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MacBook Air vs cMBP?

N

Nathbullen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 5, 2013
1
0
I am going to be in year 10 next year, and I have decided to upgrade my dying 5 year old windows laptop to a shiny new MacBook, but I just can't decide which one to get! I would appreciate some help!

I would use it for:
Pages and keynote
iTunes
iMovie editing
Occasionally playing the sims 3
Possibly storing all my photos on it

Obviously battery life is an important factor, since I'll need it to last for an entire school day (about 5 hours use, give or take)

I know there is going to be a MacBook Pro update soon, but I'm not sure if they are gonna kill the cMBP, or only upgrade the rMBP? I would like the haswell processor, and the benefits that it brings

I'm not buying it till around Christmas time, so I'm happy to wait for a refresh, but I would like to know what you think, the 13 inch MacBook Air, or the 13 inch cMBP?
Thank :)
 
Take the rMBP, not questions here. The (practically) same processing power, better resolution, better battery, lighter, MUCH faster storage. The only drawback is the storage space (only relevant if you want to store tons of pictures and music on it).
 
Storage is probably the biggest factor for you right now. Is the SSD in the MBA sufficient for all your needs. With the cMBP, you can easily and inexpensively upgrade the storage. Additionally the ram is upgradeable as well.

Right now comparing apples to apples (pun intended) I'd say the MBA is the better choice if you can easily live within the 256GB SSD of the MBA (or even the 128GB)
 
If you're not buying until christmas time then whatever anybody says now is going to be useless info and just a waste of time.

Why? Because the situation is going to be so drastically different in December.

The pro lines would be refreshed - and there would be plenty of reviews and feedback and comparisons by then. Mavericks would likely be stable how it compliments each device will be highlighted.

If someone tells you today buy the Air over last year's pro, it's not going to make 1 difference in december. Just wait.
 
Nathbullen said:
I'm not buying it till around Christmas time, so I'm happy to wait for a refresh, but I would like to know what you think, the 13 inch MacBook Air, or the 13 inch cMBP?
Click to expand...
I agree with the aforementioned comments. Any advice here will be moot once the Haswell units are released.

If for some reason the cMBP is discontinued... and this is what you want, there will be stock left "somewhere". Probably discounted as well.
 
You definitely don't have to think about this until you buy. By Christmas, the rMBP will have great battery like the Air and the cMBP will probably be discontinued.
 
AXs said:
If someone tells you today buy the Air over last year's pro, it's not going to make 1 difference in december. Just wait.
Click to expand...

This. Today you'd get the Air over the cMBP for what you're doing. But in a couple of months there might be other alternatives for you to look at.
 
Nathbullen said:
Occasionally playing the sims 3
Click to expand...

It'll most likely run like crap. I've always found those games to be pigs. My wife plays that all the time. It always seemed like the Sims always needed something much closer to a gaming PC than a non-gaming laptop to be enjoyable. Maybe if you don't plan on playing it on an external monitor and are ok with dialing down the settings, it'll be fine.

Considering this is for school, I wouldn't let that influence your decision on which laptop to get. Just don't expect that game to run very well.

As for 13" MBA vs 13" cMBP, I still prefer the cMBP. Supports 16GB RAM, can fit 2 normal sized HDs and has a built-in ethernet port. All are important to me but might not be for you.
 
mslide said:
It'll most likely run like crap. I've always found those games to be pigs. My wife plays that all the time. It always seemed like the Sims always needed something much closer to a gaming PC than a non-gaming laptop to be enjoyable. Maybe if you don't plan on playing it on an external monitor and are ok with dialing down the settings, it'll be fine.

Considering this is for school, I wouldn't let that influence your decision on which laptop to get. Just don't expect that game to run very well.

As for 13" MBA vs 13" cMBP, I still prefer the cMBP. Supports 16GB RAM, can fit 2 normal sized HDs and has a built-in ethernet port. All are important to me but might not be for you.
Click to expand...

Agreed. I used to play the Sims 3 on occasion as well and I've noticed that with the last three/four big expansion packs, it has gotten progressively slower and more buggy. If I remember correctly they have a problem with memory leaks. You're better off just waiting for Sims 4 and playing that. (Judging by the textures they've used in the Gameplay videos, I'd assume the Sims 4 is less taxing on computers in general)
 
Come back and ask again a week or two before decision time. There will probably be new options then.
 
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