Upgrading my laptop. Advice please

[Ethem]

Hi guys,

The situation,

I've been waiting the last 2 months for apple to refresh their lineup with the new haswell processors. Sadly, only the MacBook Air was refreshed.

I now definitely need to pick one up this weekend as not having one (sold my last one on eBay, got scammed, eBay and PayPal are causing a fuss so never again but that's another story).

I'm torn between getting the new MacBook Air 1.7ghz i7 or a MacBook Pro w/retina display 2.6ghz i5 both with 256gb ssd, 8gb ram.

My previous MacBook Pro 2.3ghz i5 had 8gb ram and 320gb hdd.

The new MBA has a geekbench score that's over 1,000 points higher than my old laptop and about the same as the MBP w/retina which makes it seem as powerful. However, can these benchmarks be relied upon in real world use?

The weight is not an issue for me as they are both very similar. The only advantage I can see is the retina display in one and the battery life in the other

And just to clarify, yes I'd prefer a mac as all my software is mac (hard copy and app store) and I don't particularly fancy dishing out thousands of pounds on new software. Plus I play around with iOS app development (hobbyist level) and I need a mac to be able to continue.

Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks guys

[fordi]

What are you going to use it for?


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[Sligub]

Personally this is why i hate macs, lack of choice and there constant effort to kill off the (supper) optical drive and force you to buy direct from the app store. Mini anti apple rant over.


The geek bench score is to general to give you an idea of true real world performance, What you need to find is some in-depth reviews that have benchmarks of software that you will be using,

The Air will have a longer battery life but slower processor, less cores (2 against 4), less turbo boost, weaker graphics

personally I would go with the Pro even without hazwell.

[Ethem]

What are you going to use it for?


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Ill be using it for software like adobe illustrator, photoshop elements (minimal use), web, Xcode app development, light iMovie video editing, and some light gaming with Football Manager.


Also, the MBP retina is also a dual core and not quad core (as I'm looking for a 13" machine) with integrated graphics (previous gen) so I would have assumed the graphics would be better on the air, right?

[Sligub]

You are correct mate I was thinking about the i7 15". Probably the Air makes a better bet then.

[fordi]

I would go to an apple store to be fair. I would go for the pro personally. Check how much ram and storage each has because on retina you cannot upgrade.


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[Ethem]

Both will be 8gb ram with 256gb ssd. I've been in to the apple store twice now since the wwdc keynote to two different stores but none of the machines had illustrator, aperture, or photoshop lol. Perhaps ill wait another week and see as suggested if any proper comparisons come up online.

[cigarsam]

I'd never get am apple, can build your own computer with same specs for half the price! If you move to the light side I can show you where to get all your apps and software Gratis.

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[fordi]

My job is in IT and I can honestly say I have less agro with macs than pc's, plus I find windows 8 absolutely soul destroying.



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[Ethem]

I'd never get am apple, can build your own computer with same specs for half the price! If you move to the light side I can show you where to get all your apps and software Gratis.

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Is that actually gratis or is it "gratis"?

Whilst I agree with that, I can't build a good quality laptop for less. And all the windows laptops either seem to be plastic, heavy, or just not as well refined. I write a lot and the keyboard on the macs are second to none. They're ideal for writing away hours on end. And the trackpad helps because its so responsive.

[daniel2001]

I'd say probably the Air (I'm planning on getting one at some point) as the graphics chip is vastly upgraded (read somewhere 40% quicker than the HD4000 on the previous Air).

The screen on the retina is lovely, but if you can live with the lower res on the Air, I'd get the air and put the difference in cost towards cigars.

All that said, considering where I work, should probably be recommending one of our laptops......

[butternutsquashpie]

I will have to agree with Ciggie Sammie.
If the macs were half the price of what they are now, no doubt, get the macs. But right now, they're atrociously overpriced. But then again, we're on a bloody cigar forum, so methinks we should have at least a grand or two to spend on computers IF we have a grand or two to spend on various boxes of the stuff.
In the end, it's what your budget allows. I've got mates everywhere who can upgrade computers and everything. I've got second hand PCs with 8GB RAM for only $400 here. So i've never needed or wanted a mac. In fact, i've never even needed 8GB memory computers. But that's just me

If you want the bang for your buck (or pound ) I'd stick with the PCs....... But if you've a thousand to spend here and there, then the macs are the better options

[cigarsam]

Is that actually gratis or is it "gratis"?

Whilst I agree with that, I can't build a good quality laptop for less. And all the windows laptops either seem to be plastic, heavy, or just not as well refined. I write a lot and the keyboard on the macs are second to none. They're ideal for writing away hours on end. And the trackpad helps because its so responsive.

"Gratis" haha
If you want something good for media and typing and money isnt an issue then go for the macs, if you want more performance in gaming/graphics/harddrive then you can build your own even using Dell as the middle man. What's your budget? Will see if I can beat the suggested mac!

(And I think Mr butter fingers that we students have a different view on these computer thingymy Bob's )

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[Ethem]

I ended up taking a drive to the Westfield Stratford apple store last night and bought the Air. I appreciate all the opinions guys. Thanks a lot. In the end, quality is more important to me then bang for your buck. And I pretty much think like that for just about everything I buy. It's one of the reasons why I drive German cars and not American cars.

I decided to take the plunge over the Pro for a few reasons:

1- apple's no questions asked 14 day return period. If it doesn't work out, I'll take it back and get a refund and buy a pro.

2- the new haswell chips & bigger battery making the battery life longer are important for me. I travel just about everywhere with my laptop.

3- the benchmarks have impressed me and they seem to now be on par performance wise with the pro's for what I do.

Having used it now last night, I think I made the right choice. It's actually tons faster then my 2011 MacBook Pro. Aperture is a dream on it and was a hassle on my old pro. video editing seems to run smoother. And setting up a game of Football Manager took a few seconds which was impressive as it uses a large database. Guess that's where the ssd is coming in handy.

Specs I picked up:

MacBook Air 13"
1.7ghz i7 w/ HD5000 integrated graphics
8gb RAM
512gb SSD

I wanted the 256gb ssd and could have used the saving of ?240 but you can't buy to order in stores and this was the closest thing. I wasn't willing to drop specs on the processor and ram so it had to be this model.

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[fordi]

You won't be disappointed!


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