11" 2012 8gb v 11" 2013 4gb

[neverhadanewton]

Hi, I'm looking into getting a 11" Macbook Air (to tide me over until I can afford a 13" Macbook Pro Retina maybe).

I have been looking around for a 2nd hand one and have narrowed it down to two options -

1. 2012 model with 8gb and 64gb hard drive.
2. 2013 model with 4gb and 128gb hard drive.

Both are pretty much unused (and around £60/$80 apart in price, the 2012 model being cheaper).

I'm going to be using for web browsing, video encoding and music editing in Garageband (maybe logic pro later on).

Any idea's which would be a better option?

Thanks

 

[falconeight]

I think the idea of the air being portable makes this an easy choice. Get the 2013 for the battery life.

 

[Jesla]

I have a '12 MBA 11 4gb 128" and if I had them side by side I might have
taken a '13 but the '12 is doing everything I need it to do…….

My suggestion…..go for '13, the bigger drive is nice, 4gb of memory is more
than enough…….

 

[neverhadanewton]

I think the idea of the air being portable makes this an easy choice. Get the 2013 for the battery life.

Not to worried about battery life, it will probably never leave the house!

 

[iterva]

For me, an added £60/$80 to get the latest gen, instead of something that is ~1 year "old" is a no brainer.
That´s just me

And the thought of 64GB of storage, in the year 2013 makes me, um, sad..
So had it been my choice, then it would have been option #2.

--Looking at your planned usage, you should be pleased regardless of what you choose.

 

[neverhadanewton]

For me, an added £60/$80 to get the latest gen, instead of something that is ~1 year "old" is a no brainer.
That´s just me

And the thought of 64GB of storage, in the year 2013 makes me, um, sad..
So had it been my choice, then it would have been option #2.

--Looking at your planned usage, you should be pleased regardless of what you choose.

Is the 2013 really a lot better than the 2012 model apart from the improved graphics?

 

[iterva]

Is the 2013 really a lot better than the 2012 model apart from the improved graphics?

The main difference from 2012 to 2013 is the better graphics and faster ssd (and as already mentioned, better battery life), But is it a lot better, well depends on who you ask, but it is better on those parts at least (As reviews have shown), but the crunching power on the processor is pretty much unchanged.

 

[MBHockey]

Not to worried about battery life, it will probably never leave the house!

Buy a desktop?

 

[57004]

If you can wait, I'd do so until the 2013's go refurb.. In my opinion it beats second hand in terms of quality, and you get your year's warranty. Prices are not much above second hand because MBA's are so in demand.

 

[neverhadanewton]

I have decided to go for the 2013 managed to get it for only £25/$37 more than the 2012. Works out around £450/$675 cheaper than retail when the 3 years warranty is included.

I hope I made the right choice!

 

[jksu]

definitely 2013

 

[thejadedmonkey]

The 2013 is about 13% faster than the 2011 model. It's about the same speed as the 2012 model. Personally, I'd go with the 2012 if you don't plan on using it on battery power very often, as the RAM will be more useful than a faster SSD as the machine ages.

 

[Soundhound]

If you're going to be using Logic I think the 8 gigs of ram are going to be a big help.

The 2013 is about 13% faster than the 2011 model. It's about the same speed as the 2012 model. Personally, I'd go with the 2012 if you don't plan on using it on battery power very often, as the RAM will be more useful than a faster SSD as the machine ages.

 

[neverhadanewton]

I went for the 2013 model. Didn't see the last two comments about the ram until now.

Hopefully the 4gb of ram won't hinder me to much?

I also intend to get Sim City for mac on it when it's released so I thought the improved graphics on the 2013 model may help me.

I should be receiving it tomorrow...

 

[neverhadanewton]

If you're going to be using Logic I think the 8 gigs of ram are going to be a big help.

But wouldn't it be a problem to run logic on a system with only 64gb hard drive? Unless I can run it from an external usb 3.0 hard drive?

 

[neverhadanewton]

Im typing this on my new 2013 macbook air and it's very nice.

Can't help but wonder if I should of gone with the 8gb 2012 model though...

 

[Yggbert]

In the case of the 11" model I consider it a no brainer to get the 2013, if it was the 13" then the battery is pretty good on the 2011, 2012 ones, the 11" battery has been pretty poor until now though.

and honestly, you won't NEED more than 4GB of RAM for a long time, you may want to close memory hogs like Chrome if you're running apps like Photoshop and video editors. It's just a bit of hassle, not a necessity. I doubt even with a heavy Chrome session with Photoshop or so running that you'd be out of RAM, probably still 500+ MB left over.

 

[Steve121178]

Hi, I'm looking into getting a 11" Macbook Air (to tide me over until I can afford a 13" Macbook Pro Retina maybe).

Why not just save the money you plan to waste on a MBA and put it towards the 13" rMBP that you actually want once you have saved the rest.

I don't understand how some people's minds work

----------

Im typing this on my new 2013 macbook air and it's very nice.

Can't help but wonder if I should of gone with the 8gb 2012 model though...

Oh so you went ahead and bought it anyway. Daft decision going for the 4GB option, but never mind.

 

[neverhadanewton]

Why not just save the money you plan to waste on a MBA and put it towards the 13" rMBP that you actually want once you have saved the rest.

I don't understand how some people's minds work

----------



Oh so you went ahead and bought it anyway. Daft decision going for the 4GB option, but never mind.

You make good points!

It is a lovely machine though

 

[neverhadanewton]

Is the general consensus that the 8gb 2012 model would be the better option? I still have the option to purchase...

Or would a 13" retina 2012 model be ok? I'm slightly worried about lag...