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Is it worth it? MacBook Air 15' to MacBook Pro 16

R

robduckett14

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 31, 2015
48
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Hello all,

Just a question do you guys think that it would be worth it to upgrade to the base configuration 13 inch MacBook Pro with either 16 GB ram or should I just keep the MacBook Air i7 8GB 512 GB config that I have now? Obviously I would see a performance upgrade but would it be anything significant to where it would be worth spending more money. I would sell this MacBook Air and put that to the cost of the MacBook Pro. I don't do any photo or video editing, no games just basic web browsing the occasional youtube video or movie. I don't do any high usage activity on the MacBook Air. I may run some VM's on occasion or open up GSN3, use bootcamp, but other than that just normal things.
 
I just upgraded from an Air to the MacBook Pro nTB and I absolutely love my computer. The screen is incredible (especially in comparison to the Air), the keyboard is great (but try it out in a shop first to check you like it as it's VERY different to your current machine) and it is really snappy and responsive.

As for whether it is "worth it," that really depends. In my opinion the main reason to upgrade would be for the improved screen and experience. The Air is already a fast and responsive computer (largely because of the SSD), and while a Mac Pro would be more powerful, the difference is likely going to be small for day to day tasks. But obv it would give you more scope to run more powerful software should you wish to.
 
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danf1 said:
I just upgraded from an Air to the MacBook Pro nTB and I absolutely love my computer. The screen is incredible (especially in comparison to the Air), the keyboard is great (but try it out in a shop first to check you like it as it's VERY different to your current machine) and it is really snappy and responsive.

As for whether it is "worth it," that really depends. In my opinion the main reason to upgrade would be for the improved screen and experience. The Air is already a fast and responsive computer (largely because of the SSD), and while a Mac Pro would be more powerful, the difference is likely going to be small for day to day tasks. But obv it would give you more scope to run more powerful software should you wish to.
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Thanks for the input. I guess for me it would be more of the just having a newer laptop or the "latest and greatest" because for what I use my Mac Air for it does everything perfectly fine no problems at all. So I really don't know. I'll figure something out I may pill the trigger on it I've looked at the new Macbook Pro and I think I have convinced myself that I need to. Thanks though
 
robduckett14 said:
Thanks for the input. I guess for me it would be more of the just having a newer laptop or the "latest and greatest" because for what I use my Mac Air for it does everything perfectly fine no problems at all. So I really don't know. I'll figure something out I may pill the trigger on it I've looked at the new Macbook Pro and I think I have convinced myself that I need to. Thanks though
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I've upgraded from the MacBook Air 13' to the Pro 13 ntb. Everything is great; screen, performance, speakers, keyboard. Only issue is battery life is horribly bad. This is with just light safari usage. One tick on the backlit keyboard. I still don't understand the people stating they are getting great battery life; I have no idea what they're using. I'm getting maybe 6-7 hours.
 
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bigdogn12 said:
I've upgraded from the MacBook Air 13' to the Pro 13 ntb. Everything is great; screen, performance, speakers, keyboard. Only issue is battery life is horribly bad. This is with just light safari usage. One tick on the backlit keyboard. I still don't understand the people stating they are getting great battery life; I have no idea what they're using. I'm getting maybe 6-7 hours.
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That's weird. I'm getting over 12 hrs on my nTB - that's using Office and Safari mainly.
 
What configurations do you guys have. Do you think the processor upgrade is worth it or would I just worry about ram and the ssd?
 
robduckett14 said:
What configurations do you guys have. Do you think the processor upgrade is worth it or would I just worry about ram and the ssd?
Click to expand...

The CPU upgrade is very minor.
Expanding the storage size of the SSD may be worth it for some people. Look at your current computer. How much space do your files take? If you are nowhere near 256GB, then it may not be worth it to spend money on something you may not use.
You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM if you want to make it future-proof. I didn't, because I think 8GB is more than enough for the foreseeable future.
 
I would be tempted by the 16gb ram but couldn't justify the extra cost as I got a very good deal on the standard configuration.
 
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I would be tempted by the 16gb ram but couldn't justify the extra cost as I got a very good deal on the standard configuration.
Click to expand...

The CPU upgrade is very minor.
Expanding the storage size of the SSD may be worth it for some people. Look at your current computer. How much space do your files take? If you are nowhere near 256GB, then it may not be worth it to spend money on something you may not use.
You can upgrade to 16GB of RAM if you want to make it future-proof. I didn't, because I think 8GB is more than enough for the foreseeable future.
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Ok. Sounds good so if I do pull the trigger on it I will most likely go with the base MacBook Pro nTB and the only upgrade I would do is the 16GB RAM, as I don't really need the 512GB SSD. I mean its nice to have but I honestly am not even taking up half of the drive so it would be a waste to spend that extra money and not even use it so the 256 will sit well with me I see no issue with it..

Thanks everyone for the input it has made the decision somewhat easier.
 
@robduckett14 you will obviously see the difference BUT considering you have relatively up-to-date laptop I'd recommend waiting for next model of MBP. Child problems of the new design should be fixed there and it's worth waiting half a year. Had you had a much older/broken MBA this would be different in my eyes.
 
robduckett14 said:
What configurations do you guys have. Do you think the processor upgrade is worth it or would I just worry about ram and the ssd?
Click to expand...
What will your uses be?

I think the processor upgrade will not be that noticable, the ram upgrade gives you some room for the future depending your usage, and storage is fairly easy to estimate, i.e., do you need a 256GB SSD or a 512?

Given that all this stuff is now non-upgradeable, I'd say be a little more aggressive in determining your needs, i.e., upgrade the ram if you think you will need since you cannot upgrade it later.
 
robduckett14 said:
What configurations do you guys have. Do you think the processor upgrade is worth it or would I just worry about ram and the ssd?
Click to expand...
Of course amount of CPU matters but overall if your tasks are not specifically CPU bound, I'd recommend spending money in the following order: first get at least 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD; then get as much SSD as you might possibly realistically need (remember, it's not upgradeable); then get 16GB RAM; then upgrade GPU to middle; then upgrade CPU to middle; then upgrade GPU to top; then upgrade CPU to top. Stop when you don't want to spend any more money. If it's MBP'13 (without dGPU) then remove GPU upgrades from this list without changing other things.
 
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robduckett14 said:
Hello all,

Just a question do you guys think that it would be worth it to upgrade to the base configuration 13 inch MacBook Pro with either 16 GB ram or should I just keep the MacBook Air i7 8GB 512 GB config that I have now? Obviously I would see a performance upgrade but would it be anything significant to where it would be worth spending more money. I would sell this MacBook Air and put that to the cost of the MacBook Pro. I don't do any photo or video editing, no games just basic web browsing the occasional youtube video or movie. I don't do any high usage activity on the MacBook Air. I may run some VM's on occasion or open up GSN3, use bootcamp, but other than that just normal things.
Click to expand...

I don't see any good reason to upgrade for the tasks you perform.
 
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