Right now the 80GB Windows partition just doesn't seem good for games space-wise, and the weight of the MBP seems just a little too heavy. I don't even use the Retina Display too much. I hook it up to a playstation monitor. I think I would like a lighter laptop and dedicated gaming pc. The Alienware I'm looking at has a core i5 as opposed to the rMBP's i7. I'm hoping if I get $1900 for the rMBP, I can get both an air and a $700 Alienware. Don't have the money saved up to just get the desktop, and don't foresee this possible without selling because money has to go toward destination weddings in the next year (first world problem I know).
Someone told me to just get a 1TB external drive and stick with what I have, which is another (probably smarter) option. The person told me that would be better if I want to game on the go. I may just suck up my first world problem and do that.
What would you do in this situation? MBA and Alienware, or the smarter more practical option?
lol@ first world problem. at least you recognize it, hard to fault you for wanting to optimize your setup
the 13" MBA is only about half a pound lighter than the rMBP and actually has a larger footprint. I doubt you'd be unhappy with it, but i don't know if i'd want to take that kind of loss just to make the switch you are talking about doing.
of course, i don't play games anymore so what would i know?
alienware machines always seemed like a bad investment to me...in the PC world you could build something you wanted without paying for that kind of name - and the cases you can buy individually are every bit as attractive as those alienware cases are in my opinion... maybe they've changed since being acquired by Dell?
Look at it this way, the money you have already put into your set up is what economists call "sunk costs" if you think the MBA and an AW machine are what you would rather have, you just have to look at what it will cost you to get. if it will just cost you your MBP and you value the ability to separate your gaming machine from your carry-around more than owning that MBP then that's your answer!
either way you sound like you've got a clear idea of what you want so whatever you do i'm sure you won't regret it. provided, of course, that you go to the fruitstand and try that MBA out before you buy it...
i keep telling people that i went in there looking to get the 13" MBA and while it's an incredible machine, for me it wasn't what i was looking for which is an ultraportable. i will say that bang for your buck it's a better deal than the admittedly superior 13" rMBP. but i wanted an ultra light.
my other 2 issues with the 13" rMBP is A- there's no dedicated gpu and B - it's a first generation device which makes me nervous...
that being said, i doubt many people that buy either ends up regretting it.
