Macbook Air vs. Macbook Pro

First of all, if this should belong to the Apple forum, plz move it. and sorry for posting in the wrong section.

But I would think it is relevant here.

I finally decided that i am going to take my desktop HTPC from home to grad school for movies/TV and playing demanding games.

So now I cannot decide upon which notebook to get -
the base Macbook Pro 2.4 or the base Macbook Air 1.6

I am going to be mainly doing work: taking notes, photo editing, and also some light gaming (2d games and old 3d games (red orchestra, combat mission) when away from apartment) on the notebook.

So I was wondering which is a better choice for me.

The macbook pro has a faster core 2 duo cpu, but the FSB and RAM are all the same speed. Obviously the 9600mGT is 2.5x faster than the 9400M, but I am not going to need it for intensive gaming.
Also the macbook pro has a larger screen.

But the Air is so much lighter and thinner, and would be a good thing to take to libraries. And it is 200 cheaper.

Would you guys think the cpu speed difference would become a bottle neck in terms of what I will be doing? It seems like applications run slower on the mac (like Office or flash) by default.
Also if I want to edit large photos and such, would the 9600mGT help? would the 9400M slow me down with photo editing or even watching movies or flash video?

also the harddrive on the air is 120gb, but i can expand that with external drive.

I am definitely keeping this for at least 3 years. so i guess i need it some what future proof even for work.

if these questions have been answered, plz point me to the right direction.

Thanks
Mike

 

well, the 9400m is a lot better than what used to be in there. intel gma 950 / x3100.

the 9400m is a legit gpu. in terms of speed difference for applications, the truth is it just doesn't matter (except the macbook pro will be more proficient at gaming, but the air will hold up also).

the important differences are screen real estate and screen size. photo editing and gaming is better accomplished on a larger screen with a higher resolution. macbook pro.

 

If i have the amount of money on hand and in your position, I will buy a macbook pro. The screen is already adjusted to the increase of weight. Not to mention that MBP support a variety of ports and you get DVD.

 

I use a MBP right now, and carrying it around campus can become quite tiresome very quickly. Two pounds is definitely noticeable.

If you were talking about a MB and a MBP, then I'd recommend going with a MBP since it has extra 2inches of screen and a better GPU without significant weight increases. However, MBA is totally a different machine. You might also want to consider the X301 if you can live with Vista/W7

 

For your tasks, the Macbook Air is definitely the better suited laptop. Two pounds makes a huge difference when you're lugging it around campus all day.

 

Keep in mind that the base Macbook Air comes with a 4200rpm hard drive. I would not recommend it. Save some more money and get the 128GB SSD.

The normal Macbook would make a nice alternative, if it wasn't for the low contrast display that it uses. Macbook Air and Pro have high contrast displays. But then again, many consumers can not tell the difference between low contrast and high contrast.

If your photo editing is heavy, MBA may not be powerful enough.

PS. I'll move this to the Apple forum as I think you will get more input there.

 

Ok, lets clear out some of this confusion. MacBook Air is great because it it light, but is missing a lot of features and is a lot more fragile. Now if you were talking about the old gen Macbook Pros, yes, they were quite heavy.

However, the new generation unibody aluminum Macbook Pros are not heavy at all. I was carrying mine in a backpack and could not feel it even there. Currently my other laptop, major gaming laptop (Sager NP5797), is 12lbs and is very noticable. The Macbook Pro definately didn't compare in weight.

My recommendation is to go with the Macbook Pro, having the nVidia 9600 is worth it for light/med gaming, and the 9400 is good to extend the battery life an extra hour. Very easy to switch between. There is an option in System Settings under Energy Saver that allows you to change in between video cards.

Go with the 15", the one that is $1999. Trust me, it is easier to have a DVD drive already there and the buttonless mouse is really easier than it looks to use. Plus you get the performance of an 2.43GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and 2GB of RAM which is sufficient for the type of gaming that you are referring to. I was playing Mass Effect on high settings which was a graphic intensive game on the MBP.

 

Not that it's really important but the old gen MBP weighed 2.480,00 grams, the new one weighs 2500.00 grams.
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/apple-macbook-pro-2-4-ghz-463
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/notebook_test_apple_macbook_pro_2_4_ghz-694

 

So the old one was in fact lighter?

 

Not only that. The Old MBP is smaller in terms of length & breadth too, although the new MBP is thinner.

 

Many students carry around a backpack full of books and place their notebook in a sleeve inside of this backpack. To most people 23lbs vs 25lbs isn't very noticeable.

 

btw,if your are in US,I ll advice you to get it from ebay.that will help you to save up to 500$

 

I agree, my mac mini has a 9400m gt and I thought it would be "just enough power" but it turns out to have "more than enough power" for my needs.

And my needs includes playing 1080p contents which the nvidia 9400m gt does really well. Especially running dual monitor from the mini displayport + the mini dvi port.

 

The new macbook Airs have a pretty good gpu. The 9400m is plenty powerful for an IGP.

 

Although the overwhelming answer thus far has been to go for the macbook air, I dont know if I could personally justify spending that much money for a relatively underpowered notebook. For two hundred dollars more you will be getting a far more powerful computer, with more storage, speed, and a far better screen than the macbook air, at the cost of a bigger size and of course more weight. Having toted a 12" tablet for about a year (probably about the same weight as the macbook air), I can definetely say that I don't notice that big of a difference between my tablet and my macbook pro. If you are really concerned about weight and size, why dont you consider the high-end macbook?

 

unibody mbp is actually heavier than the previous design mbp; please don't spread rumors without support.

between mba and mbp though, my vote is on mbp for sure unless you have a desktop which is what you use most of the time or having a more powerful laptop at your disposal.

mba, while it is really nice looking, lack the power being your only tool.

 

hey guys,
thanks for all the input.

well the reason i am comparing the mba to mbp is b/c i heard they both have very good screens vs. the one in regular macbook. If this is true, then I wont consider the macbook.

See for some reason I love the backlit keys, so If I consider macbook, then im looking at the top of the line model with it. That is 1600, which is 200 from the mba; but I rather have the light weight of the mba.

that is why i narrowed it down to mbp and mba.

I think maybe i have led to some confusion. I m going to use this laptop for work mainly, and general computing tasks. Since Im going to med school, not going to be much time to play. I really dont need any peripherals attached, except an external screen to extend my desktop. I have too many external optical drive enclosures at home for dvd needs.

But i like to have the capability of taking my laptop to the library and not worry about size/weight.

I am just wondering how the 1.6GHz core 2 duo is for general computing tasks and general photo editing in photoshop. I know the mbp 2.4 is fasttt. but is the 1.6 going to be a bottle neck? would I feel a crazy slow down?

Also how is the 9400m for 2 year old 3D games? is it sufficient for medium settings?

Thanks this would really help me decide.

 

It depends on whether you can tell the difference between low and high contrast and if you care enough. Notebookjournal has measured the contrast ratios on MB, MBA and MBP.
MB 1:150.
MBA 1:700.
MBP 1:588.

1:150 is about as low as it gets. Anything above 1:400 is very good. Not everyone thinks 1:150 looks bad though. On the good side, the Macbook display is very bright.

 

The MBA uses a 1.8 inch hard drive, which is kind of slow. Some people wouldn't agree that it's slow, but, objectively speaking, it is slower than the one in the regular MB or the MBP. This will make programs take longer to load and stuff. Of course, if you are willing to spend more and get the SSD, that is blazing fast.

If you are looking at the hard drive-based MBA, I suggest going to an apple store and trying out one with a hard drive to see if you are OK with the performance.

 

Mac air is a big waist of money IMO, the price just does not meet up with what the product delivers.

 

tell that to adamo...

 

Or Sony TT...

Sure Macboook Air is expensive, but try finding another 1.3kg machine with similar power.

Samsung X360, Dell Adamo, Sony TT all come with under powered CPUs and under powered graphics compared to MBA.

 

thats why I suggested ebay-my friend got ver. b mba for 1350$ with cashback!

 

Id just get a $300 EEE and call it a day

or if you want fancy thats where the 1002HA or S101 come in.

 

I was thinking of getting a macbook air earlier since it is ultraportable. But there are several things here that I wanna share with you before you make your decision. A low end Macbook air(the one that is $200 more than a high-end macbook) uses a 4200rpm 120G HD, and it was an HD standard that was used 6 or 7 years ago, so this is pretty low standard compared to recent HD in most laptops. Also, the macbook only has 1 USB port, you may think that 1 USB is enough for now, but what if you need 1 more at some points in the future? I also tried out a macbook air at Frys (a local electronic store), and I don't like its trackpad, it was kind of tight to press on in order to get a response, and I only got response when pressed right on the lower-middle of the pad. So these were some major points that I was thinking before I got my macbook, and at the end I didn't get the macbook air.

I like holding my macbook and walking around the library to find books, or stuffing my backpack with books, folders and a macbook, and it is really not heavy at all. I don't really think a macbook is too heavy, it is just the right weight with a relatively light charger as well. Well, I sacrificed a bit portability for the OS X since Sony Z has a lighter weight
For portability, I think sony z is also very competitive. It has the similar weight as the macbook air, but with some more useful features.

About the screen, I think the macbook may seems a little bit wash out in color, but its display just solid and vivid and realistic and lively（can't think of another word right now, sleepy already ) since I don't play a lot of games on it, so it is total good.
I got the macbook mainly for the OS, so if you are also after the OS, and portability is the priority, then I think to take a look at a macbook air at the local store may be a good idea. If you don't really mind what OS to get, the sony z may even be a better choice in terms of usefulness and portability.
In my opinion, lugging a 5.5lb macbook pro(with more weight from a larger charger) around is pretty painful, but it is just for me , most people don't really find this as a problem.

 

hey,

yeah i definitely want mac os. dont want to worry about the problems associated with windows. already have a windows desktop.

well i kind of do care of the screen. i've had notebooks before with crappy screens, and i hated them. i rather have a screen with vivid color. the contrast of the macbook seems pretty low compared to the mbp or mba.

as for the hard drive. i just realized it is a 4200rpm sata 1.8". But i heard those are the type they use in ipods and are quiet durable compared to 2.5" 5400 rpm/7200 rpms... maybe im wrong.

but yeah i'll go check them out. I have a dell mini write now, and realized the pain associated with super slow (write) speeds on hard drives.

If i get the mba, i'll probably upgrade the hdd to a 1.8" intel X-18M. Do people know if that would fit / be a direct replacement? those intel ssds have super good write and read speeds.

so right now i'm leaning towards the mba because it has everything i need and is super light, while at the same time has all the features of the macbook.

 

if you were to spend another few hundreds for SSD by all mean go with MBA; besides intel's solution you can also opt for mtron or samsung as they aren't too bad either.

 

If you go for the aftermarket SSD option though, just be prepared to lay down a good amount of money for a SLC 1.8" SSDs.

 

both of them and Voodoo 13.

 

yes, and the adamo comes with the underpowered Intel X4500hd.

 

Keep in mind, the MBA's HDD is user-replaceable, but you have to have the correct size drive. You could replace it, but it's a matter of taking out 9 screws. BTW, does it void your warranty?

 

Hey guys,

So i just went to my local apple store and checked out the mba and mbp.

Well comparing them to the macbook, I can definitely tell the difference b/w the screen quality. The macbook looks like it is really lacking color vibrancy, if that is a correct way to put it.

Also I tested out two macbook airs side by side. One is the base 1.6 with the 4200rpm hdd and one is the 1.8 with the ssd. It seems like opening applications like MS word, iPhoto, etc, the 1.6 is only like 1 to 2 seconds slower than the SSD one. That I can totally live with given I'm just doing school work.

I also tried out the macbook pro, and it is definitely bigger and heavier to the feel compared to the macbook air. and I can't quiet put my finger on it, but the lack of an actual mouse button is weird...
But in terms of speed, I don't feel that much of a different when opening usual work related applications.

well i think im pretty much set on the macbook air. however i'm waiting for late july to buy. who knows what apple will change by then?

thanks

 

I dont think lacking of a real mouse button is really that bad.
I am get used to it right away.
You can expect SnowLeopard by then. Apple keep eveything under the hood very well.

 

Not really. You simply remove the bottom cover and there's the hard drive, ready to be popped out and replaced with a new one.

I'd say the last gen MacBook Pros were more difficult to replace the hard drive in.

However, make certain you get the correct size drive. I believe they make both 5mm and 8mm thick 1.8" drives, and the latter will not fit into the MBA, due to the very precise tolerances.

 

By the way, at the guy suggesting just getting a netbook, there is a world of difference between an Intel Atom vs. a Core 2 Duo, so that's just a terrible comparison.

 

Yes !!Intel atom is sooo slow and is not even comparable to an intel pentium m.

 

if this is gonna be your main computer then i will strongly suggest you get the Macbook Pro.

the macbook air is just to limited, use it like you would use a netbook. note taking, internet, etc. dont get the MBA with HDD it is a 1.8" 4200rpm unit, the same as the one found on ipods. it will be slow, if you do get the MBA get the SSD one.

can you really live without CD drive and 1 usb port?

 

Well 1.6 N270 is comparable to a 1.0GHz Intel Pentium M.

Not very fast, but fast enough for playing 720p video or web browsing with 10 tabs.

 

Are you sure? My older Toshiba laptop with a 1.6 C2D drops some framerates while doing a 720p MKV with no other processes running...

 

Depends on how the video is encoded and what compression method is used. Some decompression and decoding techniques are more CPU intensive than others.

 

Yes I am sure 720p plays without any problem using CoreAVC.

With your CPU 1080p should not be any problem.