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Macbook Pro Mid 2012 or macbook air early 2014 ?

F

Freedom144

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 12, 2014
21
0
The Macbook pro specs :-

LED backlit glossy display
2.5GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
4GB 1600MHz memory
500GB Serial ATA Drive
Intel HD Graphics 4000
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in battery 7 hours


The Macbook Air specs :-

LED backlit glossy display
1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
256GB flash storage
Intel HD Graphics 5000
Battery: Up to 12 hour


These are my 2 options please don't suggest anything else.

I will be buying it as iam going to college it will be my main computer "My first Mac"
i will use it for college work + watching movies + playing some games like (league of legends , Crossfire) + regular internet browsing

now i was going to get the Air in the store i change my mind when i saw the pro i heard that the pro have more processing power than the air and will serve better as the main computer i really like the Ethernet and disk drive in the pro.
It should last around 3 years.

what do you think guys which one should i get ?
 
Regardless of whether you want portability or power, I would only consider the air unless you were considering purchasing a SSD with the MBP or would be using the optical drive enough times to justify lugging one around inside your computer.

I know you said not to recommend anything else but, what is stopping you from purchasing a rMBP base (or 256Gb)?

EDIT: Don't forget to consider upgradeability.
 
p3ntyne said:
Regardless of whether you want portability or power, I would only consider the air unless you were considering purchasing a SSD with the MBP or would be using the optical drive enough times to justify lugging one around inside your computer.

I know you said not to recommend anything else but, what is stopping you from purchasing a rMBP base (or 256Gb)?

EDIT: Don't forget to consider upgradeability.
Click to expand...
I don't need the retina display and the 128 gb aint enough for me iam not willing to carry an extrenal drive.
I may upgrade the pros rams to 8gb.
 
I just went through this same purchase 2 weeks ago and decided on the MacBook Pro 2012 model. I have 3 years left in College and I wanted the larger HD space, CD/DVD drive and most importantly the ability to upgrade it later ! I did not need the retina screen and the 2012 MacBook is still a very light weight machine for school. The battery life has been awesome !

I picked mine up at the Apple store with my Student discount and I got a 100$ gift card that I used to pick up a iPad mini with the student discount and it came with another 50$ gift card.

In the end I was able to get 2 awesome Apple products that will serve me great for the next few years. If I went with a retina MacBook Pro or an Air I would have lost HD storage space, the option for future upgrades, and I would have never been able to also afford the purchase of a iPad Mini.
 
Freedom144 said:
The Macbook pro specs :-

LED backlit glossy display
2.5GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
4GB 1600MHz memory
500GB Serial ATA Drive
Intel HD Graphics 4000
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Built-in battery 7 hours


The Macbook Air specs :-

LED backlit glossy display
1.3GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
4GB of 1600MHz LPDDR3 onboard memory
256GB flash storage
Intel HD Graphics 5000
Battery: Up to 12 hour


These are my 2 options please don't suggest anything else.

I will be buying it as iam going to college it will be my main computer "My first Mac"
i will use it for college work + watching movies + playing some games like (league of legends , Crossfire) + regular internet browsing

now i was going to get the Air in the store i change my mind when i saw the pro i heard that the pro have more processing power than the air and will serve better as the main computer i really like the Ethernet and disk drive in the pro.
It should last around 3 years.

what do you think guys which one should i get ?
Click to expand...

I'd go for the Pro, but I'd take out the slow HDD first and put an SSD in it. Then only the full power of the machine can be unleashed.
 
I just got graduated from high school
And i can't buy from apple online store here where i live i will be buying them for the full price.
 
freedom if you can 8gbs in the air , i would get the air then as it has a haswell cpu compared to the ivy bridge in the cMB , but if you can't get 8gbs in the air then get the cMB
 
Neodym said:
What about buying from other vendors, such as e.g. Macmall or Amazon? Compared to Apple's full price you would be able to get some discount that way.
Click to expand...
I have checked them the difference is not great as i never bought laptops online it's not worth it for me.
 
Get the 2014 Air...

Here are some reasons:

Better battery life
Wireless AC - useful when connecting to a wireless AC router ; basically you would get a network speed boost when compared with wireless N
Faster integrated GPU - better for gaming overall
Weighs less than the old MacBook Pro
PCI-E SSD - results in the Air feeling much more responsive than the 2012 MacBook Pro

----------
yjchua95 said:
I'd go for the Pro, but I'd take out the slow HDD first and put an SSD in it. Then only the full power of the machine can be unleashed.
Click to expand...

Even if you do that , the Pro wouldn't have comparable battery life to the Air. Also the PCI-E SSD in the Air is faster than anything the 2012 Pro can support. The ULV CPU in the Air is fast enough for what the OP wants to do.
Video of 2013 MacBook Air running LoL
 
Haswell based MBA is the best choice, it has some better and latest technology than 2012 MBP also don't forgot MBA has the best long battery life than MBP. classic MBP you mentioned is bit heavy to carry around school campus.
Good luck :apple:
 
Get the Air. Twice the battery life, PCIe speed and significantly lighter weight. Any processing power advantage the Pro would have is negated due to it being an older processor. You won't use the optical drive like you think you will. It's just added weight.
 
capathy21 said:
Get the Air. Twice the battery life, PCIe speed and significantly lighter weight. Any processing power advantage the Pro would have is negated due to it being an older processor. You won't use the optical drive like you think you will. It's just added weight.
Click to expand...
The only difference between haswell and ivy bridge is the power consumption.
 
The air you are looking at is not very future proof at only 4gigs of ram and a small HD that can not be upgraded later. I would go with the pro unless you can get the specs bumped up on the air.
 
T5BRICK said:
Clock for clock Haswell is faster than Ivy Bridge.

*EDIT* OP, get the 2014 MBA. It's a better computer than the 2012 MBP. If refurb an option?
Click to expand...
Not getting refurb the pro will cost less than the air though
 
Freedom144 said:
Not getting refurb the pro will cost less than the air though
Click to expand...

At the end of the day the machine you choose needs to be able to do what you need it to do, once that is set then you can compare weight and battery life. The 2012 via upgrades will do what you need much longer than the MBA.
 
YodaPowerMac said:
The air you are looking at is not very future proof at only 4gigs of ram and a small HD that can not be upgraded later. I would go with the pro unless you can get the specs bumped up on the air.
Click to expand...

While you are right that 4Gb's is very minimal for a device that is intended by an only computer for 3 years, it is enough for the OP. Additionally, 256Gb's is enough for most people. I have only a 60Gb SSD and that is more than enough for me.

BTW, the SSD is upgradeable and while there are currently no options, there should be some by Q3.
 
All valid points about the MBA's specs over that of the MBP - BUT very few mentions of the disk space. 256GB is merely adequate, imo.

Anyone with a decent sized iTunes library, movies, several games, iPhoto etc., and even the 256GB starts getting full, very quickly.

IF you have zero issues using externals/cloud storage - then it's a no-brainer. With the exception of not being able to upgrade the RAM - the MBA would be a given. But IF storage is a concern, then the MBP moves back squarely into the picture, surely?

Bottom line - only you would really know what you need, based on your usage intention. Start from there.
 
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