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Trying to decide MBP 13", 15" or Air 13" or nothing

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dragonev

macrumors member
Original poster
May 28, 2011
85
0
UK
Hello everyone. I have a birthday nearby and thinking about a present for myself which I will buy myself))) For the last half a year I want to switch to Mac OS from Windows. I'm really tired of Bill's OS and very interested in Mac (iPhone and iPad made their deal)))) So now I started to think - why not to buy Air? Check it out - Core 2 Duo. I'm not playing games but anyway - it is an old processor. My current notebook is nearly 8 months old (17" - too much actually) and has i3 processor. Then I started to look around Pro's. 13" is perfect for me in terms of size, but Intel 3000HD and benchmarks showed very poor performance comparing with 15". 15" showed itself perfectly but it is relatively high priced.
I'm using notebooks mostly for office applications and others related to them. + Films and music. No hardcore photoshop'ping or something like that. No gaming... At all actually)))
All of the Pros I looked on were custom in terms of hard disk - I prefer to take SSD (128 Gb; everything else I can put on external one), because of the wake speed and performance.

So this is a picture. What would you recommend? Air? Pro? Which? Or to wait for a new Air (but as far as I found - it won't in next half a year or even longer). Probably you have some idea that I haven't mentioned (Mac Mini and some PC display or whatever).

Thank you in advance.

P.s. Are there any comparing tests between Mac notebooks and PC ones? I want to match my current HP ProBook 4720s.
 
dragonev said:
I'm using notebooks mostly for office applications and others related to them. + Films and music. No hardcore photoshop'ping or something like that. No gaming... At all actually)))
Click to expand...

The graphics card won't make a difference to you then. Even though the hd3000 is very poor compared to the 15", it's the best integrated graphics out there and it can handle most games on low settings. And if you're going to use it for simple stuff such as office and listening to music and watching movies, there is no need for a dedicated graphics card.

I wouldn't get the air right now as I see a refresh coming up soon with sandy bridge processors. I would recommend the low end 13" and upgrade to SSD yourself
 
Well, the 13" has a much more powerful processor than your current computer, and even though the GPU is pretty weak, it's probably not a whole lot worse than what you have now (radeon 4350m), which is pretty weak too. Also, for your uses, the GPU is basically irrelevant, especially since you don't game. The base 13" MBP is more than enough for your needs, so that is my suggestion.
 
You said yourself that the 13'' was the perfect size for you, so just go for that. If you're just using it for office applications, videos, and music, then the current low-end model will be more than enough for you. Good luck.
 
Two more questions:
1. How close do you think the release of brand new Air with Sandy Bridge processors?
2. I heard a rumors about the quality of the MBP 13" screen. Some said that it is worse than Air.
 
Personali, if you have no real rush, i'll wait for The maxed out Air 13 with The new sandy bridge.

Else, the actual one is a good choice anyway.




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
dragonev said:
Two more questions:
1. How close do you think the release of brand new Air with Sandy Bridge processors?
Click to expand...
Close. Maybe. Only Steve knows.
2. I heard a rumors about the quality of the MBP 13" screen. Some said that it is worse than Air.
Click to expand...
Go to a store and see. I love it. I have no complaints. Others have commented on how good it looks. Aficionados and gamers will point to the lower specs and complain about it, but for my purposes (office stuff, Adobe Acrobat Pro, no games) it is great, and exactly what I expected from a base model in the product line. Compared to equivalent PC models, I believe it is a good value, and quite competitive price-wise.
 
Thank you. One last thing - is it worth to add uo 4Gb to RAM or it will be a waste of money? Actually 4Gb looks pretty good but I suppose 8 will be awesome.
 
Haha, I had this dilemma like 4 days ago. I came from a 2006-7 Sony Vaio running *shudders* Vista :(

I was looking for my first Macbook and I choose between the 13", 15" and 13" MBA. I was going to settle on the 13" since it's a bit more portable and it has a CD drive (which I do use, since I still like buying new albums from Best Buy, etc and watching the occasional movie) but at the same time I could've lived without the CD Drive and just went with the Air.

The MBA is a great laptop and it's the ULTIMATE in portability but if you're going to do something that needs a little more muscle (trust me it will happen at one point) you're going to wish you got at least a Macbook Pro.

I ended up buying the 2011 15" Macbook Pro. Why? I liked the 13" MBP but the 15" isn't that much larger (just width and length) and it's just as thick as the 13". I wanted the better screen and the sexy quad-core processor.

I'm COMPLETELY in love with this 15" MBP and I'm very glad I didn't "settle" for the 13" NOT THAT IT'S A BAD LAPTOP! I just think the 15" is best of both worlds and then some. The 17" is overkill for what I'd use it for!

Hope this helps! Just go with your gut!
 
dragonev said:
Thank you. One last thing - is it worth to add uo 4Gb to RAM or it will be a waste of money? Actually 4Gb looks pretty good but I suppose 8 will be awesome.
Click to expand...

With your needs, I doubt you will need more than the 4GB standard in MBP models, but if you must an 8GB Kit costs less than or around $100 in most cases.
 
Motionblurrr said:
Haha, I had this dilemma like 4 days ago. I came from a 2006-7 Sony Vaio running *shudders* Vista :(

I ended up buying the 2011 15" Macbook Pro. Why? I liked the 13" MBP but the 15" isn't that much larger (just width and length) and it's just as thick as the 13". I wanted the better screen and the sexy quad-core processor.

I'm COMPLETELY in love with this 15" MBP and I'm very glad I didn't "settle" for the 13" NOT THAT IT'S A BAD LAPTOP! I just think the 15" is best of both worlds and then some. The 17" is overkill for what I'd use it for!

Hope this helps! Just go with your gut!
Click to expand...

You can understand me now))) I also think about pro rather than air. But 15" feels like a waste of money. I can buy 13" with better processor. Actually the only problem in 13 is graphics chip, but I saw some tests - it was ok
 
dragonev said:
You can understand me now))) I also think about pro rather than air. But 15" feels like a waste of money. I can buy 13" with better processor. Actually the only problem in 13 is graphics chip, but I saw some tests - it was ok
Click to expand...

I also considered the 15". It is a far superior computer, has everything I could possibly want, and really isn't too much larger than the 13". But, it is a lot more money, and in the end I "settled" for a 13" with 8GB RAM. I love the 13" and I am glad I bought it. I've used it for about a month now and I have found the experience to be infinitely better than my previous PC.

But, it really was a toss up between the two computers for me, and if I could go back in time to give past me some advice, I would probably still find myself having trouble deciding between the 15" and 13".
 
mbmobile said:
Personali, if you have no real rush, i'll wait for The maxed out Air 13 with The new sandy bridge.
Click to expand...

Yup me too - wait for WWDC at least, or perhaps end-July to see if SB MBAs are coming, then I'd go for one of them. If the RAM is not easily user-replaceable, max it out. I'd definitely go for 4GB rather than 2GB, but 8GB is not necessary for lightish use.

I have a 2009 13" MBP & upgraded the RAM to 8GB (recently; don't need it but thought why not) & HDD to 500GB ( a while back). It still feels brand new & I can't imagine replacing it for a while yet (sadly!)

I do mostly web, email, office, audio in audacity, that sort of thing. Nothing heavy really & it breezes through it.

Sounds like for your needs any current model would walk it, but best wait see if there's a SB update coming - you don't want to miss that unnecessarily
 
I would wait for the MBA refresh in June-July, see the reviews on the laptop, and then decide which one you are going to buy.

I havent used a dvd drive in 1+ years, so I have no need for a MBP. And I don't game (except games like angry birds), so the Air is perfect for me. Plus, if you really want it, you can get an external dvd drive.

I am always caryying my laptop around to school and for traveling, so I need something light.


Good luck making a choice :D
Swayne
 
dragonev said:
Two more questions:
2. I heard a rumors about the quality of the MBP 13" screen. Some said that it is worse than Air.
Click to expand...

There are 2 reasons why some people say the Air's screen is better than the 13"Pro:

- 13"Air has a resolution of 1440x900 (which is the standard resolution of the 15"Pro), the 13"Pro is 1280x800. To me that's not necessarily better, it just depends on what I'm doing: 1440x900 on a 13" screen makes fonts smaller which can be uncomfortable. On the other hand it gives a bit more real estate but not so much more to make the difference critical (to me).
- the Air doesn't have a glass panel covering the screen, making it much less glossy (some people hate glossy screens).

However the Pro's screen is a lot nicer to look at (maybe because of the higher gamut?), the colors are a lot more vivid. The Air's looks a bit dull in comparison, while still being a nice screen.
 
Today I was in the shop. Actually, 15" is pretty heavier than 13". 13" is awesome. Now I'm thinking about which office package to take - iWork or Office. On the one hand Office will be more familiar to me but on the other hand I think that iWork might be better.
In terms of decision I think I will wait for WWDC. If Air won't appear I will go for MBP. MBP is pretty faster than Air and it has a dvd player. I think 4Gb is enough for the first time especially with SSD. If it won't be enough I will add up 4 afterwards.
 
One more thing (sorry I'm a Mac newbie).
Are all flash storage devices compatible with mac?
How much space will take Mac OS + Office out of 128Gb SSD?
 
Not sure if this helps...I just bought the 2011 Macbook Pro 13", and I have to say I am blown away. This is my first Mac since I had a 6115 cd growing up. I absolutely love the OS...it's a great change of pace from my desktop running windows 7. This machine has a terrific battery, I feel like I only charge it every other day, and I leave it on 24/7 with the lid closed when not using. I love the screen..I had a 13" air but I felt like the text was a little small for my liking. I have a 1920x1200 desktop screen, but for a notebook the smaller resolutions are easier on the eyes imo. You will not be disappointed at all if you get the Pro, it's a great machine. I don't really game either, but it was able to load up Starcraft 2 and be playable at lower settings.

Also, Office 2011 for Mac is really nice. It has some UI that look nicer than the windows versions.
 
Don't worry about the GPU. It's really a non-issue for your use. I would take either the 13" Pro or the 13" Air if I were you. I would wait until the refresh of the Air this summer and figure out which one you would like. I would definitely get a machine with 4 GB of RAM though, it's standard on the Pro, but who knows on the new Air.
 
Thank you all. Decided that integrated DVD is crucial. And saw a benchmark test on the performance of the processors for 13" and 15".... In 5 days there will be one more Mac user)))
 
So I take it you chose the 13" Pro? You won't regret it, it really is a great and beautiful little machine.
Don't get the i7, get the base model and if you really want to spend more get a SSD.
 
Kafka said:
So I take it you chose the 13" Pro? You won't regret it, it really is a great and beautiful little machine.
Don't get the i7, get the base model and if you really want to spend more get a SSD.
Click to expand...

I got 13" with i7 and SSD.
 
This thread is seriously awesome.


I am thinking the same thing but leaning toward the 15" due to the available video card.

Thanks everyone, now to sell these three POS laptops I have at the moment!
 
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