Should I sell my Mid 2009 15" MBP and buy a 2014 13" MB Air?

[calipol2009]

Hello,

I was wondering whether I can get some quick advice.

I am considering selling my MBP Mid 2009 15 Inch (tech specs here: http://support.apple.com/kb/sp544 ) for around $500-$550 (comes with accessories) and buy a MacBook Air 2014 13 Inch, since best but is having a sale right now.

I just don't know whether technically downgrading from even an older MBP to a MBA is worth it? Likewise, I don't know whether to hold out for a possible retina upgrade this fall or refreshment of the 13" MBP. But my current MBP is depreciating in value, so it might make sense to sell it and add $300 to buy a new MBA.

But my basic question is whether you all think switching from a Mid 2009 MBP 15" with a 2.53 ghz Core 2 Duo processor to a 2014 MBA 13" with a 1.4 Ghz i5 Haswell is worth it?

Any opinions are appreciated!
Thank you!

*** Update ****

So I don't do anything hardcore on my laptop -- at least not anymore. It is primarily for school, travel, and work. 90% of my time is spent on excel, or word, taking notes for school (current student at USC) or working on spreadsheets at work. I do sometimes use iMovie, and Final Cut Pro (very rarely); that may be an issue. I am an amateur photographer, but do photoshop on my desktop. However, I travel a lot, and walk a lot around campus, so the only true benefit to the 13" MBA is it's weight. The Mid 2009's are heavy in comparison.

 

[GoCubsGo]

I don't but that is just me. What is your current machine not doing that you think the MB Air will do?

 

[maflynn]

You haven't stated what you're using the mac for, so its hard to say whether the MBA is a step down or a lateral step.

You also need to consider going from 15" to 13" I'd recommend you check out the laptops at BB or the apple store to see if that's a work solution.

 

[dextr3k]

Yeah i think what you do with the machine factors in as well.

In terms of watching videos or word processing, the SSD will be a drastic improvement to your MBP. However, if you are doing heavy photo and video encoding then you might see a downgrade. But the air wins huge in terms of portability.

Previous poster is correct to also consider the switch to a smaller screen. It is all up to you.

 

[calipol2009]

Thanks for your replies.

So I don't do anything hardcore on my laptop -- at least not anymore. It is primarily for school, travel, and work. 90% of my time is spent on excel, or word, taking notes for school (current student at USC) or working on spreadsheets at work. I travel a lot, and walk a lot around campus, so the only true benefit to the 13" MBA is it's weight. The Mid 2009's are heavy in comparison.

I have used iMovie a few times this semester and Final Cut Pro, but I don't foresee using them much more in the future. I am an amateur photographer, but do photoshop on my desktop.

So basically, it is the lightness, and the fact that I would essentially be getting a 2014 laptop for $250 if I sold my current one for $500 -- and more resale value should I choose to sell it later for a better comp. I have examined the MBA many times, 13" seems ok.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

The MBA will be a vast improvement over your 2009 machine. For one, it's the 45nm Core 2 architecture against the Haswell 22nm architecture. You will see better battery life and roughly double CPU performance.

Your CPU scores around 2700 points in Geekbench 3, whereas the new MacBook Air (1,4GHz model) scores around 5200.

Haswell also has Quicksync hardware H.264 encoding, so you should see massive improvements in iMovie and Final Cut Pro rendering times.

Then you have the SSD, the faster memory, the superior HD5000 graphics and of course the much lighter form factor.

It is, however, not a Pro computer and so while it will be faster than your current machine, it will be much slower than a modern 15" Haswell quad core machine. But if you're not doing overly heavy Pro stuff, the Air will do just fine.

Don't forget to bump up the memory to 8GB at least, especially if you're doing big files in Photoshop.

 

[calipol2009]

Don't forget to bump up the memory to 8GB at least, especially if you're doing big files in Photoshop.

That is where the problem is. Best Buy does not offer an 8GB MacBook Air. The offer is tempting since it's technically $250 off for students and I have $70 gift card for Best Buy. I can wait for Apple's college sale, or wait for an updated MBP 13", or just buy the 4GB 2014 MBA from Best Buy.

I do not do any professional level editing at all, and if I did, I have a 3.53 Core i5 desktop.

 

[Cloudsurfer]

I do not do any professional level editing at all, and if I did, I have a 3.53 Core i5 desktop.

4GB should be enough for everyday tasks. I don't know how much RAM you're running at the moment, but you could configure your MBP with 4GB of memory and keep an eye on your Memory Pressure as you're working. If it stays in the green, you're good. If it turns orange or red, you should consider an upgrade.

Edit: for what it's worth, my machine has 5GB of memory and I never run into any slowdowns. I use FCPX quite a lot, although my projects are only 5-15 minutes in length.

 

[calipol2009]

4GB should be enough for everyday tasks. I don't know how much RAM you're running at the moment, but you could configure your MBP with 4GB of memory and keep an eye on your Memory Pressure as you're working. If it stays in the green, you're good. If it turns orange or red, you should consider an upgrade.

My current 2009 MBP has 4GB Ram, it seems fine as I monitor it at work right now, but I will continue to look at it. It does sometimes slow down when I have many tabs and programs open, but that is manageable. The offer of $250 off is very appealing for 2014 model. Thank you for your help Cloudsurfer!

 

[T5BRICK]

I'm looking at the models that Apple offers on the Refurb store. There are some pretty good deals there, you can even find models with the upgraded i7 processors and 8GB of RAM.

 

[calipol2009]

I'm looking at the models that Apple offers on the Refurb store. There are some pretty good deals there, you can even find models with the upgraded i7 processors and 8GB of RAM.

I am looking at them right now. Unfortunately, they are still outside of my price range. Thanks for the suggestion though!