MacBook Pro vs MacBook Air

1,959 Views | 27 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by aggieforester05
Saint Pablo
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Okay so I have extremely limited knowledge when it comes to computers. At the end of last semester, my MacBook Pro crapped out on me and I have been computer-less since. I have some online summer classes starting the first week of July and have been looking at replacing it with a new MacBook and don't know whether or not I should go Pro or Air. I am sure one of you can point me in the right direction. Thanks in advance.
boboguitar
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AG
Are you going to be something cpu intensive?

Yes? Pro
No? Air
Mathguy64
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AG
I wouldn't consider an Air at all. The screen is not a retina screen and is night and day when compared to a Pro. If you want a 13" or 15" screen you are looking at a Pro. If you can live with a 12" screen it's a regular MacBook.
fig96
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AG
The Airs are pretty underpowered and as mentioned lack the Retina screen. Go with the MBP, they're super thin now anyway.
JDCAG (NOT Colin)
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AG
What are you doing? Most people don't need a MB's. I do full timedevelopment including running multiple dockers and things like illustrator and an air is just fine. Do I prefer a pro? Sure. But for most people, a pro is just a really expensive machine for their needs. I only use a pro now because my company bought me one.
boboguitar
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AG
JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

What are you doing? Most people don't need a MB's. I do full timedevelopment including running multiple dockers and things like illustrator and an air is just fine. Do I prefer a pro? Sure. But for most people, a pro is just a really expensive machine for their needs. I only use a pro now because my company bought me one.


Exactly this, if your computer is a glorified email checker, internet browser and Netflix machine, there's no reason to spend more money on a pro.
AgDaddy08-11
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S
If your interested in a used MBP check out one listed in the classified forum.

https://texags.com/forums/50/topics/2948408
PooDoo
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AG
First off explain crapped out. Have you tried sending it in to Apple?

I have a MBP from 2008 that still works fine. It's not my everyday machine but I keep it around for a few programs I have on there.
Dennis Reynolds
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For schoolwork? Air
boboguitar
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AG
If however, you have a large iOS app you have to maintain and use xcode, apparently, the macbook pro isn't enough. Swift's typechecking(especially the functional types) use up a **** ton of memory and processor power. It's to the point where most people are saying to stop using functional programming techniques, declare all variable types(swift does a lot of inferencing of types) and constantly delete derived data to even use xcode if you have a MBP or below.
fig96
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boboguitar said:

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

What are you doing? Most people don't need a MB's. I do full timedevelopment including running multiple dockers and things like illustrator and an air is just fine. Do I prefer a pro? Sure. But for most people, a pro is just a really expensive machine for their needs. I only use a pro now because my company bought me one.

Exactly this, if your computer is a glorified email checker, internet browser and Netflix machine, there's no reason to spend more money on a pro.
A 13" Pro is 100 bucks more than the upgraded Air and is a good bit more powerful. If it were a big price difference that would be one thing, but it's not.
boboguitar
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AG
fig96 said:

boboguitar said:

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

What are you doing? Most people don't need a MB's. I do full timedevelopment including running multiple dockers and things like illustrator and an air is just fine. Do I prefer a pro? Sure. But for most people, a pro is just a really expensive machine for their needs. I only use a pro now because my company bought me one.

Exactly this, if your computer is a glorified email checker, internet browser and Netflix machine, there's no reason to spend more money on a pro.
A 13" Pro is 100 bucks more than the upgraded Air and is a good bit more powerful. If it were a big price difference that would be one thing, but it's not.
Why would he need to get the upgraded Air though in my hypothetical?

There's a $300 difference between the basic air and the basic pro. Again, assuming he's not doing cpu intensive activities, why waste $300?
fig96
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AG
boboguitar said:

fig96 said:

boboguitar said:

JDCAG (NOT Colin) said:

What are you doing? Most people don't need a MB's. I do full timedevelopment including running multiple dockers and things like illustrator and an air is just fine. Do I prefer a pro? Sure. But for most people, a pro is just a really expensive machine for their needs. I only use a pro now because my company bought me one.

Exactly this, if your computer is a glorified email checker, internet browser and Netflix machine, there's no reason to spend more money on a pro.
A 13" Pro is 100 bucks more than the upgraded Air and is a good bit more powerful. If it were a big price difference that would be one thing, but it's not.
Why would he need to get the upgraded Air though in my hypothetical?

There's a $300 difference between the basic air and the basic pro. Again, assuming he's not doing cpu intensive activities, why waste $300?
It's an older CPU that's probably 25% or more slower overall than the MBP, and while activities may not be overly CPU intense any machine will start to drag when you've got multiple apps open. Possibly more important, you're lacking the Retina screen on the Air which is a huge day to day difference.

That's a machine that's only a bit slow today but it's already behind technology wise, maybe it's just my mindset but I'll happily pay a few hundred extra for a machine I'm going to have for 5+ years. I wouldn't classify that extra investment as a "waste" averaged over several years, others may disagree.
TP Ag '87
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AG
Along this same topic, if I have the same unit that's for sale over on the Classified board that's been running slow as I had almost maxed out HD with music and movies ( have since removed all movies), is it safe to now do a complete OS re-install if I've just done a Time Machine back-up? Hoping that will greatly improve speed between apps and even internet speed (which is slower than other devices in the house).

This procedure ok?
boboguitar
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AG
TP Ag '87 said:

Along this same topic, if I have the same unit that's for sale over on the Classified board that's been running slow as I had almost maxed out HD with music and movies ( have since removed all movies), is it safe to now do a complete OS re-install if I've just done a Time Machine back-up? Hoping that will greatly improve speed between apps and even internet speed (which is slower than other devices in the house).

This procedure ok?
I didn't watch the video but a OS re-install will be fine if you have a back-up.

Depending on what macbook you have, you could also upgrade to a SSD and that will make a HUGE difference in speed.
TP Ag '87
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AG
How much does that cost? Can most local guys do it? I'd be a little paranoid to try myself.
boboguitar
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AG
TP Ag '87 said:

How much does that cost? Can most local guys do it? I'd be a little paranoid to try myself.


When I get home I'll link a website that helps you find which fits your Mac and how much it costs to install? I'm not sure, I've done it myself by I can't imagine it would cost more than $100.
fig96
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AG
TP Ag '87 said:

How much does that cost? Can most local guys do it? I'd be a little paranoid to try myself.
What model is it? The older ones are super easy to swap out, much harder on the newer models.
TP Ag '87
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AG
Refurbished 13.3-inch MacBook Pro 2.5GHz Dual-core Intel i5.

Purchased from Apple May 2015.

Pretty sure it's this:
Originally released June 2012
13.3-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen display, 1280-by-800 resolution
4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM
500GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm1
8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVDR DL/DVDRW/CD-RW)
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Pman17
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AG
If not a power user, refurb is the way to go. My i7 16GB 2012 Retina handles Final Cut Pro videos in 4K, I can make iOS 12 apps on it, or do graphics editing with Affinity. Gonna last me another couple of years. Macs tend to hold their value and performance. They're like Toyotas, except when you have to get some part replaced.
SlackerAg
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AG
Been using the same MacBook Pro for exactly 10 years running; it's insane the quality.
Will likely get the 12" MacBook refresh later this year for portability.

Waiting for the MacBook Pro to add:

Intel 7nm chips, which will be a while if they can't even get 10nm now.
FaceID, so any non-toolbar option w/o TouchID will be cheaper.
fig96
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AG
If it is one of those older models (2012/2013) it's a really easy switch, I've done it before and it'll give you a massive performance boost. It got much more difficult with later models.

Ag with kids
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AG
Ive got a 12" MacBook.

Better CPU than the Air.

Smaller footprint. Thinner. Bigger screen. Retina.

Got it from Apple refurb for $200 off so it was not far from the same price.
TP Ag '87
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AG
If you replace the hard drive, then do you just put it in recovery mode upon start up to re-install the OS?
Saint Pablo
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Thank you all for the input! The insight is appreciated, I can always count on Texags.
fig96
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AG
There's a few different ways to do it, easiest I've found is to create a bootable USB drive and use that as your startup disk. Lots of instructions floating around the interwebs on how to set that up.
fig96
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AG
Pman17 said:

If not a power user, refurb is the way to go. My i7 16GB 2012 Retina handles Final Cut Pro videos in 4K, I can make iOS 12 apps on it, or do graphics editing with Affinity. Gonna last me another couple of years. Macs tend to hold their value and performance. They're like Toyotas, except when you have to get some part replaced.
Refurb is a pretty solid way to go in any case, I've done that once or twice. You can get last year's model (or even this year's in many cases) for a couple hundred bucks off and still fully warrantied.

The long term value and build quality of a Mac makes the extra investment well worth it IMO, I've either run my old machines into the ground or sold them for a couple hundred bucks.
Ag with kids
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fig96 said:

Pman17 said:

If not a power user, refurb is the way to go. My i7 16GB 2012 Retina handles Final Cut Pro videos in 4K, I can make iOS 12 apps on it, or do graphics editing with Affinity. Gonna last me another couple of years. Macs tend to hold their value and performance. They're like Toyotas, except when you have to get some part replaced.
Refurb is a pretty solid way to go in any case, I've done that once or twice. You can get last year's model (or even this year's in many cases) for a couple hundred bucks off and still fully warrantied.

The long term value and build quality of a Mac makes the extra investment well worth it IMO, I've either run my old machines into the ground or sold them for a couple hundred bucks.
This.

You can't even tell it's a refurb. It comes in a new box exactly like if you'd bought it new.
aggieforester05
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AG
I bought a 2015 MBP 13' off of ebay recently with the 3.1 Ghz processor, 16GB of ram, and 256 GB hard drive. I wasn't thrilled about the hard drive size, but at least it's up gradable where the ram and processor are not. The 512+ models with the same processor and ram were crazy expensive. Unfortunately the hard drives are too, but you can expand with a 200GB SD card kit in the SD slot. I went 2015 because of the USB ports.

Note: The one I bought off ebay had a delaminating screen that was not disclosed by the seller. This is a problem with this generation of MBP. Luckily I found out it was still within a three year warranty replacement period due to the screen issue and I got it replaced for free at simplymac.
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