Its quite the opposite. The 8600GT is a dedicated card, while 9400M is integrated. 8600 is about 2x faster than 9400 in most cases. http://www.macworld.com/article/136251/2008/10/macbookgraphics.html
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
macbook vs air vs macbook pro
- Thread starter dwd3885
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Its quite the opposite. The 8600GT is a dedicated card, while 9400M is integrated. 8600 is about 2x faster than 9400 in most cases. http://www.macworld.com/article/136251/2008/10/macbookgraphics.html
I'm sorry to tell you, but you're wrong. It is bad. Unless you want to use the original Air as a Netbook, it's not worth half of the discounted price... UNLESS...
Now, when viewing VIDEOS, the old one is JUNK! I had one... I loved it for writing Word documents, surfing MacRumors.com, and checked my email.
So, I clearly qualified my opinion in comparing it to the new one because I learned for myself that the new one is awesome. So, there is an Air capable of way more and it's available now for much more money. I will go so far as to say, that for me, I would rather pay $2499 for a new one than $699 for a revision one model. To me, I will save up money to afford the new one OVER the old one. Because to watch a movie on the old one is not fun. I know, it is NOT fun...
So, Apple learned from its mistakes and everyone like me sold my revision one before the new lineup was announced in hopes for just what happened. An amazing Air available now.
So, based on the three the Thread Starter is comparing, I would NOT buy the Air even at $699, so I sure wouldn't advise it at $1149.
That was my point. And the only reason I compared the new one was to establish a baseline value. At $1799 the low end is good, at $1999 the 1.86 CPU is better, and at $2499 the top of the line with SSD is AMAZING!
Since the OP is NOT willing to pay that, I recommend the MBP. However, I would recommend the new MB second and I would NOT recommend the old Air at all. I think everyone throwing $1149 for the old Air right now is wasting their money and spending it foolishly. When the price hits Netbook pricing averages, it may be a wiser purchase. Until then, they are all spending much more than it's worth. EVEN AT $1149. The discount means nothing when comparing to a real notebook. I did NOT believe it myself until I spent over three hours on a plane with my brother's amazing new Air.
AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING!
Just because I use the MB doesn't mean the Air isn't at the top of my wishlist. And, I am waiting for the next upgrade to make the Air my ONLY MAC. I want the silky-smooth glass trackpad, the 2 GHz CPU, the 4 GB of memory, the 256 GB SSD, and the Glass display. YES, I will pay the additional money for all that. I am saving up and cannot wait. Will be my first Snow Leopard run computer too. At that time my new MB will become my Windows computer. I run Windows one day per month for a client application, but that is the only time I need Windows.
I cannot wait... Please Apple please make it all happen soon.
MBP is a great machine even the old one... esp with the new pricing
it has a better screen then the macbook (the old one)
i just think that if your going to be buying a macbook it should be the 2.4 edition (however i do realize its more on the expensive side)...
MBP has my vote just because of the CPU power (a lil more future secure)n better screen then mb
MBA is just not enuff for me (not alot of power)
MB has perfect combination for me (but i'd suggest the 2.4 version) even thou its a lil more expensive...
think bout it..
it has a better screen then the macbook (the old one)
i just think that if your going to be buying a macbook it should be the 2.4 edition (however i do realize its more on the expensive side)...
MBP has my vote just because of the CPU power (a lil more future secure)n better screen then mb
MBA is just not enuff for me (not alot of power)
MB has perfect combination for me (but i'd suggest the 2.4 version) even thou its a lil more expensive...
think bout it..
Tough call between the old MBP and new MB!
One thing you should consider is the superior viewing angle and image quality of the MBP screen. The matte option is very, very attractive now that Apple has phased them out. The new MB screen is actually pretty bad in comparison...
Another thing that you might want to consider is the possibility of an abbreviated lifespan with the 8600M GT chip. I wouldn't be too paranoid of this flaw, but it's out there.
Regarding an old MBA, I wouldn't chance it. Apple's 'fix' for their inadequate cooling solution is a drastic (50%) reduction in CPU performance. It's disgusting, really.
So your perfect fit would be a rev2 MBA. Sell your kid's bike or something!
One thing you should consider is the superior viewing angle and image quality of the MBP screen. The matte option is very, very attractive now that Apple has phased them out. The new MB screen is actually pretty bad in comparison...
Another thing that you might want to consider is the possibility of an abbreviated lifespan with the 8600M GT chip. I wouldn't be too paranoid of this flaw, but it's out there.
Regarding an old MBA, I wouldn't chance it. Apple's 'fix' for their inadequate cooling solution is a drastic (50%) reduction in CPU performance. It's disgusting, really.
So your perfect fit would be a rev2 MBA. Sell your kid's bike or something!
Ha yea! So I might consider spending the little extra for the 2.4 current gen MB for $1499. For that price, I could get a really kick A macbook pro refurb though. Maybe it's just that having 3 macbook pros the last 3 years, it doesn't seem like it's a keeper machine sometimes. the build quality, while great, doesn't seem to compare at all to the new line of laptops. So I think the macbook might be the way to go.
The 2.2mbp was the machine I had before I screwed up the screen...(Pressure marks, tried to fix it, you can't, tore up the screen.! ugh) If I get the same machine again, it would be a great machine, but i might feel that i'm not getting a 'new' computer, you know? Just getting the same thing I had before I screwed it up!
To each his own. I'm not going to sit here and duke it out over a message board, its not worth my time. I'm quite happy with my Rev. 1 MBA. I knew what it was when I bought it and I paid a significantly discounted price for it compared to the new model. I've had no issues with it; it greatly outperforms my expectations (that were created by reading posts like yours about how horrible a machine it is).
i think i'm going to get the macbook. another factor is that i'll be able to add an ssd hard drive in a year or so when prices come down for a better performance boost as well. I'd risk screwing up my macbook pro if i decided to do that again.
So now it's the macbook 2ghz or 2.4.
There have been numerous threads on this. For $250 you get .4ghz, 90gb more hd and backlit keyboard. IDK if that's enough to go for the 2.4..
So now it's the macbook 2ghz or 2.4.
There have been numerous threads on this. For $250 you get .4ghz, 90gb more hd and backlit keyboard. IDK if that's enough to go for the 2.4..
You know, more than a few times, under certain lighting conditions, I've had problems seeing the letters on the black keys (not at night time), and I've had to activate the backlighting out of annoyance (I touch type, but it's still bothers me). I wonder if the non-backlit model has a better contrast of letter/key color?
I think you would notice a 400mhz difference in CPU speed. It wouldn't be huge, but for me it would lie just within what I would consider to be a reasonable upgrade. Remember, it's 400mhz per core, and hopefully this will mean something with Snow Leopard's multithread improvements.
Oh yea, and when I owned a couple 2.2Ghz MBP's I *thought* the build quality was amazing until I got the new unibody model. For a guy who eats, drinks and sometimes sleeps pretty much infront/ontop of my computers, it feels very solid, and its minimalist nature makes it very easy to keep clean!
Couldn't do..That's right, I went to the Apple Store here in St. Louis and was set to get the high-end MacBook. But I couldn't do it. I don't know if it was the screen (probably not) or the resolution (probably so) that put me off. It was just too small for me. I'm not a huge guy, but I've only used either 14-inch or 15.4 inch laptops. 13.3 is way too small to be a full-time laptop. At least, not something I want to spend over $1,000 on and be less than satisfied with the size. AM I being unreasonable? You think if I would have given it more time I'd like the size?
That's it though. I LOVED the new trackpad. It's really awesome. It's not a deal breaker, but it's nice. So it's back to the drawing board for me. I guess that leaves me with the refurb MacBook Pro. Even though I love the new design and stability/build quality of the new laptops. How much more is the NEW MacBook Pro again?!? WAY too much. $1899 is way too much for me. Ugh. I'm kinda stuck again then. Seems like the 15.4 is the size for me.
--Side note. I overheard an Apple Store employee say that the MacBook DID have a firewire port. He was talking to a customer who thought it didn't. He said, "Yea it does have one. That port that isn't USB, that's firewire." Now I HAD to go up to the guy and say, no, that's not firewire, that's display port. I just couldn't believe the apple store employee really thought the MacBook had firewire. He was genuinely surprised when it didn't. WOW
That's it though. I LOVED the new trackpad. It's really awesome. It's not a deal breaker, but it's nice. So it's back to the drawing board for me. I guess that leaves me with the refurb MacBook Pro. Even though I love the new design and stability/build quality of the new laptops. How much more is the NEW MacBook Pro again?!? WAY too much. $1899 is way too much for me. Ugh. I'm kinda stuck again then. Seems like the 15.4 is the size for me.
--Side note. I overheard an Apple Store employee say that the MacBook DID have a firewire port. He was talking to a customer who thought it didn't. He said, "Yea it does have one. That port that isn't USB, that's firewire." Now I HAD to go up to the guy and say, no, that's not firewire, that's display port. I just couldn't believe the apple store employee really thought the MacBook had firewire. He was genuinely surprised when it didn't. WOW
What are you talking about?????? Are you seriously arguing that integrated graphics is a better choice than a dedicated graphics card??????
To the OP: Don't listen to him, at least not about graphics performance.
+1. I think is the best machine for what you described you would need it for.
You either get used to 13.3" screen, or get a MBP.
The MB screen is small physically, but it has the same resolution as most 14" or 15.4" laptop displays. I don't find myself too cramped when using my MB, but the extra space on my iMac's screen (1440x900) definitely helps.
Well I just ordered my computer. From a power seller on ebay, using that live.com $200 back. So it turns out to be $1499 for the new MacBook Pro!
Can't wait to get it! So I might have stretched my budget a little bit, originally i was looking at the $1349 price range, but just a bit more for something that i like a lot more. I love the new trackpad, new enclosure, and love the size of a macbook pro. so instead of settling for a small macbook or an older macbook pro, i got a new macbook pro
Considering the fact I was prepared to go to the Apple Store and spend $1499 (w/edu discount) on the backlit macbook, I am ECSTATIC about the $1550 NEW MacBook Pro. Would have spent more for the macbook after taxes.
I am glad you didn't buy the generation one MBA. You got a great deal and a great MAC. Congrats and good luck with it.
To each his own. I'm not going to sit here and duke it out over a message board, its not worth my time. I'm quite happy with my Rev. 1 MBA. I knew what it was when I bought it and I paid a significantly discounted price for it compared to the new model. I've had no issues with it; it greatly outperforms my expectations (that were created by reading posts like yours about how horrible a machine it is).
NOT saying it is a horrible machine and I am not going to "duke it out" with anyone. I am simply saying that the version one MacBook Air is a bad buy based on value and a price tag of $1149.
It is merely an overpriced Netbook. Now, before the new one was released, it was the only buy for someone that wanted a Mac and UltraPortable. I was foolish enough to pay $1799 for it...
Now, however, in my eyes, it's a horrible buy even at $1149 or $899 or maybe even $699 (but $699 seems closer to the right price for a version one MBA). It is a Netbook and priced nearly the same as mid level MacBook. It is so far behind the original Air, that the new Air truly made the old Air into a dinosaur.
So, buying it just because you want a Mac is fine but a bad buy compared to the price of the version two MacBook Air. Now, that is a real machine. And, I didn't realize the difference until I used it. The first was not a portable Notebook it was a Netbook. The new version is a truly ultraportable MacBook! The real deal. Amazing everything.
That's not to say that it's junk. It's a just extremely overpriced for what it is. And, I am willing to pay MORE THAN $3k for an Air that has just a few more adds like the new MB and MBP have.
Congrats again to the OP.
