The Purpose:
To help anyone on the fence between buying a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Hopefully make their decision a little easier.
Backdrop:
I had a tough time deciding which to buy in the first place. I was put into this situation because of HP doing what HP does best...failing. I bought a nice HP Envy 17 and had it for about 2 weeks before ultimately returning it because of a noticeable wobble, screen static, and part of the chasis was out of place. Three Envy's later and I was fed up with HP and PC's in general. It was time to make the switch
I was swayed by the MacBook Pro, solely because it had just been refreshed with the new Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt I/O, and HD Webcams. However, I still had my qualms about it (Screen resolution, Intel graphics, Weight).
After spending two weeks with the 13" MacBook Pro, I was quite disappointed, so I decided to buy a 13" MacBook Air and compare the two while I had both of them, and ultimately make my decision for that.
What I use my computer for:
School work (a lot of Excel and Word), Internet browsing, HD content viewing, Light gaming.
MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air:
13" MBP - Intel i5 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5400RPM Hard drive, Intel 3000.
vs.
13" MBA - Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, nVidia 320m.
Design - Simply put, the MacBook Air is one sexy laptop. Not that the MacBook Pro isn't a nice looking machine, you just can't compare to a laptop that weighs under 3 pounds and is as thin as the Air is.
Display - The resolution on the Air is a true godsend. I love the bigger resolution on the same size screen. However, the color to the Pro is much deeper when compared to the Air and while it was somewhat noticeable at first, after calibration, there wasn't a major difference in colors.
Keyboard and Trackpad - The keyboard on the Air is easier to type away on, yet the trackpad on the MacBook Pro seems more responsive. It's also important to note that the Air doesn't have a backlit keyboard, whereas the Pro does. For some this is a big issue, but for me it wasn't a "deal breaker".
Speakers - I was quite surprised to find that the speakers on the Air were louder and also seemed to have more bass to them when compared to the Pro.
Ports - Obviously being such a small laptop, the Air is limited to what it has. With only two USB ports, this may be a problem for some people who don't like to use USB hubs. With the Pro there is a plethora of connections for your liking, including the brand new Thunderbolt.
Performance:
Hard Drive - There was no need to really even compare the two. The SSD was blazing fast with everything, whereas the hard drive was truly the bottleneck of the MacBook Pro. No doubt, it wouldn't be hard to install a SSD into the Pro, but then you're going to be spending more for what is already standard on the Air.
CPU - It's hard for me to test this as I'm more of basic user than anything. I don't use too many CPU intensive applications, besides some light gaming. I would assume that Sandy Bridge outperforms the Core 2 Duo by leaps and bounds, but the SSD also makes up for the lower clock speed.
Gaming - I don't do a large amount of gaming, so I went searching the forums for people who would know more about the nVidia 320m vs Intel 3000 HD graphics.
HERE -> https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1103257/
The 320m gains about 10 FPS on average over the Intel 3000 graphics.
YouTube - The Air had no problems playing back the Dark Knight trailer in 1080p, nor did the Pro.
Conclusion:
Overall, the MacBook Air was really impressive. I couldn't imagine using the 13" Pro over the Air for my purposes. The Pro is a great machine undoubtedly, but the Air is worth the difference in price.
This is what I truly thought made the Air stand out over the Pro.
To help anyone on the fence between buying a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air. Hopefully make their decision a little easier.
Backdrop:
I had a tough time deciding which to buy in the first place. I was put into this situation because of HP doing what HP does best...failing. I bought a nice HP Envy 17 and had it for about 2 weeks before ultimately returning it because of a noticeable wobble, screen static, and part of the chasis was out of place. Three Envy's later and I was fed up with HP and PC's in general. It was time to make the switch
I was swayed by the MacBook Pro, solely because it had just been refreshed with the new Sandy Bridge processors, Thunderbolt I/O, and HD Webcams. However, I still had my qualms about it (Screen resolution, Intel graphics, Weight).
After spending two weeks with the 13" MacBook Pro, I was quite disappointed, so I decided to buy a 13" MacBook Air and compare the two while I had both of them, and ultimately make my decision for that.
What I use my computer for:
School work (a lot of Excel and Word), Internet browsing, HD content viewing, Light gaming.
MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air:
13" MBP - Intel i5 2.3GHz, 4GB RAM, 320GB 5400RPM Hard drive, Intel 3000.
vs.
13" MBA - Intel Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD, nVidia 320m.
Design - Simply put, the MacBook Air is one sexy laptop. Not that the MacBook Pro isn't a nice looking machine, you just can't compare to a laptop that weighs under 3 pounds and is as thin as the Air is.
Display - The resolution on the Air is a true godsend. I love the bigger resolution on the same size screen. However, the color to the Pro is much deeper when compared to the Air and while it was somewhat noticeable at first, after calibration, there wasn't a major difference in colors.
Keyboard and Trackpad - The keyboard on the Air is easier to type away on, yet the trackpad on the MacBook Pro seems more responsive. It's also important to note that the Air doesn't have a backlit keyboard, whereas the Pro does. For some this is a big issue, but for me it wasn't a "deal breaker".
Speakers - I was quite surprised to find that the speakers on the Air were louder and also seemed to have more bass to them when compared to the Pro.
Ports - Obviously being such a small laptop, the Air is limited to what it has. With only two USB ports, this may be a problem for some people who don't like to use USB hubs. With the Pro there is a plethora of connections for your liking, including the brand new Thunderbolt.
Performance:
Hard Drive - There was no need to really even compare the two. The SSD was blazing fast with everything, whereas the hard drive was truly the bottleneck of the MacBook Pro. No doubt, it wouldn't be hard to install a SSD into the Pro, but then you're going to be spending more for what is already standard on the Air.
- Startup - Air, 13 seconds vs Pro, 30 seconds
[*]iTunes - Air, 1.4 seconds vs Pro, 8.5 seconds
CPU - It's hard for me to test this as I'm more of basic user than anything. I don't use too many CPU intensive applications, besides some light gaming. I would assume that Sandy Bridge outperforms the Core 2 Duo by leaps and bounds, but the SSD also makes up for the lower clock speed.
Gaming - I don't do a large amount of gaming, so I went searching the forums for people who would know more about the nVidia 320m vs Intel 3000 HD graphics.
HERE -> https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1103257/
The 320m gains about 10 FPS on average over the Intel 3000 graphics.
YouTube - The Air had no problems playing back the Dark Knight trailer in 1080p, nor did the Pro.
Conclusion:
Overall, the MacBook Air was really impressive. I couldn't imagine using the 13" Pro over the Air for my purposes. The Pro is a great machine undoubtedly, but the Air is worth the difference in price.
This is what I truly thought made the Air stand out over the Pro.
- Beautiful display.
- Improved gaming performance.
- Louder speakers.
- Thin and light.
- Overall amazing aesthetics.
- Keyboard is very easy to type on.
- Fast boot and application load times.
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