Should I get a MacBook Pro 2009 or a MacBook Air 2011?

[Asimina]

Hi Guys,

What macbook should i get?

both are used in a good condition.
both are 13"

i'm a web/graphic designer so i was wondering if

i should get the macbook pro 2009 version for 396$
or get a macbook air 2011 for 925$

I cant decide! base on the price i could go for the pro BUT since its a 2009 model im not sure about the battery etc.

can anyone help me out??!!

 

[costabunny]

might help if you can give us the specs of both and also an idea to the apps you mostly use.

I use a 2011 Air (1.8 i7, 4GB) and do web design on it and also use photoshop (nothing too heavy tho, mostly touch ups and graphics for sites).

 

[Asimina]

might help if you can give us the specs of both and also an idea to the apps you mostly use.

I use a 2011 Air (1.8 i7, 4GB) and do web design on it and also use photoshop (nothing too heavy tho, mostly touch ups and graphics for sites).

Thanks!!
I have the specs for the macbook air 13(2011 version) and will try and get for the macbook pro 2009 version as well
-----------
Apple macbook air mid 2011 (13 inch)

CPU: 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache
Memory
4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 onboard memory

GPU:
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Display:
13.3-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
Supported resolutions:
1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio
HDD:
128GB SSD
-----------

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but what i can also add is that the macbook pro is older and used much more than the macbook air. so what i think about is the battery life of the pro, a bit heavier than the air, but spacewise i dont know yet.

although 128GB seems small but its my first time dealing with macbooks so i dont know, it may end up ok

 

[DisplacedMic]

can you play with it before you but it?...ask about the battery?

i have a 2009 MBP and it's still going strong. 2.4 ghz, 4 gig ram
not sure i'd pay $400 for it though...

also just in case you dont know, wwdc starts tomorrow


EDIT - i originally wrote wwjd

 

[Asimina]

can you play with it before you but it?...ask about the battery?

i have a 2009 MBP and it's still going strong. 2.4 ghz, 4 gig ram
not sure i'd pay $400 for it though...

also just in case you dont know, wwdc starts tomorrow


EDIT - i originally wrote wwjd

ok, what does wwdc stands for please?

thanks for this answer! why wouldnt you pay 400$ for it????

i just want to know be good and the bad if i get it OR i invest in the Air....

It has a 4gb ram also as i know just dont know the full specs.

 

[DisplacedMic]

ok, what does wwdc stands for please?

thanks for this answer! why wouldnt you pay 400$ for it????

i just want to know be good and the bad if i get it OR i invest in the Air....

It has a 4gb ram also as i know just dont know the full specs.

Sorry, it's the World Wide Developer's Conference (click here to read more)

This is generally where they make their announcements for what's coming next. If they release a new line of laptops, this might drive the price down on used laptops for a few reasons. Chiefly - everything becomes 1 click older driving demand down and more people sell off their laptops in order to upgrade driving supply up.

I wouldn't pay $400 for any 4-5 year old laptop. I'm not saying it's a bad deal, if you look on ebay it looks like they do sell for that much, but to me i'd rather save up and get a newer model.

where are you looking to buy this? online, a friend? how reputable is the source?

speaking of ebay, 900+ for a 2011 air looks high.

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Thanks!!

-----------
Apple macbook air mid 2011 (13 inch)

CPU: 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 with 3MB shared L3 cache
Memory
4GB of 1333MHz DDR3 onboard memory

GPU:
Intel HD Graphics 3000

Display:
13.3-inch (diagonal) high-resolution LED-backlit glossy widescreen display with support for millions of colors
Supported resolutions:
1440 by 900 (native), 1280 by 800, 1152 by 720, and 1024 by 640 pixels at 16:10 aspect ratio; 1024 by 768 and 800 by 600 pixels at 4:3 aspect ratio
HDD:
128GB SSD

yeah that's nuts. no way.
the 2012 is 1200. 1150 if you can get a student discount. you can get a brand new 11" for 1k.

and like i said, they might announce upgrades this week.

 

[fa8362]

That 2011 is overpriced. The 2012 models are significantly better, and as others have mentioned, the 2013 models will be announced/released any day now, so the price of the 2012 will drop.

So whatever you do, don't buy the 2011 for $925.

 

[Acorn]

900 is way to much for a 2011 13 inch mac air. heck you can buy something better refurbished from apple for 900 and get a 1 year warranty with the option of applecare.

 

[Asimina]

yeah that's nuts. no way.
the 2012 is 1200. 1150 if you can get a student discount. you can get a brand new 11" for 1k.

and like i said, they might announce upgrades this week.

I appreciate your honesty and I'm glad I came here first.

Both sellers are people I know. But if its not worth it i can probably
Skip. The first one is going to get a upgrade so is selling the one that he has been using. That's the pro. The air is from another person I know that don't want it anymore.haven't use it much.

When you mean that's nuts, no way do you mean base on the specs it's not worth it for its price?

I'm also concern about the hard drive space that was 128Gb.

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That 2011 is overpriced. The 2012 models are significantly better, and as others have mentioned, the 2013 models will be announced/released any day now, so the price of the 2012 will drop.

So whatever you do, don't buy the 2011 for $925.

Wow really??!! I will just tell him I will no longer get it from him

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900 is way to much for a 2011 13 inch mac air. heck you can buy something better refurbished from apple for 900 and get a 1 year warranty with the option of applecare.

Nice I will start saving from. Now. I think I can get a better one by not rushing wow I was thinking about this a week ! I will also tell the other person that wants to sell the pro and get a new one that I won't get it from him either since its not worth it for a 4 year ago model !!!

I will be looking for the announcements also to see how the prices may drop thanks again!

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OH! just to let everyone know, the macbook air was 991$ but just for me he dropped it to 900. that's why i was seeing it like a good deal but from what you guys here are teaching me i see its not worth it.

thanks again! will keep you updated

 

[DisplacedMic]

I appreciate your honesty and I'm glad I came here first.

Both sellers are people I know. But if its not worth it i can probably
Skip. The first one is going to get a upgrade so is selling the one that he has been using. That's the pro. The air is from another person I know that don't want it anymore.haven't use it much.

When you mean that's nuts, no way do you mean base on the specs it's not worth it for its price?

I'm also concern about the hard drive space that was 128Gb.

what i mean by nuts is that he is asking too much for it.
the 2012 is the current model and you can get one brand new for 1200.
to me there is no way i would pay 920 for a 2-3 year old older model laptop i could get used for a few bucks more. why would anyone do that?

as for how much disc space you need, only you can answer that. the airs have solid-state drives which are going to be lower capacity.
me personally i think you can get by on 128g. the 64 gigs on the base model 11" is too low in my opinion given that OSX would take up almost a quarter of that...

you don't really give us a lot of info on what you are going to be using them for. but you can get a 2 tb external hard drive that would fit in your computer bag for $150 or so...

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OH! just to let everyone know, the macbook air was 991$ but just for me he dropped it to 900. that's why i was seeing it like a good deal but from what you guys here are teaching me i see its not worth it.

thanks again! will keep you updated

just for you, huh? yeah, he saw you coming.

 

[Asimina]

what i mean by nuts is that he is asking too much for it.
the 2012 is the current model and you can get one brand new for 1200.
to me there is no way i would pay 920 for a 2-3 year old older model laptop i could get used for a few bucks more. why would anyone do that?

as for how much disc space you need, only you can answer that. the airs have solid-state drives which are going to be lower capacity.
me personally i think you can get by on 128g. the 64 gigs on the base model 11" is too low in my opinion given that OSX would take up almost a quarter of that...

you don't really give us a lot of info on what you are going to be using them for. but you can get a 2 tb external hard drive that would fit in your computer bag for $150 or so...

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just for you, huh? yeah, he saw you coming.

well i just want it for mostly surfing the web, maybe doing some work with photoshop or dreamweaver, download some apps just to be there.

not much since i a already have a Toshiba Qosmio X770-ST4N04 (http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X770/X770-ST4N04/)

buts its a bit heavy to carry arround so i was wondering for a lighter one, and a macbook for a change.

 

[DisplacedMic]

that is a fine computer - are you going to keep it? if you are i think you are wise to look into a MBA for carrying around. Have you played with them in person?

Also, have you considered an iPad or other tablet?

 

[Asimina]

that is a fine computer - are you going to keep it? if you are i think you are wise to look into a MBA for carrying around. Have you played with them in person?

Also, have you considered an iPad or other tablet?

I have not play with them much but i'm familiar to how they work.
and yes i am still going to keep this computer since the space is 1TB.

could be downloading stuff there and transferring to the macbook.
but its not like i cant live without it so thats why i may skip buying the 900+ one or the pro..