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If you have decided to buy a Macbook for college, it is pretty obvious that you are wondering which version to pick up – the PRO version or the AIR version.
You can now look at the new 15″ MacBook Pro 2012 with Retina Display.

As we know, the Macbook Air is considered as “utrabook”. The ultrabooks became popular last year and in 2012 they will definitely rule against the regular laptop.

Apple had always developed great notebooks with great performance. Today, the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro are really competative. Lets get more in details.

Why 13 inch?

If you are going to use your laptop for college, you would definitely prefer it to be much more portable. From self experience I know that the 15” laptops are not very portable. They require a bigger bag, more space, etc, and at the same time the 2” difference is not a big plus when it comes to more space on you screen. So, we would like to recommend you to pick-up a 13” version in our case.

Macbook Air or Macbook Pro?

First, we have to ask “what is the difference between them two?” and then “which is more appropriate for us?”.

The Macbook Air is definitely a lil bit lighter than the Macbook Pro. It is also thinner. So – Macbook Air is more portable.

The cheapest version of Macbook PRO is using the Intel Core i5 2.4GHz (with 2 cores) processor, which is better than the Macbook Air’s Intel Gore i5 with 1.7 GHz (agian 2 cores). Both default models comes with 4GB of RAM and the same Graphics Cards.

Nevertheless Macbook PRO is using a better processor, when it comes to performance it is a lil bit slower than the Air version. That is because the Macbook Air comes with SSD (solid-state drive), while the Pro version comes with the old 5400RPM HDD. The difference between HDD and SSD is that the HDD is a lil bit slower, but it can handle more information stored on it. The Air version can hold up to 128GB, while the Macbook Pro can store up to 500GB.

So, when it comes to performance, the SSD on Macbook Air is a lil bit faster than the HDD on Macbook Pro.

Ofcourse, you can always select to buy a custom Macbook PRO and add SSD to it for another $100.

Unfortunately, because of its size, the Macbook Air doesn’t come with an optical device, which means that you won’t be able to open CDs and DVDs on your laptop. There are external devices available on the store, but if you think that you will boot CDs and DVDs, you’d better choose the Macbook Pro.

Another advantage of Macbook Air is that its screen resolution (not display size) is higher than Macbook Pro’s. The screen resolution of Macbook Air is 1440 by 900, while the Macbook Pro’s is 1280 by 800.

When it comes to price they are both the same. The Macbook Air costs of 100$ more, but when you choose to add SSD on your Macbook Pro, the price is the same.

So – Macbook Air or Macbook Pro for college?

Conclusion

Choose Macbook Air:

• If you want more portability.
• If you don’t have to handle a lot of tasks on your laptop at the same time.
• If you don’t mind the 13” display, since Air” doesn’t have a 15” version.

Choose Macbook Pro:

• If you need a bigger display.
• If you will be working on 3d/graphics/video editing.
• If you need an optical device.
• If you need more disk space.

Hope this article helped you to choose between the macbook air or macbook pro for college. If you have any questions you can always send us an e-mail.