Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

2013 MBA is the best computer I've ever owned

iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
I got my 13" MBA in July right after it came out. It has 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Honestly, I've never owned a computer this incredible in my entire life. First let's talk specs, I chose to get more space instead of more RAM because I decided it would be more useful in the long run, especially for my computing tasks. I think 4GB of RAM is enough for me because the SSD adds a lot of speed. You won't see any lag unless you're doing heavy video editing, although honestly I haven't even tried that so I can't say for sure. I've never experienced any type of lag on this computer, it's insanely fast with Mavericks. On top of all of that greatness, it has the best battery I've ever had on a laptop, I get 12 hours out of it!! And of course, it's VERY light and thin and doesn't add much weight when I travel with it. I went ahead and got Applecare on ebay for $175 (not a code, an actual unopened retail box) so I'm protected until July 2016. I think I'll be keeping this thing for a while. As far as I'm concerned, this is the first REAL replacement for the 12" Powerbook G5. Although I'm sure many will disagree. :D
 
Last edited:
s15119

s15119

macrumors 68000
Nov 20, 2010
1,856
1,714
Yes, it's a fabulous, fast computer with awesome battery life. I agree, it's the best computer I've owned.
 
Cheffy Dave

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Feb 5, 2007
2,646
309
Sunny Florida, on the Gulf Coast in Homosassa Fl
iBlazed said:
I got my 13" MBA in July right after it came out. It has 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. Honestly, I've never owned a computer this incredible in my entire life. First let's talk specs, I chose to get more space instead of more RAM because I decided it would be more useful in the long run, especially for my computing tasks. I think 4GB of RAM is enough because the SSD that's pretty much soldered to the motherboard also adds a lot of speed. You won't see any lag unless you're doing heavy video editing, although honestly I haven't even tried that so I can't say for sure. I've never experienced any type of lag on this computer, it's insanely fast with Mavericks. On top of all of that greatness, it has the best battery I've ever had on a laptop, I get 12 hours out of it!! And of course, it's VERY light and thin and doesn't add much weight when I travel with it. I went ahead and got Applecare on ebay for $175 (not a code, an actual unopened retail box) so I'm protected until July 2016. I think I'll be keeping this thing for a while. As far as I'm concerned, this is the first REAL replacement for the 12" Powerbook G5. Although I'm sure many will disagree. :D
Click to expand...

I believe, it is the RAM that is soldered to the MB, not the SSD, because I have upgraded over 50 2012 64 GB SSD's to 256 or 512 OWC SSD's :eek::rolleyes:
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
Cheffy Dave said:
I believe, it is the RAM that is soldered to the MB, not the SSD, because I have upgraded over 50 2012 64 GB SSD's to 256 or 512 OWC SSD's :eek::rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I just looked it up and you are correct. I thought it was both. Good to know I can upgrade the storage one day if need be. But I also just read that currently it's hard to find compatible SSD's.
 
Boyd01

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,681
4,568
New Jersey Pine Barrens
I agree - the MBA is fantastic. My 2011 13" i5/4gb/256gb MBA was the best computer I'd ever owned at the time. But my 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb is even better. :)

And I do agree about the RAM. 4gb should be more than adequate for most people. I'm sure swapping was happening when I had the 4gb MBA (I do video editing, Logic Pro, etc) but I was never aware of it because the SSD is so fast. I got 8gb this time just because I could though.
 
Macman45

Macman45

macrumors G5
Jul 29, 2011
13,197
135
Somewhere Back In The Long Ago
I went up from the 2012 MBA ultimate to my current rMBP 13" I wanted a better screen, but also wanted to keep the form factor down...I was dubious as I didn't think that 13" would offer me enough real estate, but I was wrong.

I chose the 3GHZ CPU 8GB RAM and the 500GB SSD. It's blazingly fast, and never misses a beat...It's actually due for an upgrade but I'm holding off for now...It does everything I want in a laptop and is small enough to cary around without tearing my shoulders off.

I used to have a cMBP 17" maxed out...A great computer, but weighed a tonne..:)
 
Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,980
46,446
In a coffee shop.
I find myself in complete agreement with the OP.

My current MBA is the 2013 model, 13", 512SSD, 8 GB RAM and i7 Core; again, as others have already posted, it is by far the best computer I have ever owned, blazing fast, utterly responsive, along with a wonderful all day battery life which makes it even more portable.
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
Boyd01 said:
I agree - the MBA is fantastic. My 2011 13" i5/4gb/256gb MBA was the best computer I'd ever owned at the time. But my 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb is even better. :)
Click to expand...

So you basically had my 2013 MBA in 2011! :eek:

----------
Scepticalscribe said:
I find myself in complete agreement with the OP.

My current MBA is the 2013 model, 13", 512SSD, 8 GB RAM and i7 Core; again, as others have already posted, it is by far the best computer I have ever owned, blazing fast, utterly responsive, along with a wonderful all day battery life which makes it even more portable.
Click to expand...

I know, it's like there's nothing you can find wrong with it. This is the definition of a TRUE Macintosh. If that makes any sense at all. It just feels like this is what it's supposed to be like. And it's amazing how slow HDD's really are, you don't realize it until after switching to SSD.
 
N

NP Hard

macrumors newbie
Mar 8, 2014
19
0
Brisbane, Australia
I love mine. As much as I love the MacBook Pro I have from work, I find I don't love it as much as my Air. It is everything I could ever want from a computer - light enough that I can carry and use it anywhere, but still powerful enough to be a desktop replacement.
 
Scepticalscribe

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Jul 29, 2008
63,980
46,446
In a coffee shop.
iBlazed said:
So you basically had my 2013 MBA in 2011! :eek:

----------



I know, it's like there's nothing you can find wrong with it. This is the definition of a TRUE Macintosh. If that makes any sense at all. It just feels like this is what it's supposed to be like. And it's amazing how slow HDD's really are, you don't realize it until after switching to SSD.
Click to expand...

Yes, I remember buying my first MBA (the old 'Rev C') in late 2010, which was to replace my 2008 MBP, and being astounded at the sheer speed of the SSD drive. That was when I decided that I would never have anything other than a SSD drive in a computer.

That 2010 computer was a lot faster (and better) than almost anything else that was available, and quite literally, travelled the world with me. Nevertheless, battery life was never quite three hours, which meant travelling with peripherals most of the time if one wanted to get serious work done. Moreover, with a max of 2 GB RAM, and 128 SSD, it was beginning to show its age with a frequent display of beach balls by last summer.

In any case, my buying & ownership cycle for computers is three years; this is dictated by how long Applecare (which I always buy) is valid rather than any technological advance. However, technology usually has moved on sufficiently in three years for a noticeable difference in performance to be quite marked.

Having said that - given that I went from 2 GB RAM to 8, and from 128 SSD to 512 SSD - along with the incredible battery life (10-12 hours is normal), I will say that my current 2013 machine is an absolute pleasure to work on.
 
J

Jyby

Suspended
May 31, 2011
720
617
I've said to my buddies that this is the last type of laptop I will every buy!

I can't wait to see what the 2014 models will have for us! I'm guessing Apple will try its best to merge the 13" MBP's and the 11" MBA's into one a 12" MB.

Since I'm a gamer you'd think I'd be a sad man... BUT! I've been able to play every game I've wanted to on MAX with low res, or medium with native. So I'm happy :)
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
I would also like to add that it can run a Windows VM in Fusion without any lag on either the dominant Mac OS or the Windows VM. When you have it in full screen you wouldn't know it's a VM, it runs as if you're running it natively in BootCamp. My 2008 C2D Aluminum Macbook with 8GB RAM couldn't pull that off. There was always some slowing down. The i5 is a really great processor. I'm sure the i7 is a million times better but way above my needs.
 
Dweez

Dweez

macrumors 65816
Jun 13, 2011
1,248
10
Down by the river
^^ I do the same and echo your comments. I bought my MBA to take while traveling and it does an outstanding job. I had a full wallet when I made the purchase so opted fro 8 gig / 512 gig / i7 and have been very pleased with the performance of the machine.
 
iBlazed

iBlazed

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 27, 2014
1,594
1,249
New Jersey, United States
Dweez said:
^^ I do the same and echo your comments. I bought my MBA to take while traveling and it does an outstanding job. I had a full wallet when I made the purchase so opted fro 8 gig / 512 gig / i7 and have been very pleased with the performance of the machine.
Click to expand...

Hope you got Applecare on that baby!! I'm happy that I managed to save $75 on that.
 
W

Windowsrefugee

macrumors regular
Mar 14, 2011
161
7
Microsoft Land
Scepticalscribe said:
I find myself in complete agreement with the OP.

My current MBA is the 2013 model, 13", 512SSD, 8 GB RAM and i7 Core; again, as others have already posted, it is by far the best computer I have ever owned, blazing fast, utterly responsive, along with a wonderful all day battery life which makes it even more portable.
Click to expand...

I have the same machine. This is the computer I have been wanting for more than 12 years. I have had lots of laptops in that period--Dells, a ThinkPad, 2011 and 2012 MBAs but this is finally IT. I do not do anything terribly CPU intensive, so for me it serves as a full desktop replacement (with 2 monitors) and the battery life is finally there-- it is truly an all day computer. I can leave my bag and brick behind and just take my MBA along in its Sena portfolio case (with my VZW MiFi hotspot in my pocket) and I am set for the day. I cannot imagine what else I would need or want out of a computer for standard business needs. In short this Windows Refugee is a Happy Apple Camper :)
 
M

MacDarcy

macrumors 65816
Jul 21, 2011
1,011
819
I'm torn btwn getting a MacBook Air + an Apple Cinema Display or a maxed out 27" iMac. I travel a lot, so I thought the MacBook Air made sense. I currently use an ipad(which I love) for blogging and editing light video on....but it'd be nice to have something more powerful while on the road for heavier video editing.

But I could also save the heavy editing for when I get home on the even more powerful imac.

I've got time. Was going to wait and see what the next update to the imac & cinema displays would be.
 
yoak

yoak

macrumors 68000
Oct 4, 2004
1,672
203
Oslo, Norway
I got the 2012 MBA 11"and I can see that the battery life of the 2013 model is something to behold. Still it´s pretty ok on the 2012. I got a great deal on a ex-demo model for m an Apple retailer so I could´t justify buying the 2013 model.

It´s a perfect computer for some of my use, but not all as I do a lot of video editing with 4K and 5K material. I can still playback 5K RED EPIC material at 1/4 resolution on this thing and that is quite amazing.

I bought it mainly to have a small laptop on set that I can use to quickly offload my RED footage as that quickly runs into 250-500GB a day. It´s great for that, but what surprise me is that that this thing has almost replaced my iPad as well. Just so much nicer not to hold the screen, just leave it on your stomach.
It´s almost as easy to handle.

Love this thing
 
adamj575

adamj575

macrumors 6502
May 17, 2011
288
3
Tennessee
I actually just sold mine...it was nice but with an ipad and imac I just never used it...sold it to get a sonos playbar and a Philips hue! FTW
 
alphaod

alphaod

macrumors Core
Feb 9, 2008
22,183
1,245
NYC
The MacBook Air is a fantastic computer. It's small, light, and fast. It's also got terrific battery life as well.
 
BENJMNS

BENJMNS

macrumors 6502
Dec 28, 2005
449
0
I still happily use my 2010 11" so I can only imagine how much better the new ones are with the extended batt life.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom