Macbook Air or new unibody Macbook

radster360radster360
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I am evaluating buying a new Mac laptop. I have found a refurbished Macbook Air with 80GB for $999 from Apple and also a $1099 for MacBook Aluminium. Of course the MacBook Aluminium is certainly superior with the faster processor and increased disk space. But, the ultra cool and mainly lighter Air is certainly a good feature at a compromise of additional speed and disk space. So here are some of the questions that I hope someone can help me answer to make a good buying decision -



- Can I upgrade the HD on Air from 80GB to something bigger ?

- I might have to use tools such as iMovie and iDVD on Air - Is Air good enough for this ?

- I might want to do some Apple iPhone development - Is Air good enough ?

- Is there an update to Air just around the corner ?



Thanks

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 13
    trevowskitrevowski Posts: 46member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by radster360 View Post


    I am evaluating buying a new Mac laptop. I have found a refurbished Macbook Air with 80GB for $999 from Apple and also a $1099 for MacBook Aluminium. Of course the MacBook Aluminium is certainly superior with the faster processor and increased disk space. But, the ultra cool and mainly lighter Air is certainly a good feature at a compromise of additional speed and disk space. So here are some of the questions that I hope someone can help me answer to make a good buying decision -



    - Can I upgrade the HD on Air from 80GB to something bigger ?

    - I might have to use tools such as iMovie and iDVD on Air - Is Air good enough for this ?

    - I might want to do some Apple iPhone development - Is Air good enough ?

    - Is there an update to Air just around the corner ?



    Thanks



    I would go with the MacBook. The MBA do not come with an optical drive, so burning dvd's and watching dvd's would mean that you would need an external optical drive.
  • Reply 2 of 13
    futurepastnowfuturepastnow Posts: 1,772member
    The air is certainly powerful enough to do work on, but upgrading the hard drive isn't really an option. The drive is easy enough to get to, but it uses a special ZIF connector, and pretty much the only drives with that connector are the ones Apple uses.



    There's also the matter of crappy graphics on the original air, which I assume a $999 refurb will be.
  • Reply 3 of 13
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Having owned both the original MBA and the MacBook, I would go for the MacBook.



    The Air's 1.8" HDD is really slow, and unfortunately this impacts performance across the board. Also don't forget that with the Air you will be limited to 2GB of RAM an no way to upgrade it.



    About the only thing that the Air does have going for it is it's screen, which is far superior to the MacBook's. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that the MacBook Air's screen is about as good a screen as you'll find on any Apple laptop.



    The MacBook Air is a fantastic machine, beautifully designed and built ? but the MacBook totally outclasses it. IMHO.
  • Reply 4 of 13
    radster360radster360 Posts: 546member
    Thanks for the response sos far. I want to hear more from others, but so far MacBook is in the lead. Are HDD easy to upgrade on Macbooks.
  • Reply 5 of 13
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,322moderator
    The Macbook Air screens are better;



    http://gizmodo.com/5070723/screen-sh...vs-macbook-air



    but most of the time you will look at the screen straight on so it shouldn't be a huge problem.



    I'd personally go for the Macbook. The hard drive is very easy to replace. Not much harder than replacing a battery. The connectivity options are still poor though. It's really a case of 2 USB ports vs 1.



    The MBA might have a backlit keyboard, which is actually really nice. The entry MB won't.
  • Reply 6 of 13
    rokkenrokken Posts: 236member
    The $999 refurb MacBook Air has the worst hardware of its kind so if you are expecting performance more than weight and thickness, I would say go for the MacBook.
  • Reply 7 of 13
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by radster360 View Post


    Thanks for the response sos far. I want to hear more from others, but so far MacBook is in the lead. Are HDD easy to upgrade on Macbooks.



    Extremely easy. 2.5" SATA interface. You literally drop it in and off you go!
  • Reply 8 of 13
    utisnum1utisnum1 Posts: 138member
    I would go with the New MacBooks. They're not that much thicker and it comes with great hardware while the MacBook Air you stated is the old model which could handle nothing, not even 720p video.
  • Reply 9 of 13
    radster360radster360 Posts: 546member
    Looks like MacBook it is. Now, maybe just wait for a good deal as refurb - It is tough out there and need to save as much as one can.
  • Reply 10 of 13
    utisnum1utisnum1 Posts: 138member
    I would try meeting up with somebody on Craigslist who is selling a brand new on in box for about 1000. Remember, meet localy, don't ship your money and meet in a public place.
  • Reply 11 of 13
    radster360radster360 Posts: 546member
    Thanks ! Not a bad idea.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by UTisNUM1 View Post


    I would try meeting up with somebody on Craigslist who is selling a brand new on in box for about 1000. Remember, meet localy, don't ship your money and meet in a public place.



  • Reply 12 of 13
    utisnum1utisnum1 Posts: 138member
    That is how i got my Unibody MacBook. =]
  • Reply 13 of 13
    radster360radster360 Posts: 546member
    Is a sales receipt required for buying AppleCare ? I might have a seller who has almost new machine that he wants to sell and is mentioning that he doesn't have a receipt, but he mentioned that it is not registered so I can get the AppleCare. Should I beleive him ?
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