If you bought the Ultimate MBA 11" Do you regret not getting the 13" and why

Wicked1 · Feb 19, 2014

Looking at both the 11" and 13" MBA 2013 Refurbs, just not sure which to get?

Is it worth the 4GB or 8GB ram

256 or 512 SSD

Is there much of a difference in the 1.3 i5 over the 1.7 i7?

I just can not decide on either of these

11" 1.3 with 4gb/256ssd
11" Ultimate

13" 1.3 with 4gb/256
13" Ultimate

robvas · Feb 19, 2014

I love the size of the 11" but the battery life (before the Haswell model) always got to me, as well as the low screen resolution. Hard to work with only 768 vertical pixels. I had 2010, 2011, and 2013 11 inchers but I've stuck with the 13" for a while now.

Gav2k · Feb 19, 2014

I love my 11". I chose it for several reasons. Weight, portability etc. do I wish id gone with the 13"?? Hell no!!

sergioarista · Feb 19, 2014

Going from 4gb to 8gb it´s definitely a must !!!

I have had 13" MBA, 11" MBA and 13" RMBP and my experience was:

For portability nothing beats 11" MBA, it rivals an ipad in that department. the screen is good, a little bit cramped for some apps; specially spreadsheets, video editors and basically any app that requires real state. However working with different apps in fullscreen and using desktops makes it work well.

13" MBA just for the battery ...it´s a beast, almost full day usage.

I know you are not considering 13" rMBP it is really just a bit heavier than 13" MBA, it even has a smaller footprint, however 13" MBA being tapered feel thiner and lighter, but trust me it´s just perception.

IMHO the real debate would be between 11" MBA (maxed out) and a 13" rMBP

BrickbookPro · Feb 19, 2014

I chose the air coming off a MBP 13". I chose it based on my need for portability and have found it to be much more enjoyable to use then my 13" ever was. I've even played some CoD 4 on it without a hiccup. This little 11" runs more than I need it too. It beats the hell out of those 17" gaming laptops I bought in high school and college.

Many complain about space but with the ability to swipe between desktops, I run my apps in full screen and haven't been wanting for more space yet!

Try them both out, no one can make the choice for you.

Wicked1 said:
Looking at both the 11" and 13" MBA 2013 Refurbs, just not sure which to get?

Is it worth the 4GB or 8GB ram

256 or 512 SSD

Is there much of a difference in the 1.3 i5 over the 1.7 i7?

I just can not decide on either of these

11" 1.3 with 4gb/256ssd
11" Ultimate

13" 1.3 with 4gb/256
13" Ultimate

alphaod · Feb 19, 2014

If I was going to get a 13", I'd get the 13" Retina MacBook Pro; 11" is about maximum portability.

savetheunstable · Feb 20, 2014

No regrets with my 11in. If you value portability, it's the way to go. It's the best for traveling, fitting on plane/train tray tables perfectly, weighs nothing, and is a full-featured system vs a tablet.

When I'm home working, I hook it up to an external monitor anyway.

I considered the 13 Air, but I couldn't justify a bigger version of basically the same thing as the 11. If I wanted a bigger laptop, I'd make sure to get one with a discrete GPU/more power/better screen etc.

Wicked1 · Feb 20, 2014

savetheunstable said:
No regrets with my 11in. If you value portability, it's the way to go. It's the best for traveling, fitting on plane/train tray tables perfectly, weighs nothing, and is a full-featured system vs a tablet.

When I'm home working, I hook it up to an external monitor anyway.

I considered the 13 Air, but I couldn't justify a bigger version of basically the same thing as the 11. If I wanted a bigger laptop, I'd make sure to get one with a discrete GPU/more power/better screen etc.

Which model did you get, I do not do much with mine, however I am thinking of converting some older videos on 8MM to iMovie, thinking of 2013 11" 1.3 with 4GB/256GB using external storage

PBG4 Dude · Feb 20, 2014

Wicked1 said:
Which model did you get, I do not do much with mine, however I am thinking of converting some older videos on 8MM to iMovie, thinking of 2013 11" 1.3 with 4GB/256GB using external storage

I have a 2012 base model 11" MBA (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD Toshiba) and I used it for a week to capture HDV using the ThunderBolt to FW800 adapter and writing to an external Toshiba USB3 2TB HDD that gets roughly 90MBPs throughput, according to the Black Magic disk speed app. Used iMovie HD (last updated, 09/2006), because the latest version of iMovie won't record from my FW camera unless said camera is actually recording to tape(???).

iMovie HD had no problem just recording the signal without using tape. Kept each day in its own project to keep video down to 6-7 hours of footage.

Wicked1 · Feb 20, 2014

PBG4 Dude said:
I have a 2012 base model 11" MBA (4GB RAM, 128GB SSD Toshiba) and I used it for a week to capture HDV using the ThunderBolt to FW800 adapter and writing to an external Toshiba USB3 2TB HDD that gets roughly 90MBPs throughput, according to the Black Magic disk speed app. Used iMovie HD (last updated, 09/2006), because the latest version of iMovie won't record from my FW camera unless said camera is actually recording to tape(???).

iMovie HD had no problem just recording the signal without using tape. Kept each day in its own project to keep video down to 6-7 hours of footage.

Ok, so besides some video work, and website design I basically use it for email, iTunes, and web, so the 2013 11" 1.3 4GB/256GB will work for me for at lease 1-3 years, then hopefully there will be a retina model. One of the reasons I do not want to spend the money on the Ultimate is so I do not spend too much, prefer an Ultimate Retina model if they come out, besides you can not beat $1019 for an Apple Refub unit, should get close to that with my 2012 Late 13" MBP 2.5, 4GB with a 240GB Sata III SSD and other stuff.

Thanks for the info, I am now sure the 1.3/4GB/256GB is the right model for me.

joshwithachance · Feb 20, 2014

No regrets on my 2013 11" Air purchase. If you're going for the Air the 11" makes the most sense. If I wanted a 13" MacBook I'd get the Retina display model. The 11 and 13" are matched in specs, and both have great battery life, so that makes the 11" even more desirable.

Also, it works paired up with my ASUS MX279H monitor absolutely flawlessly.

I personally went with the base model as I have a OWC Envoy with a 128GB SSD in it, so it's like I have a 256GB model, with the 1.3GHz i5 and 4GB RAM. I would probably recommend upping the RAM to 8GB though. I get new gadgets all the time, so if I find myself needing more storage or RAM I'll just sell this one, and buy the model that fits my needs best.

Boyd01 · Feb 21, 2014

I had a 2011 13" i5/4gb/256gb MBA and upgraded to a 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA over the summer. Best thing I ever did. Especially like the smaller size/weight and the 512gb SSD. I'm ripping my large DVD collection and putting them into iTunes. In addition to all my files and music I now have 112 full length movies with over 230gb still free.

I run software like Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. They also ran fine on my 2011 MBA, but rendering is noticeably faster on the new machine and latency dropped by about 30%.

Of course, only you can actually decide what you need. I'm sure that the i5/4gb/256gb model woudl meet the needs of many people.

yosemit · Feb 22, 2014

As with others, the 11-in MBA is the best form factor for me. It is ultra-portable and has exactly the same performance as the 13-in MBA (with the same CPU/memory/SSD configuration). Most time, the screen is large enough for the applications I'm running.

Sometimes, I do wish the screen were larger, like when working on a big spreadsheet on the road. However, 11-in and 13-in are only marginally different for those tasks, and I use external displays whenever possible.

Do I regret not getting the 13"? No, not at all. The 13-in is also very good, but for my needs, the 11-in is a clear winner.

Brian Y · Feb 22, 2014

I have a spec'd up 11" for uni - the i7 with 8gb ram and a 256gb ssd.

I don't regret not getting the 13. I had the 13 before it, and the weight difference is really noticeable when you're carrying the thing around all day. And in seminars, the 11" is much nicer to have in front of you.

The screen size doesn't bother me too much. If I'm doing anything taxing, I hook her up to an external display, and when I'm at home I have my rMPB and iMac to use.

bjet767 · Feb 22, 2014

I have the MBA 11" Late 2010

I love it, but also looking forward to the new model which come out this year. The size difference over the 13" was huge for me. I travel a lot and love the smaller factor.

Boyd01 · Feb 22, 2014

bjet767 said:
looking forward to the new model which come out this year.

According to this new article, there seems to be a lot of uncertainty as to what that might be...

https://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/21/intel-chip-roadmap-2014/

Wicked1 · Feb 22, 2014

Boyd01 said:
According to this new article, there seems to be a lot of uncertainty as to what that might be... https://www.macrumors.com/2014/02/21/intel-chip-roadmap-2014/

Yeah I read that yesterday, and I was thinking of waiting to pull the plug and sell my 2012 13" MBP 2.5/4GB/240GB SSD as it is a little heavier and my use for a Mac has just come down to email, web, some photo editing, some video work, iTunes, and that is about it. I would prefer a machine that is very small and packs a decent punch (anything is better than a Windows machine) for the money.

I think my best option is the 2013 Refurbished MBA 11" with 1.3/4GB/256GB because the new SSD's are way too much money and I use an external HDD anyway.

abta1 · Feb 23, 2014

I recently bought the 11" MBA with 4Gb RAM and 256Gb SSD and at first I thought that perhaps I should have gone with the 13" since my goal was to get something smaller and lighter than my 15" 2010 MBP for travelling. Since the 13" has a slightly larger screen area and the extra SD card slot, I felt that those features would have been useful. I am still borderline but I'm leaning towards the increased portability of the 11" which, given my needs for it as a travel laptop, serves my needs very well. The form factor is great and despite the 13" getting a little better battery life, the battery life on the 11" is nothing to be sniffed at.

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If you bought the Ultimate MBA 11" Do you regret not getting the 13" and why

Wicked1

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robvas

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Gav2k

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sergioarista

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