Pro or Air?

[hansiedejong.]

Hi,

I'm a student (don't take my MB with me to high school) and want to buy an apple laptop. I'm doubting between a MacBook Pro and a MacBook Air. I will use it for simple surfing the web, listen to music via Spotify and read e-mails. I will also use Steam in combination with The Orange Box. That's it. I just want to use it on my desk in combination with the magic mouse and will use it sometimes in the living room. I will also take it with me during every vacation.

So, Pro or Air? And which model (Pro or Air) do you recommend?

P.S. I'm also going to buy an iPad.

 

[allmIne]

You don't need the portability of the Air, so I can't imagine anyone - even the most hardcore Air fan - advising you to pay the portability premium for the Air.

With that said, buy the Pro.

Regarding which model - the base 13 inch is more than sufficient for your needs The Orange Box won't run at max settings, but there's little point in going to the 15 inch purely to play one game, unless there are other reasons why you would value the extra screen space / performance.

 

[hansiedejong.]

Thanks for your reply,

If it will become the Pro, is 15 inch for my usage (desk, living room, vacation) recommend for me above 13 inch?

 

[allmIne]

Thanks for your reply,

If it will become the Pro, is 15 inch for my usage (desk, living room, vacation) recommend for me above 13 inch?

You're welcome. In all honesty, the 15 inch is, imo, more computer than you require. That said, I use a 15 inch (2.53 C2D unibody) for essentially the same purposes as yourself; web, mail, research. I use final cut express once in a blue moon. In short, it's way too much computer for me.

I just don't get on with a 13 inch screen, so that's why I went for it. If you're fine with a 13 inch screen, I think you're best off with a 13 inch model. How much Orange Box are you planning on playing? lol.

 

[HuggyLowDown]

I think you should go with the MacBook Pro. Having the 13", it's very portable, and fast enough to play The Orange Box. Taking it on vacations will be a breeze because of its size. Don't get the 15" it's way too big for taking it with you on the go, its like a desktop. I've had my 13" for about a month now and I take it everywhere with me, I can even fit it in my backpack! Get it.

 

[aicul]

my 2 cents worth

You have conflicting needs and the pro/air is not a determinant factor.

You probably seek a larger screen for the steam gaming thing.

The Air is a premium cost for portability as already highlighted.
The 15" pro is a premium for screen size.

You also indicate that you have an iPad, great for emails, etc.

Why not opt for a entry iMac? Bigger screen... 20" and portability in the iPad.

Otherwise if you insist on a portable the 13" MacBook may answer aspects such as cheap, readily replaced, less issue if "lost" on travel, etc.

It does seem a pity to buy a 15" Pro for Steam it sounds like a half-way solution to me...

 

[alust2013]

I would strongly recommend the base 13" pro. The air is not the computer you want to use for any sort of gaming, and you really don't need the portability, especially if you are going to get an iPad too. Just curious, why do you need an iPad and a laptop? $500+ is a lot of money to be spending on an iPad when you could just get your computer and surf the web. Just a thought.

 

[allmIne]

Don't get the 15" it's way too big for taking it with you on the go, its like a desktop. I've had my 13" for about a month now and I take it everywhere with me, I can even fit it in my backpack! Get it.

Are you being serious? Unless you're a small child - say, 10 years old - or incredibly weak, the 15 inch isn't too big for taking with you. You couldn't have used one before if you've come to that conclusion. I'd also say that comparing it physically to a desktop is a bit ridiculous.

 

[hansiedejong.]

What would you guys do in my position:
- MBA + iPad ($1499 MBA model)
- MBP + iPad (13 or 15 inch?)
- iMac + iPad (with an iMac, I want the massive 27 inch: C2D or i5?)

Thanks

 

[brendu]

since you want to use steam for some gaming, i would say go iMac and iPad... if you dont need a laptop that 27" iMac is amazing and offers the best options for gaming with todays mac hardware... then you have the iPad for portability

 

[hansiedejong.]

Okay, I have it: iMac 27'' (for playing games, massive screen, absolutely fast, and for the desk) and an iPad 16GB WiFi for portability and the super apps.

My question is: I don't want to live with old hardware (Core 2 Duo), I prefer an i5. 1: Is an i5 really faster than a Core 2 Duo. 2: Do you guys recommend me an i5 (the future?)

The perfect combi: iMac 27'' i5 / iPad 16GB WiFi

 

[alust2013]

Okay, I have it: iMac 27'' (for playing games, massive screen, absolutely fast, and for the desk) and an iPad 16GB WiFi for portability and the super apps.

My question is: I don't want to live with old hardware (Core 2 Duo), I prefer an i5. 1: Is an i5 really faster than a Core 2 Duo. 2: Do you guys recommend me an i5 (the future?)

The perfect combi: iMac 27'' i5 / iPad 16GB WiFi

Jeez, kid, how much money do you have to burn? I would recommend the i5, because it would likely be a good bit faster than the C2D for gaming and such. Don't worry about the future nonsense, the Core i3/5/7 are not an entirely new architecture, so the C2D will run anything the i5 will, but the i5, being quad core rather than dual core, will be faster. I would say definitely go for the i5 though, for the relatively small price increase you get a pretty good upgrade (i5 and better GPU with more memory-definitely good for games) If you've got the $2500 to burn, go for it, but that is a lot of money to spend for a HS student.

 

[The Final Cut]

Jeez, kid, how much money do you have to burn? I would recommend the i5, because it would likely be a good bit faster than the C2D for gaming and such. Don't worry about the future nonsense, the Core i3/5/7 are not an entirely new architecture, so the C2D will run anything the i5 will, but the i5, being quad core rather than dual core, will be faster. I would say definitely go for the i5 though, for the relatively small price increase you get a pretty good upgrade (i5 and better GPU with more memory-definitely good for games) If you've got the $2500 to burn, go for it, but that is a lot of money to spend for a HS student.

for his purposes he barely needs a core 2 duo. Seriously people max out games like the orange box on pentium 4 computers so i really doubt you can justify spending any more money on the the Ix cpus which in my mind are really just for high end games and heavy media work. I would suggest just the macbook air for you, and you would be foolish to buy an iPad with any macbook, especially as a high school student. just because core 2 is not the latest in does not mean its no longer perfect for most users.

 

[mattnotis]

Go with the Pro.

 

[Thomas Harte]

Jeez, kid, how much money do you have to burn? I would recommend the i5, because it would likely be a good bit faster than the C2D for gaming and such. Don't worry about the future nonsense, the Core i3/5/7 are not an entirely new architecture, so the C2D will run anything the i5 will, but the i5, being quad core rather than dual core, will be faster. I would say definitely go for the i5 though, for the relatively small price increase you get a pretty good upgrade (i5 and better GPU with more memory-definitely good for games) If you've got the $2500 to burn, go for it, but that is a lot of money to spend for a HS student.

Apple have been known to determine which historic systems a piece of software may run on based on a completely arbitrary piece of its specification. I think the classic example is 10.4, which required a machine with a Firewire connection. There's no real logical reason why other than that it provided an easy way for Apple to explain the sort of age of machine required.

That being said, it's very unlikely they'd distinguish based on build-to-order options because that would defeat the point of approximating capability by age and approximating age by features. However, it also isn't unprecedented for Apple to release software that artificially won't run on hardware that is logically the same as hardware it will run on for all intents and purposes.

Anyway, blah blah blah, go for whichever is cheaper. Either will suit your purposes. If you hadn't said you wanted Steam, probably even a five or more year old Mac would have done.

 

[TRUCRACKER]

Pro. Since you're not taking it anywhere there's no point in getting the air. Plus, the air is a lot more for worse specs.