Hello,
I bought a maxed out non-refurb 13" MBA (i7, 8Gb, 512SSD, MacOS 10.8) and after a few weeks of moderate use, here is my opinion:
The first thing I noticed is the screen. Coming from a 2011 13" MBA (i5, 4Gb, 128SSD), the difference is really clear. The LCD panel on the new model is from LG and has a yellow-ish look. Putting them side by side, my older MBA had a much better screen. Sadly, I could not load the calibration profile provided by a forum member. After a few days of use I ran the calibration tool and the screen improved, the icons on the dock and general text appear much clear/sharper.
The new model seems also a bit lighter than the previous. Barely noticeable though...
Doubling the RAM seems to have no effect on my daily use, except when running Win7 on Parallels Desktop 9. Still haven't got much time to test it under heavy load, since I have a Windows desktop machine at work and use my MBA at home only. Activity Monitor shows at least 4GB free RAM almost all the time. I consider myself a power user, running multiple apps (and lots of tabs on broswers) at a time and having a few background processes.
The SSD is made by Samsung and is very fast. More than 750mb/s read/write speed. No regrets here... 512GB seems more than enough now (still have 200Gb free space with all my media and a few apps), but will pay off in the future. Since this will be my main computer, I like the idea of having all my media in it and carry it around without any external drive. I don't have another computer at home and don't store any personal file on my work computer. Not having to attach an external HD and the power cable everytime I plug the computer on my TV to watch a movie is a plus. Hopefully will do this wireless in the near future with a 802.11ac Apple TV.
The processor choice was a tough decision. After reading several benchmarks and reviews, I opted for the i7 because it seemed much faster than the i5 and could achieve a 12-hour battery life under light load, having a better GPU performance as well. I think I made the right choice, everything loads really fast and I barely see the spinning ball icon... Performance gain is very noticeable coming from a 2011 i5 MBA.
Regarding the battery, mine came fresh with a 3 cycle count. After two weeks of use it is still on 5. After initially having it fully charged, I disconnected the power and started the configuration process, retrieving my media from a time machine backup on a external media (new USB 3.0 drive from Samsung) and copying other files from my old USB 2.0 drive, both 1.0 TB plugged at the same time. This included importing photos to iPhoto and adding media to iTunes, installing Windows 7 and configuring it (upgrading, installing Office) under Parallels 9 Desktop and a few other apps, while surfing the web and downloading torrents at the same time. I got a bit more than 4 hours with battery juice under this heavy use. Seems good, can't think of having such extreme use any time soon.
Watching a 2 hour 1080p movie using VLC on a external screen (internal screen brightness set to zero) consumed approximately 25% of my battery.
The i7 can surpass the 12 hour battery time under very light load, but it seems that a small load increase can have a noticeable effect on this number, dropping to a 9 hour (or even 7h) under my normal use. I think this is the difference from i5 to i7, since with the first you can have a moderate use without decreasing the battery life that much. Got used to close all applications that I am not using, since the i7 can load them very fast when needed. Other important point is to use Safari instead of Firefox, got aproximately 2 hour battery improvement after changing my default browser.
Final conclusions:
- RAM: 8GB seems more than enough at the moment, but I like the concept of running Windows 7 at the same time. So, if you need to run a VM or deal with large files (3D rendering, video editing), go for it. For normal users, stick with 4Gb. Mavericks will have even better RAM usage.
- Processor: Only choose i7 if you are a power user and need intensive processing power. Other than that, i5 should be more than enough and will save you a few hours in battery life. Still have to test the i7 performance gains in GPU power...
- SSD: If you have other computer to store all your files or don't have much media, 256Gb should be enough. It is possible to buy a SD card with up to 128 Gb if needed in the future. 128 Gb SSD is not enough from my own experience with previous 2011 MBA. It should be ok for users with few media, but won't last loo long, especially when you start backing up a few iDevices. If I had bought my 2011 MBA with 256 Gb, I would keep it a little longer. If this is your main machine and you need space, go for 512Gb. If not, choose 256 Gb to keep it future-proof and buy a 128 Gb SD card if needed.
- Screen: The MBA screen is outdated and needs a refresh, since its rivals provide better options (Wouldn't ask for a retina, but 1080p is a must). Anyway, it is enough for my daily browsing/development and I don't plan on buying an external display. If your model has a LG screen, run the display color calibration tool immediately.
- Wi-Fi: Still have to test the 802.11ac wi-fi, looking for a airport extreme/time capsule purchase before the end of this year.
- Battery life: It's amazing, I can carry my notebook around (with my acme made skinny sleeve) without the power adapter and still have plenty of battery time by the end of the day.
- Size/weight: Perfect, no need for a lighter/smaller notebook.
These are my thoughts after a couple of weeks of use. Will keep you updated with battery usage and Mavericks performance once it becomes available. Also planning to installing Windows 7 on Bootcamp and run a few games when I have time for it, and compare its performance to Parallels as well.
If you have any doubt, feel free to ask!
I bought a maxed out non-refurb 13" MBA (i7, 8Gb, 512SSD, MacOS 10.8) and after a few weeks of moderate use, here is my opinion:
The first thing I noticed is the screen. Coming from a 2011 13" MBA (i5, 4Gb, 128SSD), the difference is really clear. The LCD panel on the new model is from LG and has a yellow-ish look. Putting them side by side, my older MBA had a much better screen. Sadly, I could not load the calibration profile provided by a forum member. After a few days of use I ran the calibration tool and the screen improved, the icons on the dock and general text appear much clear/sharper.
The new model seems also a bit lighter than the previous. Barely noticeable though...
Doubling the RAM seems to have no effect on my daily use, except when running Win7 on Parallels Desktop 9. Still haven't got much time to test it under heavy load, since I have a Windows desktop machine at work and use my MBA at home only. Activity Monitor shows at least 4GB free RAM almost all the time. I consider myself a power user, running multiple apps (and lots of tabs on broswers) at a time and having a few background processes.
The SSD is made by Samsung and is very fast. More than 750mb/s read/write speed. No regrets here... 512GB seems more than enough now (still have 200Gb free space with all my media and a few apps), but will pay off in the future. Since this will be my main computer, I like the idea of having all my media in it and carry it around without any external drive. I don't have another computer at home and don't store any personal file on my work computer. Not having to attach an external HD and the power cable everytime I plug the computer on my TV to watch a movie is a plus. Hopefully will do this wireless in the near future with a 802.11ac Apple TV.
The processor choice was a tough decision. After reading several benchmarks and reviews, I opted for the i7 because it seemed much faster than the i5 and could achieve a 12-hour battery life under light load, having a better GPU performance as well. I think I made the right choice, everything loads really fast and I barely see the spinning ball icon... Performance gain is very noticeable coming from a 2011 i5 MBA.
Regarding the battery, mine came fresh with a 3 cycle count. After two weeks of use it is still on 5. After initially having it fully charged, I disconnected the power and started the configuration process, retrieving my media from a time machine backup on a external media (new USB 3.0 drive from Samsung) and copying other files from my old USB 2.0 drive, both 1.0 TB plugged at the same time. This included importing photos to iPhoto and adding media to iTunes, installing Windows 7 and configuring it (upgrading, installing Office) under Parallels 9 Desktop and a few other apps, while surfing the web and downloading torrents at the same time. I got a bit more than 4 hours with battery juice under this heavy use. Seems good, can't think of having such extreme use any time soon.
Watching a 2 hour 1080p movie using VLC on a external screen (internal screen brightness set to zero) consumed approximately 25% of my battery.
The i7 can surpass the 12 hour battery time under very light load, but it seems that a small load increase can have a noticeable effect on this number, dropping to a 9 hour (or even 7h) under my normal use. I think this is the difference from i5 to i7, since with the first you can have a moderate use without decreasing the battery life that much. Got used to close all applications that I am not using, since the i7 can load them very fast when needed. Other important point is to use Safari instead of Firefox, got aproximately 2 hour battery improvement after changing my default browser.
Final conclusions:
- RAM: 8GB seems more than enough at the moment, but I like the concept of running Windows 7 at the same time. So, if you need to run a VM or deal with large files (3D rendering, video editing), go for it. For normal users, stick with 4Gb. Mavericks will have even better RAM usage.
- Processor: Only choose i7 if you are a power user and need intensive processing power. Other than that, i5 should be more than enough and will save you a few hours in battery life. Still have to test the i7 performance gains in GPU power...
- SSD: If you have other computer to store all your files or don't have much media, 256Gb should be enough. It is possible to buy a SD card with up to 128 Gb if needed in the future. 128 Gb SSD is not enough from my own experience with previous 2011 MBA. It should be ok for users with few media, but won't last loo long, especially when you start backing up a few iDevices. If I had bought my 2011 MBA with 256 Gb, I would keep it a little longer. If this is your main machine and you need space, go for 512Gb. If not, choose 256 Gb to keep it future-proof and buy a 128 Gb SD card if needed.
- Screen: The MBA screen is outdated and needs a refresh, since its rivals provide better options (Wouldn't ask for a retina, but 1080p is a must). Anyway, it is enough for my daily browsing/development and I don't plan on buying an external display. If your model has a LG screen, run the display color calibration tool immediately.
- Wi-Fi: Still have to test the 802.11ac wi-fi, looking for a airport extreme/time capsule purchase before the end of this year.
- Battery life: It's amazing, I can carry my notebook around (with my acme made skinny sleeve) without the power adapter and still have plenty of battery time by the end of the day.
- Size/weight: Perfect, no need for a lighter/smaller notebook.
These are my thoughts after a couple of weeks of use. Will keep you updated with battery usage and Mavericks performance once it becomes available. Also planning to installing Windows 7 on Bootcamp and run a few games when I have time for it, and compare its performance to Parallels as well.
If you have any doubt, feel free to ask!
I solved that problem with an external 24" monitor.
