Macbook Air 13:128gb VS Macbook Pro 13" Base

[IamSKW]

Hello,

I am in the market for a new laptop. here is what i will be using it for

1.School work - Programming mostly
2.Surfing the net
3.Music and some photography stuff (Lightroom)
4.Movies/streaming
5.Downloading.

Would the MBA 13" 128gb handle this just as well as the Macbook Pro 13" Base?

I like the weight and the portability of the MBA

Thanks
Scott

 

[nepalisherpa]

Hello,

I am in the market for a new laptop. here is what i will be using it for

1.School work - Programming mostly
2.Surfing the net
3.Music and some photography stuff (Lightroom)
4.Movies/streaming
5.Downloading.

Would the MBA 13" 128gb handle this just as well as the Macbook Pro 13" Base?

I like the weight and the portability of the MBA

Thanks
Scott

MBA 13" should be great for this but I recommend going with at least 256GB.

 

[clyde2801]

the upgrade equation

Unless you're doing some heavy lifting, a base MBA will smoke a base baby MBP just due to the SSD vs. the Pro's conventional HDD. The Air having HD5000 with up to 1 gb of vram vs the HD4000 in the pro with 512mb could make a difference in some tasks.

OTOH, the pro is imminently upgradeable whereas the air is not. You could always cheaply and easily upgrade the pro to 16gb of ram and put in a conventional aftermarket SSD later on. Once the pro is upgraded, they should be roughly on the same footing, unless you're doing some processor intensive stuff or have the timing and reactions of Mr. Data. The pro also has a CD/DVD burner and a couple more peripherals such as wired ethernet, FW 800, separate audio in and audio out ports and a SD card slot that the Air lacks.

I'd wait to see if the MBP's get haswell by the end of the month, and it should put the two machines on a more equal footing, assuming apple will still release the older design alongside the retinas.

 

[Y So Jelly]

I believe the HD 4000 has 512 mb RAM.. and should get 1 GB with Mavericks.. but yes you should go with the Air.

 

[clyde2801]

I probably was thinking about the HD3000 sandy bridge integrated gpu. Sorry.

 

[mullock87]

My girlfriend has the latest MacBook Air 13 (base specs) and a friend of mine recently purchased the MacBook Pro 13 base model. Going for the MacBook Air 13 is a no brainer, it's a much better laptop overall.

 

[IamSKW]

I am leaning toward the MBA for sure. I am thinking i will wait until the the release of the new MBPs hopefully in the next month or so. If there is nothing special i will go with MBA for sure.

Thanks for your help!!!