From Mid 2009 MBP to Mid 2011 MBA?

[purelithium]

I currently own the MBP described in my sig. It isn't quite the proper fit for my needs. I think a MBA + Thunderbolt display would fit my needs more, and be cheaper than what I paid for the MBP new. Would I notice much of a performance decrease going from this machine to say a 11" MBA with the 1.8ghz cpu upgrade? Only having 4gb ram is bothering me, as I felt Lion was sluggish when my MBP only had 4gb. How would Aperture run on this machine at the Thunderbolt Display's native res?

Also, if I sold my MBP how much could I get for it? 14-1500?

Thanks guys!

 

[Naimfan]

For yours, I'd suggest $1000-1200, the upper range if you have the box and Applecare, the lower if not.

A refurbished 2.4 GHz i5 is $1269 and is noticeably faster than yours, as well as having the full one year warranty. You can also get a refurbished quad core 2.0 for $1529, which is what makes me think your's is closer to $1000 or so.

Good luck!

 

[dlimes13]

eBay: From $1050-$1250 + Shipping (before fees)
Local/Craigslist: $1100-$1150.

IMO. Depends on condition, accessories, original components, software, etc. also.

 

[Sjhonny]

Check your activity monitor. If the ram is the issue, you'll have next to none available ram. I'm guessing it's more of a hard drive issue, since Aperture is one hack of a database, whit lot's of larger files. So I'm guessing if you only use your laptop for photo editing, you'll benefit (heavily) from the SSD and higher speced cpu.

 

[alphaod]

The CPU on your 2011 MacBook Air will be faster than whatever CPU is on your MacBook Pro. Although the clock is lower, overall speed is higher.

The SSD on the MacBook Air will be pretty fast, but if you find the capacity low, OWC offers an upgrade albeit at a hefty price.

RAM is probably the only limitation. I use Lightroom and I need all the RAM I can get. I'm not sure about Aperture, but I would think you would want a lot of RAM hence the MacBook Air might not be good choice in this circumstance. That's why I have the 15" MacBook Pro.

As for your computer, I would put the price at $1000-$1200 as what other people have suggested. The issue is the newer machines that are available in the refurbished store are both low priced and much faster than your computer.

 

[purelithium]

Thanks for all the input, guys. Looks like it'll be pretty much a 1:1 swap for the MBA I want.

 

[Young Spade]

Thanks for all the input, guys. Looks like it'll be pretty much a 1:1 swap for the MBA I want.

Why not the MacBook Pro? Honestly I think you'll have a problem with RAM. With the SSD, you won't notice limitations much but if you're trying to do with with aperture along with other things, you'll run right through that 4 gigs.