# Macbook or Macbook Air?



## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

Ok so I'm just about pulling what little hair I have left out.

I'm torn between the new Macbook (12") - to avoid any doubt please see the pic below.


or the Macbook Air (13").



The background:

I'm after a laptop to use mostly round Uni.

I have at home my Macbook Pro 15" (2.6ghz i7 quad core) with 16GB ram. I use this as my workhorse running various VM's etc for uni work and testing. I also use this as my main personal laptop, so I'm not keen to carry this around Uni.

The specs of the new laptops:
Macbook Air 13":
2.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
Intel HD Graphics 6000
8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM
256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage

Macbook (12"):
512GB PCIe-based onboard flash storage
1.2GHz dual-core
Intel Core M processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz
8GB memory
Intel HD Graphics 5300

With my discounts the cost is only £80 difference - won't say which way 

The pros of the Macbook (12") as far as I can see are:
New design.
Retina Display
super slim and light.

Cons:
1.2Ghz m Processor.
I would need to buy adapters for the one USB-C port
Less powerful graphics card than the air.
Less battery life than the Air

The pros of the Air are:
Slim and light
more powerful than the macbook
more powerful graphics card.
more ports

Cons:
Display is not Retina
older design than the Macbook

What's your thoughts on this? I will be placing an order for one of them tomorrow, probably leaning slightly towards the Air as it's a bit more powerful.

Usually I can make my mind up but for some reason I can't this time!

Cheers

Col


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Not going to be much help really, Ive got the 13" MacBook Air and someone at work has the new pro.

Size wise theres not much in it... ok the Air is stupidly slim, but if you can upgrade the Air to the 512 storage id get that.

The Pro has to be more money surely? Btw you didnt say what size the Pro was.

Paul


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## shane_ctr (Dec 17, 2006)

I had the same problem but after looking around and being told unless your traveling all the time with it i.e. trains etc always go for the Macbook


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

PaulN said:


> Not going to be much help really, Ive got the 13" MacBook Air and someone at work has the new pro.
> 
> Size wise theres not much in it... ok the Air is stupidly slim, but if you can upgrade the Air to the 512 storage id get that.
> 
> ...


Not going for the Pro mate (as I already have that) its the new Macbook (other wise known as the retina macbook) i.e. the super slim new one


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## JacobDuBois (Sep 22, 2014)

Missus just got the new pro for Uni studying Law and it's a decent bit of kit. The only downsiDe is the weight but it's a matter of 0.5kg I think and it actually has USB ports instead of lugging one of those adapters around. Just seemed to make more sense and the 'genius' in Apple agreed that was the best for the price £907 with the Uni discount and apple care.


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## AndyED (Jul 14, 2014)

Personally, the Air.

I've got the basic Mac mini as one of my machines and it's painful to use as a main machine due to the lag - sometimes thanks to the hard disk, but mostly thanks to the processor.


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## f4780y (Jun 8, 2015)

Go with the Macbook, not the Air IMHO. The difference you are assuming in processing power is not as marked as the raw CPU and graphics speeds suggest and your usage profile doesn't sound as though it requires horsepower. You shouldn't need too many USB-C adapters if your planned usage is "around Uni" whilst maintaining your Pro as the full on workhorse. I think the MB will be just fine, and it is the latest and greatest versus the Air, which is now nearing the end of the line.


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## Audi m8 (Feb 6, 2013)

f4780y said:


> Go with the Macbook, not the Air IMHO. The difference you are assuming in processing power is not as marked as the raw CPU and graphics speeds suggest and your usage profile doesn't sound as though it requires horsepower. You shouldn't need too many USB-C adapters if your planned usage is "around Uni" whilst maintaining your Pro as the full on workhorse. I think the MB will be just fine, and it is the latest and greatest versus the Air, which is now nearing the end of the line.


I totally agree with this. Had the same dilema myself and went with the New Macbook. You know it makes sense, Apple only do 'upgrades' of thier gear. :thumb:


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## aerodynamic18 (Feb 12, 2011)

id go for the air as i don't like the idea of the usb-c port tbh


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

Thanks for all the replies and opinions, in the end I came to the conclusion that the MacBook was a bit compromised with only one port, and that the Air was needing an update so ended up buying a 13" MacBook Pro and saved a few hundred notes  which I'll reinvest in some more detailing products.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

Pmsl so lets get this right you went for neither or the options you listed? Just notcied apple do a macbook now... so its the budget air?


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

PaulN said:


> Pmsl so lets get this right you went for neither or the options you listed? Just notcied apple do a macbook now... so its the budget air?


Correct, I had it in my head to go for either the Air or the Macbook, but after thinking about it for a good while and taking on advice I wasn't really sold on either of them for various reasons. Hence I opted to go for the 13" Pro which has everything I'm looking for.


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

Not sure if this is any help?

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#Mac


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## Guest (Sep 22, 2015)

I believe that because of the thinness of the Macbook air they had to remove one fan so it actually runs quite hot which is not good at all.


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## andyy (Jan 5, 2015)

Good choice with the mbp!


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

cossiecol said:


> Correct, I had it in my head to go for either the Air or the Macbook, but after thinking about it for a good while and taking on advice I wasn't really sold on either of them for various reasons. Hence I opted to go for the 13" Pro which has everything I'm looking for.


Sounds the right option for you.... the Pros arent much bigger than the Airs now... You could still sell the old one... the second hand demand for apple stuff is bonkers....


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

PaulN said:


> Sounds the right option for you.... the Pros arent much bigger than the Airs now... You could still sell the old one... the second hand demand for apple stuff is bonkers....


nah, my "old one" is only a year old and was the top spec at the time (15" (2.6ghz i7 quad core) with 16GB ram), I use it for working at home and need the extra power for various uni projects etc.

The 13" one that I ordered is a base spec of 2.6 i5 dual core and 16gb (upgraded although I didn't need to) of ram which will be more then enough for what I intend to use it for, but it will give me the flexibility to push the laptop more than the Macbook or Air should I need to.


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## p1tse (Feb 4, 2007)

So you have two MacBook Pro and I'm just wanting one lol


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

Actually....technically I have three 

My main one, my uni one, and the Air I bought for the good lady with my student discount :thumb:


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

Did you get the Retina MBP Col?

I have the 2013 Macbook Air 13"
Love it, its great, just what I needed, lightweight can take it anywhere.
No noise whatsoever as it has the SSD, and the fans never come on.

Mrs has just bought the 11" Air.

Only thing I would like is the Retina screen


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

James_R said:


> Did you get the Retina MBP Col?
> 
> I have the 2013 Macbook Air 13"
> Love it, its great, just what I needed, lightweight can take it anywhere.
> ...


Yup, went for the 13" Retina MBP as that was the best fit for what I need and also allow's more range to push the laptop if I need to for certain tasks than the Mackbook or air would.

It also has all the ports I need without the need for adapters


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## tommyboy40 (Feb 28, 2012)

Once you go retina and SSD there's no going back. I have a very sexy 4Tb G Raid thunderbolt drive for my Mac Pro which I only turn on when needed as the sound of the discs spinning is massively loud in an otherwise silent room


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## rojer386 (Mar 15, 2008)

I'm also in a similar situation with deciding which one to buy. I'm guessing programmes like Word are not an issue with these?


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

rojer386 said:


> I'm also in a similar situation with deciding which one to buy. I'm guessing programmes like Word are not an issue with these?


Nah, MS Office 365 is something like £59 a year.


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

James_R said:


> Nah, MS Office 365 is something like £59 a year.


I've got Apple office but want office on my Virtual machine running windows 10. Been looking at Office 2013 for around £99 just seen Office 2016 Home and student for £110.

Paul


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## James_R (Jun 28, 2007)

PaulN said:


> I've got Apple office but want office on my Virtual machine running windows 10. Been looking at Office 2013 for around £99 just seen Office 2016 Home and student for £110.
> 
> Paul


Not bad Paul
Worst thing about the 365 versions is you HAVE to pay a subscription each year to use them, BUT you get all the updates during that period.

Like you note, the 2016 Home & Student Version is a full licence which lasts as long as you want. So if it lasted you two years, it would save you money


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## cossiecol (Jun 29, 2014)

Personally I would just pay for the full office and not the subscription. 

I'm using office for mac on my main Macbook Pro and 365 (because I get it for free) on my uni MacBook Pro and the good lady's Air.


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## IamDave (Feb 6, 2015)

Personally I wouldn't even bother paying for office! I just use Pages and Numbers I can open Microsoft word documents in pages from work if needs be but I usually just do all my work on the Mac or MacBook and use iCloud to store everything. 

That being said however I can see the advantage of having office if you are constantly transferring, sending/receiving documents to save the hassle of converting!


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

IamDave said:


> Personally I wouldn't even bother paying for office! I just use Pages and Numbers I can open Microsoft word documents in pages from work if needs be but I usually just do all my work on the Mac or MacBook and use iCloud to store everything.
> 
> That being said however I can see the advantage of having office if you are constantly transferring, sending/receiving documents to save the hassle of converting!


This is for my windows Virtual Computer not the apple OS side.

What do people think about Open Office?


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## IamDave (Feb 6, 2015)

PaulN said:


> This is for my windows Virtual Computer not the apple OS side.
> 
> What do people think about Open Office?


Ah I see fair enough! 
As for open office I used to use it on my last Windows computer. Pretty good actually thought you do miss the odd but of functionality found in a fully fledged up to date MS Office. But if all you need it for is word processing and tables/graphs etc its a worthy consideration being free!


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## stuartr (Mar 11, 2014)

Can't seem to get on with Libreoffice myself.. it's ok but looks like office from 10 years ago, just feels like a dated copy (sorry to those who love it)
I'm starting to use google apps via the web more and more... create new doc in drive and type away, access from anywhere.


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