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Thinking Of Purchasing A Macbook(PRO)or(AIR)

W

Woojun912

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 23, 2012
48
0
California
Hey Everyone,

I am a pre-med asistant student guy who's currently really taking the time in deciding if I should purchase a Macbook Pro 13' (Late 2011) or a Macbook Air 13".

My internet usage: it's used daily and I use it for: Facebook, Tumblr, Online Shopping, Chatting, Downloading Music, Movies, Uploading photos from my iPhone.

There is this virtual game that I do every now and day play, it is similar to second life, called vSide.

That is pretty much it. What would you guys recommend me buying?
And what are other things I should purchase along with the laptop?
 
I opted for the MBP simply because I needed the optical drive and to be not limited to a max of 4GB RAM!

I love the form factor of the Air, but the Pro was/is better suited to my needs!
 
Either would be fine for your described uses.

I'd be inclined to get the Pro since it can be upgraded, while the Air cannot be. The Pro is also generally less expensive in the US, and offers substantially longer real-world battery life.

As far as what else to get, I'd suggest a sleeve and if you don't already have one, an external hard drive for Time Machine backups.

Enjoy whichever one you get!
 
I do not have a sleeve, case, External Hard drive..
I was youtubing and I saw people have a shell outside their macs. What website is that for?
I think I will go with the 13" Macbook Pro, the base line. Since it's 1,099 with student discount.
Do they still have student discount at apple stores?
 
Woojun912 said:
I do not have a sleeve, case, External Hard drive..
I was youtubing and I saw people have a shell outside their macs. What website is that for?
I think I will go with the 13" Macbook Pro, the base line. Since it's 1,099 with student discount.
Do they still have student discount at apple stores?
Click to expand...

Yes, Apple Stores will give you the student discount. The baseline MBP is a great machine.

Some people like to put a shell on their laptop - there are a variety of them available, with Speck being one brand that seems to be highly thought of. I don't use one.

As far as sleeves go, I use an inCase, which I like a lot. Protects it while I'm travelling, and moving it around.

An external hard drive is needed for Time Machine backups - Time Machine keeps a complete backup of everything on your hard drive, and does it automatically (as long as it is connected physically or wirelessly).
 
Naimfan said:
Yes, Apple Stores will give you the student discount. The baseline MBP is a great machine.

Some people like to put a shell on their laptop - there are a variety of them available, with Speck being one brand that seems to be highly thought of. I don't use one.

As far as sleeves go, I use an inCase, which I like a lot. Protects it while I'm travelling, and moving it around.

An external hard drive is needed for Time Machine backups - Time Machine keeps a complete backup of everything on your hard drive, and does it automatically (as long as it is connected physically or wirelessly).
Click to expand...


May I ask but what macbook do you use?
 
Woojun912 said:
May I ask but what macbook do you use?
Click to expand...

Sure. I have the base 2.4 GHz i5 13" MBP with 8 GB of RAM and a 750 GB 7200 RPM Hitachi hard drive. Great machine. I had the top end Air prior to this one, but didn't care for it as much.
 
I went with a 13" MBP because the MBA display gives me headaches and severe eyestrain.

Plus I snagged a new MBP for $900, so it was a No Brainer for me...
 
Naimfan said:
Sure. I have the base 2.4 GHz i5 13" MBP with 8 GB of RAM and a 750 GB 7200 RPM Hitachi hard drive. Great machine. I had the top end Air prior to this one, but didn't care for it as much.
Click to expand...

Do you think at the apple store you have the options to choose which baseline or whatever laptop you'd like? Like they have the 500GB with 4GB RAM, do you think they have a choice of something like "Can I get the 750GB or a solid state model" or they only specifically have the baseline at the stores?

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Mojo1 said:
I went with a 13" MBP because the MBA display gives me headaches and severe eyestrain.

Plus I snagged a new MBP for $900, so it was a No Brainer for me...
Click to expand...

How did you manage that?
My mother and sister both have the Macbook Air 13", their screen gave me headaches, I don't know why.
 
Woojun912 said:
Do you think at the apple store you have the options to choose which baseline or whatever laptop you'd like? Like they have the 500GB with 4GB RAM, do you think they have a choice of something like "Can I get the 750GB or a solid state model" or they only specifically have the baseline at the stores?
Click to expand...

Generally, Apple stores will carry both the 2.4 i5 and 2.8 GHz i7 13" MBPs and can offer the option to upgrade the RAM to 8 GB. The stores generally do not have the breadth of choice offered by the online Apple store - the number of permutations makes that impractical for a retail store.

If you'd like a bigger/faster hard drive, I'd suggest ordering one and installing it yourself - there are instructions on how to do that in the manual that comes with the Macbook Pro. Instructions on upgrading RAM are also included. Neither upgrade affects the warranty.

For ordering a hard drive (and/or RAM) online, I've had good luck with Newegg.com, Amazon, etc.

Hope that helps!
 
If he's a heavy Internet user and multitasker, 4GB RAM is not "more than necessary". This would imply he would be running only a few tabs at a time, no Flash, and swiftly quit any and all unused application.

As a student, he may have to use multiple extensions in Firefox, or at least, different browsers for work and leisure, whose resource consumption add up.

With 4GB, he may only get a bit of breathing room.

The stores only have one of each model. For customized machines they usually steer you towards the online store, which get delivered by the most crappy delivery company on earth, UPS. If they are really nice, they may configure it to your specifications and get it delivered in store. Just ask them nicely, don't take my experience at the (badly managed) Montreal Apple Store for granted.
 
Woojun912 said:
How did you manage that?
My mother and sister both have the Macbook Air 13", their screen gave me headaches, I don't know why.
Click to expand...

I bought it last summer when Amazon offered 20% off via Kindle Special Offers. 20% off Amazon's discounted price made it $909 vs. $1199. Sweet! (I found out about the deal from a post on this forum...)

The MBA display problem for some people seems to be mainly due to the type of LED backlighting. The high resolution doesn't help either... There is a long thread on the Apple forums with posts from people suffering from headaches and eyestrain using Apple displays: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1677617?start=0&tstart=0

A search using Google will turn up information about the differences between LED displays and health problems associated with LED backlighting.

My MBP was also problematic but I was able to mitigate most of it using calibration hints in the Apple thread.

----------
Woojun912 said:
Do you personally think the 2.8 model 13" MBP is worth it for someone like me and what i do with the computer?
Click to expand...

I think that the base model is the way to go if you want the best bang for the buck. The performance difference isn't worth the extra cost IMO.
 
Mojo1 said:
I bought it last summer when Amazon offered 20% off via Kindle Special Offers. 20% off Amazon's discounted price made it $909 vs. $1199. Sweet! (I found out about the deal from a post on this forum...)

The MBA display problem for some people seems to be mainly due to the type of LED backlighting. The high resolution doesn't help either... There is a long thread on the Apple forums with posts from people suffering from headaches and eyestrain using Apple displays: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1677617?start=0&tstart=0

A search using Google will turn up information about the differences between LED displays and health problems associated with LED backlighting.

My MBP was also problematic but I was able to mitigate most of it using calibration hints in the Apple thread.

----------



I think that the base model is the way to go if you want the best bang for the buck. The performance difference isn't worth the extra cost IMO.
Click to expand...

Alright, baseline it is then!
Once I make the purchase next Monday. I definitely will take a picture from getting home to opening it to setting it up on my desk. So everyone can see. Definitely will post it up on here :)
 
I won't bother pointing out items as others have done, like your usage of the device. I think other posters have given you a few things to think about. When deciding to move from PC to MAC, I was between the MBA and the MBP. I think the thing that swung me on the side of the MBP 13 was the fact that I could make some upgrades (RAM, HD, etc).

Also, I knew that I would use the MBP for business travel and I did require more processing power. Ultimately, the choice is yours and again, I think determining how you will use the machine, will lead you to the right decision. I can say that no matter which you end up with, you will be very satisfied.

The only thing I ask myself now is, "Why did it take me so long to get a Mac?" Good Luck and let us know what you decide.
 
chilady1 said:
I won't bother pointing out items as others have done, like your usage of the device. I think other posters have given you a few things to think about. When deciding to move from PC to MAC, I was between the MBA and the MBP. I think the thing that swung me on the side of the MBP 13 was the fact that I could make some upgrades (RAM, HD, etc).

Also, I knew that I would use the MBP for business travel and I did require more processing power. Ultimately, the choice is yours and again, I think determining how you will use the machine, will lead you to the right decision. I can say that no matter which you end up with, you will be very satisfied.

The only thing I ask myself now is, "Why did it take me so long to get a Mac?" Good Luck and let us know what you decide.
Click to expand...



Thank you :)
LOL, I'm a virgo so I kinda think a while before I make a decision.

----------
Freyqq said:
Do you need a dvd drive? Macbook pro.
No? Macbook air.
Click to expand...

Thats the thing, there are times when I do need one but then again I don't. LOL!
 
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