MacBook Pro or MacBook Air for high school?

I will be going into high school in september and i am looking into getting a MacBook. I would use it for school work as well as music, games, and programs like GarageBand. What would you recommend for me: 13" MacBook Pro or 13" MacBook Air?

If you need to have an optical drive, the base model 13" MacBook Pro is a fairly good product. Weighs a little more than the retina, costs less, and maybe less a theft magnet than the Air or MB/Pro + Retina. With an education discount or a special deals Apple refurbished store (online) price break, you could get the extended AppleCare plan to add a few years support and service coverage. With a discount of $250. that'd cover it.
{On the other hand, if you wanted to be on a real budget, a repaired restored older MacBook core2duo with some kind of real guarantee could cost you under $400. at a company such as wegenermedia.com}
About RAM and upgrades, be sure the model you get either has plenty of RAM or is one you can add quality RAM to once you buy it. You can look into the download database from Mactracker.ca to see specs for most Macs. Keep in mind the limits suggested on RAM for an OS X are often minimal, considering applications you may also run can double the demand. And Mavericks OS X likes RAM and plenty of hard drive capacity. An older Mac that may not have Mavericks, may do better without it. Snow Leopard 10.6.8 does rather well, and depending on other demands, Lion, Mt Lion, etc do OK, too.
Good luck & happy computing!

Similar Messages

  • Pro vs Air for high school?

    Hi, I'm currently in year 10 and my new school has a 'bring your Own device' program. Im considering the MacBook Pro or Air but am undecided. I like the fact th air is light, as I will have to carry it around. I also need a long battery life, for school. I want to be able to do my research and school work and well as social things like Facebook and music etc. I'm leaning more to the air but the more I read around the more confused I get. I would like to be able to use it until I finish school, maybe even into university years. Any advice on which to choose would be muchly appreciated!

    either one is fine for high school.  it's a personal preference at this point.  however, if you have some idea what you would like to major in when you go to college/university-then which one you chose may make a difference.  For example, a base model Air would be fine for an English major, but a base model Air would be inappropriate for someone majoring in Architecture or Engineering.

  • Macbook Pro 13' or 15' for high school?

    I'm 16 and I'm planing on buying a Macbook Pro, I often do video and photo editing (Adobe CS6), the main purpose of the computer would be for me carry it around school and use it as my main computer both at home and classes.
    No matter what Macbook Pro I purchase, I will then update the RAM to 16GB and I will add an 240GB SSD to the Optical Drive to get quicker performance.
    Now, which Macbook Pro should I get?
    13' 2.5GHz or 13' 2.9GHz or 15' 2.3GHz (non-retina and all mid-2012 models)

    Video requires a good GPU.  The ones in the 13" MBPs are mediocre at best.  Look at the 15" MBPs and pick the one within your budget.  You might also consider a refurbished model which would still give much better  performance than the current 13" MBPs and save you some  money.
    Ciao.

  • Macbook or iPad for High School?

    I can't decide whether to get a macbook air or iPad for high school. (Sorry I didn't know what 'community' to put this in)

    If you have a full computer at home you can use, then an iPad would probably be a great adjunct; highly portable, fine for taking notes, doing email, doing research on the web, etc. If you don't have a computer at home now, then I'd recommend a MacBook, either the Air or the Pro. An iPad is a fine device but there are many things you can do on a full computer that you can't do, or can't do efficiently, on an iPad.
    Regards.

  • 2013 MacBook Air for graphic design?

    I've been looking at the new 2013 13-inch MacBook Air for quite some time now. I'm a graphic designer, so I'll be looking to use Adobe CS6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat) and Aperture. Also of course, the general things such as Safari, Mail and iPhoto.
    I have the new 27-inch iMac at home, which serves as my main machine. 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz, 32GB RAM (8GB at the moment - upgrading soon), 1TB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX with 1GB. I love it!
    I absoloutely love the MacBook Air - it's a lovely design, so lightweight and the new 12 hour battery life is just epic!
    If I were to get the MacBook Air, I would definite upgrade to these specs;
    - 1.7GHz dual core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz (although I'm told the i7 will drain battery quicker, and isn't much faster?)
    - 8GB RAM
    - 128GB Flash Storage (or possibly 256GB - bare in mind, I have a 1TB external hard drive).
    So I guess the big question is... Will the new 2013 13-inch MacBook Air, with these specs, be sufficient for my needs?
    Thanks in advance!

    Welcome to Apple Support Communities
    The problem of the MacBook Air is the GPU, and Adobe apps don't support the GPU of your MacBook officially because it's an integrated GPU.
    Sincerely, if you want to use that type of applications, the only valid Mac is the 15-inch MacBook Pro. It includes a quad-core processor, 4 GB of RAM (with the possibility to add up to 16 GB), a 500 GB HDD (with possibilities for bigger HDDs and SSDs) and a NVIDIA GPU which will work with your applications without any problem. Also, you can modify the RAM and hard drive without voiding the warranty.
    If you want to give the MacBook Air a try, buy it and see if your applications work properly. You have 14 days to return it if it doesn't work as you expected, but to be sure, go for the 15-inch MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air is designed for home tasks

  • Can I use macbook air for ios app development?

    I would like to know if i can use macbook air for ios app development or macbook pro is only option?

    Just to reinforce what shldr2thewheel says - be very sure what size memory you want if you get a Macbook Air. There is *no* way to change after purchase. My advice is to go for the 4GB option - especially if you want to do app development.
    The internal storage (solid state drive) of the Air can be upgraded if required but it will probably be an expensive option. If you don't think the storage will be enough then maybe using a USB connected drive to hold non-essential files is an option.
    As to deciding between the Air and Pro you are basically making a decision between portability (Air) and expandability/bigger screens (Pro). What is more important to you?
    Mark

  • What specs would make the perfect MacBook Air for college?

    I've decided I'm going to get a MacBook Air for college, but I want to make sure it's the best possible for my four years as an undergraduate so I don't have to get a new one over this time period.
    For the processor: how much of a speed difference will there be between the i5 and i7? I'm thinking the i7 will be a better choice, but I really don't know what the difference will be.
    For RAM: 4gb should be plenty for four years, right? Right now I have a late 2008 aluminum MacBook with only 2gb of RAM and only recently did I notice it to start getting slow.
    Storage: My biggest concern. Will 256gb last me four years? I will be bringing an external hard drive, but I plan on only really using that for Time Machine backups and storage for photos. Should I make the jump to 512gb?
    Any help will be greatly appreciated!
    -Nick

    JasonFear wrote:
    The $100 upgrade from 4GB to 8GB (personally) I think is a total no brainer. RAM is one of those things that you can never have enough of and whatever decision you make at time of purchase is the one you're stuck with for the life of the machine. I can't tell you how many times I've had a user with the 2GB model from the previous generation complain of sluggish performance over a lack of available RAM. If it was hundreds of dollars I could see but it's not, especially when you factor in the cost of the machine. Over the course of three years the RAM upgrade translates into $2.78/month and you'd be "future proofing" yourself.
    As with previous generations, Apple only lets you upgrade from 256GB to 512GB if you buy the higher end model. Which means you're looking at $1999 for the 13" model with 512GB (4GB of RAM) and $1899 for the 11" model (4GB of RAM). Absolutely not worth it, unless you absolutely have to have 300-400GB of data available locally.
    I came into the conversation to clear up wrong information. If there's one thing I've learned in my time posting, more points doesn't mean good information. The OP, who's new, had a question about buying decisions and was given bad information. You've never corrected someone when they wrong? Doubt it...
    Regrettably, because this an open discussion forum, we're all free to respond to whoever and whenever. It's very possible that the OP may not know the technical differences between the various CPUs and thus would base his purchasing decision on your false information. Imagine his surprise when he's told that his i7 CPU is a dual core and not a quad core.
    Seeing you've asked (so eloquently I might add), I'm happy to provide information on the CPUs.
    The i5 in the 13" MacBook Air is an i5-3337U, the i7 is an i7-3667U. Both machines when benchmarked against one another in a PassMark CPU test scored as followed:
    i5 - 2,652
    i7 - 2,841
    A difference of 189 points. You're a numbers guy, Kappy. So if real estate property #1 is worth $2,652,000 and real estate property #2 is worth 2,841,000 how much more is that property worth? It's sure not 25%.
    My apologies to the OP for the divergent of your topic, but I think it's important when a frequent poster who's opinion is highly regarded but (other) members on here to be corrected when bad information is provided. I know I would expect the same correction if I recommended something incorrectly.

  • I just got a macbook air for xmas- now i wont get texts on my iPhone. they go right to my laptop. how can i get the texts to go to BOTH devices?

    My hubby just got me a macbook air for Xmas which is awesome.  Set it up to be able to ichat on it as well as on my iphone.  Only now i wont get texts on my iphone- ONLY on my laptop.  How can i configure so that I can get texts on my computer AND my phone. NOT just one or the other? Please help!

    Hi,
    The Mac version will use your Apple ID as the first and only choice...
    ... Until you add the same Apple ID to Messages on the iPhone.
    Once this is done it is best to Restart the app on the Mac.
    This will then get at least one, possibly two pop up saying the iPhone in using the Apple ID and the iPhone Number.
    Accepting these Pop ups will enable the iPhone as an ID to be used in the Receive At List.
    It will also appear in the drop down at the bottom for "Start New Conversations from"
    If you did not set iyt up like this then remove the apple ID from the iPhone in the Settings > Messages.
    Place the iPhone in Airplane mode to break with the server.
    Take it out of Airplane Mode and re-add the Apple ID in the Messages settings.
    Then Restart the app on the Mac as above.
    Having done this you can still turn Off the Apple ID on the iPhone (receive as the iPhone number only) or disable the iPhone Number on the Mac (receive Apple ID stuff only)
    The Start New Conversations option on the Mac version means you could use the iPhone number so people don't get your email.
    8:26 pm      Thursday; December 26, 2013
      iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad

  • How do I put an external display to sleep when I am using my MacBook Air for presentation?

    How do I put an external display to sleep when I am using my MacBook Air for presentation? I do not want to go to the projector just to turn it off and turn on again after a while? Is there a keyboard shortcut for that?

    I want to be able to sleep the external display and at the same time do things in the MacBook.( This feature is useful for me so that I can prepare some things and so that my audience will not see what I am about to show them.)
    Is there a feature for Mountain Lion?

  • 2013 MacBook Air for CS6

    I've been looking at the new 2013 13-inch MacBook Air for quite some time now. I'm a graphic designer, so I'll be looking to use Adobe CS6 (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and Acrobat) and Aperture. Also of course, the general things such as Safari, Mail and iPhoto.
    I have the new 27-inch iMac at home, which serves as my main machine. 3.2GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.6 GHz, 32GB RAM (8GB at the moment - upgrading soon), 1TB hard drive, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675MX with 1GB. I love it!
    I absoloutely love the MacBook Air - it's a lovely design, so lightweight and the new 12 hour battery life is just epic!
    If I were to get the MacBook Air, I would definite upgrade to these specs;
    - 1.7GHz dual core Intel Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz (although I'm told the i7 will drain battery quicker, and isn't much faster?)
    - 8GB RAM
    - 128GB Flash Storage (or possibly 256GB - bare in mind, I have a 1TB external hard drive).
    So I guess the big question is... Will the new 2013 13-inch MacBook Air, with these specs, be sufficient for my needs?
    Thanks in advance!

    Ah, thats too bad. It's really annoying. Any workaround to make the line less visible? (i.e. external monitor)

  • I received a MacBook Air for Xmas and would like to copy the contents from iTunes on the old computer to iTunes on the new mac. How can i do this?

    I received a MacBook Air for Christmas, I would like to take my itunes content from my old computer and transfer it to the MacBook. Is this possible and how can I do this?

    Not sure what syncing an iDevice has to do with copying your iTunes library from old computer to new computer...
    I would like to take my itunes content from my old computer and transfer it to the MacBook. Is this possible and how can I do this?
    Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from old computer to /Music/ on new computer. This will be the entire iTunes library.

  • My dad got me a MacBook Air for my birthday but he used it a few times before he gave it to me. He doesnt remember the user password that he kept and now i cant download adobe flash player in it. Please help me!

    My dad got me a MacBook Air for my birthday but he used it a few times before he gave it to me. He doesnt remember the user password that he kept and now i cant download adobe flash player in it. Please help me!

    Reset Password using Recovery HD
    OS X 10.7 Lion /10.8 Mountain Lion
    Follow the instructions in the first and third boxes.
    http://pondini.org/OSX/Password.html
    Note
    Keychain
    I don't remember my original (former) account password
    https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1631

  • I just got the macbook air for christmas and i also got the dr dre headphones so i am trying to enable my soundcheck on my iTunes but i cannot figure out how to find where sound check is located can someone please help!!

    i just got the macbook air for christmas and i also got the dr dre headphones so i am trying to enable my soundcheck on my iTunes but i cannot figure out how to find where sound check is located can someone please help!!

    Go to the iTunes menu > Preferences > Playback.

  • The sign-in graphic changed on my macbook air for no apparent reason.  what's up?

    The sign-in graphic changed on my macbook air for no apparent reason.  What's up?  How do I get it back to my chosen graphic and why did this happen?

    When I originally set up the computer, I just chose a preloaded picture that was offered.  (For example, I chose the sunflower, but now I get an eagle--but never chose the latter).  It's not really a big deal, I was just worried that somehow my computer might have been tampered with.  The OS update may be why it changed.
    How do I change it back--if you wouldn't mind taking the time to explain something that is probably very simple to a not too computer-savvy user.  Thanks!

  • IPad or MacBook Air for Writers

    So, come March, with the anticipated arrival of the long awaited and less-rumored iPad 3, I will probably be joining the throngs of people eager to get my hands on and fall in love with another Apple device.  But wait!  As I mull over the decision to purchase the iPad, I think to myself, hmmm, maybe I should go with the MacBook Air.  I currently have a 21" iMac, which, despite recent Lion Wi-Fi problems, I love.  What I'd like to do with the iPad is have the portability factor, mainly do a whole bunch of writing, and some photo editing, to the extent it allows.  I will, most likely, get an external keyboard, and an accomodating case to create a laptop like environment.  So, my question is which would be the better choice for writing, and also which will be the overall more enjoyable option.  I know that typically the iPad is for consumption and the MBA for production, but I guess I'm looking to hear from people who use one or both, and what their experience with either of them is.  Thanks.

    Hi! I am new to Apple, but i love my White mac book that I had gotten used on ebay a couple months ago.  I have actually recently, considered the same thing you were debating.  Ipad or mac book air?  I am not sure, I have a kindle fire which i feel is great for reading books, not really interested in reading a book on an ipad.  I was thinking of a macbook air for on the go I am going to a new college in the fall and need access with me on the go...think its half the weight which is good.  I want it to be thin...however i do like parts of the ipad, i like that its sleek and the cases they have are amazing.  I am just not sure what to choose.  What did you end up choosing?  I am not going to want to buy a keyboard.... .  Any extra thoughts and advice would be great.

Maybe you are looking for

  • Do I 'have to' protect my iphone 5?

    Apple really does design some amazing products.  I have kept most of the larger/funkier products that I have needed over the years.  The iphone 5 is one that I would like to hang onto.  I would love to use the iphone 5 as designed, and not clutter it

  • Sending mail to root summarizing results of daily/weekly/monthly?

    I would like to modify the daily, weekly, and monthly scripts so that I get an email notification that the jobs ran, and what they did. I added two cron jobs to my crontab file (I use cron, not launchd, should it make a difference) and they send an e

  • Sleep and Battery issues-- Back to Tiger?

    (Half of this relates to a thread of mine called "Dead Battery?"-- I tried all the fixes proposed and it's still unclear if my battery is fine or dead.) I'm having battery and sleep problems that started after installing Leopard and I'm wondering whe

  • My ipod hates my computer

    everytime i connect the ipod to the computer, the computer shuts down. also if the ipod is connected to the computer while the comp is loading it freezes. and when i disconnect the ipod to restart my comp, the comp is fine

  • Error en la instalación de fireworks cs6

    al instalar me arroja el siguiente error Exit Code: 34  -------------------------------------- Summary --------------------------------------  - 1 fatal error(s), 0 error(s), 0 warning(s)    FATAL: Payload '{286C7148-879A-404E-AF21-46202B00B9F5} Adob