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Just got a 13" 2.8 i7

ajohnson253

ajohnson253

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jun 16, 2008
1,751
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I like it. Thing is. I wish it was as light as the MBA 13". I am debating on selling this and picking up one for sale that hasn't been used yet on craigslist. It is a Macbook Air 1.8ghz i7 13" 4gb 256gb SSD - $1350.

I will be using as a main computer. I do photo editing with adobe and do light gaming.

Forgot to mention that the MBP has been upgraded to 8gb of ram. Just wondering if portability was really worth the swap? I'd like to see some opinions.
 
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Well, as you know, the MBP does have a better screen (though lower res) so it may be better for photography. It wouldn't matter a whole lot if you're using a monitor with it, but you didn't describe your setup.

The deal you're mentioning for a fully loaded MBA 13 is very good though. I have both an MBA 13 and an MBP 17, both of which I love. If I were to choose between an MBP 13 and an MBA 13, I would go for MBA. It is very fast, and frankly, given that it is 2012, I personally find the screen res on MBP 13 simply silly.
 
The difference between the MBA and the MBP really isnt that big in terms of weight. Its like ~700g or near enough?

If this is your only computer then you are much better off with your MBP. The small difference in weight isnt worth the big difference in power if you don't have another machine.
 
Xikum said:
The difference between the MBA and the MBP really isnt that big in terms of weight. Its like ~700g or near enough?

If this is your only computer then you are much better off with your MBP. The small difference in weight isnt worth the big difference in power if you don't have another machine.
Click to expand...

This is what I'm leaning towards. The weight difference isn't all that much diff now that I think about it. I mean they are both 13" when it comes down to it. I most likely will just keep this along with the little bit of extra power.
 
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ajohnson253 said:
This is what I'm leaning towards. The weight difference isn't all that much diff now that I think about it. I mean they are both 13" when it comes down to it. I most likely will just keep this along with the little bit of extra power.
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I personally think the weight IS noticeable even though it's only ~1.5 pounds (or 700 grams). I've had the 2009 13" MBP up until I sold it and got the 2011 13" MBA, and I definitely did notice the difference carrying it around. Thought it's more a convenience factor than anything.

Benchmark wise they're pretty much equal. Since you have the upgraded model yours would probably score slightly higher than the air model you're comparing it with because of the CPU, but nothing drastic nor noticeable for the things you mentioned.

As they have the same integrated GPU, upgrading your ram to 8gb will probably give you a slightly better gaming experience on your MBP, but once again, nothing significant.

I chose my MBA over the MBP for the battery life, SSD (SSD's are amazing! I've forever been spoiled), and higher resolution. The MBA is perfect for everything I need it to do, and I'll most likely continue to purchase MBA's over MBP's at the 13" level if they keep the difference between the two very minimal as is now. I've always been used to running systems with 8gb of memory, but I haven't had any issues with my MBA bottlenecking in anything at 4gb.

And as previously stated by another member, that deal on the MBA is a pretty killer deal.

Both will be more than enough for the things you've stated you want to use them for.
 
dlim said:
I personally think the weight IS noticeable even though it's only ~1.5 pounds (or 700 grams). I've had the 2009 13" MBP up until I sold it and got the 2011 13" MBA, and I definitely did notice the difference carrying it around. Thought it's more a convenience factor than anything.

Benchmark wise they're pretty much equal. Since you have the upgraded model yours would probably score slightly higher than the air model you're comparing it with because of the CPU, but nothing drastic nor noticeable for the things you mentioned.

As they have the same integrated GPU, upgrading your ram to 8gb will probably give you a slightly better gaming experience on your MBP, but once again, nothing significant.

I chose my MBA over the MBP for the battery life, SSD (SSD's are amazing! I've forever been spoiled), and higher resolution. The MBA is perfect for everything I need it to do, and I'll most likely continue to purchase MBA's over MBP's at the 13" level if they keep the difference between the two very minimal as is now. I've always been used to running systems with 8gb of memory, but I haven't had any issues with my MBA bottlenecking in anything at 4gb.

And as previously stated by another member, that deal on the MBA is a pretty killer deal.

Both will be more than enough for the things you've stated you want to use them for.
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I would agree that the weight is noticeable, the performance difference is negligible, and that you should go with an air ;).

But I wasn't aware that the 13" air had better battery life than the 13" pro.
 
Boe11 said:
I would agree that the weight is noticeable, the performance difference is negligible, and that you should go with an air ;).

But I wasn't aware that the 13" air had better battery life than the 13" pro.
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Sorry I looked it up and Apple lists them as having the same battery life.

I just figured for the components in the Air though that it would be more efficient in regards to battery, but I guess it also has a smaller battery so it makes sense!

Adding a little more to what I said before, I use my MBA as my main now and I love it. I've used combinations of:

-'09 13" MBP + custom gaming desktop (8gb memory in both)
-'11 13" MBA + i5-2500k custom gaming desktop (8gb memory in the desktop)
-'11 13" MBA (currently)

For everything I need a computer for, the MBA is more than enough. I actually sold my desktop I just made, and plan on getting an ATD :]

One advantage the 13" MBP has over the 13" MBA though is that you can hook up two ATD's to it. The 13" MBA can only handle 1 ATD, but the 13" MBP can daisy chain 2 (though the screen on the MBP will turn off). This applies to a very few people out there though haha
 
dlim said:
Sorry I looked it up and Apple lists them as having the same battery life.

I just figured for the components in the Air though that it would be more efficient in regards to battery, but I guess it also has a smaller battery so it makes sense!

Adding a little more to what I said before, I use my MBA as my main now and I love it. I've used combinations of:

-'09 13" MBP + custom gaming desktop (8gb memory in both)
-'11 13" MBA + i5-2500k custom gaming desktop (8gb memory in the desktop)
-'11 13" MBA (currently)

For everything I need a computer for, the MBA is more than enough. I actually sold my desktop I just made, and plan on getting an ATD :]

One advantage the 13" MBP has over the 13" MBA though is that you can hook up two ATD's to it. The 13" MBA can only handle 1 ATD, but the 13" MBP can daisy chain 2 (though the screen on the MBP will turn off). This applies to a very few people out there though haha
Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, have you decided to just leave computer gaming behind, or what made you sell your desktop?
 
you guys are definitely making me go toward the air now haha.

Welp I have it posted. If someone does buy this MBP then I will be picking up the loaded air. It does seem to be a pretty good deal. Thanks guys for all of the input.:) I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes.
 
Boe11 said:
Out of curiosity, have you decided to just leave computer gaming behind, or what made you sell your desktop?
Click to expand...

For the most part, yes.

I started grad school in August, and I built my second desktop (the i5-2500k config) June 2011. I stopped playing games a little before that, but built the second config to be a desktop to last me for the next 4-5 years (the duration of my program). I spend most of my days studying now, and for my breaks I catch up on TV shows haha. So the desktop was more power than I would ever use (at most I was doing AIM, word, powerpoint, web browsing, iTunes at once). That's why I sold it.

Now I take my MBA to school to take notes on and study off of. Come home, hook it up to my external display and use it as my main. Can't wait to get my ATD though :]

And the 128gb SSD is more than enough for my needs since I have an external drive I use to store my media and photos.

I haven't tried any gaming on this, but I was able to play starcraft 2 and world of warcraft on my '09 13" MBP (base model), and the MBA is better than that so I assume it should be ok? But you can search the forums for people's experiences with gaming on it as it would be more credible than what I could offer.

You can't go wrong either way with the MBP or MBA. What I broke it down to when I was deciding was:

MBP -> better camera (don't care), optical drive (don't care), ability to expand/change the hard drive and memory (thought I would care but don't miss it)

MBA -> lighter, higher resolution, SSD

I think the battery life differences between the two will be negligible depending on usage, and yes you could always put an SSD into the MBP, but overall the MBA was much more convenient for me and I don't regret my decision at all. :]
 
Xikum said:
The difference between the MBA and the MBP really isnt that big in terms of weight. Its like ~700g or near enough?

If this is your only computer then you are much better off with your MBP. The small difference in weight isnt worth the big difference in power if you don't have another machine.
Click to expand...

It's a MASSIVE difference for people who travel a lot.
 
dlim said:
For the most part, yes.

I started grad school in August, and I built my second desktop (the i5-2500k config) June 2011. I stopped playing games a little before that, but built the second config to be a desktop to last me for the next 4-5 years (the duration of my program). I spend most of my days studying now, and for my breaks I catch up on TV shows haha. So the desktop was more power than I would ever use (at most I was doing AIM, word, powerpoint, web browsing, iTunes at once). That's why I sold it.

Now I take my MBA to school to take notes on and study off of. Come home, hook it up to my external display and use it as my main. Can't wait to get my ATD though :]

And the 128gb SSD is more than enough for my needs since I have an external drive I use to store my media and photos.

I haven't tried any gaming on this, but I was able to play starcraft 2 and world of warcraft on my '09 13" MBP (base model), and the MBA is better than that so I assume it should be ok? But you can search the forums for people's experiences with gaming on it as it would be more credible than what I could offer.

You can't go wrong either way with the MBP or MBA. What I broke it down to when I was deciding was:

MBP -> better camera (don't care), optical drive (don't care), ability to expand/change the hard drive and memory (thought I would care but don't miss it)

MBA -> lighter, higher resolution, SSD

I think the battery life differences between the two will be negligible depending on usage, and yes you could always put an SSD into the MBP, but overall the MBA was much more convenient for me and I don't regret my decision at all. :]
Click to expand...

I'm in a similar boat, I guess. The more "desktopy" things I do with my computer (at home at least) have diminished lately, and the MBA+TBD combo does virtually EVERYTHING else almost perfectly. I'll have to do some more soul searching, but it might be time to leave conventional wisdom behind and move to an air as my primary PC :).
 
TheRealDamager said:
It's a MASSIVE difference for people who travel a lot.
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Kindly don't over-generalize.

I travel every week and prefer the MBP. If the 1.5 lb difference is THAT much of a big deal to someone, they need a gym, not a more expensive and slightly lighter laptop.
 
Naimfan said:
Kindly don't over-generalize.

I travel every week and prefer the MBP. If the 1.5 lb difference is THAT much of a big deal to someone, they need a gym, not a more expensive and slightly lighter laptop.
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It's okay to disagree. It's okay to want to defend/validate one's own purchases by speaking out against the competition...in every thread it's mentioned. But for god's sakes....write a new joke. I've seen you drop that "rehehe they need a gym!" joke at least 3 times today.

just sayin'
 
Naimfan said:
Kindly don't over-generalize.

I travel every week and prefer the MBP. If the 1.5 lb difference is THAT much of a big deal to someone, they need a gym, not a more expensive and slightly lighter laptop.
Click to expand...

lol I hit the gym daily. I am pretty strong. I would still enjoy something a little lighter. I've realized it does make a bit of a difference. Really I realized I have no need for a cd drive.
 
Boe11 said:
It's okay to disagree. It's okay to want to defend/validate one's own purchases by speaking out against the competition...in every thread it's mentioned. But for god's sakes....write a new joke. I've seen you drop that "rehehe they need a gym!" joke at least 3 times today.

just sayin'
Click to expand...

What, the truth hurts?

;)
 
Well I just went to Apple to check out how the screen is on the air. Geez it's like night and day, I am now definitely thinking of keeping the pro. Didn't know it made that much of a difference.
Once a thinner lighter pro comes out similar to the air is released. I will just simply sell this and pick one of those up.

I just hope, just hope, either the next air gets a better screen on it or the pro will be thin like the air.
 
ajohnson253 said:
Well I just went to Apple to check out how the screen is on the air. Geez it's like night and day, I am now definitely thinking of keeping the pro. Didn't know it made that much of a difference.
Once a thinner lighter pro comes out similar to the air is released. I will just simply sell this and pick one of those up.

I just hope, just hope, either the next air gets a better screen on it or the pro will be thin like the air.
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Yeah the air has a higher resolution but the pro has a better quality. i still love my air though :] but if they put in retina displays in the 2012 MBA's imma get that for suree haha
 
I hate it when people say the weight difference isn't that much. its HUGE. The difference in the feel is completely noticeable. Maybe its a little different if you have it in a bag, but holding an air and a pro, there's a huge difference, especially in thickness.
 
Hellishness said:
I hate it when people say the weight difference isn't that much. its HUGE. The difference in the feel is completely noticeable. Maybe its a little different if you have it in a bag, but holding an air and a pro, there's a huge difference, especially in thickness.
Click to expand...

Have to agree with you on that.
 
ajohnson253 said:
you guys are definitely making me go toward the air now haha.

Welp I have it posted. If someone does buy this MBP then I will be picking up the loaded air. It does seem to be a pretty good deal. Thanks guys for all of the input.:) I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes.
Click to expand...

you've got an awesome machine there already -
whack an SSD into it in place of the platter HDD and you'll never look back.
 
You NEED an ssd in your mbp.

The performance difference is astonishing. You will never use a regular hard drive once you use a ssd.

I ripped out my superdrive and got a data doubler + ssd from OWC. Night and day difference...
 
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