Getting free replacement, MB Pro vs Air?

[mpsruo]

Hello,

Before I begin, let me explain my situation. I own an iMac and a Macbook Air (rev1) and I love both devices. Using mobileme, I've barely ever felt the shortcomings of the air such as lack of CD Drive. I purchased the Air on an American Express. It's now been 1 year and 4 months since my purchase date and the logic board on the Air has gone bad. American Express will pick up the bill and either refund me the cost for the laptop or repair the damage. Since the cost is so great to repair the logic board, I'm 90% sure I'm getting a new one. I'll be refunded my $1799.99 and I plan on using this for a new laptop.

I am now faced with 2 choices:
a) 13 inch Macbook Pro with 120gb SSD, 4gb RAM - $1599.99 refurbished
b) Macbook air, 120gb SSD, 2gb RAM - $1599.99 refurbished


As you can see, both choices are equal in cost. I love my Macbook Air's mobility, but at the same time I used to hate how the system used to get bogged down when running video or doing heavy multitasking. Video used to get the Air hot quickly and the 2gb of RAM made me feel the push. I know the latest Air revision has a faster processor, SSD, and the new nvidia integrated graphics card. The Pro's extra RAM is the only upside I can think of.

What would you do?

Thanks

MP

 

[Hellhammer]

If few hundred grams or centimeters aren't going to ruin your satisfaction, go for MacBook Pro. It has more power, upgradeability and ports.

 

[safetyobc]

It depends on what you are using it for, but for me the 13" MBP would be a better choice, especially if you don't want it bogging down.

I have a 15.5" MBP 2.2GHz with 2GB ram and it works awesome. I couldn't imagine having 4GB of RAM!!! Go with the MBP!

As far as portability. My wife has the 13.3" MacBook and it is plenty light and portable. She takes it to school with her and has never complained about it being too bulky. She loves it.

 

[macboy4]

If you need the power get the MBP.

Keep in mind, however, that if you get the MBA you'll be going from a Rev A to a Rev B/C. There is a dramatic difference in performance, especially on video.

 

[benlee]

Go with the MBP. I can't imagine the portability of the Air is much greater than that of the MBP.

 

[Outrigger]

The OP is asking this in the MB/MBP section, so what answe do you think you will be getting? Go ask the same question in the MBA section and I bet you'll get a different answer.

Go with what you feel will suit your need more.

 

[chipchen]

Unless you have physical damage to your MacBook Air... it's going to only cost about $324 for Apple to ship your computer to a repair depot and fix it.

 

[maflynn]

go for the MB
you get more ports, more ram, you can easily upgrade the HD/Ram and you also have an optical drive.

I love the design of the MBA and on paper its an awesome idea but the price point makes no sense, especially given the fact that for nearly the same size and much less $$ you can get a MB

 

[Dr_Maybe]

I considered both. Went with the MBP mainly because you can have more than 2GB RAM. And the hard drive can be upgraded as well. I plan to get a 160GB intel SSD. Also some have had issues with lines on the screen of the MBA. And I like the glass trackpad.

The MBA is nice though. For me, I just wanted more RAM.

 

[TsuaSai]

Unless you have physical damage to your MacBook Air... it's going to only cost about $324 for Apple to ship your computer to a repair depot and fix it.

That might be apple cost but if its not under apple care but under his AE warranty won't Apple charge AE as if they were going to charge you to fix it out of warranty? In which case I bet it will cost way not than 324 bucks.

 

[mpsruo]

To clarify:

chipchen - you are correct, except I'm not paying a dime, Amex is. As I explained, American Express covers ALL of the repair costs. As of now, my estimate is $1200 and they picked up the tab

Unfortunately, due to the estimate being $1200...they authorized the repair not replacement. Interestingly enough, the technician at the Apple Authorized repair center called me and informed me the hinge of the MBA might be helping cause the problems with the logic board and has sent pictures for Apple's analysis. If that part needs a replacement, the cost might reach the threshold for a replacement...I'm hoping for that.

 

[bossxii]

MBP vs MBA... I think there is probably 100 different threads asking this same question. I know I asked it several months back trying to decide this very same thing. Here is what I read, learned and came up with to decide.

First I made a list of what I wanted to use a laptop for. Prioritized it based on how I would be using it, by hours per day/week etc... Top of my list for a laptop was watching video and other media when out of the house or even in a room where I don't have a TV. I had own'd a 1.86/SSD Rev B for about 4 months but mostly for work and it did the trick and the portability was great. However for my personal machine I knew video was going to be my top issue. The MBA for Hulu, Netflix, movies of any kind does ok, but not great. The fans were full blast within a few minutes and for me, very annoying. If I didn't want to use ear buds or a headset the volume was rather bad competing with the fans.

Aside from the fan noise and less than stellar video performance I found a few build quality issues (like what your experiencing now) to be annoying.

The hinge seems cheap, flimsy and way to loose on the 1.86 I had for only 120 days.

The trackpad, while does the trick, the new glass trackpads are superior in every way. (imo) Not to mention they don't rub the screen bezel leaving a mark.

Storage is a concern for me due to video and pictures I take on various trips and archives I like to have with me. The 128gig SSD was amazing and loved the speed, but I don't boot my machine everyday. I close the lid, put it in sleep mode. SSD does start up the programs faster but saving 5 or 6 seconds here or there isn't enough to offset the MBA's current short comings.

IF the MBA were to show up with a different hinge, glass trackpad and 256gig SSD/4gig ram option I would probably give it another try, but for now the 13" MBP is just way to easy of a choice vs the weight trade off.

Good luck with whichever you decide!

 

[vant]

Um...

Brand new MBP13" + SSD + 4gb ram

$1200
$230
$70
=$1500 for a brand new 2.26GHz 80gb X25-M(Intel) 4GB ram.

Why would you pay $1600 for a refurb that is used and slower?