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MBP vs MPA -- For Wife

J

jtalerico

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Nov 23, 2005
358
0
My wife currently has a 08-09 MBP 17". It has been a great machine, but I think the 17" is going to be a bear to carry around (which she will be doing more often for the next year).

I am between the 13" MBA or the 15" MBP. The biggest concern I have with the MBA, is the speed of the processor to run Parallels, browser, mail, etc. While I think the 15" is going to be a bit overkill for what she is going to use it for.

Anyone have suggestion?

I would be looking at this for the MBA http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook...HZP4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1313429856&sr=8-2

OR

This for the MBP http://www.amazon.com/Apple-MacBook...p?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1313417492&sr=1-2

Thanks!
 
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Search is your friend.

If you don't mind replacing the Air in a year or two, especially if she's running Parallels, go for it. Otherwise, get a MBP. Why not the 13" MBP?
 
Naimfan said:
Search is your friend.

If you don't mind replacing the Air in a year or two, especially if she's running Parallels, go for it. Otherwise, get a MBP. Why not the 13" MBP?
Click to expand...

Search is my friend... I already have used it... Reason for the 13" is because I used search to find out the performance of the 13" MBP vs 13"MBA is marginal.
 
jtalerico said:
Search is my friend... I already have used it... Reason for the 13" is because I used search to find out the performance of the 13" MBP vs 13"MBA is marginal.
Click to expand...

Wrong in the real world--and a 13" Air that approaches the base 13" is $1699 with the ULV 1.8 GHz i7. Compare that to $999 for a base MBP.

And if you have searched, you saw that the Air requires a huge price premium to give up a lot of capability and upgradeablity--in exchange for which it is a bit lighter and thinner.

But it's your money--do what you want. Just be ready to replace the Air in a year or two when 4 GB of RAM doesn't cut it when running Parallels and Lion, which chokes on 4 GB as it is.
 
Naimfan said:
Wrong in the real world--and a 13" Air that approaches the base 13" is $1699 with the ULV 1.8 GHz i7. Compare that to $999 for a base MBP.

And if you have searched, you saw that the Air requires a huge price premium to give up a lot of capability and upgradeablity--in exchange for which it is a bit lighter and thinner.

But it's your money--do what you want. Just be ready to replace the Air in a year or two when 4 GB of RAM doesn't cut it when running Parallels and Lion, which chokes on 4 GB as it is.
Click to expand...

I agree there is something to be said for the upgradeability of the MBP...

Sounds like you are not in favor of the MBA, appreciate the insight.
 
My wife has a 2011 13 MBP, I have 2010 13 MBA. I'm the IT professional in the family, my wife mostly blogs, fbs, tweets and does iphoto. Occasionally she will use the CDR when she finds a muzak cd stuffed away in a dark corner and she wants to rip. Her major complaint about the MBP is WEIGHT!
My Air has no issue at all with running 2 VMs in VMWare fusion. In a pinch, it does a decent job at compressing video when I need it. Havent had the need to use a cd/dvd yet, usually just mount as a dmg off my file storage.
Bottom line, the Air is a great machine for doing most of the things that the Pro does. Only the most proc intensive tasks will show the difference between the machines.
Displays are different too. MBP has the more clear, crisp display, but its 1280 (ugh). My Air is 1440, and I consider it just one step below the Pro, without all the glare of the glass.
I would think the Air would be a perfect "chick" machine. My wife eyes mine greedily all the time. They are very light. To each his own.
 
I don't understand how people consider the 13" Macbook Pro heavy. It's approximately 1.5lbs heavier than the 13" Macbook Air.

But hey, if that 1.5lbs really makes a night and day difference for your fragile arms, then go for it.
 
Adamantoise said:
I don't understand how people consider the 13" Macbook Pro heavy. It's approximately 1.5lbs heavier than the 13" Macbook Air.

But hey, if that 1.5lbs really makes a night and day difference for your fragile arms, then go for it.
Click to expand...

LOL Fragile? My wife is a kick box instructor... Pretty sure she could take most of the hipsters that browse this forum ;).

JHUFrank said:
My wife has a 2011 13 MBP, I have 2010 13 MBA. I'm the IT professional in the family, my wife mostly blogs, fbs, tweets and does iphoto. Occasionally she will use the CDR when she finds a muzak cd stuffed away in a dark corner and she wants to rip. Her major complaint about the MBP is WEIGHT!
My Air has no issue at all with running 2 VMs in VMWare fusion. In a pinch, it does a decent job at compressing video when I need it. Havent had the need to use a cd/dvd yet, usually just mount as a dmg off my file storage.
Bottom line, the Air is a great machine for doing most of the things that the Pro does. Only the most proc intensive tasks will show the difference between the machines.
Displays are different too. MBP has the more clear, crisp display, but its 1280 (ugh). My Air is 1440, and I consider it just one step below the Pro, without all the glare of the glass.
I would think the Air would be a perfect "chick" machine. My wife eyes mine greedily all the time. They are very light. To each his own.
Click to expand...

Exactly the feedback I am looking for! Still in decision mode... Maybe I will write some C Code, install XCode on a MBP and MBA in the apple store then compare!
 
jtalerico said:
I am between the 13" MBA or the 15" MBP. The biggest concern I have with the MBA, is the speed of the processor to run Parallels, browser, mail, etc. While I think the 15" is going to be a bit overkill for what she is going to use it for.
Click to expand...
I think you answered the question yourself. Could it be that you are adding in your wants and needs instead of the wife's? :p
 
jtalerico said:
Search is my friend... I already have used it... Reason for the 13" is because I used search to find out the performance of the 13" MBP vs 13"MBA is marginal.
Click to expand...

Get the 13 inch Pro. Aside from the extreme need of having the computer be that small, the Pro is better in all regards. It's very thin as well; when closed it's the width of my index finger.

People get caught up in the size of the Air (which is very small) but overall, the Pro seems to be the better option when you're going to keep the machine for a few years.
 
The best place to start would probably be to ASK YOUR WIFE WHAT SHE WANTS!!!!!!!!!!! I hate these threads about what should I buy my wife/mother. I bought my own computer, thank you very much! If my husband ever thought he could make a decision like which computer I wanted himself, I would probably smack him upside the head!
 
iExpensive said:
I think you answered the question yourself. Could it be that you are adding in your wants and needs instead of the wife's? :p
Click to expand...

LOL.. My MBP Does the job.. Just want to make sure she is taken care of!

Young Spade said:
Get the 13 inch Pro. Aside from the extreme need of having the computer be that small, the Pro is better in all regards. It's very thin as well; when closed it's the width of my index finger.

People get caught up in the size of the Air (which is very small) but overall, the Pro seems to be the better option when you're going to keep the machine for a few years.
Click to expand...

Thanks!

ladytonya said:
The best place to start would probably be to ASK YOUR WIFE WHAT SHE WANTS!!!!!!!!!!! I hate these threads about what should I buy my wife/mother. I bought my own computer, thank you very much! If my husband ever thought he could make a decision like which computer I wanted himself, I would probably smack him upside the head!
Click to expand...

LOL, Birthday Surprise! If she knew I was getting her a laptop, she would blow a gasket!

Adamantoise said:
Well then the 13" MBP should not be a problem.
Click to expand...

No doubt!
 
jtalerico said:
LOL.. My MBP Does the job.. Just want to make sure she is taken care of!

LOL, Birthday Surprise! If she knew I was getting her a laptop, she would blow a gasket!

No doubt!
Click to expand...

If she's getting it as a present, you definitely can't ask her lol.

But yea, if you're going 13 inch, I would highly suggest the MBP. The Air is a great computer. Fast, snappy, light, portable.

I don't know how long you intend on keeping the computer, hence my recommendation for the MBP. At a max of 4 gigs of RAM, the computer is great for people right now, however, it isn't up gradable and RAM is constantly going up while the price is dropping.

If she got the Pro now, down the road she could upgrade the hard drive and/or the ram to increase longevity of the machine. If it gets to the point (and I'm sure it will 2-3 years from now) where 4 gigs is the baseline and all of Apple's computers (or the next major OS) requires 4 gigs of RAM, you'll be at the bottom of the pack and you'll have to resort to upgrading the entire machine if it can't handle what you're doing.

Meh, if you could, try just hanging out together one day and just so happening to walk into an Apple store and see what she plays with. Of course you'd have to make it seem like a spur of the moment thing and you're just checking to see what's new, or something, but I'm sure that would give you an idea.

Either machine will be great and she'll love either one.

Hope you guys have a good birthday together!
 
I think your wife would love the MBA even the 11 inch would be great! She is currently using the 17' so if you want something more powerful then get her the 15' mbp! What does she use her laptop for? Video editing, photo?
 
Not really sure if she needs parallels but it seems like an iPad is more than adequate for her needs. She'll have the 17" MBP for all her real computing needs plus the iPad for when she needs portability. Plus she'll only blow half a gasket because it's half the price.
 
Ya'll are just wrong! If it were me, I would not appreciate getting something as important as a computer for a gift. Maybe I'm weird, but I want to pick out my own computing equipment. Of course, there is the fact that I know WAY more about computers than my husband so if he ever even attempted to get me a computer he would get a swift kick in the ass. I know what I want, I want to pick it out. Of course, he's also the one that would complain about it being too expensive. LOL! You can't spend enough on electronic gadgets!

As for the kitchen comments, I don't have an iPad but I do use my rooted Nook Color in the kitchen. Having recipe books from the Nook Book store is just the beginning. On the rooted table, I can get all kinds of apps that have recipes and even videos that show how to do things that I didn't know how to do. Of course, the more time I spend in the kitchen the less time I have to play with my computers so most of my cooking involves the microwave or take-out. It ain't the 1950's any more, boys!
 
ladytonya said:
Ya'll are just wrong! If it were me, I would not appreciate getting something as important as a computer for a gift. Maybe I'm weird, but I want to pick out my own computing equipment. Of course, there is the fact that I know WAY more about computers than my husband so if he ever even attempted to get me a computer he would get a swift kick in the ass. I know what I want, I want to pick it out. Of course, he's also the one that would complain about it being too expensive. LOL! You can't spend enough on electronic gadgets!

As for the kitchen comments, I don't have an iPad but I do use my rooted Nook Color in the kitchen. Having recipe books from the Nook Book store is just the beginning. On the rooted table, I can get all kinds of apps that have recipes and even videos that show how to do things that I didn't know how to do. Of course, the more time I spend in the kitchen the less time I have to play with my computers so most of my cooking involves the microwave or take-out. It ain't the 1950's any more, boys!
Click to expand...

Lol, don't be upset I'm sure they're just joking.

I haven't really met anyone that thought like that in real life.
 
i wouldn't get my partner a computer. it's too personal, sort of like buying a car, and something that really needs to be discussed. an ipad? maybe. an ipod? maybe. but, definitely not a computer.
 
palpatine said:
i wouldn't get my partner a computer. it's too personal, sort of like buying a car, and something that really needs to be discussed. an ipad? maybe. an ipod? maybe. but, definitely not a computer.
Click to expand...

Depends how tech savvy she is. In my experience, less tech savvy people wouldnt care if you bought them a computer because they dont even know what they want in the first place. People who know computers better are more picky because they know what they can get and should have gotten.
 
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