Basically, I'd do the following things with a new laptop:
1.) Managing and editing photos (with iPhoto/Lightroom/Photoshop)
2.) Editing videos (mostly cuts, and some text effects)
3.) Main computing device, i.e., surfing the web, watching movies, etc.
Now I know the first two would immediately point me to the Macbook Pro but I'm really attracted with the Air's portability. While 13 inches is a screen size I've avoided all my life, with the advent of the iPad, I think I've grown accustomed to smaller screen sizes.
Moreover, I've been reading stuff from reputable people (Ben Brooks, for one) that they could edit videos and do photo editing on the Air.
Could others say the same? Could I settle on an Air instead of a Pro?
PS They're saying that a new design for the Macbook Pros may come as early as next year and that it's heavily influenced by the Air... Well until that time comes I'm still having the questions stated above.
Thank you, and looking forward to your thoughts.
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I'm having trouble deciding between a Macbook Air and a Macbook Pro. Help?
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jkspn's pick
One could write a novel on an iPad. It doesn't mean that one should do so if more capable tools are at hand. That said, if this notebook supplements some other more capable system or if your welfare does not depend on how productive you are with tasks #1 and #2, then convenience and personal preference reign supreme, and you can do whatever tickles your fancy.
Why not perform a practical test? Make an appointment, slap some representative work on an external drive, and head to an Apple Store. Time your workflows on each system, and you will have the information that you need to address the objective aspects of your decision.
Why not perform a practical test? Make an appointment, slap some representative work on an external drive, and head to an Apple Store. Time your workflows on each system, and you will have the information that you need to address the objective aspects of your decision.
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jkspn's pick
In my opinion what you'll be giving up in portability by getting the Macbook pro you'll have a better overall experience with the MBP specs. A core i7 quad core processor versus the MacBook Air's core i5 dual core processor. With the Macbook pro's discrete AMD Radeon graphics card Photoshop can take advantage of GPU acceleration.
Having an older early 2008 macbook pro , some of the other advantages i have found are the after market upgrades i can perform. After 2 years with my MBP the rarely used Optical drive was no longer working, and instead of replacing it with a new one i removed it and put a second hard drive in it's place.
You could certainly settle for an Air, and it will get the job done, but with it's lower specs and limited "internal" hard drive capacity your only advantage is its portability.
Having an older early 2008 macbook pro , some of the other advantages i have found are the after market upgrades i can perform. After 2 years with my MBP the rarely used Optical drive was no longer working, and instead of replacing it with a new one i removed it and put a second hard drive in it's place.
You could certainly settle for an Air, and it will get the job done, but with it's lower specs and limited "internal" hard drive capacity your only advantage is its portability.
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jkspn's pick
I had the same dilemma earlier. The refreshed macbook air and amazing reviews can be tempting, but you will have an overall better experience with the MacBook Pro. First of all, I love the 15" form factor. The bigger screen is really noticeable. Second, do you think that 64-256 megabytes of data is really enough for you. I have already filled that much on my macbook pro, and I've had it for three weeks. It might be more expensive, but it is far worth the premium.
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jkspn's pick
I personally would go with the Macbook Pro 2011 Core i5 2.3ghz model. I upped the ram to 8gb, which also ups the vRAM to 512mb as well, added in a hybrid Momentus XT Hard drive and upgraded to Lion and its been nothing short of amazing.
Don't get me wrong, I Love the new Macbook Air's. The core i5 and i7 processors benchmark right along with the Macbook Pro however for me, I can't afford the amount of storage I would need on an Air being as I use my laptop as my main hub for everything.
Also the MBP can upgrade up to 16gb (8gb officially) of Ram whereas the MBA cannot and maxes out at 4gb, I firmly beleive that OS X Lion needs 4gb at bare minimum and needs 8gb to really shine. MBA is tuff luck in that department. it can run Lion well but will it run 10.x later on??
Don't get me wrong, I Love the new Macbook Air's. The core i5 and i7 processors benchmark right along with the Macbook Pro however for me, I can't afford the amount of storage I would need on an Air being as I use my laptop as my main hub for everything.
Also the MBP can upgrade up to 16gb (8gb officially) of Ram whereas the MBA cannot and maxes out at 4gb, I firmly beleive that OS X Lion needs 4gb at bare minimum and needs 8gb to really shine. MBA is tuff luck in that department. it can run Lion well but will it run 10.x later on??
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jkspn's pick
I do a lot of heavy graphics work and I had an MBP for several years. I started getting back problems related to carrying it around all the time. Having played with an Air that belongs to a friend of mine ( who's in the same business ) I would go for that in the future. The extra functionality of the MBP just isn't worth the weight.
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I recently switched from a 15" 2011 i7 Pro(from work) to a 13" 2011 i7 Air(purchased myself). The Pro does outperform the Air when compressing video, but the Air is still plenty quick. The SSD makes lots of small tasks much faster, and the reduced weight is fantastic. You'll miss the discrete graphics if you did any 3D, but the Air seems to meet or exceed my old 2008 MacBook Pro in terms of Portal 2 framerate.
The three things you give up for the air are drive space (256 GB limit, also more expensive), monitor size(but it's the same res as the base 15"), and, depending on your use, some processing power. However, I have yet to notice the speed difference between the Quad-Core i7 in the Pro and the Dual-Core i7 in my Air. With regular use, anyway.
Apple is constantly redesigning their laptops, so you can expect something sleeker within a year of purchase, yes. And if the extras on the Pro are that important to you, and you can wait, go for it. But it is just as possible Apple will pull the optical drive on the Pro; it's already been done on the Mini.
The three things you give up for the air are drive space (256 GB limit, also more expensive), monitor size(but it's the same res as the base 15"), and, depending on your use, some processing power. However, I have yet to notice the speed difference between the Quad-Core i7 in the Pro and the Dual-Core i7 in my Air. With regular use, anyway.
Apple is constantly redesigning their laptops, so you can expect something sleeker within a year of purchase, yes. And if the extras on the Pro are that important to you, and you can wait, go for it. But it is just as possible Apple will pull the optical drive on the Pro; it's already been done on the Mini.
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