Which MacBook?

[thelilprincess]

DH got me a MB Pro to replace my 2008 MB.

It's the basic 13" model
13-inch: 2.5GHz
2.5GHz dual-core Intel Core i5
Turbo Boost up to 3.1GHz
4GB 1600MHz memory
500GB 5400-rpm hard drive1
Intel HD Graphics 4000
Built-in battery (7 hours)2

But he says I can exchange it for the MB Air. If I do, I think I would want more than the basic model - I think I would need 256gb SSD. Currently, my 2008 MB has 160gb and I'm using up 150gb already. But if course, anything above the basic model means it'll cost more.

13-inch : 256GB
1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor
Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
4GB memory
256GB flash storage1
Intel HD Graphics 4000

So should I keep my MB Pro or go for the Air? Will 4GB be ok for 256gb in the Air?

I will be using my laptop mainly for Internet, email, and family photos/videos. I'm sure I'll use some basic word processing from time to time on it. And I guess when we travel I'll carry it with me.

Thanks in advance for any insight/advice!!!

 

[CA19100]

Biggest difference for me would be the screen -- the Pro is a 1280x800 screen; Air is 1440x900. I have the Pro, and would kill for a little extra screen real estate. I used to use the optical drive, but really don't anymore. If you don't either, the Air would easily be my recommendation.

 

[thelilprincess]

So if I go for the 256gb Air, can I stick with the 4gb memory or is upgrade to 8gb necessary?

 

[dagamer34]

Biggest difference for me would be the screen -- the Pro is a 1280x800 screen; Air is 1440x900. I have the Pro, and would kill for a little extra screen real estate. I used to use the optical drive, but really don't anymore. If you don't either, the Air would easily be my recommendation.

I'd argue the biggest difference is the SSD. Any computer with a spinning hard drive clearly holds the computer back, when random reads are hundreds of KB on a spinning platter vs. hundreds of MB on an SSD.

So if I go for the 256gb Air, can I stick with the 4gb memory or is upgrade to 8gb necessary?

4GB is fine unless you plan on running Parallels or VMware Fusion regularly. But at that point, I'd say you should be getting a 15" MacBook Pro instead.

 

[CA19100]

I'd argue the biggest difference is the SSD. Any computer with a spinning hard drive clearly holds the computer back, when random reads are hundreds of KB on a spinning platter vs. hundreds of MB on an SSD.

The Pro can be ordered with an SSD as well; that's why I didn't mention it. But that's very true, especially considering the 5400RPM drive that comes with it by default.

So if I go for the 256gb Air, can I stick with the 4gb memory or is upgrade to 8gb necessary?

4GB should be plenty for MacOS, honestly, unless you're planning to run Windows on it.