Macbook Pro vs Macbook Air

Pro. And here is why:

While the Air is super portable and light, that is its only saving grace. The Pro has far more ports, including SDXC instead of just SD on the Air. Far more powerful, which is important if you want the computer to last and 2-3 years. Huge hardrive difference, and the bigger the hd the better. It has a DVDR slot, which may or may not matter to you. RAM is upgradable on the Pro (officially 8GB, but will accept up to 16GB), again helping the computer keep up over time. Also, i7 > i5. MY opinion is based on ready-made base models and not configuring anything. But even then, the Pro is better.

I'd say entirely the opposite - just get an Air. If you need all those ports, just buy one of the recently announced Thunderbolt docks.

Although if you can hold out, there are rumors of a 15" air coming this quarter and rumors of higher-def screens coming as well (although maybe not on the same model, I could see the Pro getting the screen and the Air being lower res.)

As far as processor goes, I am pretty sure the current Air is faster than your old Macbook, the i5 processor is more powerful, but cycles slower so it has a lower MHz rating.

And a mere second of googling found this review which is completely applicable to your situation:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2011/08/thunder-in-the-air-ars-reviews-the-mid-2011-macbook-air.ars

I'd go with the Air still over the Pro unless you are rendering, playing 3d games, compiling or something else that is processor heavy./

Disclosure: I have the same MacBook you have, and it also works iffy now, but I ended up getting a Mac Mini (top of the line non-server, w/ 8GB of RAM), simply because I did not need a portable computer (actually I could use an iPad). If I needed a portable solution, I would have gotten a MAcBook Pro, especially if it's going to be my primary / only computer.

i5 and i7 are different types of Intel Core processors, i7 being faster than i5... again, important for two reasons: it will be able to keep up with chaining technology better and will be faster when and if you decide to connect 1 or 2 monitors to your macbook (its not just the graphics card that matters, but the extra amount of programs are running on the different screens simultaneously).

SDXC is the high speed / high memory version of SD cards used almost universally in digital cameras. Do you use an SLR or digital camera that shoots RAW?

The GPU (Intel HD Graphics 3000) on the 13" Pro can't really play 3D games well... to play games, the 15" & 17" have AMD Radeon 512 MB and 1 TB options.

Air all the way. Once you pick one up/take it one place, you'll never want to deal with the monster of the Pro again.

Air, period.

To put it into perspective, would you carry around 2 Macbook Airs if it would improve the computing speed slightly? The Air is 2.38lbs, the Pro is 4.5, so that's pretty much what you'd be doing. And for day to day computing the Air will be faster with the SSD than the Pro will be with a standard drive, and the cost of getting a Pro with the SSD brings its weight up to that of the Air (or higher if you go with the 256gb in both).

Get the air. Post your questions in macrumors and they will probably tell you the same given what you want

for me, I would get the macbook pro if its your only computer. I take a lot of photos and videos as well as have a large music library, the Macbook Airs don't have the storage capacity I need. I guess I could get a portable hard drive but I'd probably end up leaving it at a hotel or something sometime. When I'm out and about I'd rather be "lugging" some extra weight if I can store a bunch of movies, videos, all my photos, music, etc with me. sure, I may never use it all, but I like knowing I can have a large library of stuff.

If I had an Imac and needed a laptop, I'd def get the air.

shoot, for the price of either (rougly) you can get a mac mini + ipad 2 (or 3 which is rumored to be coming out in March).

Seriously, try and wait.

If all you do are the above, I'd wait for the iPad 3, which should be out in 2 months, and then just bring a bluetooth keyboard with me. For the record, that's what I do now and don't even bother with a laptop any longer.