MacBook Pro or Air?

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I'm in the process of getting my very first mac and have been debating about which laptop I should buy: Pro or the Air? I really like the sleek and slim look of the Air but I've heard several issues about them, most importantly over heating when watching a video on youtube or something...is this a common case with the air? I'm a college student and i'll mainly be using the laptop for simple day to day stuff, such as browsing the web, listening to music, etc. so I think the Air should be good, but if I want to watch an episode of a tv show online, I don't want to be constantly hearing the fan and have choppy video.

What do you guys think between the two laptops?
 
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13 Inch Apple MacBook Pro; 2.40 GHZ, 4GB Ram, 250GB HDD
Umes, I don't really know what to say, but the Air sounds good for you. Every notebook has some problem with it, I mean they're not all perfect. But maybe you should try and compare them both at a store.
 
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I have the Macbook Pro 13 inch.

If you position your notebook correctly so it can ventilate properly, the fan noise shouldn't be a problem.

I have watched a movie, and my MBP got warm but not hot. However, if I watch it while it is on my lap or a bed, I find that it gets hot.


If you really dig the Macbook Air, then go ahead and get it. I think you will be satisfied.

I personally believe that the Macbook Pro is a better computer, but both are great.
 
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 13" MacBook Air w/ 1.8GHz i7 & 4GB, iPhone 5S 32GB Gold
Personally, I would go for the MacBook Pro out of the two (infact, I did last year :p), but I don't like really slim devices, it makes me worry about cooling all the time :|.

Depends on what you like best. Like alexsd123 said, if you position it correctly it will get proper ventilation and the fan noise shouldn't be a problem. I've heard of them getting hot, but this is purely because they're aluminium, and I doubt it will get much hotter than the MacBook Pro gets anyway. You can get each laptop for the same price, just with the MacBook Pro the money goes towards better hardware, while with the MacBook Air the money goes towards better aesthetics.

If you want to be playing many games or doing much photo / video / music editing, I would highly recommend the MacBook Pro over the Air, but if you want to be doing normal, everyday using (internet browsing, word processing, viewing and sharing photos, etc) and have an easier-to-transport notebook, I would recommend the Air ;).
 
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For portability the Air is pretty ridiculous thin. Ive only had this Air for a few days and its fantastic. Its so small it can fit pretty much anywhere. Since it has a Core2Duo w/ 2GB of RAM I seriously doubt youll have any performance issues at all with it. I havent tried photoshop on this machine yet but I will be shortly. I will let you know how it goes. I personally went with the Air for now because I dont play games, nor do I have interest in gaming on a laptop and I really didnt need an optical drive for anything. I wanted something really thin for portability for work and pleasure.

THe Pro is quite a bit more powerful (a little bit faster core2duo but realistically for what youre doing you probably wont feel the difference) the new NVIDIA boards they come with are great for graphics and what not. It also will be more upgradable with the ram as I think the Airs memory is on the board and not upgradable. However it is a larger system. If you dont mind the extra thickness itd be a good choice for you.

Either choice I think is great, as recommended I would check them both out.

I think my suggestions are pretty much on par with driftnismo
 
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I'd get the Pro because while the Air is very very very very, very sexy, the Pro has become very very very very sexy, has an optical drive, upgradable RAM and disk, and really isn't a whole lot thicker than the Air. Well, okay the Air is about as thick as my screen on my Pro thus the Pro is three times thicker, it's three times a very small number so the Pro is still not all that thick. My employer issued Dell is nearly twice as thick as my MBP so that's a big difference between those two but between the Air and MBP, not so much.

So there you have it. Air: awesome sexy, less flexibility. Macbook Pro: really sexy, more flexibility, almost as portable, and less pricey.
 
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So there you have it. Air: awesome sexy, less flexibility. Macbook Pro: really sexy, more flexibility, almost as portable, and less pricey.

lol, you should write for a computer review magazine.

haha ;P
 
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lol, you should write for a computer review magazine.

haha ;P

I could have gone with my "deciding what kind of Mac to get is like deciding who you'd want to marry" analogy:

A Macbook Air is like super-hot, large breasted, leggy supermodel. She's very expensive, high maintenance (needs external peripherals), great to be seen with at parties (internet cafés), won't do as much around the house, but the sex is okay.

A Macbook Pro is like the plain-looking, but still pretty college student. She doesn't have the stunning looks but is still easy on the eyes, appreciates thrift, has all the necessary girl parts, is fine to be seen with even if she has a little extra pudge in places, will sterilize the house weekly, and the sex is mind blowing if not almost deadly.

:D
 
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Just like the metaphors from Mr. Tweek in south park. lol
 
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I have both, and use the Air about 95% of the time for my daily odds and ends. Virtual machines run just fine via Virtual Box on it. I bust out the MBP for things like Handbrake and iMovie. The Air has never given me any issues with overheating, though the fans run a bit high when I watch a ton of flash video. Both are great and either would meet the casual user's needs. I snagged a 1.86Ghz.128GB SSD MBA for about $1300 on the Apple refurbished store. My MBP is a refurb with 2.53Ghz/512MB GPU and was closer to $2000 at the time. Good luck!
 
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I just ran CS4 on my air popped open 67 layers and opened 2 additional large pictures.

While doing that I was listening to music in iTunes and had Chrome open.

I switched between spaces and expose and everything slid around smoothly. Not exactly a professional high end test on my air but well, there ya go....

...cant complain
 
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I'm in the process of getting my very first mac and have been debating about which laptop I should buy: Pro or the Air? I really like the sleek and slim look of the Air but I've heard several issues about them, most importantly over heating when watching a video on youtube or something...is this a common case with the air? I'm a college student and i'll mainly be using the laptop for simple day to day stuff, such as browsing the web, listening to music, etc. so I think the Air should be good, but if I want to watch an episode of a tv show online, I don't want to be constantly hearing the fan and have choppy video.

What do you guys think between the two laptops?
Hi,

I and my sister have each bought the Macbook Pro and I have to admit that buying this model is better and suitable for students especially.

Reason being that:
a. Battery last longer about 7 hrs;
b. It feels and looks like a laptop :) ;
c. Price is competetive and reasonable than buying the Macbook Air and it's affordable by students;
d. Looks impressive due to the ergo design;

Cheers Shah
 
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thanks everyone for your responses and your opinions. i ended up buying the macbook pro and am LOVING it! my first mac purchase and i'm already amazed at how easy it is to use! goodbye pc, hello mac!
 
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thanks everyone for your responses and your opinions. i ended up buying the macbook pro and am LOVING it! my first mac purchase and i'm already amazed at how easy it is to use! goodbye pc, hello mac!

lol, thats awesome. enjoy!
 
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Congrats, and welcome to the Forum.
 

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