New MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro i7

[Zac10]

Hi guys, i have been looking to buy an apple laptop as my sony vaio is giving me all the problems in the world. This will be my first apple laptop. I do own the iphone5 and will be buying ipad some time soon.
now the problem is that i was hoping that apple would upgrade the macbook pro processor also in WWDC, which did not happen. Looking at macbook air the specs looks pretty awsome. so i am debating should i buy a macbook air or buy the older model macbook pro i7 or wait for apple to announce the newer processor for macbook pro.
i can get an open box i7 from best buy for about $150 off plus another 100 off with student discount.
with air i will atleast need 256 gbs.
i use my laptop for regular use interenet browsing, movies and songs. once in a while i get into using photoshop and i would love to do video editing on my laptop also either using vegas pro or imovies (that would be once in a while).
i have tried to find comparisons but failed so i would greatly appreciate if you guys help me out.

thanks

 

[tjgonzo]

The new MBA's are looking pretty impressive especially with new SSD's they put in them. The Haswell processor bump and new battery's that last a lot longer make the MBA a much better choice for day to day use, plus the much lighter and portable form factor of the MBA.

As of right now, I wouldn't recommend the 13" MBP over the MBA for a couple of reasons...

1. It's more expensive
2. The MBA comes with a screaming fast SSD, the MBP comes with a slow 5400rpm HDD
3. The MBA has updated processors
4. The MBA has a better GPU (HD5000 vs. HD4000 on the MBP)
5. The MBA has a better portable form factor

In day to day use, the MBA will perform noticeably faster than the MBP even though the MBP has an i7 processor.

The MBA will handle light HD video editing NO PROBLEM.
If you want better performance for video editing you will need to step up to the 15" model with the dedicated GPU.

I would highly recommend the MBA for your needs, as of right now it smokes the 13" MBP...

 

[leman]

I totally agree with tjgonzo above. The better battery, higher resolution etc. of the MBA makes it a no-brainer IMO compared to the 13" MBP. The MBP would be only attractive to you if you for absolutely need a DVD drive in your everyday life, or if you are one of those people that can't live without user-serviceable HDD. But even then, bear in mind that the standard SSD in the MBA is faster than any SATA drive you can buy.

 

[tillsbury]

Absolutely. The 2012 MBA13 is a great machine, the 2013 improvements have really pushed it ahead. Other than 3D games and heavy processing requirements, that will do the job fine. The next jump up really is to the rMBP15. However, if you do want to use the machine seriously you should probably upgrade to 8Gb RAM.

 

[Zac10]

Thankyou for all the replies, i greatly appreciate everyone's elaborate responses. I am set on getting the MacBook Air, the only problem is that i feel like i should get the one with 8gb ram but bestbuys doesnt carry that one and i have a bunch of bestbuy gift cards and since i work there i get crazy discount on bestbuy protection which i am sure is better then apple care.
The most i do with my laptop is
Web surfing, music and watching movies
Photoshop once in a while
But i normally have alot of tabs opened when i use chrome.
I feel like 4gb should be enough since this is my only option if i wana get it from BBy.
I just wana know that i wont regret it in future.