Macbook air vs pro

BMW F22 · 11-16-2012, 04:28 AM

My brother is thinking about buying a Mac (switching from pc) and was asking for my opinion. I'll admit that I don't know much about Apple laptops but advised him that the Air is mainly for portability because it's thin and light. If he wants performace he should get the Pro. Keep in mind he's a college student so getting the top of the line laptop isnt an option. With that said what should he go with?

Obioban · 11-16-2012, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BMW E90

My brother is thinking about buying a Mac (switching from pc) and was asking for my opinion. I'll admit that I don't know much about Apple laptops but advised him that the Air is mainly for portability because it's thin and light. If he wants performace he should get the Pro. Keep in mind he's a college student so getting the top of the line laptop isnt an option. With that said what should he go with?

If you don't need the storage space or DVD drive, the air is a better choice. It's SSD bases (vs HD for the pro) so everything is absurdly faster. Booting up takes 1/8th the time, programs launch in 1/4 the time, etc.

The ONLY thing the pro does faster is processor intensive things. E.G. encoding video. For every real life, computer use situation, the air is significantly, noticeably faster.

If you've ever upgraded a computer from HD to SSD, you'll know exactly the difference I'm talking about. Once you've gone to an SSD, non SSD computers feel broken.

KingOfJericho · 11-16-2012, 08:54 AM

Is it possible to convert my imac to a SSD?

gpb · 11-16-2012, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Is it possible to convert my imac to a SSD?

Probably. Call the folks at Other World Computing (OWC), www.macsales.com
They're well respected by the forum folks on macrumors.com

jwzimm · 11-16-2012, 09:54 AM

You know the Pro Retina is all flash based, right? No optical drive too. I went for the 15" Pro Retina as I wanted the awesome screen and the flash.

Hawkeye · 11-16-2012, 10:40 AM

I have the 13" Air and my Brother and best friend both have the 15" Retina. You cannot go wrong with either one. Depends on how heavy of video/gaming stuff that needs to be done.

Doing regular video editing and photoshop and stuff the Air is more than efficient. My friend was editing 4 HD video clips on the fly off of his Thunderbolt HD... that I would not be able to do with my Air.

For a college student I would probably recommend the Air unless he is planning on doing a lot of gaming or going into an engineering program where something memory intensive like CAD will need to be used.

silvergray545 · 11-16-2012, 04:06 PM

I have an older Pro, a new Air and a new Pro with Retina.

The Pro is great for processing any intense applications. I use it for photo editing, video editing, gaming (not a huge gamer but I like to play once in a while), watching bluray movies, etc.

The Air is great for web browsing, writing papers (Microsoft Office), and any other basic things. For such a small machine, it's really fast thanks to the SSD. I love the portability too. It's so small, it literally takes up no space in my book bag.

The Pro with Retina is the best of both worlds. Thin, fast processor, lots of memory, SSD and it has an amazing screen.

BMW F22 · 11-16-2012, 07:46 PM

Yeah I was looking at the pro with retina myself because i wanted somethin powerful like the mac pro but thin and light like the air. I ended up buying a Sony vaio z series instead. Anyhow, I will ask him whats he's looking to do with it and maybe suggest that he goes with the air.

11-16-2012, 04:28 AM	#1
BMW F22 Major General 3565 Rep 9,788 Posts Drives: ///M235i Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8)	Macbook air vs pro My brother is thinking about buying a Mac (switching from pc) and was asking for my opinion. I'll admit that I don't know much about Apple laptops but advised him that the Air is mainly for portability because it's thin and light. If he wants performace he should get the Pro. Keep in mind he's a college student so getting the top of the line laptop isnt an option. With that said what should he go with?
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11-16-2012, 08:54 AM	#3
KingOfJericho Major General 2452 Rep 7,341 Posts Drives: Yes Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CT iTrader: (1) Garage List 2010 135i Coupe [5.26]	Is it possible to convert my imac to a SSD? __________________ The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Bimmerpost. 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee High Altitude Hemi \| 2010 S4 Sold \| 2010 BMW 135i Retired \| 2006 Lotus Exige Sold
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11-16-2012, 09:54 AM	#5
jwzimm Colonel 687 Rep 2,770 Posts Drives: '16 M3 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Renton, WA iTrader: (17)	You know the Pro Retina is all flash based, right? No optical drive too. I went for the 15" Pro Retina as I wanted the awesome screen and the flash.
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11-16-2012, 10:40 AM	#6
Hawkeye Brigadier General 2070 Rep 4,365 Posts Drives: '07 Z4 Coupe, '21 X3, '16 GMC Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Iowa iTrader: (0) Garage List 2016 GMC Sierra SLT [10.00] 2008 Yamaha R6 [9.00]	I have the 13" Air and my Brother and best friend both have the 15" Retina. You cannot go wrong with either one. Depends on how heavy of video/gaming stuff that needs to be done. Doing regular video editing and photoshop and stuff the Air is more than efficient. My friend was editing 4 HD video clips on the fly off of his Thunderbolt HD... that I would not be able to do with my Air. For a college student I would probably recommend the Air unless he is planning on doing a lot of gaming or going into an engineering program where something memory intensive like CAD will need to be used. __________________ 2007 Z4 3.0si Coupe • 6 MT • Black Saphire Metallic • PP • SP 2016 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 Premium Plus 4x4 2017 Harley StreetGlide • Denim Black • V&H Tune 2021 BMW x30i • Phytonic Blue Metallic • Fully loaded
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11-16-2012, 04:06 PM	#7
silvergray545 Skittles, OT OG 2337 Rep 649 Posts Drives: Lots of M cars Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Cleveland, OH iTrader: (1) Garage List 2016 BMW M3 ZCP [0.00] 2000 BMW M Roadster [0.00] 2004 BMW M3 [0.00] 2014 VW GLI [0.00]	I have an older Pro, a new Air and a new Pro with Retina. The Pro is great for processing any intense applications. I use it for photo editing, video editing, gaming (not a huge gamer but I like to play once in a while), watching bluray movies, etc. The Air is great for web browsing, writing papers (Microsoft Office), and any other basic things. For such a small machine, it's really fast thanks to the SSD. I love the portability too. It's so small, it literally takes up no space in my book bag. The Pro with Retina is the best of both worlds. Thin, fast processor, lots of memory, SSD and it has an amazing screen.
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11-16-2012, 07:46 PM	#8
BMW F22 Major General 3565 Rep 9,788 Posts Drives: ///M235i Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bay Area iTrader: (8)	Yeah I was looking at the pro with retina myself because i wanted somethin powerful like the mac pro but thin and light like the air. I ended up buying a Sony vaio z series instead. Anyhow, I will ask him whats he's looking to do with it and maybe suggest that he goes with the air.
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