Macbook Pro 13 (2011) or Macbook Air 13

Hi! I am looking to purchase a laptop and I was thinking about the Macbook Air or the Macbook Pro 13. Now I know that neither of these devices is good for gaming but can any one please tell me which should run games best ? (I know that the Pro has a much better CPU but im afraid of Intel 3000). Also is there a chance that anyone of these will run Battlefield 3 (I know I'm asking too much ).

Macbook Air 13 :

1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
4GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM
128GB Flash Storage

Macbook Pro :

2.7GHz Dual-core Intel Core i7
4GB 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2x2GB
500GB Serial ATA Drive @ 5400 rpm
SuperDrive 8x

Thanks

 

The MBP will handle CPU-intensive games much better than the MBA, but the GPU still limits the computer to older games like WoW, though there are exceptions such as Starcraft 2.

Battlefield 3 will not run smoothly on either of these computers as it is a very recent and demanding game.

 

Ok thanks I might end up buying a normal laptop then

 

Change of plans : I might still buy a Macbook and use it for light gaming while use my main pc at home for serious gaming xD However I am still unsure about which Mac to buy as from what I read the Macbook pro can run Brotherhood (MAC version) right? Can anyone please tell me which games are playable on the Macbook Pro(Call of Duty, etc)?

 

check the anandtech review of the mbp, they have tested a lot of games in there

 

I had a Dell XPS M1530, with the Nvidia 8600GT GPU. It ran SCII on medium settings at about 30-35FPS. Project Reality was also smooth. But the MB decided to crap out on it back in Feb. I replaced it with the 13" MBP and haven't looked back.
I decided all the new games aren't good enough for me to care about, and I didn't need to play that many games anyway. If there eventually is something, I'll throw a desktop together on the cheap.

I would say the HD 3000 is roughly on par with the old 8600, which is also pretty comparable to the 320M.
There is a little give and take, but not enough to matter. I am sold on Sandy Bridge. I am now spoiled with my 7-8 hours of battery life. I was also considering the new MBA when it comes out, but I think I'm going to hold out for the next MBP refresh for 2012 and hopefully it will have Ivy bridge. My wife will probably get my current MBP. ;-)

Currently I'm mostly playing Rome:Total War with the RTR mod (for hotseat w/ some friends), and I've tinkered w/ Medieval II TW, but am having problems with the heat getting up to about 93c. I don't like it that high. It runs smooth though with a mix of medium and high settings.

 

If you are looking to run games on your macbook, I think you would be a bit disappointed. I do not think they are designed to do such anyway. Your best bet would be to get a high end windows out of the box notebook to get a better gaming experience.

If you are just looking for something to get you through word processing, surfing the internet ad other multimedia, I would recommend the macbook air. Though if you are looking to do some other stuff like programming and computer stuff, Go for the macbook pro.

 

So, macbook air is not good for programming, xcode? Just curious because i am deciding whether to buy a macbook pro 15inch or a new macbook air 13 inch for programming. The only thing i am worry about the air is its weak graphics graphics card. If apple will release new macbook airs with i7 low volt CPU as rumor, that would be enough for programming i think. But again, its graphics card is weak.

 

more than likely when they go to an low voltage i5/i7, it will have weaker graphics than the current gen... but either way, wether its good enough for Xcode, depends on what your programming... if your doing simple things or iOS stuff, it'll work fine.

 

I am guessing the new MacBook Air's will have the same processor options as the new MacBooks Pro's, although I did see this one on Intel's line-up which looks interesting, the Core i7 2655LE (25W TDP) which requires less cooling but does not compromise on the graphics clock speed.

Given how apple stayed with the Core2 Duo and Nvidia 320M I do not see them releasing a MacBook with a Intel HD 3000 graphics clocked at less than 650MHz. That still puts it behind the 320M, by about 10% more or less.

 

Another thing to note is that the 320M IGP can be overclocked (see this: 320M overclocked... (5340 3DMark06 score, MW2 smooth) *update* - MacRumors Forums. That's the guide I used on my 2010 MBP w/ the NVIDIA 320M IGP.

Also, the MBA currently has a higher-res screen than the 13" MBP (1440x900 vs 1280x800). When the 2011 MBAs come out, you might be well off to get a 2010 model at a significant discount.