Ordered A 2012 13" Refurbished MBA and I Have Questions

[gregpod9]

I'm looking to replace my early 2011 13" MBP. A few days ago I ordered a refurbished 13" rMBP and it arrived to my home yesterday. I will be returning it because within 10 minutes of use image retention appeared, it was laggy when scrolling web pages, and when I exit a program the desktop menu disappears and then reappears within a few seconds, also the screen still looks like 1280x800 at best for retina setting, while the scaled resolutions did not look as good as the best for retina mode. I also read somewhere that the Intel HD4000 barely has enough power to drive the retina display.

Yesterday night I ordered a 2012 Refurbished 13" MBA with the following specs:
1. i7 2.0 GHz
2. 8 GB Memory
3. 256 SSD

I have a few questions on the MBA.
1. I have a full version of Windows 7 and my job requires the use of Internet Explorer (for MS active script and a stable version of Java). I would like to know how VMware or Parallels 8 runs like on the MBA or should I used bootcamp?

2. I prefer more screen space. I know that my MBP has better color, but at the expense of screen space. How good is the 13" MBA screen?

3. Did anyone ordered a refurbished MBA before and how was your experience with the refurbished MBA?

[glhiii]

I just got a refurbished 11" 2012 MBA, 8gb RAM, 256 GB ssd, i7 and I am very pleased with it. I use parallels and it is very fast (much faster than the 4gb MBA I returned). It restores from suspended states in about 2 or 3 seconds. Though refurbished, the computer was like new and I saved $300 or so. It also has the same warranty as a new computer.

[SwampTony]

I have the computer you ordered, just bought it maybe a month ago. I also opted for the refurbished model and honestly i am extremely happy with it. I am using Parallels and running Pro|E on it and it works flawlessly, it's quite impressive in fact. But yeah i hesitated for a long time and wondered in what condition the refurbs come in...I am thoroughly convinced this was a brand new machine the day i bought it. It is simply flawless.

[kobyh15]

The shells are new I believe. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference between a new and refurbished. I just bought a refurb iPad 3rd gen for my fiancé and it was perfect. I had to go through 2 new iPad 3s to find one with no cosmetic damage when I bought myself one at launch last March. I think I'm going to buy my next MacBook refurbished as well. Save a lot of cash that way. As long as you can find the config you want in the refurb store.

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by gregpod9

Yesterday night I ordered a 2012 Refurbished 13" MBA with the following specs:
1. i7 2.0 GHz
2. 8 GB Memory
3. 256 SSD

I have a few questions on the MBA.
1. I have a full version of Windows 7 and my job requires the use of Internet Explorer (for MS active script and a stable version of Java). I would like to know how VMware or Parallels 8 runs like on the MBA or should I used bootcamp?

2. I prefer more screen space. I know that my MBP has better color, but at the expense of screen space. How good is the 13" MBA screen?

3. Did anyone ordered a refurbished MBA before and how was your experience with the refurbished MBA?

I had the 11" version of the MacBook Air before I purchased the 13" rMBP. I liked it a lot and would still have it if I hadn't lost it at an airport in December. I installed Windows in Boot Camp, but ran it in Parallels as a virtual machine most of the time. If all you need to do is run Internet Explorer it will be fine. I use Windows primarily for Quicken (the Mac version isn't very good), and occasionally Office 2010.

The screen is quite nice. I have had a 13" MBA in the past, and the 1440x900 resolution is convenient. The color gamut in the MBP is better than the MBA, and I still find the rMBP to be acceptable in scaled mode, but the Air's display is good for a TFT LCD.

[KPOM]

Originally Posted by gregpod9

when I exit a program the desktop menu disappears and then reappears within a few seconds, also the screen still looks like 1280x800 at best for retina setting, while the scaled resolutions did not look as good as the best for retina mode. I also read somewhere that the Intel HD4000 barely has enough power to drive the retina display.

No offense, but I've been using my 13" rMBP all night, and have no idea what you are talking about when you say the desktop menu disappears and takes a few seconds to reappear. It's been as snappy as my 2.0GHz i7 MacBook Air ever was.

Also, the HD 4000 is as powerful as mid-range discrete GPUs were 2-3 years ago. We had 2560x1600 displays back then (the Apple Cinema Display, for starters).