Mid-2012 MBA vs Early-2011 MBP

[JUiCEJamie]

H Guys, after a quick look around the web. I can only find compare stats at EveryMac.com for these two models, so it'd be nice to get a few other opinions.

I'm currently using the Early-2011 MBP with no upgrades, and I am now noticing the MBP to slow down a lot. So, this year - I'd like to upgrade my mac, and use the idea of portability by buying an MBA.

Will I notice a difference in speed? Geekbench results look promising.. But what do you guys thinks?
I now I want a 13" 2012 MBA, but is it really the right thing to do? (especially because the new MBP is the same price?!)

 

[NutsNGum]

Air everytime, the performance difference is negligible these days and the screen res on the Air is better (Though not necessarily the screen itself). 8GB of RAM is also an option now. It's more portable. I could go on, but I'm probably boring you already.

 

[JUiCEJamie]

Air everytime, the performance difference is negligible these days and the screen res on the Air is better (Though not necessarily the screen itself). 8GB of RAM is also an option now. It's more portable. I could go on, but I'm probably boring you already.

I'd much rather you go on, as I'm really really not too sure.

By now, I've noticed that there's a much zippier experience from the old MBP to the new MBA.. But with both the new Pro and Air models being the same price? The Pro does attract me because of the speed, but the Air is more portable... Is that the only difference?

 

[leman]

Well, the new MBA has faster SSD and substantially faster graphics. CPU-wise, there is difference, although I am not sure if you will notice it for what you do.

 

[stevelam]

Air everytime, the performance difference is negligible these days and the screen res on the Air is better (Though not necessarily the screen itself). 8GB of RAM is also an option now. It's more portable. I could go on, but I'm probably boring you already.

the one thing that bothers me about the screen is the lack of glass pane. it throws me off a little and i keep thinking its missing and should be there. (obviously thin profile/weight concerns are the reason but still)

 

[JUiCEJamie]

Would I be correct in saying, that with the Airs SSD drive being so small (I'd purchase the 128), it would almost encourage me to use more Cloud services?!
I'd use my iTunes Match to stream my music, and othe iCloud services, and I would also look at purchasing an external hard dive.

With so little being on the Air at any one time, would this improve it's performance at all/over time/forever?

 

[tey112]

I switched from the
-Early 2011 13" MBP 2.7ghz/8gb/vertex3 ssd
to
-2012 mba 13" with 8GB.

I notice a little slowdown when opening cpu intensive apps (netbeans take a couple seconds longer), but no other noticeable difference. If anything, the HD4000 in the MBA is more important to my uses.

I do, however, like the much lighter and smaller computer and the higher resolution compared to the 13" mbp.

 

[oxfordguy]

the one thing that bothers me about the screen is the lack of glass pane. it throws me off a little and i keep thinking its missing and should be there. (obviously thin profile/weight concerns are the reason but still)

Also means a little less reflection from the glass, which is a plus...

 

[iHorny]

I'm deciding between a macbook pro 13" and air 13" too, but my main concern now is will the air last me for 4-5 years with proper care and use, and would the pro be significantly faster when it comes to zipping larger files/ripping movies/converting large file formats as compared to the air? Let's just assume i'm talking about the base model of both..