Convince me NOT to get a MBA...

[1BadMac]

What graphics issue...?

Also, can the new airs run 64-bit kernel on SL?

http://www.ditii.com/2010/10/21/apple-ships-macbook-air-software-patch-for-graphics-issue/

And yes to 64.

 

[Scottsdale]

The 17" screen to the 13" or 11" is a huge trade off... The entire package, including sound, screen, peripherals, and connections are going to be much superior in the 17". The only reason to get an AIR is portability - I used to have a macbook (for portability), but after seeing it sitting on my desk most of the time, I've sold it and switch to an MBP. You get less heat, quieter work (fans don't kick in like all the time), and overall a much better screan to look at...

Now - I'm never home these days, so end up dragging a netbook along... so I just sold the MBP and ordered an AIR... for portability... but will deffinetly miss the MBP...

At least the new 13" MBA has the same resolution as the 15.4" MBP. It's a really big deal and makes the MBA more practical and useful than the 13.3" MBP in my eyes.

I think people just want reassurance in their decisions, and the new MBA has everything people need. I say go for it OP.

 

[miata]

Since you play games, I suggest you get a used or refurbished 15" MacBook Pro Core i5 or Core i7 with the GeForce GT 330M GPU. Much more power on tap.

Plus it gives you a backlit keyboard for those late night gaming sessions and much more expandability. (Up to 8GB RAM, option of switching to a Solid State Drive or a bigger, faster HDD.)

For example, Apple lists this unit for $1529 in their special deals section:
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core i5
15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display (1440 x 900 pixel)
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
320GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory
(Qualifies for full 12 month warranty -- can be extended to 36 months)

I'm in a similar situation and I am leaning towards getting one of these with a 240GB OWC SSD drive. The package would take you just over $2K, but that would give you a noticeable improvement.

The benefits of the MBP over the MBA are:

- FW 800 port
- Gig-ethernet
- SuperDrive
- Additional storage capacity by removing the SuperDrive
- backlit keyboard
- iSight camera (1.3 MP versus FaceTime 0.3 MP)
- bigger display
- battery indicator lights
- sleep indicator light
- Kensington lock slot
- ambient light sensor
- upgradeability (RAM, HDD & optical)

Negatives compared to the MBA are:

- 1/2 the weight
- compact size
- slightly better battery life
- about $350 less

 

[ghileman]

$1800

add apple care, office and your now over $2K

 

[fizzwinkus]

add apple care, office and your now over $2K

add a bluetooth headset (bmw 335i) and now you're over 58k.

 

[63dot]

Hi Ayeing,

The $1800 dollars as mentioned in an early post may be a factor. And as mentioned before, screen size. Personally, I don't mind small screens but many people don't like 13" inches. See what you get for the money and really ask if it's worth it. Your original MBP doesn't sound all that bad and you could be way worse off.

However, you are getting a Mac and that's a step in the right direction. Heck, there are people buying bogus WS tickets for that much money. There are people paying that much for a maxed out PC (which I would not do or find a need for).

 

[gianly1985]

... but convince me NOT to.

You sound like a guy who keeps a mac for quite a couple of years. (core duo 17" x1600)
You sound like a guy who like to upgrade the HDD/SSD compartment with the latest offerings (1tb 2.5-inchers) of the market.

If you buy a MBP, 3 years from now:
- you'll be able to put a uber-futuristic SSD in your mac, maybe a 1tb crazy fast 10-something-nanometers SSD
- with 8gb of RAM, OSX 10.8 Lolcat + virtualized Windows 8 x64 will work like a charm

The same can't be said for the MBA.
Stuck with 256gb current gen SSD till the end of time.
Stuck with a 2006-ish amount of ram till the end of time. 8gigs is the new 4gigs. Hell an HP Envy 17" can do 16gigs. (or an entry level iMac can do 16gigs)