Hello all! So I'll try and make this short - I haven't owned a Mac with an Intel processor for a few years now, I've been making do on my HP EliteBook and my trusty 'ol eMac and PowerBook. But as much as I enjoy these machines, I must admit that OS X 10.4 is, uh, a dinosuar and Windows 7, while adequete, is beginning to exhibit the classic Windows issues of being terribly slow and random glitches. The newest Mac I've ever owned was a Late 2007 black MacBook with 10.6, which I sold to purchase my HP in 2014, so I've been "out of the loop" for some time.
I'd like to maaaaybe purchase a newer Mac laptop to replace my HP laptop and supplement my eMac (I'm never letting it go
) My budget for this is between $300-400, but I could probably be convinced to spend just a bit more for the right machine. My first inclination was to look at MacBook Air models, since I love the 12.1" screen on my current HP, and the 11.6" model would be near-perfect to replace that. Buuuut, my HP was also a workhorse when it was new, with a Core i7 2.1 GHz processor and 8 GB of RAM, plus fairly impressive graphics. I'm not so sure I could get a MBA that could match these specs at that price point.
But then again, I'm also not so sure I could get those specs with my other option, the MacBook Pro 13" model. I'm just really out of touch these days when it comes to processor generations and graphics performance.
So basically, what could I get for the money I want to spend? I just need something that can handle some light 3-D gaming emulation as well as native older games in Windows, as thats about the most demanding thing I do on my machines. I don't need a Retina screen or high-end graphics or a massive 1 TB+ HDD or anything like that, just something that will keep up with playing L4D2 or some Gamecube emulation (and of course runs smooth like a Mac should) Any advice is appreciated!
I'd like to maaaaybe purchase a newer Mac laptop to replace my HP laptop and supplement my eMac (I'm never letting it go
) My budget for this is between $300-400, but I could probably be convinced to spend just a bit more for the right machine. My first inclination was to look at MacBook Air models, since I love the 12.1" screen on my current HP, and the 11.6" model would be near-perfect to replace that. Buuuut, my HP was also a workhorse when it was new, with a Core i7 2.1 GHz processor and 8 GB of RAM, plus fairly impressive graphics. I'm not so sure I could get a MBA that could match these specs at that price point. But then again, I'm also not so sure I could get those specs with my other option, the MacBook Pro 13" model. I'm just really out of touch these days when it comes to processor generations and graphics performance.
So basically, what could I get for the money I want to spend? I just need something that can handle some light 3-D gaming emulation as well as native older games in Windows, as thats about the most demanding thing I do on my machines. I don't need a Retina screen or high-end graphics or a massive 1 TB+ HDD or anything like that, just something that will keep up with playing L4D2 or some Gamecube emulation (and of course runs smooth like a Mac should
) Any advice is appreciated!