What mac do I need...

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

Youstolemyname

Soldato
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Posts
5,231
Location
The Voice Of Football
I have a dilemma in so much that I have no idea which Mac product to get for my needs. There are two other contributory factors to the decision:

I qualify for HE discount
I am going to Vegas in July

The Vegas prices work out cheaper than UK by a considerable amount but don't come with cheap HE priced Apple Care.

The product I want is something that I can use for the following:

Surfing the net/sending emails.
Plugging my Compact Flash in to to download pictures to it on very rare occasions.
Editing said photos on those rare occasions
Maybe do a bit of Office work on it
Watching films on flights etc

And that's really about it....I have a nicely specced desktop PC for my gaming and day to day needs but want the Mac for the above.

I guess the dumping of Compact Flash contents kinda ditches the iPad from the equation, leaving Macbook, Macbook Pro and Air. But it would be rare occasions I would use it for that.

The Pro has the better processors but seems a bit weighty....decisions decisions!

Any suggestions??
 
All of the portable Macs can do what you want. So it's down to 2 things

1) Price
2) Screen size

Watching "films on flights" knocks out the 17inch imo, it's very difficult to use on a plane and not that portable. The other end is that I don't particularly like watching films on a small screen which knocks out the macbook and macbook air. I personally would go for a 15inch MBP - but maybe that's because I have one.

By the way are you going to Vegas to live or? If you are I personally would wait and buy it out there if it is cheaper than even the UK HE prices. As for Applecare I really don't see a big deal about getting it. Most PC problems (no doubt someone will correct me if I'm wrong) happen in the first year which you're covered for, for free, anyway.
 
If you essentially want it for travel then get a 13" laptop every time. far more portable and easy to use on trips.
 
Going to Vegas to get married so unless something weird happens while I am there then I shall return :)

I was looking at 13 inch Airs/MBP in the shop the other day which kind of fitted the bill budget and size wise.

I originally intended to go for an iPad but I figure as I have an iPhone there isn't much point as it is just an iPhone that is a bit bigger.

It's not really massively for travel as I don't travel a lot these days but I would like the option. The main use will be sat in the lounge on it while she watches TV, bit more social than where my main PC is now...
 
Last edited:
Youstolemyname said:
I originally intended to go for an iPad but I figure as I have an iPhone there isn't much point as it is just an iPhone that is a bit bigger....
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have to agree with you there. I got an iPad last year and used it all the time but since I got a MBP I rarely touch it these days, shame really.

If you like the 13's then go for it, both are very good machines. But if it were me I'd pick the 13in MBP every time.
 
I had this dilemma recently and decided on the 13inch Pro over the air.

With HE discount it was cheaper, I wanted the new Sandybridge stuff (I've not had a new machine for 8 years so wanted something up to date for a change :p) but I was also looking for an eventual replacement for my desktop.

Due to a job change I will be staying away from home more plus using it as a work tool which required more storage space as well as the ability to run some VMs. Felt that the Pro would be better suited.

Yeah it's a bit chunkier but it's still not that big, although it is a weighty beast, and whilst no SSD as standard at least I can stick one in when funds allow as well as up the memory.

So I'd say you want the 13inch Air or Pro, the Air will do all you want very nicely, you get something that's relatively tiny and light, higher screen res, and still very nippy thanks to that SSD.

Play with both and see which you prefer :)
 
Remember whilst you're in America you need to add tax on to the price you see. I didn't realise this in New York it was around about 10% and I got a MBP so it turned out to be a bit more and with you being able to qualify for HE discount it may be worth it for the extra apple care.

I have the 13" MBP and it is perfect for flights and travel the screen size is perfect for films and the quality is still stunning :)

Hope this helps :)
 
Nevada sales tax is about 8% I think from memory....

So it's between the 13" pro and air- with the pro being cheaper at base spec. (albeit 70 dollars in USA)

My worry with the air is the lack of storage on the device itself but at the same time, the pro seemed a bit too weighty for sitting by a swimming pool surfing the net.
 
Go with the 13" MBP, it seems the most logical in my opinion, I just don't like the air and besides the processors that the Air comes with, it just isn't logical for most tasks that are more CPU intensive such as your photo editing etc.

Go with the MBP, you wont regret it!
 
Photo editing is more than fine on the Air, the MBP isn't logical because the resolution is poor in comparison (1280x800 is a joke) and it's really heavy in comparison to the Air.

Definitely the Air for me, SSD, realllly thin and light, better resolution by a long way. But I'd probably get it here if you still get the warranty (three years) by default with HE Discount (you don't have to pay for it).
 
I would get the 13" MBP in the UK with HE discount. It won't be that much more expensive and you will get all the UK plugs, keyboard etc.

If you wanted you could pop an aftermarket ssd in there and it will be a right little speed demon!
 
The only annoying thing about the MPB 13" is the res of the screen as others have said, quite annoying, love it apart from that though and sounds like it will do what you need.
 
In that situation I'd get the 11" Air, it does all you want and is exceptionally portable. I don't fully understand the point of the 13" Air as it's expensive and much less powerful than the 13" Pro, it might be thinner and lighter but the footprint is much the same which does matter (to me at least). Then again the dumping of compact-flash means you might want an external drive with the Air which is a pain.

Difficult choice, there's merit to the view that the best way to choose is to make a 13" pro the 'default' choice and then identify if there's something it won't do very well for you. If there is, change to something more appropriate, otherwise just go for that.
 
Ev0 said:
I was a little worried about the screen res on the 13 but since having one it's been fine.
Click to expand...

Indeed, I did the 15 to 13 downgrade last year and I was concerned as I use it as my primary machine so much of the time but it's been perfectly fine, if there was a higher res option I'd take it but it's not been a problem.

I'm now tempted to go back to the 15" for the quad cores and hi res screen but I'd miss the portability in a big way, the answer to this may or may not be a 15" and an 11" air. I'm unsure.
 
I would go for the air personally, it's much lighter and practical and you already have a Desktop PC anyway, just something to browse the internet and do some photos then the air obviously wins, resolution is higher too and an SSD would be better then any other spec advantage the mbp has to offer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom