April 3, 2012 Macbook Air vs. Macbook Pro

Question

Hello Friends,
I know this gets beat to death time after time and feel free to flog me in the comments, but nonetheless here is my scenario. I'm just finishing up grad school and am looking for a new laptop. My previous laptop is a HP DV5000 that I've had all through my undergrad and grad school (I think I should frame it), it's almost 6 or 7 years old this fall. I'm ready for a new laptop and am wanting to take the mac plunge.
I'm debating between the 13" macbook air and the 15" macbook pro. I primarily use the laptop for writing, surfing the net and editing photos/video (amateur for sure). I like to run music, multiple web tabs surfing the net and pop in and out of video/photo editing software. I figure either of these notebooks will be fine for the limited traveling that I do (anything is going to be light compared to a DV5000 with extended battery, it feels like it’s 40 lbs).
Traditionally when I have bought a laptop I try to go for the higher end with the most powerful processor, ram, HDD etc. But after doing some research and seeing the specs/benchmarks of the SSD and the speed of the MBA I’m lost on where to go. On one hand I can see myself getting a 15” MBP with a 256 SSD, glossy screen and upgrading the ram myself and spending $2500ish or I can see myself going with the 13” MBA with the 1.8ghz procs and 256 SSD for $1800ish.
I’m just not sure which direction to turn and if I should wait right now until the new macbook/macbook airs come out. I plan on using either Adobe Elements or Apple Aperture to do light editing (recommendations on this also welcome). Any opinions/recommendations are surely welcome on which direction I should go 13” MBA or 15” MPB.
Thank you in advance for your help!
-Chris

Answer 1

I agree with you that chasing new models is a hopeless task. My usual pattern is to pick the most appropriate new model shortly after the 3 year Applecare warranty on my current laptop runs out, so I will probably be buying a new computer within the next few months.
For my particular needs, the 13" size has proved to be ideal. I really like being able to fit it into an airline seat pocket, and into a compact briefcase that will not hold a 15" model.
The current 13" models, both Air and Pro, would be a step down for me because they use integrated Intel graphics that provides less support for video and graphic processing (OpenCL etc) than the Nvidia graphics in my 2009 Macbook Pro. Next generation Intel integrated graphics is apparently a big step up, and may be better than what I have now. Who knows, with the optical drive removed there may be room to provide graphics options in the 13" Pro similar to those now available in the larger ones.
(Once I have a Thunderbolt equipped laptop, I will be in the market for a power supply / hub that would give me essentially the same connectivity as Apple's Thunderbolt display. I want to be able to hook up just 2 cables (magsafe and thunderbolt) when I bring my laptop home, and to continue to use my DVI 24" display and my USB and FIrewire 800 drives. But such devices have been slow to appear.)