[jhewell]

I have the 2009 MacBook Pro 15" model, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and am considering replacing it with the new 13" MacBook Air which is 1.8GHz, but is the i5 processor. I also have 8 GB RAM in the MBP, but would get only 4 GB RAM with the new unit. Aside from the loss of the optical drive, and the screen size, will I be losing anything else in the "upgrade"? The Geekbench benchmark for the MBP is 3473 whereas the new MBA is 6083. Is it worth the upgrade or should I keep the 2009 MBP?

..............2009 MBP............2012 MBA
Processor.....Core Duo..............i5
Speed..........2.53 GHz............1.8 GHz
RAM............8 GB................4 GB
Storage.......250 HDD.............256 SSD
Benchmark......3473...............6083

Opinions?

Thanks

[macnuke]

Benchmark......3473...............6083

kinda speaks for itself.

[bastion]

 macnuke, on 07 July 2012 - 12:15 PM, said:

Benchmark......3473...............6083

kinda speaks for itself.

On the other hand... it's 2012. Does it really make sense to buy a machine that has a hard limit of 4GB of RAM? And do you (OP) intend to still be using that machine 3-4 years from now? Unless the size or weight are *really* serious issues for you, I have a hard time seeing the appeal of the Air. It's got a lot of compromise to offer that small form factor.

The Air you're describing is $1500. I say hold onto the 2009 notebook long enough to scrounge up an extra $300. Instead of a dual core 1.8GHz i5, you get a quad core 2.3GHz i7. (You haven't lived until you've opened Activity Monitor and seen a process marked as consuming 730% of your CPU resources.) You still have 4GB of RAM, but you can upgrade it later. You also get additional ports and expandability.

[macnuke]

my answer was pretty much spot on for the comparison.
and yes, the OP should consider your advise seriously for long term usage.
if it was me....
take bas's advise, i personally wouldn't buy either listed by the OP as they are dated for the productivity in mind.

[Martian]

And if you were still to choose an Air, I would go for the 11" over the 13" if you can afford to lose some battery life and the SD slot. The whole Air line has compromised to specifically favor mobility, yet the 13" Air has the exact same footprint as the 13" MBP, only 1-1/2 pounds lighter. Once you are signing onto the Air's compromises, consider that the 11" will fit places that the 13" will not, some hotel room safes are an example. Note that the 11" Air's screen resolution is actually greater than the 13" MBP's and has far less glare than the glass screened MBP.

I absolutely am not trying to sway you to the Air line, just if you do choose Air, seriously consider the 11".
Take the extra cash and put it toward next year's MB Super Retina which will have 7680 x 4320 resolution........(ah, I totally made that up)

[kersen13]

I would just upgrade to a SSD.. I have a 2006 macbook pro with a SSD drive and it runs circles around most of the new computers it makes a tremendous difference... right now you can get a 256 Gig SSD for around 180..

[Cyclopsed]

 kersen13, on 08 July 2012 - 12:21 PM, said:

I would just upgrade to a SSD.. I have a 2006 macbook pro with a SSD drive and it runs circles around most of the new computers it makes a tremendous difference... right now you can get a 256 Gig SSD for around 180..

I have that exact model (2.53) and the reason it get's trounced as I'm guessing you know is because it was a before-its-time attempt at a single shared graphics card. Apple killed the idea in 15" screens- but that's exactly what you get with the Airs... Obviously the tech has matured considerably and the smaller screens help.

I broke the screen on mine last year and had to upgrade a year sooner than I wanted so I purchased a top of the line Air originally. My MBP seems SO heavy now that I'm used to my iPad.

I LOVED the form factor and was very surprised that the 13" screen was totally fine... but I ended up returning it and buy a floor model 2011 MBP from Best Buy. It's got a pretty good dent in the lid and I HATE Best Buy, but it was a great deal and just couldn't bear a new machine that still gave me beachballs in photoshop after three long years.

It's the slowest of the quads, but it feels like Porsche to me. The Air was just like that as long as I only had surfing or ONE app open, after that it was frustrating. The other lesson our dear 2.53 drove home for me was how much it SUCKS having hardware that can't be upgraded. That MBP could not have it's graphics card upgraded- I know that's not generally done on a MBP these days, but it was SO frustrating to me that a $100 chip could have made that thing a still impressive machine instead of chain around our necks.

So I'm seriously considering upgrading only as far as the last MBP with swappable memory and drives at least on this go around. I bought a used 27" Cinema last year which doesn't seem to have lost much value (I didn't have a Thunderbolt port at the time). And so I'm thinking about trading it in a one of those guys for pretty close to even and then the Retina Display is a moot point.

Not sure if that helps at all- It really depends on your use, but I chose to hunt for a great deal on quad-core and upgrade around it as money and need came together

Good Luck!