Choice of MacBook Pro or MacBook Air

[circatee]

Afternoon all. I have the option to receive one of the items below. The idea is merely to learn to use Mac OS, along with checking email, internet browsing, and possibly using Parallels/a Windows 10 VM.

Option A
MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011
Memory: 4GB (1333MHz, DDR3) - might have a few memory modules to upgrade this to 8GB
Processor: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000 384MB
Storage: 320GB SATA drive
Optical drive: Super Drive
OS: High Sierra

Option B
MacBook Air 13" Early 2015
Memory: 8GB
Processor: 1.6GHz dual
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536MB
Storage: 251GB flash storage
Optical Drive: None
OS: Big Sur

Curious, which would you accept, and why?
Thanks in advance.

 

[nquinn]

Afternoon all. I have the option to receive one of the items below. The idea is merely to learn to use Mac OS, along with checking email, internet browsing, and possibly using Parallels/a Windows 10 VM.

Option A
MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011
Memory: 4GB (1333MHz, DDR3) - might have a few memory modules to upgrade this to 8GB
Processor: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000 384MB
Storage: 320GB SATA drive
Optical drive: Super Drive
OS: High Sierra

Option B
MacBook Air 13" Early 2015
Memory: 8GB
Processor: 1.6GHz dual
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536MB
Storage: 251GB flash storage
Optical Drive: None
OS: Big Sur

Curious, which would you accept, and why?
Thanks in advance.

Definitely don't buy a 2011. Google dropped gpu support for the HD3000 in Chrome (and electron apps) so the 2011 is nearly unusable.

IMO if you want a budget machine look for a 2015 15" with quad core & a good SSD. Maybe $600 on a decent deal. A 2014 model is also reliable and has retina.

 

[imacomputah]

Afternoon all. I have the option to receive one of the items below. The idea is merely to learn to use Mac OS, along with checking email, internet browsing, and possibly using Parallels/a Windows 10 VM.

Option A
MacBook Pro 13" Early 2011
Memory: 4GB (1333MHz, DDR3) - might have a few memory modules to upgrade this to 8GB
Processor: 2.3GHz Intel Core i5
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 3000 384MB
Storage: 320GB SATA drive
Optical drive: Super Drive
OS: High Sierra

Option B
MacBook Air 13" Early 2015
Memory: 8GB
Processor: 1.6GHz dual
GPU: Intel HD Graphics 6000 1536MB
Storage: 251GB flash storage
Optical Drive: None
OS: Big Sur

Curious, which would you accept, and why?
Thanks in advance.

Definitely get the air. It's still supported by apple and is the last generation that you can upgrade the SSD. The 2011 pro is obsolete, and even if you never upgrade either of them, the pro will be an order of magnitude slower than the air because of its spinning hard drive.

I still use a 2015 MacBook Air 11 inch with 8gb of ram and anNVMe SSD and it FLIES. Best laptop I've ever owned.