2012 MBA vs 2009 iMac

spoolup · Dec 9, 2012, 01:09 PM

Hi guys,
I find myself and somewhat of a pickle.
I bought a 2012 MBA 13" (i5 1.8GHz) w/8gb o' RAM when it came out earlier this year.

I am not as mobile as I expected to be and all my "away" work can be accomplished with an iPad and a keyboard.

There's an offer to trade a 2009 iMac (i7 2.8GHz) for my MBA plus cash.

Here's what the iMac would be used for:
Brwosing/Email
Flash/Illustrator
xcode and maybe garageband.....

Would you recommend the swap based on the above?
Would there be any noticeable performance loss apart from not having an SSD (which will be added in due time)

Thanks in advance

MisterKeeks · Dec 9, 2012, 01:15 PM

What's the screen on the iMac

spoolup · Dec 9, 2012, 01:21 PM

27 inch. I guess I should verbalize the whole thought

Sorry for omitting that

nickprete11 · Dec 9, 2012, 03:08 PM

I don't really think that would be good. I have the 2012 MacBook Air and an iPad 4th generation now, but there are just some things that are better on a computer than an iPad. If I were you, I would keep the MacBook Air. It will probably get more OS updates and features in the future. It also depends on what processor, amount of RAM, and the hard drive space the iMac has.

spoolup · 07:25 PM

It's an i7 running at 2.8
1TB HDD that'll be replaced with SSD
And 8GB ram

My away time is actually served better by an iPad. There are specific apps I have to use when away and the ipad ones are the only approved.....

I am more interested in performance differences between the two.
Thanks for the replies so far

nickprete11 · Dec 11, 2012, 01:46 PM

Those are some nice specs. But we all know Apple. The MacBook Air you have will be supported longer. Apple doesn't care about the hardware, they care about how old the machine is. I think you are better off keeping the MacBook Air, and if you definitely need a bigger screen, buy an external monitor.

spoolup · Dec 11, 2012, 01:54 PM

i'd love to, but i'm strapped for cash. i just thought this was the best way to get the real estate needed.
the deal fell through any way.
there was another person interested in trading a 2010 i7 quad 2.93 w/4gb ram and a tb drive for my MBA plus cash.......
I just didn't think a 2010 imac trade warranted cash on my side.... maybe i'm mistaken

Dec 9, 2012, 01:09 PM	#1
spoolup macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2010	2012 MBA vs 2009 iMac Hi guys, I find myself and somewhat of a pickle. I bought a 2012 MBA 13" (i5 1.8GHz) w/8gb o' RAM when it came out earlier this year. I am not as mobile as I expected to be and all my "away" work can be accomplished with an iPad and a keyboard. There's an offer to trade a 2009 iMac (i7 2.8GHz) for my MBA plus cash. Here's what the iMac would be used for: Brwosing/Email Flash/Illustrator xcode and maybe garageband..... Would you recommend the swap based on the above? Would there be any noticeable performance loss apart from not having an SSD (which will be added in due time) Thanks in advance
	0

Dec 9, 2012, 01:15 PM	#2
MisterKeeks macrumors 65816 Join Date: Nov 2012	What's the screen on the iMac __________________ Core Duo 1.83 Mac Mini, Dual 2.7 Power Mac G5, Dual 1.8 Power Mac G5, Dual 1.25 MDD G4, 1.6 GHz iMac G5, 900 MHz iBook G3, 800 MHz iMac G4, 500MHz iMac G3, 400MHz iMac G3
	0

Dec 9, 2012, 01:21 PM	#3
spoolup Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2010	... 27 inch. I guess I should verbalize the whole thought Sorry for omitting that
	0

Dec 9, 2012, 03:08 PM	#4
nickprete11 macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2012	I don't really think that would be good. I have the 2012 MacBook Air and an iPad 4th generation now, but there are just some things that are better on a computer than an iPad. If I were you, I would keep the MacBook Air. It will probably get more OS updates and features in the future. It also depends on what processor, amount of RAM, and the hard drive space the iMac has. __________________ iPhone 5 16GB AT&T; iPad mini 16GB WiFi; TV (3rd generation), MacBook Air 2012 4GB i5, EarPods, iPod nano (7th generation)
	0

Dec 9, 2012, 04:27 PM	#5
spoolup Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2010	It's an i7 running at 2.8 1TB HDD that'll be replaced with SSD And 8GB ram My away time is actually served better by an iPad. There are specific apps I have to use when away and the ipad ones are the only approved..... I am more interested in performance differences between the two. Thanks for the replies so far Last edited by spoolup; Dec 9, 2012 at 07:25 PM.
	0

Dec 11, 2012, 01:46 PM	#6
nickprete11 macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2012	Those are some nice specs. But we all know Apple. The MacBook Air you have will be supported longer. Apple doesn't care about the hardware, they care about how old the machine is. I think you are better off keeping the MacBook Air, and if you definitely need a bigger screen, buy an external monitor. __________________ iPhone 5 16GB AT&T; iPad mini 16GB WiFi; TV (3rd generation), MacBook Air 2012 4GB i5, EarPods, iPod nano (7th generation)
	0

Dec 11, 2012, 01:54 PM	#7
spoolup Thread Starter macrumors newbie Join Date: Sep 2010	.... i'd love to, but i'm strapped for cash. i just thought this was the best way to get the real estate needed. the deal fell through any way. there was another person interested in trading a 2010 i7 quad 2.93 w/4gb ram and a tb drive for my MBA plus cash....... I just didn't think a 2010 imac trade warranted cash on my side.... maybe i'm mistaken
	0

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