Refurb MBA selection

[goat4life]

Hello all,

I'm looking to buy a 2012 MBA (which will be my first Apple notebook). Ideally I want a 13" with i5/8GB/256GB config. However, I've been monitoring the refurb selection on the Apple website and at Refurb.me and the only refurb 2012 13" MBA options are as follows:

i5/4/128
i5/4/256
i7/8/256
i7/8/512

Does Apple occasionally add other models to the refurb store or will this be it? The i7/8/256 is tempting at the price but I'm not sure I want the i7 considering concerns about the fan and lesser battery life. My planned usage is nothing more than a lot of web browsing/MS Office work but I do plan on running Windows in Parallels and it sounds like i5 can handle that fine with 8GB of RAM. Just wondering if I'd ever see a i5/8/256 in the refurb store or if I should just buy new.

[Spink10]

I do not believe that is an option based off refurb.me/us

http://www.refurb.me/us/

[Muscle Master]

In my opinion you should just buy new with just the 8GB upgrade.. you can always upgrade the ssd later.. though it might be a little expensive

[designs216]

Originally Posted by Spink10

I do not believe that is an option based off refurb.me/us

http://www.refurb.me/us/

Looks like there have been zero i5's with the specs you mentioned based on the Refurb.me data. You can either wait for the refurb i7 to come down a bit more or buy now from one of the tax free sites like B&H or Amazon.

[BeeJee]

Originally Posted by goat4life

Hello all,

I'm looking to buy a 2012 MBA (which will be my first Apple notebook). Ideally I want a 13" with i5/8GB/256GB config. However, I've been monitoring the refurb selection on the Apple website and at Refurb.me and the only refurb 2012 13" MBA options are as follows:

i5/4/128
i5/4/256
i7/8/256
i7/8/512

Does Apple occasionally add other models to the refurb store or will this be it? The i7/8/256 is tempting at the price but I'm not sure I want the i7 considering concerns about the fan and lesser battery life. My planned usage is nothing more than a lot of web browsing/MS Office work but I do plan on running Windows in Parallels and it sounds like i5 can handle that fine with 8GB of RAM. Just wondering if I'd ever see a i5/8/256 in the refurb store or if I should just buy new.

I'd just pony up for the i7/8/256. You will notice a difference when running Parallels. I wouldn't even consider the 4GB options you listed. Not enough future proofing and 4GB running a VM makes the computer a dog.

Originally Posted by designs216

Looks like there have been zero i5's with the specs you mentioned based on the Refurb.me data. You can either wait for the refurb i7 to come down a bit more or buy now from one of the tax free sites like B&H or Amazon.

I dont think B&H offers a BTO order option like 8GB for the airs. Positive that Amazon doesn't have them.

[Spink10]

B&H has it - tax free for most (if you dont report) + free parallels + AppleCare for $90 (Apple is 250).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Notebook.html

[Saturn1217]

I had the exact same concerns as you and originally I really wanted the i5 for the lower temps and longer battery life but it just isn't offered in the refurb store and I've found that if you try to get the i5/8gb/256gb version anywhere else you will spend more for it than you will spend for the i7/8gb/256gb version on the refurb store.

So I just got the i7 version.

And all of my fears were completely unfounded.

The machine idles about 5 degrees cooler than my old Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro. The CPU temps are usually around 45-50C when I am doing normal stuff (at 43C right now)

I timed the battery life one day (actually timed it while continuously using it not just looking at the battery meter). It lasted almost exactly the promised 7 hrs.

I've seen other people complain about the fans on the MBAs. I've never had an issue but I also use smc fan control (used it on my old MBP so it just migrated over). At 3000rpm I can't barely hear anything in a quiet room which was definitely not the case with my old MBP and I usually keep my fans at 2000rpm without problems.

Basically it is not worth the extra money to buy the i5 version if you can get an i7 refurb.

[BeeJee]

Originally Posted by Spink10

B&H has it - tax free for most (if you dont report) + free parallels + AppleCare for $90 (Apple is 250).

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._Notebook.html

Damn, I've always gone the route of the refurb but this is a waaaay better deal. Especially if you're into getting the extended AppleCare. Thanks for clearing that up for me/the correction

[Spink10]

Originally Posted by BeeJee

Damn, I've always gone the route of the refurb but this is a waaaay better deal. Especially if you're into getting the extended AppleCare. Thanks for clearing that up for me/the correction

I dont believe B&H have always carried BTO models - possibly just since the 2012's were released. I could be wrong about this.

Now if Amazon would only carry BTO models.

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by goat4life

Does Apple occasionally add other models to the refurb store or will this be it? The i7/8/256 is tempting at the price but I'm not sure I want the i7 considering concerns about the fan and lesser battery life. My planned usage is nothing more than a lot of web browsing/MS Office work but I do plan on running Windows in Parallels and it sounds like i5 can handle that fine with 8GB of RAM. Just wondering if I'd ever see a i5/8/256 in the refurb store or if I should just buy new.

What's available on the refurbished store depends on what people decide to return. That will usually be a function of what's sold in stores. Apple retail stores generally sell the base configurations available on the website, and larger stores will generally also sell "fully loaded" configurations. That's why you'll usually see base configurations and i7/8GB/256 or 512 configurations more often than i5/8GB/256GB configurations.

That said, I wouldn't be too worried about battery life and heating differences between the i5 and i7. We're talking a few minutes of battery life under most conditions.

[goat4life]

Originally Posted by Saturn1217

I had the exact same concerns as you and originally I really wanted the i5 for the lower temps and longer battery life but it just isn't offered in the refurb store and I've found that if you try to get the i5/8gb/256gb version anywhere else you will spend more for it than you will spend for the i7/8gb/256gb version on the refurb store.

So I just got the i7 version.

And all of my fears were completely unfounded.

The machine idles about 5 degrees cooler than my old Core 2 Duo Macbook Pro. The CPU temps are usually around 45-50C when I am doing normal stuff (at 43C right now)

I timed the battery life one day (actually timed it while continuously using it not just looking at the battery meter). It lasted almost exactly the promised 7 hrs.

I've seen other people complain about the fans on the MBAs. I've never had an issue but I also use smc fan control (used it on my old MBP so it just migrated over). At 3000rpm I can't barely hear anything in a quiet room which was definitely not the case with my old MBP and I usually keep my fans at 2000rpm without problems.

Basically it is not worth the extra money to buy the i5 version if you can get an i7 refurb.

Wow, thank you for the detailed help Saturn. You sold me. Now just need to wait for those refurbs to come back in stock