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macbook pro or macbook air? (2 Viewers)

Azure

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Yep, this is enticing me to buy it. Downside is 128GB and 256GB are the options (obviously due to the cost of SSD at this stage)
 
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or for $250 you could get yourself a 128gb sd card and leave it in the card reader, it will hardly poke out
 

Dr_Fresh

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im on the market for a new laptop. but i hear macs can heat really bad when u do something graphics/processor intensive (e.g. gaming) cuz their sleek design means theres not as many air vents to dissipate the heat
 
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im on the market for a new laptop. but i hear macs can heat really bad when u do something graphics/processor intensive (e.g. gaming) cuz their sleek design means theres not as many air vents to dissipate the heat
the macbook air uses ULV cpus (ultra-low voltage) so use very little power, hence dissipates very little heat

after doing some video encoding it's cooler to touch than my body (ambient temp is ~12C)
 

Azure

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@OE - I probably wouldn't need to go down that route, but at least it's good to know I have options (albeit expensive ones in terms of the SSD). Luckily for me, a good chunk of my content is on my portable hard drive and I probably wouldn't even use up the 128GB anyway. Saw both laptops today and the air was absolutely stunning. Def buying after my exams.
 
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just a heads up, usuable capacity of 128gb model is 120gb (would be around 58gb on 64gb model i'm guessing)

mac osx and included ilife '11 take up ~20gb

so on the 64gb model you're only left with ~40gb to play with
 

Lolsmith

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im on the market for a new laptop. but i hear macs can heat really bad when u do something graphics/processor intensive (e.g. gaming) cuz their sleek design means theres not as many air vents to dissipate the heat
um first of all

Don't get a mac to game on

Second, don't get a laptop to game on

Combining the two is asking for trouble
 

Dr_Fresh

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um first of all

Don't get a mac to game on

Second, don't get a laptop to game on

Combining the two is asking for trouble
yeah i know nothing beats desktops for gaming but its really not worth it to buy a laptop and a desktop.
 
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What kind of speed difference are we talking here, though? Is it negligible in day to day things?
i'm not sure on the specifics but higher capacity ssds generally have more stuff to address the extra memory chips

e.g.

512 gb crucial ssd, 260mb/s write speed http://www.crucial.com/store/listmodule/SSD/~524288~/list.html
64gb crucial ssd, 95mb/s write speed http://www.crucial.com/store/listmodule/SSD/~65536~/list.html

but in the end, any modern ssd is still very fast

speed differences won't be noticable during everyday tasks, but when doing hdd intensive tasks e.g. loading a game, manipulating a large image or transferring large files, there may be a difference
 
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yeah i know nothing beats desktops for gaming but its really not worth it to buy a laptop and a desktop.
a capable gaming laptop will set you back $2000-$3000 (alienware) and it will be huge and ugly and you won't want to carry it around

-----

a much better gaming desktop will be around $1000,

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K $218
Mobo: Asrock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $138
RAM: G.Skill-NT 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1333 $44
HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB $54
GPU: 1GB AMD Radeon HD6950 $209
Case: Antec 300 $58
PSU: Antec Neo Eco 520C $67 (BYO power cord)
ODD: DVD burner $20
CPU HSF: Coolermaster Universal Hyper 212+ $32
Peripherals: 23" LG W2343T-PF / Sidewinder X4 / Logitech MX518 / Edifier M1350 2.1 $242

Total: $1,082

add on a macbook air for another ~$1300
 
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i'm not sure on the specifics but higher capacity ssds generally have more stuff to address the extra memory chips

e.g.

512 gb crucial ssd, 260mb/s write speed http://www.crucial.com/store/listmodule/SSD/~524288~/list.html
64gb crucial ssd, 95mb/s write speed http://www.crucial.com/store/listmodule/SSD/~65536~/list.html

but in the end, any modern ssd is still very fast

speed differences won't be noticable during everyday tasks, but when doing hdd intensive tasks e.g. loading a game, manipulating a large image or transferring large files, there may be a difference
some manufacturers don't scale speed based on capacity though e.g. corsair

most do i think

macbook airs use samsung ssds which DO scale speed based on capacity

samsung 830 series write speeds:

512GB: 400MB/s
256GB: 400MB/s
128GB: 320MB/s
64GB: 160MB/s

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4863/the-samsung-ssd-830-review
 
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but 160MB/s is still fucking fast and you won't notice it at all in everyday tasks
 

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