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11" 128GB MBA Vs 13" 256GB MBA

J

jalyst

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Aug 17, 2009
274
6
Hoping someone else has already looked into all this very closely.
What are all the differences between the 11" 128GB MBA Vs 13" 256GB MBA?
Doing some quick research for an aunty who wants to buy a gift for my mother.
Alas I don't have the time to painstakingly look into all of this...
Is the only the difference display size & SSD capacity, or are there some other subtle (yet potentially significant) differences to be noted?

Any well-informed advice greatly appreciated. Thank-you!
 
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jalyst said:
Hoping someone else has already into all this very closely...
What are all the differences between the 11" 128GB MBA Vs 13" 256GB MBA?
Doing some quick research for an aunty who wants to buy a gift for my mother.
Alas I don't have the time to painstakingly look into all of this.
Is the only the difference display size & SSD capacity, or are there some other subtle (yet potentially significant) differences to be noted?

Any well-informed advice greatly appreciated. Thank-you!
Click to expand...

the 13" has a sd card slot - thats it with the differences
 
That's "literally" it?
Not battery capacity differences or anything else?
(e.g. subtle differences in panel tech used etc)
You absolutely sure?

Thanks again.
 
Also, does the top-end of the 4x units have more choice into terms of tweaking the overall configuration, or is it exactly the same as the bottom end unit?

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m98custom1212 said:
13 has a bigger battery
Click to expand...

Ah, bingo, can you elaborate? TY.

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troutspinner said:
Goto apples site. They have a side by side comparison.
Click to expand...

The main one I suspect you're referring to is shizer'.
Unless you're referring to something else..?
 
jalyst said:
Also, does the top-end of the 4x units have more choice into terms of tweaking the overall configuration, or is it exactly the same as the bottom end unit?

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Ah, bingo, can you elaborate? TY.

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The main one I suspect you're referring to is shizer'.
Unless you're referring to something else..?
Click to expand...

11in is said to have 9hrs in battery and 13in have 12hrs.
From my testing, 11in has around 6.5hrs and 13in has around 9hrs.
 
This is as clear as it gets...You get side by side comparison of the specs. :rolleyes:

13" = Bigger screen(1440x900 res), SD card slot and larger battery. (Since 13" is larger/has more space than 11" it gives more room for battery, Hence the extended battery life compared to the 11")
11" = Smaller screen(1366x768 res), NO SD card slot and smaller battery.
 
Indeed, that seems pretty informative... ;)
Just to be a bit more anally retentive though, aside from reading that, I currently have all 4x pricing pages open & am comparing side-by side.
(so far, it's looking exactly the same as this other page you linked to)

Thanks for the input thus far everyone.

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Is 128GB okay or is it getting a bit too tight, how much room left after default install?
It's for a basic user, not a great deal of media use or content creation...

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iterva said:
13" = Bigger screen(1440x900 res), and larger battery. (Since 13" is larger/has more space than 11" it gives more room for battery, Hence the extended battery life compared to the 11")
11" = Smaller screen(1366x768 res), and smaller battery.
Click to expand...

Given the same CPU/GPU config. options are available to all four models, that means the 11" units can pump out similar res.* to the 13" units maximum res. with no more resource usage. Meaning they'd have substantively higher PPI, anyone already done the math? (ofc, given the slightly smaller battery capacity, they'd chew through the battery even quicker than they do on stock config).

And at the stock res, how does the PPI compare between the 11" & 13" units?

*slightly diff. in order to facilitate their diff. aspect ratios ofc
 
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128GB is enough if they don't have a large music/video collection (or if they plan to keep most of it on an external hard-drive). Will have around 100GB free after OSX and basic applications. Since it sounds like this is for someone older, I would recommend getting the 13" Air because of the larger screen real estate (especially if this will be their primary machine).
The 13" base model Air with 8GB RAM upgrade and Applecare is the sweet spot for pricing and should be a terrific computer for your mom for at least the next 5 years, and will likely last much much longer.
 
Tarrou8 said:
The 13" base model Air with 8GB RAM upgrade and Applecare is the sweet spot for pricing and should be a terrific computer for your mom for at least the next 5 years, and will likely last much much longer.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's what is looking the most enticing, that or the one bumped to 256GB.
What is the performance delta in RWT between the two CPU config options, any practical_examples/usage_scenarios folks can give?

TIA.

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jalyst said:
Just to be a bit more anally retentive though, aside from reading that, I currently have all 4x pricing pages open & am comparing side-by side.
(so far, it's looking exactly the same as this other page you linked to)
Click to expand...

Looking at all that indicated no difference on all four config. pages other than...
If one choose the 256GB option for the 11/13" models, one is also given the option to upgrade further to 512GB.
(pretty sure I haven't forgotten anything, but 4am here, sleep deprived, bed time)

The other page linked to earlier beautifully explains all the other subtle differences.
No doubt there's others, but that's getting into the realm pedantism, & that's usually reserved for my own gear ;)
 
Just *bumping* these 2 points, everything else is cleared-up now, thank-you.

jalyst said:
Given the same CPU/GPU config. options are available to all four models, that means the 11" units can pump out similar res.* to the 13" units max res. with no more resource usage. Meaning they'd have substantively higher PPI, anyone already done that math? (ofc, given the slightly smaller battery capacity, they'd chew through the battery even quicker than they do on stock config).

*slightly diff. in order to facilitate their diff. aspect ratios ofc
Click to expand...

jalyst said:
Yep, that's what is looking the most enticing, that or the one bumped to 256GB.
What's the performance delta in RWT between the two CPU config. options, any practical examples/usage_scenarios folks can give?
Click to expand...
 
the only difference she will notice is the screen size, and perhaps the difference in 3 hours of battery life.
 
AXs said:
the only difference she will notice is the screen size, and perhaps the difference in 3 hours of battery life.
Click to expand...

Ofc, that much is obvious, as mentioned it's not just being used by a simplistic user.
 
[MOD NOTE]
Lets stay on topic, its about choosing which MBA, nothing else.
 
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