New member here. I wanted to get a Macbook Air for my Mom and as a mobile system for myself. I was on the fence as well on what size of SSD I should get, but after reading through this thread (among others) I went for the 11" Macbook Air with the Core i5, 8GB Ram and the 256GB option. Thanks for the suggestions, everyone!
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
128GB or 256GB MBA?
- Thread starter unlimitedx
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I went for the 8GB RAM, but after some thought kept the 128 SSD. The MBA will mainly used at home, where it needs an external drive anyway for my music and movies, even if it had 256GB inside. Plus most of my other files and workflow is becoming more and more cloud based.
I'd love to have a bigger SSD of course but it's an economical decision to save 200 euro (266 USD). I'll just have to be a bit disciplined what I keep on the MBA but that's not bad thing in itself.
I'd love to have a bigger SSD of course but it's an economical decision to save 200 euro (266 USD). I'll just have to be a bit disciplined what I keep on the MBA but that's not bad thing in itself.
Last edited:
I agree, 128 GB is likely enough for non-technical people, or those with small music collections. But for most people on this site, 256 GB is probably a necessity. And if you need more, than likely you need terabytes more and not just 512 GB.
I've decided on the 128gb! I'll mostly be using it at home so the external is always available. Saving the money for accessories and other Apple products 
$200 can go towards my upgrade to the iPhone 5S!
$200 can go towards my upgrade to the iPhone 5S!512gb would suit me just fine, music & photos I access frequently. However, like you say for most 256gb more likely desirable as a minimum for people who are logged on here.
Why do people always make the comparison between a new X and a refurb Y? It's not apples to apples (pardon the bad pun). The valid comparison is a refurb MBA (when it's available) to a refurb rMBP.
Also, the new air has far better battery life and graphics than the 13" pro - each of which is, by itself, more important to me than a sharper display.
Now my question is, does that void warranty? I know on the MBPro it did not, in the 2009 Model it walked you through the steps...not sure about 2012-2013 Air
Well it won't void your warranty on the 2013 MBA, because nobody makes a replacement SSD yet.
Just saw this on OWC's blog. Very interesting... perhaps another good argument to get a 512GB SSD? http://blog.macsales.com/19008-perf...2013-macbook-air-ssds-are-the-same#more-19008
I voted 512. I know I'm in the minority, but I just happen to be in an odd spot where I need (okay, want...) my iTunes and iPhoto libraries directly on my MBA (and backed up on my Time Capsule). I have a separate, larger external drive for a bunch of movies that are not in the iTunes library.
That's the sweet spot in all configs. Plenty of space and RAM for just about anything most people will do.
This opted me to go with 512 on my rMBP as well. So all my data gets backed up automatically. Much better solution than keeping it on my main rig (PC).
256gb
I have 128GB at the moment, but I would go for 256GB if I were to buy a new one now.
This is my first MBA, but it is not my only machine. Since first getting it two years ago I have found I use it far more than any of my other machines. It is so portable I take it with me most places I go. It is also so powerful and capable it can do everything I ask of a computer and more.
As my usage of this machine has increased so have the number of apps, docs, music, and data I want to have with me. My hard drive is not yet full, but at my current rate of expansion, it could become so very soon.
Go for the 256GB model. But the 512GB one is cavernous for a portable machine.
I have 128GB at the moment, but I would go for 256GB if I were to buy a new one now.
This is my first MBA, but it is not my only machine. Since first getting it two years ago I have found I use it far more than any of my other machines. It is so portable I take it with me most places I go. It is also so powerful and capable it can do everything I ask of a computer and more.
As my usage of this machine has increased so have the number of apps, docs, music, and data I want to have with me. My hard drive is not yet full, but at my current rate of expansion, it could become so very soon.
Go for the 256GB model. But the 512GB one is cavernous for a portable machine.
I understand this topic has been discussed to death, but just how hard is it to fit some sort of Windows VM solution in the 128GB drive? (I'm totally new to OS X though quite experienced technically)
200$ is an obscene premium for an extra 128GB in my opinion.
200$ is an obscene premium for an extra 128GB in my opinion.
I asked the same question in a separate thread. Windows will take 20GB, so it will be tough with only 128GB.
Big storage does not have 1-1 relation with technicality. I think, it more common for music / video. VMware / Parallels users are also not always categorised as technical people.
Presuming the SSD isn't soldered on now, you would have to wait for OWC to get in SSDs that are compatible. The SSDs for the previous MBAs are not compatible with the 2013 model.
Since the user replacing the SSD voids the warranty and AppleCare, I'm not sure that buying a MBA and immediately upgrading the SSD is really cost effective.
Speaking of storage, anyone have a NAS set up at home? I'm looking into it rather than just buying an external drive for backup
Well it won't void your warranty on the 2013 MBA, because nobody makes a replacement SSD yet.
Just saw this on OWC's blog. Very interesting... perhaps another good argument to get a 512GB SSD? http://blog.macsales.com/19008-perf...2013-macbook-air-ssds-are-the-same#more-19008
You realize that almost all 256 and 512gb ssd's benchmark almost twice as fast as a 128 right? Look at ANY SSD benchmark comparing even exact drives. The reason is that 128 is usually attained by using the same size chips as their 256gb drives but only using half the channels. 256 and larger are always (as long as they are using controllers and flash with like speed) faster than 128gb.
While I appreciate OWC, I sometimes think they make bigger deals out of things than they need to. Why would they even need to say "we are looking into this" when the reason is quite obvious.....
Yes I used a Synology DS212J with two drives. It's wired to the network, not wireless and my macbook pro is on wired Ethernet most of the time.
Thunderbolt would be somewhat faster but probably not noticeable unless you do a ton of disk IO. But the NAS is always available, all the time at gigabit-ethernet speed. I would never go back to USB drives. There's a ton of info on these out there.