Which Mac to buy?

I currently own a Macbook 13". I am a pastor who is constantly using my bible software, on-line books, and on-line graphics to research subjects and people of the bible. Speed is very important as well as portability of my Mac - meetings and studies.

Of the choices - MacBook, MacAir and the larger MacAir - which would you recommend? I like my current Macbook from 2011 - however, it is slow and somewhat cumbersome to carry.

I appreciate any input you could offer!

Blessings!

Glen

I don't know which Bible software you're using, however, both Logos 6 and Accordance (2 most popular for Mac) take up a good deal of hard drive space and need adequate memory for optimal use. The new MacBook in my opinion is too slow and lacks (for now) enough connectivity. The 13" MacBook Air with at least 8 GB of memory and a large enough SSD would be a better choice. However, if you have the dollars to spend, the 13" retina MacBook Pro with at least 8 GB of memory and a large SSD would even be better.

As a suggestion, you might want to visit the Logos Bible Software forums where you can get a good idea of what others in the ministry are using.

G'day and welcome to the forums.

If you are finding the 13"MacBook cumbersome and heavy at 4.7lbs, maybe the newer 11" Air at 2.8lbs would be the go. Just ake sure you order 8GB of memory as it is not user upgradeable.

Pastor Glen said:

Speed is very important as well as portability of my Mac - meetings and studies.

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I have a 2011 13" MacBook Pro…and I really don't have much in the way of speed issues. From the computing activities you mentioned…I would think these activities wouldn't be too much of a burden on a 2011 13" MacBook Pro. I mention this since…I really hate to see someone spend a bunch of $$$$ unnecessarily.

Pastor Glen said:

Of the choices - MacBook, MacAir and the larger MacAir - which would you recommend?

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To me the one way to narrow things down is display size/display real estate:

- Your 2011 13" MacBook Pro has a display resolution of 1280 x 800
- The 13" Early 2015 MacBook Air has a display resolution of 1440 x 900
- The 11" Early 2015 MacBook Air 1366 x 768
- The MacBook has a 12" retina display…which has an equivalent resolution of 1152 x 720

Pastor Glen said:

I like my current Macbook from 2011 - however, it is slow and somewhat cumbersome to carry.

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Come on Glen. A strapping guy like yourself finding a 13" laptop "cumbersome"! Sure I know it could be lighter. I guess it's too easy for me to remember laptops of the 1990's. Weighing somewhere in the neighborhood of 7.5lbs. And I'm being generous…and only going back to the late 1990's. The very first Apple laptop weighed 15.8lbs!!!

The 2011 13" MacBook Pro only weighs 4.5lbs.

Regarding the speed issue. Are we 100% sure the speed issue isn't something was can remedy before spending a bunch of $$$$?

- Nick

Thank you for your response. I am a Platnum user of Logos - over 3,000 books are included in my software - mostly online. However, I often download the books in order to access without the internet. With this need for space to download - does this change your recommendation? Again, I am grateful for your help.

Fair enough Nick - it kills me when someone speaks logically - that's my job! Anyway - I do love my mac. The church I work for has only Dell's and a couple of us are convicted to use our Macs! Anyway - my wife has the smaller Airbook and yes, I am a bit jealous by her speed and the "portability" of her Mac. I am reminded God's Word speaks to jealousy!

As you know, you can work with Logos off line. The book licenses and other data you have in your Platinum package are located on your Mac and do take up considerable space. For example, my Logos folder in the user library (normally hidden) is 11 GB. And my package is smaller than yours (I do not own the Platinum package). Yours is probably much larger. And I'm sure that you also have other programs that you use in conjunction with Logos to do sermon prep, Bible studies, and so forth. It's always best to have plenty of room especially if you're in travel status and do not have WiFi access to the Logos server. If portability is more important to you, then the 11" MacBook Air with 8 GB of memory and at least a 256 GB SSD would probably be OK if you can manage with the small screen of the 11" MBA.

Be sure to take a look at what Apple has in their refurbished store on line. The last time I looked, they had a substantial amount of MacBook Air models both 11" and 13" for sale, some configured with maximum memory and a large SSD. Their refurbished models are warranted same as new and Apple care can be added.

Pastor Glen said:

Anyway - my wife has the smaller Airbook and yes, I am a bit jealous by her speed and the "portability" of her Mac.

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Can you tell us the following…just so we know exactly what you have:

- Amount of installed ram?
- Amount of free hard drive space (gigs used & gigs free)?
- What OS version is it running?

* Nick

Response to specs

512MB

@300MB free

10.1? - the latest version

pigoo3 said:

Can you tell us the following…just so we know exactly what you have:

- Amount of installed ram?
- Amount of free hard drive space (gigs used & gigs free)?
- What OS version is it running?

* Nick

Click to expand...

Of the three you listed I would recommend the 13" Macbook Air with an i7, at least 8gb of memory and at least a 256 SSD (512 is better). You will have a very fast, very light weight laptop with 12 hours of battery life.

New will cost you $1749.00 (U.S.) or you can check the refurbished models which come with apple care and are cheaper.

I have Logos 6 on my Macbook Air which is an i5 with 4gb of memory and a 256 SSD. It runs the program well but I get the occasional beachball and it could be snappier. It really depends how many resources I have open at the time but I know it the more open the more beachballs.

Lisa

Pastor Glen said:

512MB
@300MB free
10.1? - the latest version

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I will assume you mean that your hard drive - which could be an SSD or regular HDD - has 512 GB of storage space and of that 300 GB is free?
Latest version of OS X is El Capitan which is 10.11.1. Yosemite is 10.10.

How much memory does it have? Click on the Apple in the upper left corner and then select "About this Mac" That will tell you what your processor is and how much memory you have.

Lisa

4GB with a 2.4 GHz Core i5 processor

I'll go somewhat contrarian here and suggest that you look at replacing the HD with an SSD. A 1Tb SSD is $429 at OWC. That upgrade will make that MBP feel fresh and new and very much more speedy. And by moving to 1Tb, you'll have plenty of space for your library. And the net cost is much less than a new machine. (Now I will admit that a new machine would be more fun, but just in case theater is a financial consideration, a big SSD is a good way to get a major uptick in performance for not as much as a new machine would cost.

If you go this way, save the old internal HD and either put it in an external enclosure to use for more external storage or just hold on to it. When/if you get a new machine you can put the old internal back in to sell it or give it away and re-purpose the 1Tb SSD with your new system, either internal (if the new system permits) or in that same external enclosure.

I agree with MacInWin, replace the HDD with an SSD plus upgrade the memory (that model can go to 16GB) and you will have a whole new machine.

Unless you really want a lighter computer with much longer battery life.... then I stick by my previous post and say go for a new Macbook Air!

Lisa

Pastor Glen said:

512MB

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This number is in response to the question "how much RAM do you have" and I believe you must be mistaken: no Mac has come with 512MB of RAM in a **very** long time. However, if that is true, that needs to be upgraded immediately.

@300MB free

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This was in response to the question "how much free space do you have available?" If this is correct, we have located the issue.

10.1? - the latest version

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10.1 came out in 2001 or 2002, so try again. Perhaps you mean 10.10.1, which would be Yosemite, the previous OS X version. Though if you have 512MB of RAM, there is no way that would have even install, so suffice to say you are either misreporting stuff pretty badly or I am VERY confused about your claim of having a 2011 MacBook Pro.

Pastor Glen said:

4GB with a 2.4 GHz Core i5 processor

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Thanks for the earlier hardware info (ram, HD space, OS version).

An 8gig ram upgrade costs about $60. A 16gig ram upgrade cost about $110. This is far less than the cost of a new computer…and could very well breathe some new life into your MacBook Pro. Of course if the weight issue is really important. Then only a new computer can solve that.

HTH,

- Nick

pigoo3 said:

The very first Apple laptop weighed 15.8lbs!!!

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My last road bike weighed less than that!!!

On the Mac front, I love my 13" Air. It has 8GB of RAM and a 120GB SSD and is very fast and light.

I also have a 2010 white Macbook that I have just installed a SSD and 8GB of RAM in. It runs like a new computer but boy is it heavy in comparison to the Air! If I were carrying it around a lot I would go for the Air but with a larger SSD for your needs.

nickyr said:

My last road bike weighed less than that!!!

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Holy Smokes…that must have been one expensive road bike!

Not cheap Nick but overly expensive either. Just some careful choices of components and a bit of lightening (e.g. titanium bolts here and there).

nickyr said:

Not cheap Nick but overly expensive either. Just some careful choices of components and a bit of lightening (e.g. titanium bolts here and there).

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Very Nice! I'll have to weigh my track bike to see if it's under 15 pounds.