Chicane-UK Veteran Posted June 30, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 30, 2014 You really need to buy according to your requirements. Let me be clear I'm a Macbook Air owner and I love it - it's the best computer I've ever owned in nearly two decades of computer ownership! If you're really fed up of Windows then look no further than OSX. It's a brilliant operating system, and I have to say as Windows continues to change I rather like that OSX has essentially remained the same but improved after all these years. But as I say, you need to buy according to your requirements. Whilst the Air is extremely capable and fast, there's no denying the screen is too small and past it's best really - and maybe a touch screen / tablet is more useful to you than just a laptop? And I'm also suspicious of how many BSOD's you say you've been having. I'm no enthusiast for Windows, but I admin several hundred Windows server professionally and do run Windows 8.1 on my work PC and it's as solid as a rock - zero BSOD's on my desktop since installing it, and I virtually only ever reboot it to install updates. Nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anibal P Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 You really need to buy according to your requirements. Let me be clear I'm a Macbook Air owner and I love it - it's the best computer I've ever owned in nearly two decades of computer ownership! If you're really fed up of Windows then look no further than OSX. It's a brilliant operating system, and I have to say as Windows continues to change I rather like that OSX has essentially remained the same but improved after all these years. But as I say, you need to buy according to your requirements. Whilst the Air is extremely capable and fast, there's no denying the screen is too small and past it's best really - and maybe a touch screen / tablet is more useful to you than just a laptop? And I'm also suspicious of how many BSOD's you say you've been having. I'm no enthusiast for Windows, but I admin several hundred Windows server professionally and do run Windows 8.1 on my work PC and it's as solid as a rock - zero BSOD's on my desktop since installing it, and I virtually only ever reboot it to install updates. Nothing else. Was likely using a "customized" XP install, they tended to blue screen a lot for obvious reasons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Hold it right there, I have never gotten a BSOD in like 5 years, and never had I had one with Windows 8, so don't base your opinion off of that. Yea, me too. I found that most of these BSOD screens after XP SP3 was due to just stupid things that was NOT related to the operating system, like installing cracked, or just poorly written programs, and you could contribute 99.9% of the BSOD to just those two. Raa 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadEndAccount Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 A BSOD is no different to a kernel panic - if you're getting them constantly then it is either down to a hardware fault or dodgy drivers; OS X isn't magically going to make things disappear if the underlying hardware has faults. If you're going to spend most of your time doing SQL work you are better off getting a Surface 3 Pro - it is a great piece of software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlayerS_BoxeR Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 A BSOD is no different to a kernel panic - if you're getting them constantly then it is either down to a hardware fault or dodgy drivers; OS X isn't magically going to make things disappear if the underlying hardware has faults. If you're going to spend most of your time doing SQL work you are better off getting a Surface 3 Pro - it is a great piece of software. is surface pro3 SSD or HDD? also, can you externally takeout the HDD/SSD like you do for a laptop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melfster Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 Other thing to remember Macbook Air trackpad and keyboard are way better then anything on Surface Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted June 30, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted June 30, 2014 is surface pro3 SSD or HDD? also, can you externally takeout the HDD/SSD like you do for a laptop? SSD tablets are all going to be SSD and most ultrabooks are going to be SSD as well on the SP3 no you can't take it out. though that is the case for a macbook air as well (that's the price for the thin form factor, less changeability) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlayerS_BoxeR Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 SSD tablets are all going to be SSD and most ultrabooks are going to be SSD as well on the SP3 no you can't take it out. though that is the case for a macbook air as well (that's the price for the thin form factor, less changeability) wait, you can't take out the SSD for MBA either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted June 30, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted June 30, 2014 Other thing to remember Macbook Air trackpad and keyboard are way better then anything on Surface Pro. this i can agree with but I also have to counter what you say slightly because the trackpad driver for bootcamp is garbage wait, you can't take out the SSD for MBA either? technically you can but it's not easy & it's a custom flash stick that there really isn't any upgrades/replacements for edit: i was going to paste the ifixit guide that shows what i mean but the site seems down right now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom1981 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I would think its basically a how much do you need a stylus question. Since both run windows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted June 30, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 30, 2014 i hate windows, i'm sick of those errors BSOD and that's why i have brought up mac, I had to stop right there.. I haven't seen a blue screen since windows XP SP1 that was not caused by bad hardware or a stupid NVidia driver... which is exactly what would happen on a Mac also in those same situations... except in their case it's a gray screen of death or what use to be a kernel panic dump over the screen... heck I've seen more Mac kernel panics in the past 9 years then I've seen BSOD's this i can agree with but I also have to counter what you say slightly because the trackpad driver for bootcamp is garbage technically you can but it's not easy & it's a custom flash stick that there really isn't any upgrades/replacements for edit: i was going to paste the ifixit guide that shows what i mean but the site seems down right now I thought the Mac Book Air used the new M.2 SSD standard, which is showing up a lot on Desktop boards now also Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon H Supervisor Posted June 30, 2014 Supervisor Share Posted June 30, 2014 I thought the Mac Book Air used the new M.2 SSD standard, which is showing up a lot on Desktop boards now also yes that's what it uses. i guess i haven't taken a look in awhile because i didn't realize that was starting to become standard and available. good to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted June 30, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 30, 2014 yes that's what it uses. i guess i haven't taken a look in awhile because i didn't realize that was starting to become standard and available. good to know yep, I'm already planning on my next desktop build to require a M.2. slot, most high end boards have them already Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicane-UK Veteran Posted June 30, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 30, 2014 yep, I'm already planning on my next desktop build to require a M.2. slot, most high end boards have them already The speed is insane. My MBA has the 512GB Samsung SSD and it benches at about 730MB/sec in both read and write speeds. I couldn't go back to a mechanical disk any more I don't think! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DConnell Member Posted June 30, 2014 Member Share Posted June 30, 2014 alright, my laptop completely died, and i need to buy one asap. i sometimes need to use windows for visual studio or mssql server. i hate windows, i'm sick of those errors BSOD and that's why i have brought up mac, but yeah i have to use windows at some point i'm not going to go into gaming or graphical design/multimedia tweaking so would you rather recommend macbook air (or air refurb) or surface pro3? don't say dell/thinkpad/asus/ and whatever and if you buy a macbook, can you download bootcamp rather than actually buying one? coz buying one is actually ridiculous how do you find running VS or mssql server on a bootcamp or on surface pro3? I haven't seen a BSOD on Windows 7 or 8.x ever, and I've run both on multiple machines. They're both rock solid. But if you prefer a Mac, get the macbook and run Windows in a VM when you need it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neufuse Veteran Posted June 30, 2014 Veteran Share Posted June 30, 2014 The speed is insane. My MBA has the 512GB Samsung SSD and it benches at about 730MB/sec in both read and write speeds. I couldn't go back to a mechanical disk any more I don't think! M.2 is better then just SSD also, I have SSD's now and even on SATA3 they don't perform as good as M.2's direct bus connection does Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadEndAccount Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 is surface pro3 SSD or HDD? also, can you externally takeout the HDD/SSD like you do for a laptop? The Surface Pro 3 has an SSD with the largest option being 512GB, there is a microSD? card reader where more storage can be added and then if you need more storage you're better off getting an external case and put either an HDD or SSD in it and use the USB3 port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tech085 Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I don't have any or much of BSOD with all the newer Windows I don't see why you don't want a Asus or Dell theres are good brand laptop computers you will trend to get bored of OS X fast since you can't run alot of stuff like you can with Windows. I don't care to use a surface pro as a laptop I think it his small screen size and is cheaply made with a high price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I don't have any or much of BSOD with all the newer Windows I don't see why you don't want a Asus or Dell theres are good brand laptop computers you will trend to get bored of OS X fast since you can't run alot of stuff like you can with Windows. I don't care to use a surface pro as a laptop I think it his small screen size and is cheaply made with a high price tag. Have you had the Surface Pro 3 in your hands. There is no way you could ever state that it's cheaply made, or that is has a small screen size. It's absolutely beautiful, unique, and best of all it can run anything that a full blown desktop can, and incredibly fast. Yes it pricy, but quality and functionality requires a premium price tag, just like everything else. The Surface Pro 3 is a winner for Microsoft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsupersonic Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I don't have any or much of BSOD with all the newer Windows I don't see why you don't want a Asus or Dell theres are good brand laptop computers you will trend to get bored of OS X fast since you can't run alot of stuff like you can with Windows. I don't care to use a surface pro as a laptop I think it his small screen size and is cheaply made with a high price tag. Have you even held a Surface device? They have excellent build quality. The only thing that is "overpriced" is the keyboard. I wish Microsoft would include it with the Surface Pro devices, or at least make it cheaper. I got my hands on with the SP3 (owner of an SP2), and the same complaints I had about the SP2 apply to the SP3, but to a lesser extent. I think SP3 has a confused identity - it's not a great tablet (too big imo, although leaps and bounds better than SP1/SP2 in this regard) and it's not a great laptop (keyboard is still meh, although the dual magnets are great). The SP3 continues as a jack of all trades, but masters none type of deal. MBA and SP3 are both great devices. It comes down to - do you need OS X? If so, your answer is fairly clear. If you can survive with Windows, then either is a great choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹ Posted July 5, 2014 Subscriber¹ Share Posted July 5, 2014 Macbook Pro would be a better choice, in my simple opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StandingInAlley Posted July 5, 2014 Share Posted July 5, 2014 I'm in a similar boat. After using a MBP for more than 6 years, last year my mbp cooked off. I have been using my mom's Surface Pro 1 for last few months and I'm not sure if I would like to pick Surface Pro 3. I know there is a big difference between Pro 1 and 3 but Windows 8 is pathetic. It's buggy like hell and the AppStore is crap. It has its plus points with the whole type cover and portability but quite frankly I really miss how stable and awesome OSX was. I'm still keeping my options open before deciding which one to pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Prowler Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 I'm in a similar boat. After using a MBP for more than 6 years, last year my mbp cooked off. I have been using my mom's Surface Pro 1 for last few months and I'm not sure if I would like to pick Surface Pro 3. I know there is a big difference between Pro 1 and 3 but Windows 8 is pathetic. It's buggy like hell and the AppStore is crap. It has its plus points with the whole type cover and portability but quite frankly I really miss how stable and awesome OSX was. I'm still keeping my options open before deciding which one to pick. Windows 8.1 is buggy. It's apparent you have no idea what your talking about. If Windows 8.x is installed on the correct hardware, there is zero problems. On the surface Pro 3, Windows 8.x is an absolute delight. Everything that is essential to my needs is found in the App store. I don't need 500,000 worthless apps to search through to find what I really need. For the price of a new SP3, you could buy a nice used MBP. +E.Worm Jimmy and Osiris 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajua Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 Letting the misconceptions about Windows stability aside, which are really a BIG wrong notion these days, the OP should consider the main use of the computer. If I was to run Windows most of the time, I would buy a PC. The Surface Pro 3 is a great device but if you don't plan to use it much as a tablet, consider a hybrid like the Lenovo Yoga Pro 2 that has excellent build quality and performance. Also, you can save $200-$300 if you go this way and still have it as a tablet when you need it. There are other choices for hybrids but I only have Yoga and Yoga 2 personal experience and they are great computers. If you will run Mac OSX most of the time, go get a Mac. The MBA if you need portability or the MBP if you want more performance that the Air at the expense of size and weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xerxes Posted July 6, 2014 Share Posted July 6, 2014 You answered your own question, MacBook Air is the only choice for you. Just setup bootcamp with Windows (or even just a VM would suffice?) for when you need it and use OSX when you don't. Problem solved? and considering you hate Windows, not even sure why you'd even consider the Surface Pro 3 (which is a great machine from what I've heard) considering it runs Windows all the time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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