What to look for?

Miss Mandy

Moderator
Joined
May 29, 2008
Messages
15,131
Reaction score
10,156
Points
4,013
Location
Essex
This may have been covered in other threads, but I had a quick look and couldn't see anything.

Basically, I've really wanted a Mac computer for a long time and I'm now looking into it a bit more seriously with a view to buying one towards the end of the year. I'm not really sure what I should be looking for though.
I know I want a laptop and I know I want a 13" or 15" screen. Other than that I don't really understand what the specs mean in terms of the benefits to me.

The machine will primarily be used for internet and emails, but will also be used a lot for photo editing. I use photoshop Elements for that at the moment, but would change software if there is something better for Mac use out there.

I'm looking to spend around £1k so I've been looking at the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro (non-retina) 13" models, this is where I'm stumped though!
The Air looks really nice and thin with a 2ghz processor, but doesn't have a disc drive. Not a major issue though as I can buy an external. It has a 128gb SSD so from what I understand this loads the system up really fast?

The Pro has a 500gb drive which is obviously a lot more storage, but its a standard HDD. What are the pro's and con's of this over the SSD? Its also a 2.5ghz processor on the Pro which is obviously faster, but will I notice that difference?

Can either of these models be upgraded to add more RAM or change the hard drive? Coming from Windows machines I've always been able to do that pretty easily. If they're not upgradable will they have problems running software in the future?
 
If you're into photo editing I'd say the Pro would suit you better.

You'll be needing the extra storage for your photos, and 500GB is plenty big enough to start with.

SSD drives are all about speed, but you don't need to start up that often, so size is more useful for a home Mac.

2.5ghz over 2.0ghz? yes you'd notice the difference if you had them side by side, but the AIR is no slouch.

Have you considered an iMac desktop rather than a laptop? You'll get more storage, bigger screen for less money - not as portable though obviously.
 
Judging by your requirements (photos and photos edits will soon start to fill up your HDD), the MBP is your best bet. Seeing as your budget is circa 1k, you will be looking at the 13" model as the 15" starts at £1499.

If you could afford it, I would go for the £1249 13" model (although if you know a HE student, you will be able to knock off 14% off that price or any price as well the 3 year HE APP or heavily subsidised APP)

If that's not possible, the base model will still do you nicely :smashin:
 
As you're waiting until towards the end of the year...

...be patient and pragmatic, and wait until the annual 'Black Friday' sale towards the end of November.

This reflects traditional Black Friday sales across the USA, and is also offered on the online AppleStore here in the UK.

Last year, such prices equalled or bettered the normal 14% discounted higher-education prices.
 
Thanks to you all for taking the time to read and reply, I appreciate it.

I was leaning towards the Pro myself already so its reassuring to have my instincts confirmed by people who know better than me.
I would love to go for a desktop option, but I need the portability. Is the ram in the Pro upgradable or am I better off going for the 8gb from the start?

I need to look into the education discounts to see if there is any way I can use it. I work in a secondary school, but I'm support staff so I don't think I'm eligible. My brother is a primary school teacher so he may be though.
 
The current MBA with i7 is plenty fast enough, I would max it out with memory and ssd and you are flying :)

8GB will ensure you hardly ever have a page-out within OSX, perhaps only if you run several virtual machines at the same time and allocate lots of memory to them. It will be easily future proved for the next 3-5 years. I would upgrade the ssd to at least 256Gb.

Oh and iPhoto comes as standard, it is a little bit different than PSE but in many ways much better as it is so integrated with OSX and every other application. If you are a new user and near to an Apple Store I would seriously recommend purchasing one-to-one which is £79 and gives you one year unlimited one hour training sessions at any apple store on all sorts of subject, and also give you access to lots more recourses online. You can only buy that when you buy a new machine and only when you buy it from an official apple store.
 
eligible. My brother is a primary school teacher so he may be though.

teachers do get discounts, I think it's slightly smaller at 8% but that is still something :)
 
Thanks again guys.

I didn't know about those training sessions at the Apple store so I'll ask about those next time I pop in.
I'll also do some research into SSDs to understand what the advantages are for my use.
 
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —
That's something I wasn't sure of actually. I know that upgrades are available elsewhere for cheaper, but can the Pro be user upgraded or is it a sealed unit?

Edit: for reference Apple's price for the 256gb SSD is £400!!
 
There are some screws on the bottom. The hard drive and RAM are very much user-upgradable. First job is boot it, make sure it works, turn it off, then pop it open, change the the standard HD for an SSD, upgrade RAM, reboot and reinstall Lion. Took me about 30 minutes total and I am not skilled in messing about with hardware at all.
 
That's cool. I've done it loads of times on windoze machines, but this will be my first foray in the mac world so wasn't sure. I think it's the air that's a sealed unit then.
 
The air is not completely sealed, but you cannot upgrade the RAM or HD. The are not traditional upgradable components - they are on the main board.
 
Edit: for reference Apple's price for the 256gb SSD is £400!!

You can get a 256 SSD M4 Crucial one from Amazon for about £300. 256Gb is about £150.

Take the 750Gb one that comes as standard, lob it in a USB enclosure and you have a cheap external drive, too.
 
Ah ok, I knew there was something somewhere that had me worried about upgrading!
Like I said earlier in the thread I'm just starting my research now with a view to buying towards the end of the year. I've not had an apple computer before, but I do have iPods, an iPhone and an iPad so wanted to complete the family!
 

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom