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Pro or Air
- Thread starter forensick
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Decide on what you are going to use it for. An Air is more likely for people who are CONSTANTLY on the move. Even then, it's a seriously under powered machine.
Yeah, it's also unclear when the Air will get an update. There are suitable ULV candidates from the Westmere family, but Apple would run into the same issue that they're having with the 13 inch MBP in terms of space and IGP vs. discrete GPU. It's possible that they won't update it until we get Sandy Bridge ULV, which will still have the same problem.
Well you have to tell us what your needs are but in pretty much any situation the Pro is the better choice.
depends on what your needs are and how much your company's budget is. basic tasks and on the go, i'd get a pimped out air - 2.13 and SSD. if it's two base machines you're choosing from, however, i'd get the pro regardless of traveling needs - the 13 inch is still plenty portable and way more powerful than the $1499 air.
The Air is pretty much an iPad with a foldaway keyboard. To be honest, I don't care for them at all. Their uses are too limited because of how thin they are. The hard drive is 120 GB; My MBP's is 500GB. If I had an Air, I'd be SOL, because I use way more than 120GB on my computer. Also, there isn't even a CD drive. While people don't use them as much nowadays, you'd be screwed when you need one.
Get a pro.
Get a pro.
Pro or Air
What size screen can you live with? Do you need firewire?
I use a 13" MBP and am happy with it when I'm traveling and using it as a side computer at work or playing poker while watching TV at home. I do not use it for video editing so I might have gotten by just fine with an Air. But the 13" screen is nice. 15" is even nicer.
I'm a fine of buying refurbished Macs from Apple. I'd buy a refurb 15" MBP if you have the money.
I also use a 24" iMac at my home office. It's a great machine. The 27" are even better...
What size screen can you live with? Do you need firewire?
I use a 13" MBP and am happy with it when I'm traveling and using it as a side computer at work or playing poker while watching TV at home. I do not use it for video editing so I might have gotten by just fine with an Air. But the 13" screen is nice. 15" is even nicer.
I'm a fine of buying refurbished Macs from Apple. I'd buy a refurb 15" MBP if you have the money.
I also use a 24" iMac at my home office. It's a great machine. The 27" are even better...
is the 13 crippled it uses the same cpu?
here is new page on mac website i wonder if a new air is coming.
http://www.apple.com/why-mac/better-hardware/
I've been using a 2.13 ghz Air with SSD for the past 1 year, and just bought a 17 inch i7 2.66ghz anti glare two days ago
The weight difference is huge, but so is the performance.. You'll need to decide yourself on what you intend to use it for.
The Air would be great for light tasks like email,surfing the net, minor photoshop. Even watching HD video on it would tax it already. Once the fans start kicking in, everything will start to lag. Even watching Youtube HD for more than a few minutes will kick the fans in and turn it hot.
The Pro just handles everything like a champ. I use just the intel graphics all the time and even 720p MKV files hardly make the CPU usage go up by much. 720p mkvs are unwatchable on the Air even with PLEX. They are smooth for the first 10-15 minutes, but once the processor heats up and kicks the fans in, the lag starts coming in.
And it's screen is vastly inferior to that of the LED screen of the pro.
Put side by side, the Pro's LED screen makes the Air's screen look really yellowish. I was shocked when I put them side by side to compare.
The Air's great because of it's weight. It's mega light and you can just carry it by pinching it with two fingers.
So decide what you intend to use your next computer for before jumping in
The weight difference is huge, but so is the performance.. You'll need to decide yourself on what you intend to use it for.
The Air would be great for light tasks like email,surfing the net, minor photoshop. Even watching HD video on it would tax it already. Once the fans start kicking in, everything will start to lag. Even watching Youtube HD for more than a few minutes will kick the fans in and turn it hot.
The Pro just handles everything like a champ. I use just the intel graphics all the time and even 720p MKV files hardly make the CPU usage go up by much. 720p mkvs are unwatchable on the Air even with PLEX. They are smooth for the first 10-15 minutes, but once the processor heats up and kicks the fans in, the lag starts coming in.
And it's screen is vastly inferior to that of the LED screen of the pro.
Put side by side, the Pro's LED screen makes the Air's screen look really yellowish. I was shocked when I put them side by side to compare.
The Air's great because of it's weight. It's mega light and you can just carry it by pinching it with two fingers.
So decide what you intend to use your next computer for before jumping in
Regardless of your need(s), go with a Pro (maybe a 13"?)
The Air has a nice "Cool" factor to it but it's pretty underpowered and battery life isn't that great. Since your work will be paying for it, I'd say get a 13/15" Pro, preferably with an SSD, and you should be set. If you're going to be on the go a lot then a 13" might be a good one to look at. The wow factor for the Air is pretty much gone and in a year or so, it'll be outdated by a newer better model (which some of us are patiently waiting for)
The Air has a nice "Cool" factor to it but it's pretty underpowered and battery life isn't that great. Since your work will be paying for it, I'd say get a 13/15" Pro, preferably with an SSD, and you should be set. If you're going to be on the go a lot then a 13" might be a good one to look at. The wow factor for the Air is pretty much gone and in a year or so, it'll be outdated by a newer better model (which some of us are patiently waiting for)
Pro. The added weight really isn't that big of a deal, and you'll end up with a much more powerful notebook.
Dude, get the Pro. The base 13" MBP has better specs than the Air and isn't that heavy. I take my MBP with me all the time, and it's lighter than carrying my textbooks. 