Former PC Fanboy Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I have been holding off buying a Mac Laptop to wait for the keynote just in case so that I don't buy something that will be outdated in days/weeks. I am sure I am not the only one who has been holding off a purchase for this reason, so this question goes out to all those who are going to buy a new macbook within the next few weeks or months. What is a better use of your money, the new MacBook Air or the highest end Black MacBook? It seems like performance wise, there is no contest. You get a 600Mhz faster processor, a full 38% faster, expandability up to 4GB of RAM (100% more memory) , a DVD burner, Ethernet Jack, FireWire port, and 1 EXTRA hour of battery life. Let's not forget the hard drive, you get a FASTER hard drive with TWICE the capacity. The price with the memory upgrade from a 3rd party is still at least $250-$300 less than the MacBook Air standard configuration. Now let's examine the portability factor. The MacBook is 5lbs. The Macbook Air is 3lbs. The MacBook is 1 inch thick, so its maybe twice as thick as the MacBook Air on average (which goes from a quarter to three quarters of an inch). So yes, you get a slightly lighter load. If you have a bad back or you will be lugging it on your back all day at school or business location this could be a big factor. Portability definitely favors Apple's new MacBook Air, but let's face it the MacBook is also quite portable and not exactly a heavyweight. In fact due to the extra hour of battery life and the ability to replace your own battery makes the regular MacBook more portable to some. It ultimately comes down to how you want to spend your money. I think I am leaning towards a Black MacBook, and let me give you one last thing to consider. For the same money you could have a Black MacBook, which is far more powerful and versatile, AND an iPod Touch or a MacBook Air. Tough choice. How do you guys choose/reason? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iRed Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Macbook Air or Black Macbook ? hm... I would buy Air because its nicer,aluminium and nobody has it yet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synaesthesia Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I would say also consider a refurb Macbook Pro at that cost... It really comes down to how much your prize your portability. Like you say, the Macbook is more powerful. The air is thinner and lighter. Not as fast, but great as a 2nd machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special-K Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I would buy my White MacBook. =] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrupted Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The MBA is a crippled MB. I'd say go for the MB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apowerr Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 The MBA is a crippled MB. I'd say go for the MB. QFE. Go for the MB, the MBA HD is just to slow. And it's not like the Macbook doesn't already have a lovable form factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shishnit Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Macbook, with the air all you are getting is portability at an expensive price, macbook is more functional imo.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weaksauce12 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 I think it ultimately comes down to how much of an ultraportable you want, as well as your budget. The Air is a super-nice laptop, but has a few glaring issues: -No built-in Ethernet -No built-in optical drive -No Firewire -No ExpressCard -No RAM upgrades - soldered in and stuck at 2 gigs -No user-replaceable battery -No upgradable hard drive The Ethernet is easy to live with, since you usually use a laptop on wifi anyway, plus there's a USB adapter. The optical drive also isn't a major hassle since you can use the USB SuperDrive or a Mac/PC optical drive. The Firewire is important if you do video; the only output option from my HD MiniDV camcorder is Firewire. There's no ExpressCard, so you can't add on Firewire. You also can't use an ExpressCard for cellular Internet, so you'll be stuck with an ugly USB dongle. You can't upgrade the RAM past 2 gigs since it's soldered in, so if you want to run a serious Windows VM you're out of luck - no 4 gigs for you. The battery is not user-replaceable either and costs $129 to replace as well as a week of your time, with no guarantee that your data won't be wiped. The hard drive is also non-upgradeable apparently (there is a 120gb 5400rpm 1.8" PATA available but reports so far say the guts of the Air are sealed tight, so...). If you're not into video and don't need a lot of space onboard, then the Air is a very good choice. For people who surf the Internet, chat, do word processing, that sort of thing, it's great. I can see the multi-touch trackpad being huge in the Photoshop community. The extra 2 pounds shaved off is super nice...it doesn't sound like a lot but when you're carrying textbooks and notebooks it makes a ton of difference (feels that way at least, haha). LED screens are amazing and you'll never want to go back to regular laptop screens after you use one. The Air is awesome, but personally I am waiting for revision 2. Or a pile of cash to fall out of the sky so I can go buy one right away. Whichever comes first Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jak08 Posted January 15, 2008 Share Posted January 15, 2008 Not sure if you'll allow this but I figured it was better than starting a new thread, I planned on spending about 3500 on a MBP in say June or July with hopes of another back to school deal to save me some money on an iPod Touch. Yes I realize how backwards that seems to wait to buy something 3500 to say 200 but I figure by then they may do a small product refreshment or whatever. But now the question. I already have two fairly powerful machines an iMac (1st gen intel) and a pc. So I don't need the power of the MBP considering it would overpower either of my computers with that configuration. I need more something that will be versitle and I like the ambient light backlight keyboard and the new touchpad, not so sold on the look of it though but like most apple designs I'm initially in favor of the old but end up favoring the new after a while. If I got the MBA I would skip the SSD and spend that money on the 23" monitor instead. So which would you guys recomend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apowerr Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 If I got the MBA I would skip the SSD and spend that money on the 23" monitor instead. So which would you guys recomend? If you are going to get the MBA, I would get the SSD drive. The 4,200 RPM one is just too slow in my opinion. Also, why buy an Apple display? I recently purchased the 22" Samsung 226BW and love it, it is of better quality than Apple's displays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jak08 Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 So other than faster write times, what all advantages does a faster hard drive give you? And I guess I'll look into alternative displays. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apowerr Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 So other than faster write times, what all advantages does a faster hard drive give you? Faster read times, which make a huge difference. The increase in performance when jumping from 5,400 RPM to 7,200 RPM is noticeable. The increase in performance when jumping from 7,200 to SSD is also noticeable. In fact I'd be willing to bet that the Macbook Air with a SSD drive boots up faster by at least a second or two than the regular one. This Wikipedia page can explain things better than I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former PC Fanboy Posted January 16, 2008 Author Share Posted January 16, 2008 I wonder how slow the 4200 rpm really is, and if the jump from 4200 to 5400 rpm is really noticeable. I think that is my biggest reservation. I don't need crazy power either but enough to run Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Word/Pages, and basic internet. I can also get the MacBook Air for $1691 + tax (Estimated Total:$1,813.60) via a parter/employee purchase program. I am really torn. Earlier today I was dead set on MacBook black. Now I am waffling back and forth. I wish there was more information available as to the sturdyness of this MacBook Air and some real user experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiDE FTW!!1 Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 hey guys im apple i take the original macbook n then i make it slower and take out the optical drive n step on it n i limit ur space to 80gb cuz we kno that ur music library is double that lol its like a shuffle. newayz, we gunna also charge $700 more. deal? thnx 4 ur money!! luv, apple inc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shishnit Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 hey guys im apple i take the original macbook n then i make it slower and take out the optical drive n step on it n i limit ur space to 80gb cuz we kno that ur music library is double that lol its like a shuffle. newayz, we gunna also charge $700 more. deal? thnx 4 ur money!! luv, apple inc. Nice comparison, the macbook air is to a macbook as the ipod shuffle is the ipod classic, but instead of being way cheaper, its more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiDE FTW!!1 Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Nice comparison, the macbook air is to a macbook as the ipod shuffle is the ipod classic, but instead of being way cheaper, its more expensive. haha -- yep, I'm guessing that flash drive is really costing an arm and a leg. Also, apparently the MacBook Air isn't the thinnest laptop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrenbird Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 black macbook. I don't like the Air and I HATE the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eLMafUDd Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 I would go a macbook, I bought a macbook about 3 weeks ago (A white macbook), fully aware that it could possibly be out of date soon. But I am really happy with the purchase. It's really portable, light, and beautiful. I used the like the black but I think the white looks better now. I would definately go for the Macbook, you wont regret it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CLiDE FTW!!1 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I would go a macbook, I bought a macbook about 3 weeks ago (A white macbook), fully aware that it could possibly be out of date soon. But I am really happy with the purchase. It's really portable, light, and beautiful. I used the like the black but I think the white looks better now. I would definately go for the Macbook, you wont regret it. Nah, I've got the SR MacBook, too. Technically, the MacBooks were outdated even before they came out. But, It's promising to see that the MacBook Air has the same video, so you'd at least know that Apple is doing everything it should be to make sure that we won't be going out of date anytime soon! If you max out at 4GB of RAM, you're good with that MacBook for at least a couple years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viscaria Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 IMHO the MBA is hardly more portable than the MB since they didn't trim down the footprint any. I'd still have to have just as large a bag to carry it. The backlit keyboard is nice, and a glaring omission on the MB (perhaps they could add it too the black one at least?!). The user upgradable hard drive in the Macbook is a huge advantage as well, but a real video card would be nice (you know, like the iBooks had). At least they killed the f****** GMA950. Anyway, if I was made of money I would get the Air if and only if I had the extra $999 for the SSD. That would make it much faster and, hopefully increase the battery life (we will see when they come out and we get some real world tests). And then I would still lament the lack of an express card slot. /rant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleaplus Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 In a few weeks or a month the Macbook Pro should be refreshed with Penryn processors. Given that you can afford a Macbook Air, the $2000 Macbook Pro would be an attractive alternative that should outlast both of your other choices. Another option if you can wait would be to hold off (or buy something like a base model Macbook) and then get Macbook Pro refresh that will have Quad Core Penryn, which is on Intel's roadmap for 3Q 2008. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numberzz Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 I went down to Macworld this week and tried some of these. The one with the PATA hard drive isn't that slow, maybe as fast as the white MacBook, not that much slower. But the one that has the SSD is EXTREMELY FAST. It's unbelievable. That thing is way faster than the MacBook Pro in my sig. It's really fast, almost as fast as Mac Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Former PC Fanboy Posted January 18, 2008 Author Share Posted January 18, 2008 I've done some thinking and I pulled the trigger on the Air. I like the way it looks MUCH better than the toy-look of the white ones, and the black one is okay too - I like it - but I am not in love with it. Hard to describe. Ultimately I am thinking to myself that I will be stuck with whatever I get for at least one or two years, probably two, and if I am not "in love" with my laptop and not excited to use it, what kind of effect will that have on my productivity? It sounds so silly, but $300 is apparently the price difference/price tag of happiness The Air reminds me of my previous two PC laptops, Dell 6000d and E1405, both of which had silver looking body and black keyboard. Maybe its a subconscious reaction. Anyway, for me the primary concerns are portability and somewhat power. Power to the extent I can do my freelance work on the go - namely editing Office documents and using Photoshop/Dreamweaver (I do some web work). I happen to know from experience that 1.6Ghz Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM is NOT slow for those tasks, as my Dell E1405 had EXACTLY those specs. I guess its a matter of relativity. The MacBook Air is slower compared to other laptops, yes, but it is by no means slow or inadequate for most tasks, including Photoshop (at least the way I use photoshop, which isn't TOO heavy just basic web work). I guess 80GB HD is too small for Boot Camp, and the 4200 rpm thing is the one thing that may slow it down just a tad, but that's only when reading/writing to and from the hard drive, I am sure it will be fine once things are loaded up into RAM. I see the consensus here is mostly around the regular MacBooks but I am not so sure. For all the tech talk, looks matter too. It's kind of like picking a girlfriend. If you have the choice of two girls, one is super hot knockout style, and the other is just average looking, and their personalities are more or less the same (for your needs, anyway) with the hot one having maybe one or two minor quirks, I think many people here would still pick the knockout. I guess that is kind of what I did here. Anyone else make the tough choice yet and ordered either the Air or one of the others? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSn1™ Posted January 21, 2008 Share Posted January 21, 2008 Go for the MacBook, it works so cool! and get some extra ram, with that, you'll be fine. At least mine is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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