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    decison re: notebook size

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by fredf, Oct 2, 2008.

  1. fredf

    fredf Notebook Consultant

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    I will be buying either a Macbook or MBA soon.
    I will be surfing the net and a lot of word processing. Occasionally I will access my medical office using an rVPN.
    I don't think any of these require a lot of processing power---although, having said that, I hate waiting for computers and the beachball from hell drives me crazy.

    My number one criteria is ease of carrying around.
    So, the question is: which is more important weight or size?
    I hope the new MB comes in lighter (with the aluminum case). Which do you think would be easier to schlep?

    And of some importance as well is battery life.

    I understand that in about 2 weeks we'll have more information on which to base this decision when we see any new specs but I would like some opinions now.
    thanks
     
    fredf, Oct 2, 2008
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  2. Xirurg

    Xirurg ORLY???

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    weight of course-if you just surfing the new and typing,MBA is more then enough!
     
    Xirurg, Oct 2, 2008
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  3. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    The hard drive is the biggest factor. The MBA is either the best or the worst. The cheaper one uses a slower 4200RPM drive while the more expensive one uses a SSD, which are the fastest. The MacBook is the middle ground. It uses a 5400RPM drive. You certainly could upgrade the MB to a faster 7200RPM drive though it won't be as fast as the SSD on the MBA.
     
    ZaZ, Oct 2, 2008
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  4. fredf

    fredf Notebook Consultant

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    I thought the feeling now is that the SSD drive isn't so fast after all?
    As well, I hope that the refresh due soon will included a faster HD.
     
    fredf, Oct 2, 2008
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  5. jimboutilier

    jimboutilier Notebook Evangelist NBR Reviewer

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    The MB and MBA share about the same width and depth. The MB is slim at about 1" and the MBA is very slim at about half that on average. The MB is about 5 pounds and the MBA about 3.

    The MBA feels vastly more portable even though the size and weight differences are not huge.

    The MBA would serve you very well for the tasks you mention. Its an excellent machine for everyday Office and Web applications. While a bit slower to boot and start programs its not annoyingly slow and once started up its hard to tell from a MB for routine tasks.

    Where the MBA falls down is more demanding CPU and Harddrive tasks like multimedia processing, backups, advanced graphics. It will do them but not very fast and don't expect to do anything else at the same time quickly. The hard drive (at least the non SSD one) is more limiting than memory or CPU. But if used as a "thin and light" or "ultraportable" would be expected its a terrific machine.
     
    jimboutilier, Oct 3, 2008
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