13" MBP and 13" MBA?? Which One

F3niX

F3niX

TechH0LiC
Skilled
Hi Guys

I am right now stuck in one Dilemma..

Either 13" MBP (Base Model)or 13" MBA (Base Model)?

I have come to this decision after trying my friends Mac.. It was 2010 model, but it was much faster than my 2010 XPS 15 L501x(Except in Gaming)

Given that my XPS 15 doesnt give even 3hrs Battery life,it hangs quite frequently, and is slow in Photoshop. I wanna move to Mac.

My Usage Requirements:

1)Photoshop,Flash and other Adobe Products

2)Programming - Alot - Mostly Java,C,JavaScript

3)Document Editing

4)Movies - Rarely

5)Lots of Web Surfing - Mostly facebook

6)Gaming - Very very Less( I have a Desktop for it) - Mostly Small or Light games

Specifications:

Macbook Air 13" -

13-inch : 128GB

1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor

4GB memory

128GB flash storage1

Intel HD Graphics 3000

Rs.73,900 *

Macbook Pro 13"-

13-inch: 2.3 GHz

2.3GHz dual-core

Intel Core i5

4GB 1333MHz

320GB 5400-rpm1

Intel HD Graphics 3000

Built-in battery (7 hours)2

Rs.69,900 *

My XPS 15-

i5 460M 2.53GHz

4GB DDR3 1066Mhz

640GB

Win 7 Pro 64Bit

1GB nVidia GT 420m
 
What about the Heat Issue? I heard it is as hot as an Oven at 100% load..

EDIT: How does the 11" top end perform compared to 13"MBP in Photoshop? I want to save as much money as possible, as long as it meets my requirements
 
^^ thats not an issue tbh. i personally have never experienced it in the 2011 mbair.

but yeah one big difference you will notice between the air and the mbp is the screen quality.the mbp has a better screen than mbair.just check it out in your local store so you will understand.
 
^^ OK thanks dude.. I actually checked Both and felt that MBA has low quality screen..

So, r8 now fixed on the MBP 13" base..

Croma has an Offer for 6k discount + Free backpack now.. Will see there

One Last Question.: Is the i7 Upgrade on MBP 13 Worth it? I can get it for 79K
 
my suggestion would be to go for MBP. You will be saving 4k bucks there. Get yourself a 32gig SSD or a TB 7200rpm 2.5 drive to replace that slow and low capacity drive. Isn't this doable?

as a result, you get a MBP that is as faster than air (except in loading of OS and apps) that has an optical drive, bigger and better display, better cooling and more number of ports (most importantly, the ethernet port which might be useful if you travel to those place that doesn't have 802.11n connectivity.

For 79k, you can get one heck of a laptop running windows. and I don't think that the slight performance improvement is worth that 15k extra as getting an SSD and few other accessories could be a wiser choice. Either get the core i5 MBP with SSD and other good accessories or jump to MBP 15 with AMD Radeon HD 6490M with 256MB GDDR5 for 1L
 
I am intending to do that....

I will buy an MBP now, later will upgrade Ram to 8GB and Will get a 120GB SSD later in an year or so..
 
teja92 said:
I am intending to do that....

I will buy an MBP now, later will upgrade Ram to 8GB and Will get a 120GB SSD later in an year or so..
Click to expand...

take the base model as it is.than upgrade in the future.cheers
 
Good decision,you don`t need the i7..buy Apple care instead!

Replace the 5400 rpm drive with a hybrid one,unlike SL,lion is very happy with the hybrids.

The 11 incher one with 4gigs of RAM is a great machine too,but for serious work in PS you should invest in some good external display.I personally feel the vertical length of the 11"is little small for serious work.
 
I will get the MBP 13" base model,and if possible Apple Care Protection Plan ..

Then,maybe after 6months or so, based on my Observations and Requirements, will invest on an SSD/Hybrid HDD..

Hopefully it will last long, Not for Gamin, but for PS and Programming..

Will keep checking. I am right now trying my best to accumulate some money so as to buy the MBP 15..

If possible, i will wait for a while and buy, else will go for MBP 13..
 
For programming, MBP 15 will give you much more productivity. MBP 13 is also not a bad option (with its decent resolution), but the screen real estate that 15 offers you is great if you are into IDE based programming. But from CPU-point of view Core-i5 will be more than enough.
 
If you really want a huge performance improvement I would suggest you look at Windows laptops as for around 80k you can get laptops that will be MUCH faster for photoshop and other resource intensive work than the MBP 13".
 
@Babu.Mohan10 Dude, I know that.. But After experiencing WIdnows for almost 11 years, i can tell you, it hangs alot..

Thats not the case with OSX, as i have seen.

My friends 2006 OSX with 2GB 80GB and Core Duo 2GHz is still running fast for his browsing,programming, and Multimedia..

Thats why i wanna shift to OSX now...
 
After checking alot, I am stuck on one Final Showdown : MBA 13 or MBP 13

MBA Advantages:

High Res Screen - Needed For PS

SSD Storage - Fast Boot Times

Feather light - Higher Portability

Bluetooth 4.0 - Future Proof

OSX Lion Pre Installed - Saves me 30$

MBP Advantages:

Mem can be Upgraded later to 8GB - Speed Bump in PS

DVD Drive - Need it for easy Restoration and Installing other apps.

Ethernet Port - Definitely useful when moving

Full Speed Thunderbolt Port -(Light Ridge , Instead of Eagle Ridge in MBA - Exactly Half speed)

Much Better Processor - Needed for my PS work and Programming

Slightly Higher Battery Life - Doesnt Matter Much

Costs Less by 6K - Def saves alot of Money, can be used for apple care protection plan

Its tougher than MBA - Its alot better, I can use it on the go without thinking much about it

Now Guys, Help me Choosing One .. MBA/MBP

I do Fairly Light PS work, but type alot of programs and Browse alot.

Unable to decide between the two..
 
OP, that is odd. Adobe products (some CS4 and most CS5) actually work faster on Windows machines now due to GPU acceleration and being 64 bit (able to access more RAM). Only Photoshop CS5 is 64 bit on the mac, if I remember correctly. I would suggest you do a clean install of Windows on your machine, install only Microsoft Security Essentials and no other anti-virus, and give it a shot. You could save 70k.

If you do want a new machine, I would strongly suggest the MBP. The MBP has a much better processor. Also, the battery life will be great for the power it proivides.
 
Now that you mention your requirements clearly , the MBP will be a better option.

On a side note , having access to both Mac and Windows... i don't necessarily agree with you that Windows hangs. They are two ways of looking at the same problem ie getting work done. Other than that its all personal choice. I for one prefer Windows over Mac.
 
@Dhruv Dude, It may differ from System to system, but My XPS 15 hangs a few Times and gives me BSODs rarely, while installing softwares or updates..

If I load the HDD with 50% its fine, but beyond, it starts lagging..

My friends Mac is never like that.. It never Lags.. That made me rethink..

BTW Main reason for Shifting from XPS 15 to Mac is Battery Life+Portability+No Crashes

Thanks for your suggestions,but r8 now I am hellbent on buying a Mac Sooner or Later..
 
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