MBP 13" with Retina display 2.4GHz i5 or MBA 13" 1.7GHz i7 ?

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MBP 13" with Retina display 2.4GHz i5 or MBA 13" 1.7GHz i7 ?

First of all sorry I bother you with this question which has been surely discussed before, but I cannot find answer for my needs.

I would like to buy my first Apple computer. (I am a Windows user).

I need the laptop for my work with photography, some webdesign, and graphic mostly done in PS CC.

I will use external display EIZO with Displayport for most of my work at home in my office.

In my photography work I mostly scan medium format films in high-res and so some additional post processing on the computer. The PSD files are sometimes 1,5 GB big and as I tested it on my Win laptop, Lenovo T500, Win 6 64bit, Intel Dual core P8600, 2,4 Ghz, 4 GB RAM. I can work with such a files very slowly, but it works somehow.

I also work digitally and work with DNG files. But for MCA and MBP it should not be problem to edit the in PSD or do other work in Lightroom etc.

I also plan to edit my videos taken with iP4S and maybe other work with video. I mean to create for my customers some short commercials.

After about 2 weeks of searching I am still not decided if MBA or MPB as mentioned above. In need that the laptop can I use no less then for 4 years before I will start to consider to upgrade it.

I did not find any Windows ultrabook which can fulfill my needs and looks also representative if I present something to my customers.

Thank you for very much for your recommendation.

P.S. I think that 8GB RAM is enough and investment in 16GB is not needed. And what about the CPU performance MCA 1,7 Ghz i7 versus MBP 2,4 Ghz i5?

I consider to buy one of these laptops:

MBP 13" with Retina display

2.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 processor (Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz) with 3MB shared L3 cache, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory, 256GB

OR

MBA 13"

1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.3GHz) with 4MB shared L3 cache, 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3L onboard memory, 256GB

Posted on Mar 14, 2014 3:03 AM

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Answer 1

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dwb

Level 7

32,920 points

Mar 14, 2014 5:41 AM in response to flashmxfreak

Both are good machines. It would be easy to think the MBA is a lite performer given that the PC's world's last contribution to computing was the underpowered netbook. But it isn't - my 3 year old MBA has been a solid performer and even today, now that I have a brand new souped up iMac sitting on my desk, I don't sit in front of my MBA thinking about how slow it is in comparison. Slower than the iMac, yes, but not so much that it bugs me.

With the latest iteration of the MBPr the choice, to me, comes down to money and display. The difference in size and weight is now negligible. The MBPr graphics is no longer underpowered for all the bits that have to be pushed to the display. Battery life is almost on par with the MBA. Three years ago, even one year ago I'd have taken the MBA without giving it a second thought. Today I'd choose the MBPr. I'd get a faster computer with a better display at the cost of $100 and 1/2 lb extra. Such a deal, as my grandfather would say.

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