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I have a dilemma

G

GWagon

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 27, 2011
54
0
Hey guys. This is my first time posting on this forum but have been a long time follower.

I've always wanted to try out a Mac and, now that I'm starting Uni, I've decided to take the plunge.

I'm going for a notebook for the portability. At first I wanted to go for the Pro, but I keep hearing that a redesign is due at the first Q of next year, something I really want to wait for.

But the thing is I need something now, and I've come up with the idea of going for the Air now, and when the new Pros hit the stores I can then sell it and pay the difference for a new Pro.

How does this plan sound? Do you think I can get something decent for the Air when I come to selling it, as it has just been refreshed? If you were in my situation, would you just go for the Pro or what I suggested above?

The notebook will be used mostly for word processing, surfing and maybe some light gaming.

Also, If I were to go down the Air root, should I go for the 11" or 13"? Baring in mind that it will be my primary computer.

I'm looking forward to hear what you have to say.

Cheers
 
So what makes you want the Pro versus the Air? Your uses didn't seem to indicate that the Pro could offer you specs the Air doesn't.
 
It sounds like a great plan.

The Air is an ultraportable laptop. Not a netbook. There's a big difference.

With the Macbook Pro you may do a lot more than the Macbook Air.

Since you are interested in exploring Apple's OS and products, MBA would be a good start.

Just note that if you end up switching to a Macbook Pro in the future, you might miss the speed of the Macbook Air.

This is coming from somebody who switched from a Macbook Pro to a Macbook Air.
 
Based on what you refer to as "your needs", I would highly recommend getting a 13" air (as the pro you speak of does not come in 11").

The air w/SSD is a screaming fast and capable machine. In fact (I'll whisper this), check out the 256ssd on the refurb store, that one can run SL and Lion.

Many will say to go i5 or i7, but I have the 2.13 from oct 2010, and it fits my needs/ business and personal.
 
Unless you need an optical drive...

Buy the Air and you'll forget the Pro even exists...;) Prolly the 13" since youre looking at the Pro to begin with.
 
GWagon said:
I'm going for a notebook for the portability.

The notebook will be used mostly for word processing, surfing and maybe some light gaming.

Also, If I were to go down the Air root, should I go for the 11" or 13"? Baring in mind that it will be my primary computer.
Click to expand...

If it's portability you want, you just hit the jackpot. :D

Seeing as it's going to be your primary computer, consider the 13" model because of the extra screen space, longer battery life, etc.
 
Wow, so many replies already!

I want the 15" Macbook Pro eventually as my primary computer. It may be foolish for my needs, but it's a bit like owning a super car. You're hardly going to be using more than 50% of its power, but it's nice to know that it is there if needed. I'd take the hi-res display too which would give me more screen real estate, especially if they up the res in the refresh.

So it seems like the 13" Air is the winner. I'm actually going to make the trip up to my local Apple store tomorrow and I'm pretty excited to see what the fuss is all about!

I have heard the the upgraded CPU on the 13" is not really worth it, am I right?
 
GWagon said:
Wow, so many replies already!

I want the 15" Macbook Pro eventually as my primary computer. It may be foolish for my needs, but it's a bit like owning a super car. You're hardly going to be using more than 50% of its power, but it's nice to know that it is there if needed. I'd take the hi-res display too which would give me more screen real estate, especially if they up it in the refresh.

So it seems like the 13" Air is the winner. I'm actually going to make the trip up to my local Apple store tomorrow and I'm pretty excited to see what the fuss is all about!

I have heard the the upgraded CPU on the 13" is not really worth it, am I right?
Click to expand...

You will not be disappointed. :D

No, the premium you pay for the upgrade to a core i7 is not really worth it.
 
nebulos said:
13 mba, i5
Click to expand...

Me too with 256 Samsung SSD ... carting around an apple external superdrive that I will probably hardly ever use!

Now a 4 port flexible USB hub ... that's gotta travel with you!

Plus a usb NIC ( mine is from apple store ) for places that you have to use ethernet wired connection.
 
i5 it is then.

Last question. Should I go for the 256gb SSD or keep the 128gb SSD and replace it myself. Is it worth the trouble or is it too much of a hassle?

Cheers
 
GWagon said:
i5 it is then.

Last question. Should I go for the 256gb SSD or keep the 128gb SSD and replace it myself. Is it worth the trouble or is it too much of a hassle?

Cheers
Click to expand...

I would just go with the 256, the cost of aftermarket drives is pretty ridiculous at the moment. Also if this is going to be your main machine I would consider getting the i7 over the i5. Yeah its only a 10% increase in performance but if the money isn't a problem it is a nice little boost to your gaming performance.
 
I agree with everybody else.

13" i5 256GB

You won't be disappointed.

----------
Brandon0448 said:
Yeah its only a 10% increase in performance but if the money isn't a problem it is a nice little boost to your gaming performance.
Click to expand...

Maybe for an 11", but for the 13" it's not really worth it, especially since he plans to own it for less than a year and the i5 is plenty fast. Having an i7 will not make it have a considerably higher resale value too. For gaming, the integrated graphics are much more likely to be the bottleneck, so it wouldn't really matter what processor he has.
 
Also on the i5 / i7 choice -- isn't the i7 only available as build-to-order from apple.com vs. buying the i5's from 3rd party sellers? If so, then on the 13" the i7 upgrade is ~$210 more than an i5 from BestBuy. Amazon would save ~$237, but looks like there's a wait.

For some folks the i7 upgrade makes sense for the cpu intensive stuff they do. I think most "average" users wouldn't see over $200 worth of difference.
 
I just sold my Pro for an Air.

Wish i bought the air from the very beginning.

Small, Light, Stylish .. its actually awesome! And its so so so so fast!

I messed up installing a programme and had to call Applecare for help - my machine could reboot faster than he could read the script back to me!
 
Just to let you all know that I am now a proud new owner of a 13" Macbook Air!

After an hour of use all i can say is wow! I am honestly in awe with this machine, why didn't I get one earlier? Alas, I am still getting used to this new operating system, but so far, for me at least, it beats what Windows has to offer in nearly every way. Everything is just so much faster and easier to reach!

I would like to thank you all for your kind help and I look forward to being a part of the Mac community!
 
Congrats, you will enjoy.

Have a look at this post for links to the Battery FAQ and a bunch of "what apps should I consider" type threads.

Also, as with any computer be sure to set up your backup strategy. Time Machine is pretty handy, there are also image backup type options such as CarbonCopyCloner (?).
 
GWagon said:
Just to let you all know that I am now a proud new owner of a 13" Macbook Air!

After an hour of use all i can say is wow! I am honestly in awe with this machine, why didn't I get one earlier? Alas, I am still getting used to this new operating system, but so far, for me at least, it beats what Windows has to offer in nearly every way. Everything is just so much faster and easier to reach!

I would like to thank you all for your kind help and I look forward to being a part of the Mac community!
Click to expand...

Great news. Did you get the i5 or i7? 128 or 256?
 
KPOM said:
Great news. Did you get the i5 or i7? 128 or 256?
Click to expand...

Thank you for the tips deeddawg.

And I went for the i5 256gb version. I thought about going for the 128gb plus an external HD but they didn't have it in store so I thought why not.
 
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