rMacbook Pro 13 vs Macbook Air 13

[Muscle Master]

The price drop left me kinda curious this morning.. In terms of performance and price.. is the i7 8GB equipped Macbook Air more powerful than the base Macbook Pro retina 13.. Find it interesting

13-inch: 2.5GHz
with Retina display
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
In Stock
Free Shipping
$1,699.00

Vs.

13-inch air: 2.0GHz
with 1440 x 900 Display
2.0GHz dual-core Intel Core i7
Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz memory
256GB flash storage
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2
In Stock
Free Shipping
$1,599.00

Be interested in some benchmarks.. The retina display is beautiful and all but this is still a 13 inch display..seem like the air is still the better value. Is the screen really worth it?

 

[Krazy Bill]

is the i7 8GB equipped Macbook Air more powerful than the base Macbook Pro retina 13.. Find it interesting

Uh no. You only need to look at your own specs to see that. The selling point of the air is weight. (And the useless "cool" factor of being thin).

 

[robvas]

i7 air is a hair faster than the i5 13" rMPB. But you can upgrade the 13" rMBP to an i7 and get back in front...

 

[Muscle Master]

Uh no. You only need to look at your own specs to see that. The selling point of the air is weight. (And the useless "cool" factor of being thin).

Hardly call it useless.. you can say the same for the retina. the only selling point it has is the screen

factor in selling points... and Price. I'm curious for anyone's opinions on what is the better buy until Haswel

 

[BigMacAttack1]

I just set up my return of my 13" Air (2012) and bought the rMBP 13". I paid $100 less for the same specs (except now I have an i5 instead of an i7 processor) and I decided that I preferred the retina and speed of the Pro over the .5 lb lighter Air. Oh, and I bought both refurbished.

 

[SnowLeopard2008]

The 13" rMBP does have an extra Thunderbolt port and also an HDMI port. Thunderbolt can be used for more than connecting to an external monitor or projector, you can turn it into a FireWire or Ethernet port. HDMI is also useful nowadays. Not to mention you're getting a faster clocked Core i7 in the 13" rMBP spec in the your OP. It's also not a ULV chip but a mobile chip (mobile has better performance since it uses more power). It all depends on your needs. Some people don't even need a single Thunderbolt. Nor HDMI. But the biggest selling point of any Retina Mac is the Retina display.

 

[robvas]

I just set up my return of my 13" Air (2012) and bought the rMBP 13". I paid $100 less for the same specs (except now I have an i5 instead of an i7 processor) and I decided that I preferred the retina and speed of the Pro over the .5 lb lighter Air. Oh, and I bought both refurbished.

Even if you're not going to run it at higher resolution than 1280x800 the viewing angles etc are just amazing.

 

[KPOM]

The price drop left me kinda curious this morning.. In terms of performance and price.. is the i7 8GB equipped Macbook Air more powerful than the base Macbook Pro retina 13.. Find it interesting



Be interested in some benchmarks.. The retina display is beautiful and all but this is still a 13 inch display..seem like the air is still the better value. Is the screen really worth it?

They are about the same. I had 2.0GHz 2012 MacBook Air that I losttwo months ago and replaced with a 2.5GHz rMBP. The performance is quite similar in benchmarks and real world performance. However, the rMBP has a much nicer screen. I'm quite happy with the move (but obviously would have been happier at today's prices and specs). The 2.6GHz in the 256GB model Turbo Boosts to 3.3GHz, so it should be faster all around (though likely not noticeable).

 

[Krazy Bill]

Hardly call it useless.. you can say the same for the retina. the only selling point it has is the screen.

I'm not calling the Air useless - merely Apple's asinine emphasis on "thin". The MBA has it's place based on portability and weight at the sacrifice of power.

I'm curious for anyone's opinions on what is the better buy until Haswel

"Better buy" based on what criteria? Shear brute power? Again, you need not look any further than your own specs for the answer.