Hi everyone, I'm a newbie to this forum so I need to help for buying my first Mac 
. I am generally torn between these two new models that Apple just realised today. They are both the exact same price (with the student discount I will be using), and I need you guys to help me understand my needs as I'm new to Macs and have always used Windows.
I will be changing my computer from a 3gb RAM Core 2 Duo beast of a machine to one of these models. Here's my dilemma.
I've heard that 4gb RAM seems to not be enough on the MacBook Air, as I've heard that's the thing most people wanted to have. Using a machine with 3gb RAM, I've not really had that much of an issue with memory. But upgrading the MacBook Air to 8GB would make it more expensive than the 13" Pro, which has 8gigs as standard. Would 8gb of RAM make a substantial difference to the Air's performance, for a user that mostly uses his computer for surfing, media-consumption and spreadsheets? I'm no media student, so I doubt I'd be using any fancy photoshop/video editing software.
My next issue is the screen resolution. For some odd reason the Air still has a higher resolution that the Pro. For anybody who knows, does this make a big difference? Which would you say has a better quality screen?
My next issue is the size/weight. I've seen Airs and Pros before so I do know what they look like in real life. However, when I look at the pictures of both of them on the website, the Pro seems to look so much chunkier/uglier than its Air counterpart. Obviously it is heavier too. But considering its only 13", it still should be mighty portable, even if it's not as portable as the Air? What's it like carrying around for normal use? But then again, I'm coming from a 3.5kg 16" beast, so both would be a great improvement for both these criteria.
Then there is the processor vs. SSD dilemma. The SSD improvements on the Air are obviously beneficial over the Pro, but then there is the option of buying an SSD hard drive for the Pro (and the prices are coming down crazy fast). This would mean that over the long term, the Pro would be more long-lasting and better value, since you can improve the specs, and at a cheaper price. And the Pro has a faster processor compared to the Air with a higher clock speed. But again, I'm an everyday daily computer user, so I'm not planning on doing anything too vigorous on this machine.
What do you guys think? It's so hard to decide!
13" Air + 8gig RAM or
13" Pro which is CHEAPER
. I am generally torn between these two new models that Apple just realised today. They are both the exact same price (with the student discount I will be using), and I need you guys to help me understand my needs as I'm new to Macs and have always used Windows.I will be changing my computer from a 3gb RAM Core 2 Duo beast of a machine to one of these models. Here's my dilemma.
I've heard that 4gb RAM seems to not be enough on the MacBook Air, as I've heard that's the thing most people wanted to have. Using a machine with 3gb RAM, I've not really had that much of an issue with memory. But upgrading the MacBook Air to 8GB would make it more expensive than the 13" Pro, which has 8gigs as standard. Would 8gb of RAM make a substantial difference to the Air's performance, for a user that mostly uses his computer for surfing, media-consumption and spreadsheets? I'm no media student, so I doubt I'd be using any fancy photoshop/video editing software.
My next issue is the screen resolution. For some odd reason the Air still has a higher resolution that the Pro. For anybody who knows, does this make a big difference? Which would you say has a better quality screen?
My next issue is the size/weight. I've seen Airs and Pros before so I do know what they look like in real life. However, when I look at the pictures of both of them on the website, the Pro seems to look so much chunkier/uglier than its Air counterpart. Obviously it is heavier too. But considering its only 13", it still should be mighty portable, even if it's not as portable as the Air? What's it like carrying around for normal use? But then again, I'm coming from a 3.5kg 16" beast, so both would be a great improvement for both these criteria.
Then there is the processor vs. SSD dilemma. The SSD improvements on the Air are obviously beneficial over the Pro, but then there is the option of buying an SSD hard drive for the Pro (and the prices are coming down crazy fast). This would mean that over the long term, the Pro would be more long-lasting and better value, since you can improve the specs, and at a cheaper price. And the Pro has a faster processor compared to the Air with a higher clock speed. But again, I'm an everyday daily computer user, so I'm not planning on doing anything too vigorous on this machine.
What do you guys think?
It's so hard to decide!13" Air + 8gig RAM or
13" Pro which is CHEAPER
