Macbook Pro vs Macbook Air

[Vashti]

Hello and thank you in advance for the help. I am an actor, working with a 10 year old macbook pro, which is limping to say the least. I have been waiting for an iMac update, as I plan to buy the new 27" iMac as soon as it comes out. Because I've been waiting a while, my wife has decided to buy me a laptop for my birthday. This will be my primary computer until the desktop comes out and I will use it when traveling now and afterwards.

My needs are quite basic - email, web surfing, microsoft word and pro. The only potentially processor heavy thing I will be doing is light photo editing and editing short video clips for auditions and reels. I like the air because it is light and the pro because it seems to be able to do everything and will probably last me another decade if I need it to. I also love the touch bar, though it seems silly expensive.

I currently have a 512 GB hard drive, which is completely full. I'd like to move my music to an external hard drive and stay with that size since 1 Terabyte is just too expensive. I'm debating between 8 and 16 GB of RAM.

Any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!

 

[Mikael H]

Some thoughts:
- If you intend to keep the machine for a while, I'd spend the extra $200 on 16 GB of RAM no matter the machine.
- For your needs, I would guess the Air should be good enough - especially if you intend to purchase a 27" iMac in addition to the laptop within a reasonable amount of time. That should give you the most portability and battery life for your money at the cost of some performance in your most demanding tasks.
- I agree that the 512 GB SSD option seems to be the best compromise with Apple's outrageous storage prices, and if I was spending my own money on what's effectively a secondary computer, that's probably what I would get too.

 

[Vashti]

Your advice was very helpful. I also read a bunch of comparisons on line. In the end, I decided the macbook air 512/16 was plenty of computer for me and exactly the right choice. We went to the apple store tonight and my wife had other ideas. I came home with the macbook pro 512/16 with the space bar. It's definitely more than I need, but she's a generous woman and wouldn't listen to reason. I'm a lucky person!

 

[HappyInCalgary]

I am glad you got the Macbook Pro with the space bar. A Macbook Air (without the space bar) wouldn't be a good choice! ;-) In all seriousness, I hope you like your new computer.

 

[Vashti]

I am glad you got the Macbook Pro with the space bar. A Macbook Air (without the space bar) wouldn't be a good choice! ;-) In all seriousness, I hope you like your new computer.

Lol. I guess I was so gosh darned excited, I didn't remember what that lit up thing on the top was called. It's got lots of other purty buttons too.

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

Best of both worlds. A MacBook Pro and a supportive wife who spoils you. Both great investments. Hope the acting career works out for the both of you.