12-28-2011, 12:58 PM

I have always been a pc user but am fed up and moving to Mac. Love my iPad...love my iPhone and now I'm looking for a notebook. I'm torn between the Macbook Pro and Macbook Air. Here's what I will be using it for:

- Web browsing
- Development (Wordpress, Joomla)
- Basic desktop software (word, excel)
- Possibly some design (photoshop)
- Travel quite a bit (would love smaller (11 or 13 inch))

Can the Macbook Air handle this or do I need to go with Macbook Pro? Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Mike

12-28-2011, 01:04 PM

The MacBook Air can handle everything you mentioned just fine. Just keep in mind that the MacBook Air does not come with an internal optical drive...and the ram cannot be updated after purchasing/configuring it.

- Nick

12-28-2011, 01:08 PM

Thanks Nick. In your opinion, would I be okay for 3-4 years with the Air? Performance is definitely needed too so that plays a factor in my decision.

What's the most RAM you can get on the Air?

Thanks again!

Mike

12-28-2011, 01:25 PM

Originally Posted by mike223

In your opinion, would I be okay for 3-4 years with the Air? Performance is definitely needed too so that plays a factor in my decision.

What's the most RAM you can get on the Air?

Given your needs...I would say that you should be fine with a MacBook Air for 3-4 years. But who really knows...hard to predict the future.

As I'm sure you must know (since you've been comparing specs) ...the cpu speeds on the MacBook Air's are slower (1.6 to 1.8ghz) versus the MacBook Pro's (2.4 to 2.8ghz).

The "flash storage" in the MacBook Air's will make them seem faster than their cpu speeds would indicate...but...if you were to install an SSD in a MacBook Pro...that will speed things up as well.

Other than the thinness & lightness of the MacBook Air's...I'm not really a big fan of them...mostly because of the limitations allowing for the lightness & thinness. But other folks love them...and don't find the limitations to be a problem.

To me the non-upgradeable ram (4 gig max) is the biggest drawback to the MacBook Air's....especially trying to predict the future 3-4 years out.

- Nick

12-28-2011, 04:00 PM

Thanks again. I think I'm leaning towards Pro 13". Still small enough for travel and more robust/power.

Happy Holidays. Thanks!

Mike

12-28-2011, 04:16 PM

Originally Posted by mike223

Thanks again. I think I'm leaning towards Pro 13". Still small enough for travel and more robust/power.

You may not be aware....but the official Apple max. ram spec. for "Late 2011" MacBook Pros is 8 gig of ram...but in reality...folks have found that they can actually be upgraded to 16 gig. So PLENTY of ram expansion for possible future needs (certainly more flexibility than current MacBook Airs).

If the current MacBook Air's could be configured with up to 8gig of ram...I would certainly be more positive towards them. Considering that the average MacBook Pro can be upgraded to 8gig of ram for about $60 bucks (via non-Apple sources)...it certainly wouldn't cost Apple (or the eventual purchaser)...that much more to have an 8gig of ram MacBook Air (if it were possible to get one configured this way)...which currently it is not possible.

Good luck,

-Nick