Off Topic: new mac for the wife, last minute decision

[mesaone]

I already got her a wonderful snowboarding jacket and a great woven sweater. So I'm not in any real danger right now. But her mid-2012 macbook pro, which was my xmas present to her in 2012, is showing its age.

I haven't kept up with the latest in Apple stuff - from what I gather, the Macbook line has been ruined by mobile processors. And I can't justify the cost of a new macbook pro for no reason.

This brings me to the core of my inquiry: Is the new Macbook Air worth buying? Has the latest version of OSX really made a difference in perceived performance? I was looking at the 13-inch standard Macbook Air plus the upgrade to 2.2 GHz dual-core i7, 8 GB RAM, and 256 GB SSD ($1449) but the one she has is similar on paper, albeit old: core2duo 2.4 GHz, 256 GB HDD, 4 GB RAM.

She uses it mostly for excel, email, word, a bit of iMovie stuff, and other lesson planning duties. It seems light, but her old one is really failing to keep up with her.

[musicman691]

The thing I would be worried about is that her MS Office applications will work in ElCapitan and if so how well do they work? If they don't work well and you buy her the computer you'll rue the day

Remember - happy wife happy life

[Ryan Young]

The latest version of MS Office claims to work exactly like it does on PC, feature for feature. I have it, and it's MUCH improved.

[mesaone]

Mostly just worried about whether getting the Air is like getting a lightweight version of a 5-year-old Macbook Pro.

[guitardom]

Originally Posted by mesaone

Mostly just worried about whether getting the Air is like getting a lightweight version of a 5-year-old Macbook Pro.

Nobody buys a Mac to be on the cutting edge of computing power!!!

What generation is in the one you are looking at?? If it's a skylake you are 3 generations past the ivy that is probably in the 2012. With the modern version of the same processor you are looking at 3-7% power gain per generation.

[Barry Johns]

What does she do that requires so much processing power? The computer she has right now is more than enough to satisfy the average user. I would suggest putting in an SSD hard drive, maybe upgrade the RAM. Those two things alone would make a huge difference

[Southsidemusic]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

What does she do that requires so much processing power? The computer she has right now is more than enough to satisfy the average user. I would suggest putting in an SSD hard drive, maybe upgrade the RAM. Those two things alone would make a huge difference

+1

With those great suggestions it will keep up with most computers right now if you don't wanna spend unnecessary money. Save on this add-ons and buy her a Super Nice Evening Out instead

[YYR123]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

I would suggest putting in an SSD hard drive, maybe upgrade the RAM. Those two things alone would make a huge difference

I just got a MBP 5.5 at a pawn shop, $200

Put in a SSD that I had laying around and the thing is really really responsive.....super nice all around computer.

[mesaone]

Originally Posted by Barry Johns

What does she do that requires so much processing power? The computer she has right now is more than enough to satisfy the average user. I would suggest putting in an SSD hard drive, maybe upgrade the RAM. Those two things alone would make a huge difference

She does minor video editing, that's about as processor-intensive as she gets with it. So in truth she doesn't need a huge amount of power, so I think a dual core should be fine. But I'm thinking more along the lines of future-proofing. What may seem like more than she needs now will, in a couple years, no longer be an excess.

But yeah, that's a good idea about upgrading what she has. If I do, she'll need a whole system refresh though - her computer has gotten way sluggish, and I think that's just from daily use over several years, with minimal maintenance. I think I will actually do what you recommend here - possibly a 512 GB Samsung 850 Evo and 8 or 16 GB RAM, then updating to either ML or Yosemite. At the very least, she'll get another 2 years out of it, at which point I can revisit the prospect of a new machine. Thanks for the reality check!

Originally Posted by Southsidemusic

Save on this add-ons and buy her a Super Nice Evening Out instead

Either you have met her or you are married yourself, because that's where the priorities seem to be.