What would you get?

[J&JPolangin]

I can pick up a new open box 11" MBA 2012 model 4Gb/128Gb SSD for $980.10 or a 13" MBP 2011 model 4Gb/500Gb HDD (I do have a SSD that I can install along with additional RAM) NIB for $846 from the local base PX = I like the light weight of the MBA but the expandability of the MBP is enticing!

sells a refurb of the same 2011 MBP for $929...

What would you do if it was your $$ being spent = what's the better deal?

 

[SpyderBite]

I bought the MBP 2012 13" when faced with the same choice right after the refresh. I wanted 16gb of ram and needed the 500gb of hdd storage. I didn't want/need the optical drive but it was a trade off I could live with. I'm stronger than a 3 year old toddler so carrying around 4.5 pounds doesn't bother me. I've been happy with my purchase so far.

 

[J&JPolangin]

...well I have a nVidia 9400m whitebook 5,2 that has 4Gb of RAM and a Crucial m2 128Gb SSD, I think the MBA would be a lot faster/lighter than my whitebook and the MBP would be faster (if I installed the SSD) but it would be like carrying around the same machine (weight)...I'm so undecided...

What ever I get, my wife will inherit the whitebook if I keep one of them...

 

[J&JPolangin]

What ever I choose is for basic computing on the go...I was considering a Toshiba ultrabook but realized I liked track pads better!

Gaming and other heavier tasks can be done on my two home win7 mid towers or my iMac.

I have an Intel G2 SSD that I can install in the MBP along with additional 1333mhz RAM to bump it up to 8Gb.

I used the MBA for ~2 weeks and didn't experience any page outs with having only 4Gb of RAM but down the road, I'd be uncomfortable only having 4Gb RAM since its not upgradable later on.

Would you keep the 2011 MBP for $846 based on this usage or return them both and just keep using the whitebook that already has an SSD (but is a C2D CPU, 9400m GPU and 4Gb 800Mhz RAM)?

 

[Oracle1729]

Given those choices, really none. The MBA is a piece of crap. The MBP is so much better (more powerful, more expandable, more repairable, etc), even the 2011 would be a much better choice than the 2012 MBA, but any computer without USB3 is a mistake right now, and the HD3000 -> HD4000 upgrade in 2012 on the base models makes quite a difference.

 

[J&JPolangin]

Given those choices, really none. The MBA is a piece of crap. The MBP is so much better (more powerful, more expandable, more repairable, etc), even the 2011 would be a much better choice than the 2012 MBA, but any computer without USB3 is a mistake right now, and the HD3000 -> HD4000 upgrade in 2012 on the base models makes quite a difference.

Thanks for the reply.

Why do you say the MBA 2012 is a POC, I'd like to hear your reasoning?

I'd like USB3 but I'm not sure its a deal "killer" for me as I have a couple 32Gb flash drives I use that aren't USB3 anyway...all my really heavy lifting are done on my X6 AMD or i7 SB mid-tower platforms.

I want something lighter and my iPad3/keyboard cover don't always cut it when I'm out and about.

The Toshiba ultrabook u845-s406 was ok for a win7 machine but the track pad bothered me and with it being a 3317u CPU/GPU I wouldn't think the HD4000 of the ULV processor would be any better/worse than the HD3000 of the 2435m CPU/GPU on the 2011 MBP so if you have benchmarks that I could look at, that would be helpful info?

Thanks in advance!