rMBP i5 8GB RAM vs MBair 13' i7 8GB RAM

[vitalion]

Hello all,

I am looking for a secondary computer that it more portable than my iMac. I am between the two model below:

-Retina MacBook Pro (MF839LL/A)

• 2.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor, Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
• 8GB 1866MHz memory
• 128GB PCIe-based SSD

- MacBook Air (MF839LL/A)

• 2.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
• 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
• 128GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

i got the following questions and i will appreciate some answers and opinions:

Which one of the two can be considered as more future proof laptop?
Which one do you think is more powerful in terms of handling task such as minor usage of Adobe Creative Suite (mainly photoshop, illustrator and indesign)
Is there a noticeable difference between the specs of the two machines in terms of possessor and RAM
I am not quite sure if i really need that retina display (i know that is gorgeous)

thanks a lot. looking forward for your input.

 

[ag29]

They're both similar. You're comparing a Macbook Air with a processor upgrade to a base model Macbook pro Retina. The air will have a slight edge in processing power, but the retina has better quality RAM and graphics... so overall it's unlikely you'd notice any difference between the two.

I would go for the Macbook Pro Retina, you get the Retina display which is really nice and that's alot more important in terms of future proofing. On on the other hand, you get slightly more battery life with the Macbook Air, but you would miss out on the display and the HDMI port.