A little threadjacking
I'm trying to figure out the good MB to choose for my gf.
If she would've need a MacBook for all of that (web, Word, Sims 3) minus video editing, will a MBA11 or 13 be good enough ? If yes, low or high end ?
For myself, I'll rather get a high-end MBA or a MBP but I am not sure for the girlfriend!
:
Make sure you ask her for some of her preferences. Some tradeoffs are to be made.
For the suggested applications, all form factors would be fast enough. But:
11in Air: super-light (which is great for a girl), but limited SSD size (she will probably carry music and pics) and no drive (i.e. no watching DVD on the go). You should probably go for 4GB (resale value; no way to upgrade).
If you are feeling adventurous, you can upgrade the SSD yourself later, though.
Also, you will need to invest in an external display to use at home (much nicer solution than a 15in MBP if you have the room on your desk).
The tradeoff between the 13in Air and 13in MBP is mostly weight vs. DVD. Also, all MBPs come with a sharp corner at the front side, which some people find annoying.
The 15in is slightly heavy for my taste, but the screen has a very useful size (something my girlfriend insists on). The difference in gaming speed between the base version and the upgraded one is serious, but unfortunately, so is the price. The difference is larger than the price for a PS3 or a 2nd hand gaming PC.
Which screen should you get? I like non-glossy, but that is only available on the MBA and as an option on the 15in MBP. Also, you will have to take the larger resolution, and because even Lion will not yet support resolution independence (rumors to the contrary are myths, really), the UI will become very tiny. So, buy the lowest resolution you can get (the opposite advice would be true for Windows). But your eyesight and preferences might vary from mine.
All Macs are fast enough for everything except serious gaming and video. The base versions are better than the high end versions of two years ago, and both apps and OS did not change. SSDs make a huge difference, so if you can afford them, go for them. You can also go for aftermarket solutions, like OWC, which are larger, cheaper and slightly faster than Apple's. If you put off buying an SSD, they will make a nice Xmas present later on, and will have become cheaper, too.
Do not forget to invest into external harddrives for backups.
