). Heck I could even buy 8gigs of RAM and it would still be cheaper than a fully decked out MBA13.
Btw I mentioned this because why would you need mobility if you are using your notebook 95% at home anyway. Btw the MBP13 is mobile too. Don't kid yourself
I repeat: if you are going to keep your laptop on your desk, it makes no sense paying the MBA's premium. The MBA is a mobility/power hybrid laptop. If you don't require the mobility, why not going for an all-power laptop?
What can I say man... I just don't see the point of going for a MBA if you're not going to ever unplug it from your desk...
What can I say man... I just don't see the point of going for a MBA if you're not going to ever unplug it from your desk...
I'm not kidding anyone, I'm resolutely in the fence as im not buying it.
Those prices my seem preposterous to you - but that's the prices here on the Apple Store and on Dabs for the SSD.
We have 21% Tax here. But you still miss my point - just because that's right for you doesn't make it right for others. Someone having a different oppinion is not wrong simply because it's different.
Personally I wouldn't buy a laptop if I knew I was going to use it mostly as a desktop machine. I'd buy an iMac and maybe a 16gb iPad if you wanted some portability.
However that doesnt make anyone else wanting to use a MBA as a desktop replacement wrong or misguided. It is down to personal preference.
As for paying a premium, well if they are happy to do so and are not expecting you to pay their bills - again let them be it's their prerogative. They may feel the design and aesthetics of the MBA are worth the difference in cost, or cost may not even factor into the decision.
So many people on this forum fail to see how anything other than their opinion can be right...
If you are rarely going to carry it, you can get a lot more for your money. The point of the air is for highly mobile people - hell, even if it's mobile around their house. If your machine doesn't go anywhere with you really, get a macbook pro imo.
For me it's a technological thing. I dig what all they did with such little space. I could of gotten a pro but to me it's not as interesting.
Stripping it down to it's bare essentials, using hardly any power. It's a technological masterpiece. minimalistic to say the least.
I agree with you. In my case it was completely an impulse buy. My work provides me a laptop, and my personal computer is a big honkin desktop with 30" screen (Dell XPS 720H2C). I had no need for a MBA. Got one anyway.
Now this is my daily use personal system where I do everything except gaming and DVD encoding. That I still do on my PC. But everything else I do on the MBA. And now I can do it in the living room, the family room, the bedroom, the porch, my parents house, and the boat. I can even slip it into my work briefcase and barely notice it. It gives personal computing a whole new meaning.
My concern now is that if the MBA is lost or stolen, I will be incredibly inconvenienced. I got a 2TB Time Capsule to mitigate that risk. But I can see th MBA doing everything I need it to, except play COD at 2560x1600 resolution. The MBA can't do that. Yet.
I am using my 2011 13" i5 as my new desktop in my room now and when I go off to college in the fall. It's a bit smaller than my previous desktop obviously and I don't like using it all the time now to save on the battery some, but it is a lot better of a computer. My old one was an HP desktop running Windows XP, with a Pentium 4 3.06 GHz processor, 1GB Ram, and a SATA I Hard drive, so it was much slower.
Some day in the future I think it will be possible for me to use just a MBA and not need a separate desktop machine. That day isn't here yet though, and while Thunderbolt holds a lot promise especially with the new Apple display coming out, it is still a ways off for me.
What I would need to make it happen:
Quadcore (or better) MBA with 512gb of SSD,
8GB+ of RAM,
Thunderbolt Display hooked up to my Gigabit ethernet,
Newer Thunderbolt cable that uses fiber optic instead of copper,
Use this fiber Thunderbolt to run to a 10TB RAID hidden silently away in the closet
Honestly this is only about 2-3 years away at this point, some of this is already possible to some extent. When it happens though I will sell all my current stuff off and get that kind of setup.
The idea of being able to take the MBA anywhere and get the same kind of power, but when at home it turns into a real workstation is pretty nice.
What I would need to make it happen:
Quadcore (or better) MBA with 512gb of SSD,
8GB+ of RAM,
Thunderbolt Display hooked up to my Gigabit ethernet,
Newer Thunderbolt cable that uses fiber optic instead of copper,
Use this fiber Thunderbolt to run to a 10TB RAID hidden silently away in the closet
Honestly this is only about 2-3 years away at this point, some of this is already possible to some extent. When it happens though I will sell all my current stuff off and get that kind of setup.
The idea of being able to take the MBA anywhere and get the same kind of power, but when at home it turns into a real workstation is pretty nice.
If it was going to sit at my desk I would go with a MBP.
But it depends on how much you want to spend. The problem for me with the 13" MBP is that the screen res is still 1280x800, while the 13" Air is 1440x900.
The 15" you can get the high-res display, but it would be quite a price premium over the 13" models.
Of course, all this depends on what kind of PPI you prefer. The text on a 15" MBP can be quite small and the MBA models have similar PPI (The 11" is a bit more dense than the 13" though).
And then you have the SSD. If you are just using it for light tasks like web browsing, writing, simple photo editing - the MBA will be way better than a MBP with a 5400 or 7200 RPM HDD. And an SSD in the MBP will be much more expensive, at least if you buy from Apple.
If you have an Apple store near you it would probably be best to experience the machines for yourself and see what you like in terms of display and size.
But it depends on how much you want to spend. The problem for me with the 13" MBP is that the screen res is still 1280x800, while the 13" Air is 1440x900.
The 15" you can get the high-res display, but it would be quite a price premium over the 13" models.
Of course, all this depends on what kind of PPI you prefer. The text on a 15" MBP can be quite small and the MBA models have similar PPI (The 11" is a bit more dense than the 13" though).
And then you have the SSD. If you are just using it for light tasks like web browsing, writing, simple photo editing - the MBA will be way better than a MBP with a 5400 or 7200 RPM HDD. And an SSD in the MBP will be much more expensive, at least if you buy from Apple.
If you have an Apple store near you it would probably be best to experience the machines for yourself and see what you like in terms of display and size.
If the 5% of the time, the mobility of the MBA is required and the MBA does all you need for a price you're willing to pay, get a MBA. End of story.
And don't kid yourself, the MBP13 is a heavy beast compared to the MBA, I know, I used to own the bastard sibling that spawned it, the aluminium MacBook. It was a pain to get it mobile at 100 km/h sitting on my back in a backpack along with all my other stuff, including my gym clothes (before you let out that lame quip about going to lift some weights).
Definitely personal preference, but through my own experience, I'm much more wary of recommending this to people.
I had a 2006 17" iMac that fit my needs just fine, but I wanted a mobile solution. Since I'm a casual computer user, the iPad was the solution. The first few months was mostly internet, email, and games, but I found myself using Pages and Numbers on the iPad more and more.
It got really frustrating not having all the features of Pages/Numbers for Mac (I knew the limits going in, I just didn't think I'd want to use them on the iPad very much.) Also was a pain to remember where the most recent version of a file was. Did I make a change on the iPad? Yes; plug it in, transfer it to iMac, make edits with tools the iPad version doesn't have, save. Transfer back to iPad so most recent version is on both devices. Pain.
I sold the iMac, sold the iPad, and have a 13" MBA on the way. No more managing files, no more wishing I had all the features Pages/Numbers offers. But still very portable.
The MBA makes sense for a lot of people, and I'd wager, it makes more sense than a desktop + iPad for a lot of people.
^ well I have a 2.8 Octo MacPro 16gb ram & Cintiq 21UX desktop, and a 11" MacBook air i7 myself and an iPad 2 I love all three and all serve differing purposes for me.
I love all three and all serve differing purposes for me.^ well I have a 2.8 Octo MacPro 16gb ram & Cintiq 21UX desktop, and a 11" MacBook air i7 myself and an iPad 2
Personal preference / needs. I'd bet you're computing needs are a bit more than most peoples', though. Right?
Personal preference / needs. I'd bet you're computing needs are a bit more than most peoples', though. Right?
I guess
My computers are all work tools. My main desktop and Cintiq display are my workhorse. For illustrating and painting as well as for photoshop the Cintiq offers me fantastic unparalleled control, though there are times I'd kill for the 27" cinema display resolution.
My MBA is my portable work machine. Allowing me to work on jobs when away from the office etc.
The iPad is wonderful for consuming media, but again for drawing and illustrating when I just feel like doodling something in bed.
All compliment my life and allow me to be productive.