MacBook air vs MacBook pro questions

[tripleh13]

Hey guys,

I am going to be buying my first mac computer and I have narrowed my search to the 13.3 inch MacBook air or MacBook pro. I am looking at getting the 13.3 pro with 2.5 GHz i5 and a 500gb hard drive for $1179, 13.3 MacBook air with 1.8ghz i5 and 128gb SSD for $1179 or the 13.3 air with 1.7ghz i7 and a 256gb ssd for $1249.

Some people have mentioned to me that the air is better to get but I don't understand why. I see the that the pro has more ports, a DVD drive a 2.5 GHz CPU. Of these three which do you think is the best and why?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Which is the best, depends on one's computational needs. The MBA is more aimed at people, who don't need an ODD, very fast CPU and not so much storage (but the flash storage is faster than the 500 GB HDD by multiple times).
The MBP is aimed at people, who need those ports or the ODD or the slightly faster CPU.
The MBA has a better resolution though (1440 x 900 vs 1280 x 800).

And so on.

 

[Orlandoech]

One is for ulta portability but both are portable. The MacBook can be upgraded as the air cannot. The MacBook you can always add more ram and an SSD and it would be faster than the air.

 

[J&JPolangin]

If you had more than one machine, I'd go with an 11" MBA for portability...for me, my other laptops and desktops are fast enough or upgradable enough so I just want a more portable machine at this point (see my sig for my other machines).

Good luck with your choice!

 

[tripleh13]

between the 2011 i7 1.7ghz 256gb SSD for $1249 and the 2012 air with an i5 1.8ghz and 128gb SSD for $1179, which would be better and faster.

Also the old model is an md226lla/a and when I google it people say its 1.8ghz but bestbuy lists it as 1.7ghz. Any idea which one it is?

 

[Yebubbleman]

Hey guys,

I am going to be buying my first mac computer and I have narrowed my search to the 13.3 inch MacBook air or MacBook pro. I am looking at getting the 13.3 pro with 2.5 GHz i5 and a 500gb hard drive for $1179, 13.3 MacBook air with 1.8ghz i5 and 128gb SSD for $1179 or the 13.3 air with 1.7ghz i7 and a 256gb ssd for $1249.

Some people have mentioned to me that the air is better to get but I don't understand why. I see the that the pro has more ports, a DVD drive a 2.5 GHz CPU. Of these three which do you think is the best and why?

Personally, as your main Mac, I'd go with the 13" Pro; though I'd spend extra and go with the i7 model. It depends though; if you don't need ports, the optical drive, upgrade flexibility, or the option to have a hard drive, then a 13" Air isn't a bad machine; though I wouldn't consider it unless it was maxed out (512GB SSD; 8GB of RAM; Core i7). Otherwise the current 13" MacBook Pro is the way to go, for sure.

between the 2011 i7 1.7ghz 256gb SSD for $1249 and the 2012 air with an i5 1.8ghz and 128gb SSD for $1179, which would be better and faster.

Also the old model is an md226lla/a and when I google it people say its 1.8ghz but bestbuy lists it as 1.7ghz. Any idea which one it is?

If you're torn between last year's high-end MacBook Air and this year's low-end MacBook Air, in terms of pure speed, they're probably comparable. Though in terms of long-term support for things like future OS X upgrades, expect this year's low-end model to last longer. Still though, I'd say 13" Pro over all of them, unless the Air's better resolution is a mission-critical feature for you (and you're, of course, maxing out the high-end 13" Air).

 

[Liquinn]

I'd get either a 13" or 15" Pro. Though I keep wishing I'd got the 15" at sometimes.

 

[jetblk328i]

I'd get either a 13" or 15" Pro. Though I keep wishing I'd got the 15" at sometimes.

+1...I definitely wish I got the 15" Don't really need the portability now that I got an iPad and I would love the extra screen real estate.

 

[Liquinn]

+1...I definitely wish I got the 15" Don't really need the portability now that I got an iPad and I would love the extra screen real estate.

True, but I have a 27" Thunderbolt Display attached to my Mini and a 24" Samsung monitor attached to my G5; so I guess I didn't really want to spend the money on the 15" XD

 

[Bauer24]

I'd go with the i7 from 2011. It's comparable in speed to the new i5, and in real world tasks it will feel much faster than the MacBook pro. Also, you will not regret the choice to have the additional screen space due to the higher resolution.