MBP or MBA??

[msully]

I've finally decided to switch from PC to Mac but can't for the life of me decide between the MBP and MBA. I have been given strong opinions for both already. Every time I think I have decided on one, I get new conflicting advice. I'm also wondering about the necessity of getting the SSD. I had decided to go the SSD route for sure but could only afford to get the 128g at this time and was told today by an employee at Apple that that wouldn't be large enough given my amount of pictures and itunes. I do have a desktop external HD.

Also, thoughts on 4g vs 8g of RAM?

I would appreciate any and all advice that any of you could give me as I make this decision.

I'm going to post this same message on the MBP and MBA forums as well in hopes to get as much advice as possible. I'm new to this forum. (and forums, in general ) so hoping that I'm not breaking any etiquette rules by doing so.

Thanks again in advance for any advice you can give me

[Ads]

[Bamabww]

I'm not expeirenced enough to give any advice but I bought the 15" MBP, 2.2 gHz, 4gb ram, 750 gb, 5400 rpm HD last February and love it. I just recently installed ML and so far so good, no problems. I have over 2700 songs or about 150gb on Itunes and 140 gb of photos on IPhoto. I have not seen any problems / delays in playing songs or viewing photos with my computer and doing both at the same time.

Doesn't help you much but I'm very happy with mine.

[JezzerP]

I have a 2011 13" MacBook Pro and have been very happy with it. This is obviously smaller and of a lower spec than the models you are currently looking at, but it will serve as an example. The best machine for you will very much depend on what you want to use it for. Will you be using it as a 'laptop' and taking it with you when you travel, or are you really looking for a desktop replacement machine?

I travel a reasonable amount with mine, and storage wasn't the main priority, portability was. I copy a few iTunes TV shows or movies to it each time I going away, and delete/replace next time, and that works just fine. So if portability is your main concern, then the MacBook Air is obviously the way forward. If you need 'just a little bit more' storage but maintaining the portability, then go for a 13" MacBook Pro (the latest can be configured with 1TB of hard drive space).

My desktop Mac is actually a 'hackintosh'....OSX running on standard Intel-based hardware, and I can configure this exactly how I want (I built the machine myself). It currently has 3TB of storage which is more than enough for my entire iTunes library, all my photos, and website and coding projects. So, if your Mac is going to be sitting on a desk most of the time, then plump for a 15" machine with as much on-board storage as you can afford.

As far as RAM is concerned, more is definitely best. But, be warned, Apple will charge you an absolute premium for upping the amount of RAM in your MBP, so it is by far more economical to buy a model with less RAM and install your own upgrade. I did just that with my MBP and doubling the RAM from 4GB to 8GB cost me less than £30....Apple would charge more than double this at source.

Upgrading the RAM and hard disks in the more recent MacBook Pros is relatively straight forward if you are reasonably technically minded, and great guides can be found at MacBook Pro Repair - iFixit. You can't do the same with the Macbook Air!!

[zipur]

I believe the you cannot change the memory in the 2012 Mac. So you should buy as much as you can afford. Also this is a good reason to get a 2011"

[JezzerP]

I believe the you cannot change the memory in the 2012 Mac. So you should buy as much as you can afford. Also this is a good reason to get a 2011"

I think this only applies to the 15" MacBook Pro with Retina display. Looking at the iFixIt site, the current 13" and 15" standard MacBook Pros can have their RAM upgraded.

[JezzerP]

Interesting article on the trend towards sealed units and upgradability of Apple products on MacWorld.....

http://www.macworld.com/article/1168...#lsrc.rss_main


_______________________

JezzerP :)

[zipur]

The article reminds me of what was said about cars of the 80s. The idea was that cars lasted too long and so GM began to use cheaper components. With the idea that people would upgrade more rapidly. This resulted in the Japanese auto makers owning the market. Could that be the true reason for the Apple is producing " closed" devices? This will also drive the "Cloud" market.

[sparkyscott21]

Lots of weird things in the inner workings at Apple in the last 8 months or so.

Not saying about Mr. Jobs having anything to do with it, or not there,
but.......


Sent from my iPhone 4 via TapaTalk

[Frank Gen]

It really depends on what you are going to use the mac for. If you need performance, then Pro. If you need portability, then Air.

Pro has got faster CPUs and larger hard drives. Air is a lot lighter and SSD is super fast to make up its CPU speed loss.

[carolinmac]

It really depends on what you are going to use the mac for. If you need performance, then Pro. If you need portability, then Air.

Pro has got faster CPUs and larger hard drives. Air is a lot lighter and SSD is super fast to make up its CPU speed loss.

Cant agree with you more!!