Is the MBA 11.6 for me??

[Andras5soul]

Hey all,

How will this suite me, how will it compare to current models, and my model? (Please answer from experience or if you are sure, because it is a lot of money for me to spend).

I use:
Safari (watch videos (lots of YouTube), research, surf simple web, sometimes online games)
-I'll often have 6-7 Safari pages open, but they won't be video heavy, more research heavy.
iTunes (the usual, but lots of music, nothing else)
iPhoto (lots of photos, answer if you have MBA with photos loaded already)
Mail
Microsoft Word, Powerpoint, Excel
Vuze (to download torrents, ALOT)
I also watch a lot of long movies on my laptop (don't mind small screen though).
I'll almost always have Vuze, Safari (many windows), iTunes, and Mail open.

Thats it!

I have a Macbook Pro (the last non-unibody, 15 inch base model)

How would the new MBA 11.6 Base model with 4GB Ram hold up against my computer, as well as the current MBP 15 inch mid-level model for the very few things I use the computer for.

Thanks so much!! Personal opinions help!

 

[henry72]

I would say 13 inch is better for you. Especially the resulation will be the same as your 15 inch MacBook Pro.

Also you will get 7 hours of battery life

 

[montblanc1]

I would recommend you the 11.6 inch model, since it's lighter and more portable than 13.3 one. You've already got an pro, so performance is not what you should concern most. As far as I am concerned, normal applications such as Office and online computer games can be run smoothly on MBA, even the 1.4ghz one, because of the superior flash drive. If you need windows OS on your MBA, you'd better upgrade your memory to 4GB, allowing you to run VM or bootcamp.

SSD (flash drive) is amazing, you won't regret

 

[coelacanth]

MBA, especially 11" model is for very specific target audience. I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, but "if you aren't sure, it's not for you" would apply here. 13" model would be a better or at least a safer choice if you aren't sure. I think people who will more likely to be happy with 11" MBA are those who can really say "That's exactly what I was looking for!" without hesitation because 11" won't do many things good, but there are deciding factors that are critical to many.

 

[bouncer1]

go with transmission or utorrent, both excellent for a torrent client, forget vuze, it's not any good and it's bloatware, as an aside to what you said.

 

[drjsway]

I think the 11.6" is perfect for you. Depending on how many videos you have, you may want to upgrade to the 128GB.

Nothing you do is very CPU intensive and the 1.4ghz is more than enough. Don't know why anyone is recommending you a 13" MBP when:

1. It's more expensive.
2. Doesn't seem like you use the DVD drive, which would be a waste of space.
3. The MBP is double the weight.
4. The MBA will be much faster at almost all your tasks because of the SSD.
5. You watch a lot of video and 16:9 screen is much better for that. For widescreen movies, the video will be the same size as a 12.6" 16:10 display.
6. The 11.6" MBA has more pixels than the 13" MBP.

 

[aberrero]

People are recommending the 13" MBA, because it is quite a bit better than the 11".

Basically, the 13" MBA will be almost identical to what you have now, just 2 pounds lighter and with double the battery life and a more rigid build. Performance across the board should be more or less the same. Everything will boot up and start up faster though because of the SSD.

 

[MartiNZ]

Yeah tested the startup on the 11.6" in retail today ... it really is 15 seconds!

Was pretty impressed with the form factor, it's smaller than it looks online! It made the -old- MBA sitting next to it look big and feel heavy . I can completely understand the recommendations of 13" though; I'm waiting on benchmarks to see just what difference the faster bus and processor and extra L2 make on the 13", given that the price is the same.