Need advice:Macbook air 13" or Macbook pro 13"

Otis_taylor2 · 04-10-2015 8:52pm #1

Hi all,

what would you recommend of the 2?

follwoing are the specs:

MB air 13 - euro 1544

2.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Intel HD Graphics 6000

MB pro 13 with retina display - 1560

2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i5
8GB 1866MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage
Intel Iris Graphics 6100
Force Touch trackpad

The adv for Macbookair is a better processor (i7), 12 hr battery, lighter
The adv for Macbook pro is Force Touch Trackpad, hdmi port, retina display, thunderbolt port (which is not of any use to me)

Is the i7 worth going for on the Macbook air?

I previously had a Dell with an i7,4GB, 500GB HDD and that laptop was seriously fast, which is why i am a bit unsure of going down to an i5.

I wont be using the laptop for photoshop, editing or anything, just basic use + college work

Otis_taylor2 · 05-10-2015 6:06pm

Anyone?

Please help me out

TPD · 05-10-2015 6:08pm

Assuming things are similar between Macs and windows wrt processors, you wont notice the difference between an i5 and an i7 with your uses. The better integrated graphics with the i5 would make more difference.

mordeith · 05-10-2015 11:47pm

Given the OPs stated usage, comparing them is pointless. A decent 500 laptop would do the same tasks just as well.

drunkmonkey · 06-10-2015 12:02am

Is the dell still working, giving it the gift of a solid state drive and Windows 10 would transform it.
If you put a gun to my head id say the MBP, considering what's happening in vr I'd hold tight and see what kind of laptops will be required to run things like oculus after Christmas, we should know in a month or so.
The Nvidia GTX 980's are stating to appear in laptops from about November, if I was spending over 1k on a Laptop to future proof myself it would have to have that graphics card.

I've a MBP i7 and Windows 10pc btw. If I could get a GTX 980 in a laptop I'd nearly sell both. OSX is starting to feel old.

Otis_taylor2 · 06-10-2015 2:07am

Thanks for advice guys

A 500 euro laptop would also do, but i wanted to get something that would be fast, portable -13", lasts me 4-5 years or more without much trouble, machine mutiple tabs opened, and maybe spss software or something similar .

I believe Dell the only option out there as their warranty program is good. Im not sure how good HP, acer, Sony would be compared to dells warranty. But even with Dell, im not very happy with their service and also to some extent their product (mine had severe overheating issues inthe first week of purchase)

The dell lasted me almost 6 years. I think it was one of the studio 15 models with the first i7. Now its plagued with blue screen errors every time i turn it on. Also the wire connection to the power button tore from the chip, when i tried opening up the laptop. So it was a pain connecting two wires hoping the laptop would start I was told that the blue screen errors could be because of the memory, so replacing the memory could work. I am yet to try that out. The screen bezel is also broken so i had to take it off along with the cover for the speaker... it looks hidious.

Overall its in a bit of a bad state and ive been using it like this for the past 6 months, so i wanted to geg something similar or slightly better.

I wont be using the laptop much for gaming, just a bit maybe. Dells Alienware has the GTX 980, and the whole series is quite expensive!....even the 13 inch ones

Alanstrainor · 06-10-2015 12:14pm

The screen is the thing that would get me. So I would go for the Pro. The Air isn't worth it at that money, and I think the i7 is not worth the additional cost either.

It annoys me that the Pro still only comes with 8GB of RAM. That should be 16GB as standard, although I can appreciate that most wouldn't fully utilise it at present.

I guess your choice comes down to your usage. For me, the Air's screen resolution is laughable, and I can see it being overhauled in the next gen Air.

Otis_taylor2 · 06-10-2015 3:53pm

Thanks Alan, ill go for the MBP with the i5. It certainly has more advs compared to the MBA.

Now im contemplating whether to go for a refurbished one instead of a new one...it would help save around €120.

Alanstrainor · 06-10-2015 4:06pm

Otis_taylor2 wrote: »

Thanks Alan, ill go for the MBP with the i5. It certainly has more advs compared to the MBA.

Now im contemplating whether to go for a refurbished one instead of a new one...it would help save around €120.

Have you had a look at them in person? The Air is obviously a good bit slimmer. Which may or may not benefit you however.

I've heard good things about the refurbs. Worth checking them out, and just make sure you get the spec you want!

Otis_taylor2 · 06-10-2015 5:31pm

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Have you had a look at them in person? The Air is obviously a good bit slimmer. Which may or may not benefit you however.

I've heard good things about the refurbs. Worth checking them out, and just make sure you get the spec you want!

Nope i havent had a look at the actual thing. Its only a Yes ive seen refubs been recommended here quite a lot and online too. The only difference seems to be the packaging mainly. So ill go for a refurbished one, hope it turns out fine

circadian · 06-10-2015 5:45pm

The new Surface Pro 4 has been announced in that price bracket, not sure on release date but probably soon.

Specs and info here http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-surface-pro-4-announced-specs-price-and-release-date/

If you aren't invested into any particular OS then it may be an option.

listermint · 06-10-2015 8:29pm

Id be all over the Surface Pro 4 for your use case, its portable too, great battery life and doesnt cost the earth.

Otis_taylor2 · 06-10-2015 10:11pm

Thanks for the suggestion on the Surface pro although Im not too sure of it. It not really a replacement for a laptop. It would take way more space on a table than a laptop of the same size. Plus it would be available only by oct 26, whereas i would need to get a laptop asap.

The adv with the macbook pro is that i can install windows10 on it through bootcamp.

drunkmonkey · 06-10-2015 10:42pm

You can but tbh I think Windows 10 is better than OSX right now and I'm a fan of OSX, just think Windows has finally pipped it, get something with a decent graphics card and an ssd, fit the ssd yourself if it's jacking up the price to much to find a laptop with one as standard.
I think when I mentioned vr you thought maybe gaming, your right but that's only the start of it, if your spending big money which you are you'll need something capable of sending 1080p or 4K to both eyes and you'll also need something everybody will be making software for it and the Mac fails on both those things, vr will be gaming but it will also be everything else from engineering to teleporting.
Other poster mentioned it, if it's light stuff spend €500 on a laptop and stick an ssd in it, even a €300 Toshiba feels lovable once you change the hard drive.

listermint · 07-10-2015 10:22am

Otis_taylor2 wrote: »

Thanks for the suggestion on the Surface pro although Im not too sure of it. It not really a replacement for a laptop. It would take way more space on a table than a laptop of the same size. Plus it would be available only by oct 26, whereas i would need to get a laptop asap.

The adv with the macbook pro is that i can install windows10 on it through bootcamp.

You obviously havent looked at it if

a) you dont think it would replace a laptop
b) you think it would take up more space than a Mac Book

I think you maybe stuck in Mac Book Envy. So im not sure what other assistance people can give if you are set on one.

Otis_taylor2 · 07-10-2015 10:45am

listermint wrote: »

You obviously havent looked at it if

a) you dont think it would replace a laptop
b) you think it would take up more space than a Mac Book

I think you maybe stuck in Mac Book Envy. So im not sure what other assistance people can give if you are set on one.

well here are the dimensions for the surface pro type cover and the MBP 13: only looking considering the width.

Surface pro : http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4-Type-Cover/productID.325723100

8.50 in

MBP 13" : http://www.apple.com/ie/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

8.62 in

Now from the pictures of the surface pro 4, there seems to be a flap that acts like a stand for the device. So that would defenitely take up a lot more space on a table than a laptop.

mordeith · 07-10-2015 12:45pm

Otis_taylor2 wrote: »

Surface pro : http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/Microsoft-Surface-Pro-4-Type-Cover/productID.325723100

8.50 in

MBP 13" : http://www.apple.com/ie/macbook-pro/specs-retina/

8.62 in

Now from the pictures of the surface pro 4, there seems to be a flap that acts like a stand for the device. So that would defenitely take up a lot more space on a table than a laptop.

This is the Surface 3 vs Mac Air but I can't see there being much variation in the Surface 4 physically.

Otis_taylor2 · 07-10-2015 6:47pm

mordeith wrote: »

This is the Surface 3 vs Mac Air but I can't see there being much variation in the Surface 4 physically.

Here you go..

mordeith · 07-10-2015 10:45pm

Otis_taylor2 wrote: »

Here you go..

The horror! ;-)

circadian · 08-10-2015 7:36am

Loads of space.

It sounds like you have your heart set on the Mac. Enjoy.

Otis_taylor2 · 08-10-2015 2:06pm

Yes i found mac to be a better choice for me

And my apologies, i realized there was a mac forum only after posting this.

Thank you all for your help

Need advice:Macbook air 13" or Macbook pro 13"

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