I'm in the fortunate position of being able to get a new Mac laptop and am looking for some advice, should I get a Mac Air or a Mac pro 15", its primarily for travel(work) and downloading the camera.
Cheers
SteveHL
Posted by Tim Gregory on December 1, 2008 at 3:38 PM
Hi Steve,
I use a MacBook pro, been using it for about 5 months and I love it to bits. I'd prefer one to a macbook air, for the simple reason that its faster and more powerful. I think the MacBook air is regarded as more of a fashion accessory than something to do serious work on. Also a macbook air doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, if you want that you need to plug an external one in..
If you get a Macbook pro, with 2Gb of ram, then buy another 2GB ram module from PCWorld, then upgrade it to 4GB for a fraction of the cost of buying a 4GB one.
Posted by Brett Lewis on December 1, 2008 at 3:40 PM
Mac Pro every time.. in fact i am using one as i type this.. The Mac Air doesn't offer enough and you will find you need to buy all manor of accessories as you go on.. I had similar thoughts when I purchased this one and decided on the Mac Book Pro and thankfully it was the right decision.. Check to see if you can do without all the peripheral items that you would need to purchase if you didn't go down the Pro route and see if you can do without them..? If it's simply for downloading images, you might as well get a storage facility rather than a laptop..
In short.. Mac Pro for sure..
Brett
Ps. get extra ram from 'Crucial', much cheaper and very very reliable.. start with the basic amount and boost with a purchase from them.. I did, big saving...
Posted by Ben Micklem on December 2, 2008 at 9:21 AM
I guess it depends on what your work requirements are- If just giving powerpoint presentations, then the air is ideal. If it needs to do anything more- image editting, video editting, page layout- then the MBP is a much better idea. The solid state drive option on the air makes it nearly silent, but adds £350 at the online store. Remember the air doesn't even have a wired ethernet port, so you'll probably need a USB ethernet adapter (buy Apple's for compatibility reasons). And it only has one USB port, so you'll probably need a USB hub. Whichever Mac portable you buy, you'll need a mini displayport adapter (to DVI or VGA) which cost £20 each. I second Brett's advice about the RAM from Crucial.
Posted by Brian Phipps on December 2, 2008 at 12:23 PM
I would also go for the Mac Book Pro, since I`ve had mine, its faultless and a joy to use!!
I use a MBP 15.2 inch 2.4Ghz - 250GB hard drive it came from the John Lewis store as they often do extended warranty for nothing and that was the offer at the time, its worth asking them what they are doing deal wise, as I got a wireless mightmouse thrown in for free, I also upgraded my Ram from 2gb to 4gb straight away and it then went from fast to very fast, I think that cost about £45 from Crucial for 2x2gb sticks I then sold the old memory.
Great deals available on the old macbook pro if you shop around!!
I've got the old one its great,all my work is done on it,screen quality is outstanding!!!!
Agree with Brian!!
If you're looking to use it as your main processing machine for either Aperture, Lightroom or Photoshop, then the newer 15" models of the MBP are probably the best way to go at present as their graphics processor card is more powerful than the older models - and Aperture and PS can use the power of the graphics processor. I'd stay away from the MB Air.
Would also recommend picking memory from crucial. If you'd care to up the hard disc to the 7200rpm version too, then it won't go amiss in the future - esp for graphics intensive applications. Beware - If you do a build-to-order from the mac store you might find a longer delivery time for a 7200rpm at the moment though as I think the disks are backordered from the manufacturer at present (may only be US models) .
Discussion
6 repliesCheers
SteveHL
I use a MacBook pro, been using it for about 5 months and I love it to bits. I'd prefer one to a macbook air, for the simple reason that its faster and more powerful. I think the MacBook air is regarded as more of a fashion accessory than something to do serious work on. Also a macbook air doesn't have a CD/DVD drive, if you want that you need to plug an external one in..
If you get a Macbook pro, with 2Gb of ram, then buy another 2GB ram module from PCWorld, then upgrade it to 4GB for a fraction of the cost of buying a 4GB one.
In short.. Mac Pro for sure..
Brett
Ps. get extra ram from 'Crucial', much cheaper and very very reliable.. start with the basic amount and boost with a purchase from them.. I did, big saving...
I use a MBP 15.2 inch 2.4Ghz - 250GB hard drive it came from the John Lewis store as they often do extended warranty for nothing and that was the offer at the time, its worth asking them what they are doing deal wise, as I got a wireless mightmouse thrown in for free, I also upgraded my Ram from 2gb to 4gb straight away and it then went from fast to very fast, I think that cost about £45 from Crucial for 2x2gb sticks I then sold the old memory.
I've got the old one its great,all my work is done on it,screen quality is outstanding!!!!
Agree with Brian!!
Craig
www.craigchurchill.co.uk
Would also recommend picking memory from crucial. If you'd care to up the hard disc to the 7200rpm version too, then it won't go amiss in the future - esp for graphics intensive applications. Beware - If you do a build-to-order from the mac store you might find a longer delivery time for a 7200rpm at the moment though as I think the disks are backordered from the manufacturer at present (may only be US models)