Air Vs. Pro for college?

MarkyMark22

Hi all, another Air Vs. Pro thread.

I'll be buying either in the summer and looking for some advice, I'm a regular Mac user without having too much knowledge of products. I just love the operating system.

Physically I think I would prefer the MacBook Air but I'm not sure if it would have enough storage for what I would need?

I'm hoping to study photography and noticed the cheapest Air only has 128GB of storage, I'm worried that won't be enough. It also doesn't have CD/DVD option.

The MacBook Pro has greater storage but is heavier etc..

Would the Apple Time Capsule and SuperDrive be an option if buying an air?


Thanks guys, appreciate any advice!

Sad Professor

I switched from carrying a 13-inch MBP around college to a 11-inch MBA. While some people would suggest there's much difference in weight, for me it was night and day. I barely even feel the MBA in my bag. I don't know how people drag those those cheap plastic 15-inch laptops around.

As for storage, I get by fine with 128GB. But if this is going to be your primary machine then go for the high-end model with 256GB. Then get a portable hard drive. CD/DVDs are mostly a thing of the past.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a Time Capsule. Just use an external hard drive for backups. SSDs are bit more reliable than HDDs anyway. Backup/sync important day to day college documents using DropBox.

MarkyMark22

Sad Professor wrote: »

I switched from carrying a 13-inch MBP around college to a 11-inch MBA. While some people would suggest there's much difference in weight, for me it was night and day. I barely even feel the MBA in my bag. I don't know how people drag those those cheap plastic 15-inch laptops around.

As for storage, I get by fine with 128GB. But if this is going to be your primary machine then go for the high-end model with 256GB. Then get a portable hard drive. CD/DVDs are mostly a thing of the past.

Personally I wouldn't bother with a Time Capsule. Just use an external hard drive for backups. SSDs are bit more reliable than HDDs anyway. Backup/sync important day to day college documents using DropBox.

I will more than likely also buying a Mac Mini too, so I guess this one would be for use in college and any photo shoots or anything that may be on.

In terms of speed of the both basic models, which would be the better of the two?

Thanks by the way!

miralize

The Pro would be faster but Photoshop may load faster on the Air due to the SSD. If you can, get the Pro but get an SSD with that.

dmcg90

Air all the way. Lugging a heavy pro into college isn't worth it and unless you're using really intensive programs for construction etc you won't be hit performance wise. I do a lot of photoshop work and video editing and to be honest I don't notice the difference. I had a 2011 MBP and went to a 2012 MBA (both base models) and I don't regret it.

Sad Professor

If you go with the Pro, get the Retina. It's only 300 more. You are going to need the extra RAM and SSD eventually anyway. Plus you get the high resolution screen and slimmer form factor.

MarkyMark22

Sad Professor wrote: »

If you go with the Pro, get the Retina. It's only 300 more. You are going to need the extra RAM and SSD eventually anyway. Plus you get the high resolution screen and slimmer form factor.

Apologies if this is a stupid question, is flash storage better than the type of storage that's in a regular MacBook Pro?

Sad Professor

Yes, much better. SSD makes a huge difference to performance. I could never go back to a HDD. Slow, antiquated, unreliable technology whose only current advantage is that it's cheap.

MarkyMark22

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yes, much better. SSD makes a huge difference to performance. I could never go back to a HDD. Slow, antiquated, unreliable technology whose only current advantage is that it's cheap.

Great, thank you.

Is there any plans to release a MacBook Air retina display?

Thanks again.

Sad Professor

Eventually, but I wouldn't expect it anytime soon. The Air doesn't have a big enough battery to support a Retina display.

Snowie

Ok first why are you buying a brand new mac book pro when your in college So I wouldnt bother and id save your money..

I bought a mid 2009 13 inch mbp with 2.53 GHz 4 gigs of ram and a geforce 9400 with 256mb on adverts from a a seller and a some what regular on this forum. for 750 euros. I have not looked back i use

Final cut X, Light Room, Photo-Shop, Bridge, premier pro and after effects and the computer has stood up to all of the programs I've listed, not only that but I've filmed weddings and used this one computer to edit the entire wedding and render it and its done nothing but amaze me.

The reality is. Save your money bye smart, I studded photography and work as an assistant and anything 2009 on with an mpb is fantastic for what your studying but seriously don't go spending crazy money place safe and save it you may not enjoy the course. Genrally keep your stuff backed up on to a hard-drive or 2 or 3...

taylorconor95

Sad Professor wrote: »

If you go with the Pro, get the Retina. It's only 300 more. You are going to need the extra RAM and SSD eventually anyway. Plus you get the high resolution screen and slimmer form factor.

I'm not sure. The Retina MBP's are un-upgradable. I assume the non-retina ones support up to 16GB of RAM, and they have SATA3 - That seems to me like the OP could get some crucial RAM for about €100, then get a great Vertex 4 SSD (roughly 85c per GB). Then he could swap out the optical drive, put it in an external bay (I bought one for €15 a while back), then get a caddy and 1TB HD and put it straight into the laptop, and forget about carrying around an external HD.

If I remember correctly, I bought an Optical bay caddy for €35, and you can get a 2.5" 1TB HDD for €70. Then he could get a Vertex 4 256GB SSD for €200 . Now you're talking about a serious photography machine (That's highly repairable if something breaks), with 1TB of storage for photo's and 256GB SSD for OS speed for about €1550, and he could even sell the stock 500GB HDD and bring the price down to an even €1500. Not bad.