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Should I wait for the MacBook Air early 2013, or buy one now.
- Thread starter FatGuy007
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Sorry, I should have clarified my question a little better. My main concern is that I buy her one for Christmas and the new model is released a month or so later.
might have a modest speed bump in Feb/March, major redesign is further away, so are next gen intel chips*
*pure speculation
The minor things don't bother me as she won't really notice those. My biggest worry is a major redesign. For instance, things like a retina display, major speed bumps, or a thinner design overall (maybe HD camera) would cause me to hesitate ordering.
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And not knowing this would make you keep waiting?
I agree a redesign would be kind of a bummer, but I personally don't expect one until '14. Maybe even later.
Spec bump in June with Haswell being introduced
And not knowing this would make you keep waiting?
I agree a redesign would be kind of a bummer, but I personally don't expect one until '14. Maybe even later.
Spec bump in June with Haswell being introduced
I know a small amount about Haswell. Is it worth waiting for?
The single biggest improvement in Haswell is lower power consumption, which will mean longer battery life for laptops and lower temps.
Haswell also has improved graphics over the current HD 4000 (which is the best onboard graphics yet).
Other than that, the improvements are mostly just the typical year to year slight bump in overall power.
If Intel can get Haswell launched on schedule (and remember Ivy Bridge was delayed a bit), then late Summer or early Fall we should start seeing new Haswell based Macs.
But if you're a user who doesn't play the latest games, or doesn't edit video, do a ton of photo editing with large files, etc., you wouldn't have much of a need the extra graphical power of Haswell anyway. The HD 4000 graphics in current Macs are pretty damn good now.
Remember, there is always a new technology just about to be introduced. You'll go crazy if you're always wondering if you should buy the current version of anything or wait.
Here's a link with more info on Haswell:
http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/09/14/intels-haswell-cpu-successor-to-ivy-bridge-details-from-the-intel-developer-forum/
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The Intel Core i-Series chips are so far advanced over previous CPU's, plus the Intel HD 4000 GPU is so far advanced, that we'll likely only see moderate improvements for the next few years. There is so much power in every one of the current Macs (and the latest Windows PC's) that there's no practical reason to upgrade every year or even every other year right now unless you have a job that requires massive computing power, which mostly means upgrading to the latest GPU every year.
In short, if you have a 2011 or 2012 Mac of any type, there isn't a great reason to upgrade to Haswell, nor to wait for Haswell if you're thinking of buying a 2011 or 2012 Mac. If you have an older Mac with a Core 2 Duo CPU, the 2011 or 2012 Macs are gigantic improvements.
As with all threads of this nature: do you need a new machine now or not? If YES, buy one. If NO, don't.
Simple, no?
Machines are now fast enough that waiting to try and time releases with purchases is just a waste of time for the most part. We aren't seeing 2x improvements every year like we were back in the 8086 and 80286 days.
If you are considering model X vs X+1, then X+1 will be 10-20% faster, yes. But between now and then you haven't had use of model X.
Simple, no?
Machines are now fast enough that waiting to try and time releases with purchases is just a waste of time for the most part. We aren't seeing 2x improvements every year like we were back in the 8086 and 80286 days.
If you are considering model X vs X+1, then X+1 will be 10-20% faster, yes. But between now and then you haven't had use of model X.
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To answer your question, yes. Her MB served very well, but is 6 years old and it's best days are behind.
With Christmas coming up, it's the perfect time for me to surprise her with the gift that she won't buy herself.
she'll love it. seriously.
any macbook owner that's pre-SSD will love the new speed, build/construction quality, trackpad, monitor (despite all the forum gripers).
my 2010 11" mba was (and still is) such a huge upgrade from my 2006 black macbook. that thing was like a total brick weight-wise and the SSD's speed is such amazing. i still love how i can click an application icon and it just starts right up. very difficult to adjust to a non-SSD mac now (like my wife's imac).
being a good hubby, i'll be getting her one of new imacs for christmas (hopefully the 27" will be out in time!)
Want to buy this Air in store tomorrow.
1.8GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
128GB Flash Storage
How long will it last?
By last I mean without upgrading hardware. And peoples overall thoughts on this computer?
I am choosing this computer over the mbp and rmbp.
1) How high can I upgrade the airs flash memory to?( if needed in a couple years)
2) How high can I upgrade for the ram?( in a couple years)
I steered away from the retina because of its lack of upgradability
1.8GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz
8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM
128GB Flash Storage
How long will it last?
By last I mean without upgrading hardware. And peoples overall thoughts on this computer?
I am choosing this computer over the mbp and rmbp.
1) How high can I upgrade the airs flash memory to?( if needed in a couple years)
2) How high can I upgrade for the ram?( in a couple years)
I steered away from the retina because of its lack of upgradability
Do i really need 8 gb for basic needs?
8 gb is the max?
SSD is fine to upgrade without voiding?
I expect this computer to be lightning fast? Is this a proper assumption?
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I don't know if you need 8GB, if you have to ask most probably not!
I ordered the exact same setup 13"/i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD and I decided to futureproof it a bit and have a better resale value should I sell it down the line 8GB will be helpful.
As well looking into the fact, that most OS updates need more RAM over time, my MBA should be fine for the next 4-5 years I guess. I will be doing a lot with picture and video editing, so I decided to go for the 8GB RAM.
If you only gonna surf the web, watch youtube and read emails, no need for 8GB. But maybe you could take the base 11" model, will save you some money!
cheers
I ordered the exact same setup 13"/i5/8GB RAM/128GB SSD and I decided to futureproof it a bit and have a better resale value should I sell it down the line 8GB will be helpful.
As well looking into the fact, that most OS updates need more RAM over time, my MBA should be fine for the next 4-5 years I guess. I will be doing a lot with picture and video editing, so I decided to go for the 8GB RAM.
If you only gonna surf the web, watch youtube and read emails, no need for 8GB. But maybe you could take the base 11" model, will save you some money!
cheers
i had the same question which i posted a couple days ago.
but it seems like i'll be picking up the mba 13" 2012 instead of waiting for 2013.
just wondering if i should go for the 1.8 ghz i5 or 2.0 ghz i7
128 vs 256 ssd
i know for sure i want 8 gb of ram no question about that, thats a definite for me.
what do you folks recommend? will be doing picture editing of raw files and basic video editing for youtube
but it seems like i'll be picking up the mba 13" 2012 instead of waiting for 2013.
just wondering if i should go for the 1.8 ghz i5 or 2.0 ghz i7
128 vs 256 ssd
i know for sure i want 8 gb of ram no question about that, thats a definite for me.
what do you folks recommend? will be doing picture editing of raw files and basic video editing for youtube
I ordered the i5 but with 8GB RAM. I think the RAM will make a bigger difference than the i7 on the MBA.
My opinion is based on the 2011 models, so the 2012 might be a bit different. I purchased an i5 MBA, but then a week later took it back and got the i7 because I waned the 256 GB SSD and that was the only model that had it without ordering. In retrospect, I wish I had NOT done that. I really don't do much that requires the added power of the i7 and it gets about an hour less battery time. I've tried all kinds of things to optimize the battery life, but overall it is just plain less. I can definitely say that I will be getting the lesser CPU in the 2013 (when I plan to upgrade) just for battery life.
8GB of RAM would be a good upgrade, in my opinion, for longevity's sake. OSX 10.8 runs totally fine on 4GB, but OSX 10.9 or 11 will probably benefit from more RAM, I would think. However, as an above poster said, you cannot get the i5 model with 8GB RAM unless you order it online. So you might have to wait a week or so to get it.
Hope that helps!
8GB of RAM would be a good upgrade, in my opinion, for longevity's sake. OSX 10.8 runs totally fine on 4GB, but OSX 10.9 or 11 will probably benefit from more RAM, I would think. However, as an above poster said, you cannot get the i5 model with 8GB RAM unless you order it online. So you might have to wait a week or so to get it.
Hope that helps!
If you can afford 8gb get it.
It is not upgradable after purchase, and for as long as I've been building and using computers (since the 80s) the biggest factor in determining when a machine is past its use-by date has usually been RAM.
If you don't have enough RAM, things slow down dramatically.
In general use, jumping up a speed grade makes very little difference in most day to day use, and 3+ years down the track, if the CPU in the base model is too slow, the cpu in the higher end model will likely also be slow as well.
But havign double the ram can mean the difference between having a machine that will run things and one that won't.
It is not upgradable after purchase, and for as long as I've been building and using computers (since the 80s) the biggest factor in determining when a machine is past its use-by date has usually been RAM.
If you don't have enough RAM, things slow down dramatically.
In general use, jumping up a speed grade makes very little difference in most day to day use, and 3+ years down the track, if the CPU in the base model is too slow, the cpu in the higher end model will likely also be slow as well.
But havign double the ram can mean the difference between having a machine that will run things and one that won't.
thanks, i didn't know the i7 would get less in battery life, well that's good to know.
I think 4 is quite adequate for anyone who isn't doing professional graphics editing work on it. Professional graphics editors wouldn't be using an Air anyway. They'd have a Retina Macbook Pro.
i just read this today:
part 1
http://michael.olivero.com/post/201...i5-vs-i7-Heat-Fan-Battery-Speed-analysis.aspx
part 2
http://michael.olivero.com/post/201...Heat-Fan-Battery-Speed-Comparison-Part-2.aspx
i'm on the fence right now, and will probably buy the macbook air 13 soon.
the setup i'm looking at will probably be 13" mba, 8 gb of ram, i5, 256 ssd. granted battery life shouldnt be a concern to me since i will have it plugged it constantly. but i do travel 2-3 times a year out of the country. so portability, lightweight, and good battery life when not plugged in will be beneficial.
grand total $1704,, ouch yeah, hard to swallow.