The "New" MBP 13" vs. MBA Thread

[MickeyVee]

I'm serously considering moving to the 13" MBP. I have a Rev A MBA and with the internal drive, it was painful. Also gave up on running WinXP under Fusion. Thats OK as I run in on the latest Mini.
Since I upgraded to the Runcore 128GB SSD, this little puppy flies for everyday computing needs along with some light Lighroom work. Only thing is my RAW files are 25MB so space may be an issue. Again, that's where the Mini comes in.

So, the question now is, do I do the MBP? Weight is not really a concern. Really getting down to it, 95% of my use is on the train to work to listen/view podcasts & read magazines and couch surfing. Maybe an iPad is in order.

Anyway, out of cusiosity, what is a fair asking price for a Rev A, 128GB Runcore, MBA Superdrive & an extra power adaptor?

 

[ejkionka]

Absolutely. If someone is just as happy with 4.5 lb. as 3 lb., buying an MBA would be stupid.

I totally agree with this Scottsdale post. I have a firm "one computer" rule. I love the MBA (I've had three of them, all sold). I have to carry my computer back and forth from home to work every day, and sometimes on the road, and I love the lighter weight of the Air. But -- the big differences, and the reasons I'm sticking with the 13" MBP, are -- the slower performance, shorter battery life, and the lack of ports. At work, I need to connect to the network via ethernet, and I also need to connect to a scanner via USB. (I also use an external monitor, bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse.) I can print using an Airport Express. But if I tied up the single USB port with the USB-ethernet adapter, I wouldn't be able to use the scanner without unplugging and switching. Also, I like the SD card slot for quickly importing photos, and on the road, I occasionally need the CD drive for movies and maintenance. And I like having the security slot.

So, the trade-off is the extra 1.5 pounds. I think there's no chance the MBA update will have two USB ports. (Of course, I could just buy the Apple LED Cinema display, one for each location, but then my total equipment cost, with an SSD (which I think is necessary on the MBA), is off the charts.)

In the end, to each his/her own. Every choice is an individual choice, based on his/her needs and budget, which must be carefully and logically analyzed.

 

[gwsat]

I'm serously considering moving to the 13" MBP. I have a Rev A MBA and with the internal drive, it was painful. Also gave up on running WinXP under Fusion. Thats OK as I run in on the latest Mini.
Since I upgraded to the Runcore 128GB SSD, this little puppy flies for everyday computing needs along with some light Lighroom work. Only thing is my RAW files are 25MB so space may be an issue. Again, that's where the Mini comes in.

So, the question now is, do I do the MBP? Weight is not really a concern. Really getting down to it, 95% of my use is on the train to work to listen/view podcasts & read magazines and couch surfing. Maybe an iPad is in order.

Because you said that the 13 inch MBP's weight wouldn't bother you, I would suggest that you get one. If you upgrade its RAM to 6 or 8Gb, it will run Fusion and Windows in Unity mode with no trouble. Several months ago I upgraded my MBP's RAM in order to have a better Fusion/Windows experience. That RAM upgrade has turned my MBP into the most all around useful computer I have ever used. Of course, I don't have to carry the 6.5 pound 17 inch MBP very far very often. Note, however, that the 13 inch MBP weighs 2 pounds less than the 17 inch model.

 

[Scottsdale]

Because you said that the 13 inch MBP's weight wouldn't bother you, I would suggest that you get one. If you upgrade its RAM to 6 or 8Gb, it will run Fusion and Windows in Unity mode with no trouble. Several months ago I upgraded my MBP's RAM in order to have a better Fusion/Windows experience. That RAM upgrade has turned my MBP into the most all around useful computer I have ever used. Of course, I don't have to carry the 6.5 pound 17 inch MBP very far very often. Note, however, that the 13 inch MBP weighs 2 pounds less than the 17 inch model.

Wouldn't make sense to upgrade to 6 GB. Upgrade to 8 GB or don't waste the money and leave it at 4 GB. On the old MBPs with Santa Rosa and some early Penryn, 6 GB of RAM was the max they would accept due to firmware issues. In a newer Mac, 8 GB of RAM is doable and makes far more sense.

 

[gwsat]

Wouldn't make sense to upgrade to 6 GB. Upgrade to 8 GB or don't waste the money and leave it at 4 GB. On the old MBPs with Santa Rosa and some early Penryn, 6 GB of RAM was the max they would accept due to firmware issues. In a newer Mac, 8 GB of RAM is doable and makes far more sense.

In the best of all possible worlds you would be right. Nevertheless, an economic issue cuts across the decision whether to upgrade to 6GB of RAM rather than 8. The new MBP comes with 2 2Gb RAM chips. This means that one 2Gb module could be retained and all one would have to do in order to upgrade to 6GB would be to buy one 4Gb module. The price of a DDR3 4Gb module at OWC is only about $200, whereas two 4Gb modules go for $375. If my math is right, that's almost twice the price for only a 33% bump in RAM. It's worth thinking about.

Another factor contributed to my suggestion that 6Gb might be an alternative to 8Gb. I know for a fact that Fusion will run Windows in Unity mode with 6Gb of RAM without a problem. As I have noted in other posts in other threads, I have yet to see any post in which a poster claimed that the same results could be achieved with only 4Gb of RAM.

 

[DJY]

+++ for both Scottsdale and gwsat

Firstly thanks to all in this thread, but especially Scottsdale and gwsat - in this thread and others...

3 months on I'm keen to hear views... obviously the MBA hasn't been updated, and thus is in a worse situation that it was when Scottsdale was rightly encouraging people not to buy MBA in April.

I am a business user. I do travel extensively (domestically and internationally), and love my Rev B MBA with SSD. For many of the reasons others have written... I'm struggling with my beloved MBA increasingly though.

Spinning beach balls, system slowing right down, and running out of room. I find myself always with 10% (sometimes less) free... which starts to impact on performance as well.
I'd love a 256 SSD, I'd love more RAM! Whilst CPU isn't critical, I'd love a faster slightly more capable MBA!

Is one still coming?
I am finding myself being drawn more and more to the 13 MBP...
battery life, extra ports, bigger SSD, more RAM...
but know after my MBA the weight will hit me hard.

I love my iPad - and for very short domestic trips have travelled just with my iPad, but longer trips need a computer. Occasionally even I have to take a work laptop as well (to access secure network).

13 MBP: Still only has C2D - is this a problem? 15 & 17" got i5 & i7.
Go for 2.4 or 2.66?
Bigger SSD (256? 512? both become very expensive options)
RAM - go for 6 or 8GB?
SuperDrive - yeah - might be used rarely... sort of agree with Scottsdale's view - but having said that being able to watch DVD's purchased on the road might be nice.
Extra USB ports - handy,
Firewire - nice for faster back ups but not essential

Love to hear people's comments.
Do people still think MBA will be updated this year?
Or the current 13 MBP views and upgrade options?

 

[skate71290]

Thanks for all the responses and in particular Scottsdale for your input in the forum and PMs (yes, I do read and enjoy the long posts).

What you are all saying makes sense. What I need vs. what I "think" I need. Three considerations keep resonating to me: RAM, battery life and size/weight.

I did to a few tests w/Aperture after I installed 4GB RAM from the 1GB in our 2.4 Ghz iMac today. I have a few thousand pictures in my main file. Most 7-8MB RAW files. What I noticed right away is that adjustments happen real time, rather than waiting a second or so to appear. Also when flipping between pictures, they now instantly load vs. "Waiting to Load" for a few seconds. I guess I am seeing some of the benefits of additional RAM.

Then, I looked at the same pictures that I had copied to the MBA. They take 4 seconds to load each time I click the next arrow. Then wirelessly accessed my iMac Aperture file wirelessly w/the MBA. Pictures were taking about 6 seconds to fully load. I'm not sure if the delay is due to the 2 GB RAM on the MBA, or because I accessed the file wirelessly.

One thing I'm concerned about is if I upgrade my camera from my 5 year old Canon 20D and all of a sudden am dealing w/15 MB files.

I absolutely LOVE this MBA. It's just a great size and performs well. But...I am seriously considering the 13 MBP. I decided today the 15 is just too big and heavy. The 13 MBP gives me some headroom on RAM and battery, but obviously at the cost of size and weight.

One more consideration, although I don't really want the optical drive, it would be handy for those family trips when the wife wants to play a DVD for the little one. As I did it last week, I had to Handbrake a DVD, then I was paranoid the whole time it played that I was draining my battery life.

Decisions...decisions.

One more question. Am I giving up ANY performance with the revised MBA 13 (other than the SSD) vs. the 2.13 MBA? Any ideas where to get and how much a 256 or 512 SSD would cost for the MBA if I decide to go that route?

Thanks.

Scottsdale always seems to be able to point everyone in the right direction, but one thing i find really annoying about the MBA (1.6GHZ, not sure about other models) is that it overheats, incredibly quickly, and unless i'm wrong the processor reduces clock speed to keep it cooler? therefore the 1.6GHZ i'm guessing probably drops a considerable amount, and it may not be enough for you (it certainly isn't for me as i run VLC, Safari - 5 Tabs, Transfer Files Via USB and WiFi and this can bring the whole OS to a standstill) and also something i do notice, is that once you start to see/feel the OS slow down it will not speed back up until you restart the Laptop (in my experience anyway), hope this helps, if you want a machine that is more futureproof i would recommend the MBP and put the rest towards 8GB RAM/SSD

 

[entatlrg]

I totally agree with this Scottsdale post. I have a firm "one computer" rule. I love the MBA (I've had three of them, all sold). I have to carry my computer back and forth from home to work every day, and sometimes on the road, and I love the lighter weight of the Air. But -- the big differences, and the reasons I'm sticking with the 13" MBP, are -- the slower performance, shorter battery life, and the lack of ports. At work, I need to connect to the network via ethernet, and I also need to connect to a scanner via USB. (I also use an external monitor, bluetooth keyboard and bluetooth mouse.) I can print using an Airport Express. But if I tied up the single USB port with the USB-ethernet adapter, I wouldn't be able to use the scanner without unplugging and switching. Also, I like the SD card slot for quickly importing photos, and on the road, I occasionally need the CD drive for movies and maintenance. And I like having the security slot.

So, the trade-off is the extra 1.5 pounds. I think there's no chance the MBA update will have two USB ports. (Of course, I could just buy the Apple LED Cinema display, one for each location, but then my total equipment cost, with an SSD (which I think is necessary on the MBA), is off the charts.)

In the end, to each his/her own. Every choice is an individual choice, based on his/her needs and budget, which must be carefully and logically analyzed.

I like your one computer rule idea. The 13" MBP seems perfect for what you need to do.

I tried and tried some more to do it all on the MacBook Air but battery life, lack of ports etc forced me to upgrade to the 13" MBP. It's a great notebook!

 

[Spacekatgal]

I respect everyone's right to make their own mind up, but I don't think a one computer rule is very realistic for a lot of people. It's like a set of screwdrivers, you might need more than one for different jobs - rather than shoehorning yourself in.

Besides, Macs are fun! It's like limiting yourself to just one of the gaming platforms.

 

[thinkdesign]

High heat levels are also discussed in the MBP forum.

... during certain programs running. So it seems switching to a 13" MBp doesn't solve that problem, as much as it may solve others.

This month's "aptop mag arrived, with a review of the EnRoute ChillCase. You can supposedly open it to use as a lap desk, and plug its little fan into the USB. They tested 10, 15 and 17" ones. Then on p. 61 they're noting a different one said to be "ergonomic". But for 10", ohmetric.com "dualfunction" case. Sigh.

The idea of solving the problem of too much heat when using it on one's actual lap... with the case... sounds OK to me. But really, shouldn't Apple develop a good case that in effect, completes the design of a "laptop". Maybe that's why they switched to the term "notebook"?

Since manufacturing tolerances on the Air are apparently wide enough that I might end up with a fragile one, my list of carry bag criteria isn't short: Max. protection, ergonomic (I might have other stuff adding weight, some days), stylewise not something to make the snobs sneer, also not so soignee/upscale that it says "this is a laptop, probably a good one; steal me". If I had to cave in and get the Big Mac MBP, I don't know if any shoulder bags even are ergonomic enough to avoid needing a backpack for 4.5 lbs.

(There used to be a shoulder bag called "backsaver", with a very sort of asymmetrical design. But I guess they're out of biz now. Last time I searched for that name, all I found were chairs.)

The way some bags have white interiors so you can see stuff: brilliant. Especially if nothing gets traded off, for it!

The whole idea of buying a shoulder bag that one has only seen a picture of, kind of defeats careful buying. The web can tell me that STM? ones that were high on my list, have dubious workmanship. But I need to inspect and try on a bag, to buy. I have to keep looking for more stores with them in NYC. If I don't find anything on an actual store shelf, that is really good and worth paying for; I'll probably just head for the basement of Century 21 in lower Manhattan instead, and get some brand name's OK last-year model bag or computer backpack for half or 2/3 off. Until I find something I really like.