Macbook Pro Vs. Macbook Air

[Luke_WO 11]

So my dad wants to buy a new laptop for the family for Christmas. We've always been PC users, but obviously, they're not the way to go any more. He's entrusted me with doing the research and picking out the best computer. Since the general consensus is that the best computers are Macs, there are only two to choose from: the Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air.

 

I'm not huge into tech stuff, especially when it comes to processors and memory space and such. All I need to know is your opinion on which computer you would go with, given my circumstances. It's a computer for the whole family, won't require a bunch of capabilities. All we really do is internet and word processing, no fancy online gaming or movie or tv-show watching.

 

Which computer would you choose, and do you have any significantly positive or negative experiences with either of them?

 

Thanks guys.

[alec.mc 180]

I have a macbook pro, 13 inch.

 

 

Either processors will most likely be more than enough for what you'll need it for. From what I remember the Macbook air has a smaller solid state hard drive, and does NOT have a CD/DVDrom drive. It's light, thin, and built for portability.

[autoxnyc 4]

The MBP has a CD/DVDrom drive and MBA does not. MBP also come with larger drives.

 

If you intend to bring the laptop around, then get the Air. For home use the MBP is better and I'd get a larger screen, 15" would be perfect and 17" if you have older users.

[NicePants 58]

I wouldn't completely rule PCs out. For the fraction of the cost of a mac, you could build a PC that is equal or better to a mac. If you're set on a laptop, I wouldn't fall into the whole "Apple is best " trap either. I find that most of the praise they get comes from people who barely know computers, or from the massive amount of advertising in the media. They're decent computers, but again, they're overpriced to hell and for what you want, you could get something that runs flawlessly and does everything you wanted to for a hell of a lot cheaper. If you're dead set on a laptop, I'd look into something by HP. I'd steer clear of Dell though.

[Malsua 1,422]

The air is nice enough but unless you plan to travel regularly with it, get the Macbook pro. There is a definite performance gain using the Macbook Pro.

 

If it's just going to sit on a desktop and never move, don't get a laptop, get an iMac.

[autoxnyc 4]

I've built plenty of my own PCs before and have both PC and Macs at home. Hardware aside, you will not have issues like Spyware/Virus and slowdown because of the OS and the 2 things mentioned before on the OSX. You can find deals on the Air for around 800 - 900. A decent deal for something that'll give you easily 2 to 3 years of service without slow downs/virus problems. iMacs are really nice too if you only use at home. You will not have to deal with a million wires like PCs.

 

AND. When you are done with it, you can sell a used MAC for A LOT more money than a used PC(worthless).

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Apple is NOT best. For what you pay for, you could get a Windows laptop with at least 2x better specs.

 

That being said - What will this laptop be used for?

 

What are you looking for? Power, portability, ability to watch movies, etc?

[autoxnyc 4]

Also, when you are done with your old MAC, you can transfer EVERYTHING(including programs) from the old one to the new one and everything will work. Try that with a PC

[Luke_WO 11]

Well we already have an adequate desktop. It's not the greatest, but it works, so an iMac isn't really an option.

 

As I said, this is a basic family computer. We'll use it for general Internet browsing and email, mostly, with some YouTube thrown in. No need for any extra capabilities that would go towards better gaming, better movie watching, etc. Since it's gonna be a stay at home computer, I guess a Pro is more logical. And as far as using Apple, the assurance regarding the lack of viruses and spyware is a huge boost, especially with my parents. They're not the most tech-savvy, so any time the computer freezes they assume it's a virus and get all worked up into a frenzy.

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Don't be fooled. Viruses, Malware and Spyware DO still exist on Macs. They're just not as easy to catch. With non-tech savvy individuals, I can see you getting a Mac, if it's in your budget. Basically I'd get whichever is cheaper since you're just doing basic stuff.

[autoxnyc 4]

They are out there but from owning MACs for 4 plus years I have NEVER caught any of them. I don't personally know ANY friend of mine with MAC that caught any of them. However, every single PC of mine has at least some SPYware and they all slow down after a while. This applies to most PCs out there.

 

Most people who have owned both likes MACs better. Yes they cost more but you do get what you pay for.

 

If a Macbook breaks you can bring it to your the local Apple store and they will fix it within a day or two. For the OP it's at Shorthills mall which is 10 min away. HP and Dell laptops you'll have to mail them back or pay extra for in home service.

[notmetoo 41]

I've been a Mac guy since '91 and have done tech support for Macs and PCs for the past 14 years. Macs are more reliable, less prone to crashes and nearly virus/malware free. I run a Macbook Air 11" as my main computer (and I can use ANY Mac in my current job). The light weight and incredible solidity, as well as the lack of moving parts, makes it an excellent notebook computer. I'd recommend the 13" Macbook Air for your use. The only caveat is if you plan to often use CDs or DVDs with the new computer (and even then you can get an external drive).

Even if the laptop is staying in the house the weight makes a difference, for example if you hold up the laptop to show someone else something or hand it to them - it's just much less wieldy with the Air.

 

Hope that helps.

[NicePants 58]

For all the people suggesting viruses are completely debilitating on PCs and a mac will trump it on this, it may be true that there are fewer viruses for Apple's operating systems, but with a proper program, you can block all spyware and viruses. The computer I'm using I built for about $750 four years ago. I have yet to catch any sort of spyware/viruses. It just all depends on what programs you have guarding your computer and how smart you are when looking stuff up on the internet. A little common sense can negate the benefits of having a "virus-free" mac. A good anti-spyware/anti-viral program (NOT Norton, that program gets the crap beaten out of it by free programs out there) and you'll be golden.

[autoxnyc 4]

Not disagreeing but the OP intended to get a computer for his family and stated his parents are not too tech-savy. You can install programs on a PC that'll block most Virus/malware but you'll still get a spyware here and there. Not a big issue but you don't have to worry about it AT ALL with a MAC. You don't even need to install a program to block them or worry about keeping the definition up to date and/or paying for subscriptions.

 

I handed my parents an iMac 3 years ago and I never had to fix any spyware related issue for them after that. Before that I constantly had to fix and scan their computer for them even with internet security/virus suites. It is the sites they visit frequently that always leaves some sort of Spyware on their PC. Yes if you know what you are doing it all can be prevented but for people who are not tech savy Mac OSX is better in that regard.

 

For all the people suggesting viruses are completely debilitating on PCs and a mac will trump it on this, it may be true that there are fewer viruses for Apple's operating systems, but with a proper program, you can block all spyware and viruses. The computer I'm using I built for about $750 four years ago. I have yet to catch any sort of spyware/viruses. It just all depends on what programs you have guarding your computer and how smart you are when looking stuff up on the internet. A little common sense can negate the benefits of having a "virus-free" mac. A good anti-spyware/anti-viral program (NOT Norton, that program gets the crap beaten out of it by free programs out there) and you'll be golden.

[1down5up 7]

So my dad wants to buy a new laptop for the family for Christmas. We've always been PC users, but obviously, they're not the way to go any more. He's entrusted me with doing the research and picking out the best computer. Since the general consensus is that the best computers are Macs, there are only two to choose from: the Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air.

 

I'm not huge into tech stuff, especially when it comes to processors and memory space and such. All I need to know is your opinion on which computer you would go with, given my circumstances. It's a computer for the whole family, won't require a bunch of capabilities. All we really do is internet and word processing, no fancy online gaming or movie or tv-show watching.

 

Which computer would you choose, and do you have any significantly positive or negative experiences with either of them?

 

Thanks guys.

 

 

 

Well we already have an adequate desktop. It's not the greatest, but it works, so an iMac isn't really an option.

 

As I said, this is a basic family computer. We'll use it for general Internet browsing and email, mostly, with some YouTube thrown in. No need for any extra capabilities that would go towards better gaming, better movie watching, etc. Since it's gonna be a stay at home computer, I guess a Pro is more logical. And as far as using Apple, the assurance regarding the lack of viruses and spyware is a huge boost, especially with my parents. They're not the most tech-savvy, so any time the computer freezes they assume it's a virus and get all worked up into a frenzy.

 

 

The only big differences you are looking at are operating system and aesthetics.

 

Ever since Apple switched from PowerPC to Intel processors Mac and PC utilize the same hardware. You can even install Windows on your Mac if you want.

 

Windows 7 and OSX are both great and will do everything you need. Both of them are very reliable.

 

You don't want to fall into a false sense of security with a Mac. More and more viruses and malware are being written for them these days. Safe browsing techniques, pop-up blockers, and anti-virus/malware software should always be utilized.

 

If you do decide to go the Mac route i'd suggest buying the bare-bones version of what you want. Apple charges insane prices for RAM and SSD upgrades. Don't be fooled into thinking they are Mac specific parts and need to be bought from Apple.

 

I do think Macbooks have the best touchpads.

 

Resale value on Apple products is also far superior if that is of concern to you.

[tommy3rd 132]

Apple is NOT best. For what you pay for, you could get a Windows laptop with at least 2x better specs.

 

That being said - What will this laptop be used for?

 

What are you looking for? Power, portability, ability to watch movies, etc?

you're a tech guy, Nick. Of course you'll recommend a PC. You're the type of guy who buys components on tiger direct or newegg and put together your state of the art gaming system and connect all kinds of stuff and do funky things with it.

Everyone seems to get sticker shock when they see prices of Macs. All they see is "oh, that other computer has the same specs but $200 less!" You're not seeing the big picture. You're paying for ease of use and great support when things go wrong. Go to an Apple store, play with the stuff there, ask questions. Sooner or later you'll realize you just want to do stuff everyone else wants to do (internet and email, video chat, facebook, and the occasional music, games, and video editing) without having to worry too much. I've lived in a windows world far too long...computer problems at work that i don't want to deal with when i get home.

[Luke_WO 11]

Appreciate all the thoughts and opinions. For what it's worth, a PC won't cut simply because my 16 year old sister has been dying to get a Mac For a couple years now. So while I appreciate the opinions about building PC's and buying cheap, quality PC's, I'm afraid my sister might have a breakdown if she unwraps the computer and it's NOT a Mac. Lol.

 

Definitely will be getting the basic package with whatever we get. 4 GB is more than enough memory, and we probably don't need the i7 processor when the i5 would probably do just fine.

 

Through the research I've done, seems like you can't really go wrong with either the Pro or the Air.

[tommy3rd 132]

it really all depends on what you want to do. the Air for portability, the Pro to do more things. Both are very capable machines. Just note that movies and music takes up a lot of hard drive space, so the Air might not have enough HD space built in if you plan to use it as a full blown media center.

[1down5up 7]

Appreciate all the thoughts and opinions. For what it's worth, a PC won't cut simply because my 16 year old sister has been dying to get a Mac For a couple years now. So while I appreciate the opinions about building PC's and buying cheap, quality PC's, I'm afraid my sister might have a breakdown if she unwraps the computer and it's NOT a Mac. Lol.

 

Definitely will be getting the basic package with whatever we get. 4 GB is more than enough memory, and we probably don't need the i7 processor when the i5 would probably do just fine.

 

Through the research I've done, seems like you can't really go wrong with either the Pro or the Air.

 

If this is going to take place as the family computer then I would not recommend the Air. I personally wouldn't ever recommend the Air . Low specs, high price, no room for upgrades, limited to 13" screen. Poor choice for becoming the main family computer. The Air is for ultimate portability when you need a little more capability than a tablet. Go with the MBP with 4GB Ram. Go to Newegg, buy 4GB more for ~$80.

[raz-0 1,259]

Macs are not clearly better.

 

Apple takes form over function every time. A lot of their designs have thermal dissipation issues. The 13" MacBook, and the 17" have close to the same amount of airflow. The 17" is cooling a lot more CPU and a discrete gpu. At work we were averaging 2 motherboard replacements per 17" MacBook pro over its life. My friend does it for a bording school where the 17" is issued to all faculty and staff. They are averaging 3 motherboards per laptop.

 

Our labs are seeing our all I one iMacs lose main boards at less than their 3 year cycle.

 

As for security, apple has no security software. The unix user model might help if it weren't for the fact that you are operating as someone with effectively root privs all the time. Most badness comes through the browser these days. There are real world Mac exploits out there. Apple just finally patched one vulnerability. After it being exploited for more than two years.

 

NO os is free of security problems.

[notmetoo 41]

I generally avoid these Mac v PC battles, but sometimes misconceptions must be corrected.

 

True - No OS is free of security problems. However, between the security problems in Windows and the problems caused by the software to prevent those security problems (firewalls blocking legit services, Windows UAC preventing installations, antivirus quarantining critical pieces of applications, etc.) Windows is the clear loser. Apple does have security software; anti-malware has been built into the OS since 10.6 came out. In addition, there's a firewall, encryption services, and authorization is required when changing anything in the system.

If you feel the need for more there are several third party security packages from McAfee, Sophos, Norton, etc.

 

Hardware-wise, we've run some iMacs here for nearly eight years and have several iMac labs and never had a motherboard issue. Can't speak to the 17" Macbook Pros, we only have a few of those. There have been problematic Macs, don't get me wrong. For example, early Power Mac G5s were very unreliable (now THERE was a flaky motherboard) and there was a generation of Powerbook G4s that had RAM slot problems. But overall, and compared to the Dells we run, they are rock solid.

 

Also, users are only administrators (never root privileged) if you give them those rights. Otherwise, they can't affect the system. What Mac OS are you running? System 7?

 

Yes, I run a Windows PC at home, but only for games which is about all it's good for. And people say Macs are toys.

 

 

Sigh, let me have it.

[raz-0 1,259]

Also, users are only administrators (never root privileged) if you give them those rights. Otherwise, they can't affect the system. What Mac OS are you running? System 7?

 

Yes, I run a Windows PC at home, but only for games which is about all it's good for. And people say Macs are toys.

 

 

Sigh, let me have it.

 

Home PCs are not administered like lab PCs. Are you telling me the average retail buyer has no administrator privs? You are supposed to have to give permission to alter anything. Same goes with windows vista and 7. I can tell you there are ways around it on both OSes. HEck, you bash UAC in wondows, but tout the exact same kind of permission pop up in OS X as something good.

 

The mac cube... heat issues.

The first revision mac mini without a fan... heat issues.

The first revision white plastic mac books... heat and fan issues.

Second revision plastic mac books ... heat issues due to assembly issues.

The 17" metal clad mac books ... heat issues.

The 15" and 17" aluminum unibody mac books... looks like they are better, but still ahve heat issues.

The first gen 21" glass and aluminum imacs... we have a way more than we want dying, and way more than should be. might be a heat issue or component issue. Several of the revisions of all in one imacs have had display quality issues.

 

The cheese grater desktop chassis have excellent airflow though. Almost like they learned their lesson when trying to strect out the lifespan of the plastic clad cases.

 

My opinion comes from my experience where I work, and my friends experience where he works. We have literally hundreds of imacs deployed in labs ranging from 10x5 to 24x7 use. on a staggered 3 year or 4 year replacement cycle. We deploy dell, toshiba, apple, and hp laptops to some of our staff. We also staff an apple certified repair center (also certified for some pc brands, forget which exactly). My friend has about 80 laptops deployed to faculty and staff for 24-7-365 use with a 4 year refresh cycle.

 

Apple used to have very robust hardware when everything was big and colorful. When their design ethos went to sleek and minimalist, things started getting problematic. IF like the OP says, they are going to only use it for browsing and word processing, then I doubt they are going to kill it becuase they will never be hitting maximum thermal dissipation.

 

Saying windows machines are only good for games is idiotic. Odds are when you run into niche professional software, it runs on windows and nothing else. Even so, windows works well for design (especially 3d design, because apple doesn't ship any machines with deent professional 3d cards), editing, word processing, financial software, database tools, etc. I guarantee you if you take the whole world of software that people need and use, more of it works on windows than anything else.

 

You can USE it as a server, but I'd rather not. The same applies to OS X.

 

I really don't care what anyone uses. Use what you like. I dislike a lot about OS X, but it is mostly a matter of things it does inconsistently and the fact that their UI one of the least ergonomic I have used (yes, I have actually sat down and measured and counted specific things while performing specific tasks, macheads will scream heresy and tell me that's easy, just use the hotkeys, and I will ask if you have to know hotkeys, why bother with a mouse).

 

I jsut dislike it when I see people blindly assuming apple stuff is guaranteed to be good.

 

It used to be true that apple displays were just GOOD. Every time. Then the 30" cinema display hit. You had rioting amongst the graphic designers who now had a $3000 monitor with an uncorrectable yellow color cast. Apple told them to go scratch.

 

Several revisions of the all in one imacs have come with screens wih drasticly bad color problems.

 

The 13" unibody imac shipped with a screen that couldn't even do full 24 bit color. So did one of the cheaper glass and aluminum imacs... and they didn't tell anyone up front. People were PISSED.

 

Apple laptops are usually pretty sound hardware with a fashion focused design that usually impedes a solid cooling solution. Which nets a just a little better than average overall quality.

 

If I were going to buy a current gen macbook, I'd get the 13" unibody. It's cooling is the least out of step with it's thermal output. The mac minis with the fans seem to be reasonably solid so far. The workstation is actually pretty good as long as you don't need it for 3d design.

 

Then there's the price. For web browsing and word processing, you can spend a lot less than $1000 and have a very, very servicable windows laptop of decent quality. Heck, with christmas sales, you can probably have two.

[joeg 3]

I had a PC all my life, but decided to get a mac in june and I love it. I got a macbook pro 13" and will never get another pc again. I am not a fanboy or anything like that, but I have had a ton of pc's and after a few months they run slow and constantly get viruses. I haven't had any problems with this computer yet and I have a friend who has had the same computer for 5 years and it still runs as smooth and fast as the first day he got it. Yes, they are expensive and you could build a faster pc for a fraction of the price, but the macs are great and simply just work. I know that people will get mad at me for being team mac, but I have had both and love the mac. As for the air vs. pro, if you don't need the power of the pro, the air is a great computer. Again, please don't call me out for hating on pc's--I'm not trying to start a fight here, just stating my opinion...plus we are all on the same team here on these boards. Thanks

[Socom 19]

i love my macbook pro i paid 4k for it last year hasnt let me down! i was a pc user but i do like the mainframe of macs systems better i wont go back to a pc

[Krdshrk 3,878]

$4K? Jeebus - the most expensive laptops I've been getting for clients are still sub $2k...

[autoxnyc 4]

4K is a lot. I wouldn't pay more than 2k for a top of the line MBP. With discount it should be less. Don't get any upgrades from Apple directly. RAM and HDD are much cheaper else where. Upgrading the drive is really easy on a MBP.

[Socom 19]

Ya i was on a binge i just kept clicking on the website although i was doing a lot of research and people were like get the stuff inside elsewhere ah well still runs like a champ and nothing has bogged it down yet!

[Bob2222 317]

I've used Macs since 1989.

 

My desktop is a Mac Pro; my "on the road" work computer is a 15" Macbook Pro and I just bought my wife a 13.3" Macbook Air for Christmas/birthday (I haven't decided --- but they're 2 days apart).

 

Wife thought she wanted an iPad to read her e-mails while multitasking -- and then started talking about how she could get a keyboard for the iPad ... in effect, she wanted to reinvent the laptop.

 

I thought the Macbook Air was a better idea. She really will use it on her lap, which is hard on conventional spinning hard drives. The Air's flash storage might hold up better.

 

My 15" Macbook Pro replaced an old 12" Powerbook G4. Nothing wrong with the Powerbook for what I needed it for -- except the screen was getting too small for my old eyes. As noted above, the 17" might be better if your eyes are old enough. Suggest visiting an Apple Store if there's one nearby you and trying them out.

 

-Bob