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umbp vs mba
- Thread starter tim100
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MBA is nice but in terms of usability, MBP wins. MBA has very limited ports and upgradeability. It's not that much smaller and lighter so I would just get MBP
Well I selected the 13" MBP (on the poll and in my own life), but it's really up to what you need. The MBA is a very capable machine, but the MBP offers more features, more IO, and a faster computer (with faster clock speeds + more RAM).
But, if you need the portability, nothing beats the MBA in its display category. It's super thin, and the weight difference is really noticeable when comparing a MBA and MBP.
It's Road Warrior vs. Speed Demon. Only you can make the decision.
But, if you need the portability, nothing beats the MBA in its display category. It's super thin, and the weight difference is really noticeable when comparing a MBA and MBP.
It's Road Warrior vs. Speed Demon. Only you can make the decision.
If its gonna be her main computer I'd recommend the 13" mbp. If you have a desktop at home the air will probably do good.
You'd be wasting your money going for a MBA over a MBP 13". Unless you're wife is toting the computer from place-to-place, there is no need to spend the extra money for a MBA since you're paying for its extra portability.
price is not a factor but the air I was looking at was the last model and is cheaper than the mbp.
MBA ftw!!! ive got/had 2 MB and use a uMBP now which I think its jolly nice (although its constantly broken and apple keep replacing the hard drive which does bugger all) but I would go for MBA. if its only going to be used for email and browsing the web then its more than powerful enough. its way cooler looking as well, the only thing is if it has back light keyboard. if not then im not so sure as back light keyboard is very useful.
If you choose the MBA, make sure it's the model with SSD. HD model uses 1.8" HDs which runs at 4200rpm and that's very slooooooooooow.
Yes I totally agree. I have used the MBA and even when running things in Terminal (such as a simple search or editing documents) its dam slow. Go for the SSD. Also that should increase battery life.
Once the mba ships with a 512Gb SSD Drive for an extra $300 then the mba wins. Sign me up when that happens.
not gonna happen any time soon, because as far as i am aware, 128GB is the largest 1.8" SSD in production.
For browsing the Internet, E-mail, Microsoft Office and similar, I would go for the MBA. It's lighter, thinner and more convenient to carry.
Now if you need a full featured laptop, then go for the MBP.
for simple stuff go with the air for the lightweight good battery life etc but if anything else gonna be done or upgrades are possible then MBP
I never use the dvd drive on my mbp. Also if apple ever releases a bluray they probably will make an add on for the air.
My problems with the air are:
1) ram is maxed out a 2 gigs
2) no glass trackpad
3) does not have the black boarder
Given what you said... I would go with the MacBook Air with the SSD.
My wife and I own a 15" MBP (upgraded with a 160GB Intel X25 SSD) and a 13" MBA w/SSD. We fight over who gets to use the MBA. Basically, if we both want to use a laptop at the same time, she gets the MBA, and I get the MBP
We struggled over the decision for our 2nd notebook to be either the 13" MBP or MBA... and we are delighted in our choice. It may not seem like a big deal in the store... but the extra 1.5 lbs is significant. The MBA is soooo much more comfortable to hold on your lap. Our computer backpack is much lighter with the MBA and the smaller/lighter power adapter. I have never needed more connectivity than the MBA provides... and the lack of an optical drive is an advantage... because it is becoming as obsolete as a floppy drive.
If this was your sole machine, I would probably recommend the MBP because of the larger drive and ability to upgrade memory... but as we move our content out to the cloud, even the size of the HDD is becoming less relevant. If I was buying a new Mac for my college age kids... then it would be a MBP primarily for cost reasons. For myself and/or my wife as a 2nd laptop... then the MBA wins hands down.
Whichever decision you make... spring for an SSD.
/Jim
My wife and I own a 15" MBP (upgraded with a 160GB Intel X25 SSD) and a 13" MBA w/SSD. We fight over who gets to use the MBA. Basically, if we both want to use a laptop at the same time, she gets the MBA, and I get the MBP
We struggled over the decision for our 2nd notebook to be either the 13" MBP or MBA... and we are delighted in our choice. It may not seem like a big deal in the store... but the extra 1.5 lbs is significant. The MBA is soooo much more comfortable to hold on your lap. Our computer backpack is much lighter with the MBA and the smaller/lighter power adapter. I have never needed more connectivity than the MBA provides... and the lack of an optical drive is an advantage... because it is becoming as obsolete as a floppy drive.
If this was your sole machine, I would probably recommend the MBP because of the larger drive and ability to upgrade memory... but as we move our content out to the cloud, even the size of the HDD is becoming less relevant. If I was buying a new Mac for my college age kids... then it would be a MBP primarily for cost reasons. For myself and/or my wife as a 2nd laptop... then the MBA wins hands down.
Whichever decision you make... spring for an SSD.
/Jim
I entirely disagree. When floppies went out, CDs were coming in. What's coming in now, the internet? USB drives? Sure for things like audio CDs those can compare, but for entire installation DVDs, and even things like BD, those things can't compete. And even if optical drives were becoming obsolete, how would not being able to use them be an advantage?
I actually also disagree about that. SSDs are nice and all, but at this point their prices are still crazy high. You can get a hard drive with equivalent storage space for literally a fraction of the price. SSDs are better, but the price isn't worth the benefit in my mind.
The disadvantage of having the optical drive is that it ads weight and bulk to machine. Yes... the internet is displacing the need for installation disks. If you really need a DVD for installation, you can always bridge to a different computer that has a DVD drive. If you do not have a 2nd computer, then a portable USB DVD drive is inexpensive... and for me it is preferable than adding bulk to my computer.
For backup, ethernet and/or WiFi work fine. For sharing data with other users, cloud based storage does the job fine. Even though we own an external DVD drive... we have not needed it for our MBA yet.
/Jim
HDDs will outperform SSDs for the foreseeable future if you are measuring capacity. SSDs outperform HDDs if you are measuring performance. Most HDDs are capable of 100 - 400 IOPs. By contrast a good SSD might deliver 7,000 - 40,000 IOPs. The difference in end user experience is similar to working on dial-up vs broadband.
Once SSDs reach an acceptable capacity, then performance starts becoming more important. In our desktop computer (PC), we have a 160GB SSD (C: drive) coupled with a 1.5TB HDD (D: drive) for storing data. For us, that combination is a perfect blend of performance and capacity. However, for laptops we do not get the luxury of having dual drives. For my MBP, I have a 160GB SSD which for me is barely sufficient in capacity, but still preferable to an HDD of any capacity. Next year I will upgrade to a 300 GB SSD. The MBA has a 128GB SSD, which is much better than any of the HDD options for the MBA... and for a 2nd machine, the 128GB seems adequate. We also have a 7 TB home server which gives up nearly unlimited "near" data storage. We have a 2TB TimeCapsule just backing up the MBP and MBA.
/Jim
I'll grant you that SSDs are much better in certain respects. What makes them not worth it at this point though is what you failed to address: price. Just look at this picture:
Until SSDs become more widely adopted and the prices drop, there's almost no justifying buying one over an HDD for anyone who doesn't really, really need it.