Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple replacing my Air; need advice; i5 or i7; wait for rMBP?

JerTheGeek

JerTheGeek

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 15, 2014
1,993
487
Hello all
Apple is replacing my current 13' 2013 Air (issue is detailed in another thread) with a 2014 one. Now I have the chance to add some upgrades, or I could even get the refund and put that towards a rMBP. So I am looking for some advice on which upgrades to get, and possibly if I should sell my iPad mini for the rMBP.
My current specs are:
1.3 gHZ Core i5
4GB RAM
256GB storage.

I am a homeschooled high-schooler and I use my laptop for web browsing, emailing, listening to music in iTunes, managing my photo library, in iPhoto (no photo editing of any kind, just importing and viewing and organizing). For school I write reports and stuff in Pages, take notes, and use the dictionary and calc for school. In addition to this I make YouTube videos in iMovie every two weeks or so, for my YouTube channel (nothing too professional, I have less than 150 subscribers). I also do the occasional home movie. Since I'm homeschooled, I won't be carrying it with me every day, and it will be used almost exclusively at home (however I dont need a desktop because I like using it in bed and around the house).

I already know I am going to get the RAM upgrade. But how about the CPU upgrade? For iMovie every two weeks it would be unnoticeable right?

And also, would it be worth it to sell my iPad mini to cover the extra cost of the rMBP? The refund would be around $1000, and the refurb 13' rMBP I was looking at was around $1200. I don't have any money saved now, so I would have to sell my good old iPad mini. I'm not worried about retina; the only reason I consider the rMBP is because of the extra power. Again, for iMovie every two weeks, not worth it to sell my iPad mini for, right?

I'd appreciate any input anyone can give me. I'm hoping to get this replacement by the end of the week.
Thanks in advance,
JerTheGeek
 
JerTheGeek said:
Hello all
Apple is replacing my current 13' 2013 Air (issue is detailed in another thread) with a 2014 one. Now I have the chance to add some upgrades, or I could even get the refund and put that towards a rMBP. So I am looking for some advice on which upgrades to get, and possibly if I should sell my iPad mini for the rMBP.
My current specs are:
1.3 gHZ Core i5
4GB RAM
256GB storage.

I am a homeschooled high-schooler and I use my laptop for web browsing, emailing, listening to music in iTunes, managing my photo library, in iPhoto (no photo editing of any kind, just importing and viewing and organizing). For school I write reports and stuff in Pages, take notes, and use the dictionary and calc for school. In addition to this I make YouTube videos in iMovie twice a month or so, for my YouTube channel (nothing too professional, I have less than 150 subscribers). Since I'm homeschooled, I won't be carrying it with me every day, and it will be used almost exclusively at home (however I dont need a desktop because I like using it in bed and around the house).

I already know I am going to get the RAM upgrade. But how about the CPU upgrade? For iMovie every two weeks it would be unnoticeable right?

And also, would it be worth it to sell my iPad mini to cover the extra cost of the rMBP? The refund would be around $1000, and the refurb 13' rMBP I was looking at was around $1200. I don't have any money saved now, so I would have to sell my good old iPad mini. I'm not worried about retina; the only reason I consider the rMBP is because of the extra power. Again, for iMovie every two weeks, not worth it to sell my iPad mini for, right?

I'd appreciate any input anyone can give me. I'm hoping to get this replacement by the end of the week.
Thanks in advance,
JerTheGeek
Click to expand...

For your needs, it doesn't sound you need anything but the basic, run of the mill 13" Air. Nothing you do would really necessitate having the extra power, so unless you really want a retina screen or a heavier computer, I wouldn't go for the rMBP. If you're paying for the upgrades yourself, I wouldn't bother. If they're covering the costs, go for it.
 
Either get the RAM upgrade or a credit so you can see what comes out in the next couple of months if you can wait...I wouldn't go for the rMBP, too expensive still if you have to foot the bill.
 
Tyler23 said:
For your needs, it doesn't sound you need anything but the basic, run of the mill 13" Air. Nothing you do would really necessitate having the extra power, so unless you really want a retina screen or a heavier computer, I wouldn't go for the rMBP. If you're paying for the upgrades yourself, I wouldn't bother. If they're covering the costs, go for it.
Click to expand...

Cool, so even for iMovie, the i7 wouldn't be worth it? And yes, I'll be paying for the upgrades. (unless I can convince the store to throw in the RAM upgrade for free because of all the trouble I've gone through, as I'm already on my third Air with the same issue)

----------
J&JPolangin said:
Either get the RAM upgrade or a credit so you can see what comes out in the next couple of months if you can wait...I wouldn't go for the rMBP, too expensive still if you have to foot the bill.
Click to expand...

yeah I can't get the credit and wait because I use this a lot for school; I'm not too sure another Air would come out this year anyway; I'd hate to wait a few months without a Mac for nothing.
 
I have a 15" rMBP and my brother has a 13" MBA.
Everytime I see him using his Air, I wish I had bought the Air too. It's light, easy to carry around (even just around the house). It's easy to use when in bed and light enough to not be a burden when you're travelling.

I do pretty much all the things you do on the laptop, web surfing, emailing, a little bit of light gaming, word processing, excel etc. I doubt I've ever pushed my laptop even the slightest. My brother is the same way and has never had any issues with the performance of his laptop.

With that being said, there are rumors of a 12" MBA which I just read on the front page. So if you can wait it out, might be worth your time.
 
I agree with Tyler. Think about what you need and get that, no more, no less.

What gain, exactly, do you believe an i7 will give you over an i5? Actually, I think your first choice was probably the best fit for you; the MBA. Portability, battery life, power, all more than you need. A refurbed MBP 13" will perform worse than the current MBA in just about every thing you mentioned using it for.
 
no i7?

Okay guys so should I get the i7 or no? I'm assuming it won't help performance much if I'm just doing iMovie every two weeks or so?:confused:
 
JerTheGeek said:
Okay guys so should I get the i7 or no? I'm assuming it won't help performance much if I'm just doing iMovie every two weeks or so?:confused:
Click to expand...

You don't need the i7 upgrade. The Air will be more than enough power for your said usage. The retina is amazing and once you use it, you won't be able to go back to a TN panel with bad viewing angles.

That being said, if you are comfortable with the display on the Air, just get another Air, you will never miss retina if you haven't experienced it.
 
Newtons Apple said:
In effect Apple is NOT replacing you MBA.

They have given you your money back in the form of a gift card.

Hope you next device does well for you!:)
Click to expand...

Actually they are replacing it. The store is giving me a brand new 2014 Air; if I wanted the Pro they offered to give me a refund; but I am just gonna get the Air.
 
My last two Airs have been i7's and I've never had a single regret...of course I'm not a college student on a budget so the extra cost had no affect on my decision. I can certainly understand those younger buyers being a bit more budget aware. Either way, the new MBA's are outstanding computers.
 
Ok so the store told me that I couldn't pay to get the RAM upgrade because it is through the online store; do you guys think I'll be ok without it? Is 4GB enough for my every two weeks iMovie usage?
 
JerTheGeek said:
Ok so the store told me that I couldn't pay to get the RAM upgrade because it is through the online store; do you guys think I'll be ok without it? Is 4GB enough for my every two weeks iMovie usage?
Click to expand...

You'll be fine. Having that blazing fast PCIe SSD certainly helps in the rare case you may have page outs. :D
 
JerTheGeek said:
Ok so the store told me that I couldn't pay to get the RAM upgrade because it is through the online store; do you guys think I'll be ok without it? Is 4GB enough for my every two weeks iMovie usage?
Click to expand...
Have you looked at all the ram threads? :D
4gb will be fine for the next few years provided your usage doesnt change.
Why is :apple: not letting you upgrade? I dont understand the explanation.

The i7 will actually make a differenc when rendering in imovie, but I don't think thats worth so much $ for you.
 
Get the rMBP if only for this reason: Yosemite. I'm running the beta, side by side, on a 2014 MBA and a late 2013 rMBP and it is obvious that Yosemite is geared towards high resolution displays. In everyday performance the MBA runs really well, but, Yosemite doesn't look nearly as good on the MBA as it does on the rMBP, especially text. Granted this may change by the date of Yosemite's official release, but, my eyes can never quite get comfortable to the MBA's OS 10.10. Not a problem with the rMBP.
 
Meister said:
Have you looked at all the ram threads? :D
4gb will be fine for the next few years provided your usage doesnt change.
Why is :apple: not letting you upgrade? I dont understand the explanation.

The i7 will actually make a differenc when rendering in imovie, but I don't think thats worth so much $ for you.
Click to expand...

yeah I am wondering what to do about this. the store said I couldn't pay to upgrade because the 8GB RAM models are "build to order" and those are only available online. But I dont see why the store couldn't just order it from online for me and then have me pay the difference for the RAM upgrade.
 
JerTheGeek said:
yeah I am wondering what to do about this. the store said I couldn't pay to upgrade because the 8GB RAM models are "build to order" and those are only available online. But I dont see why the store couldn't just order it from online for me and then have me pay the difference for the RAM upgrade.
Click to expand...
I purchased my upgraded Air (8gb) directly from a retail store...no BTO. They had it in stock.
 
Ronnoco said:
I purchased my upgraded Air (8gb) directly from a retail store...no BTO. They had it in stock.
Click to expand...

Which store was it?

EDIT----
I just saw in your signature that it was a specced out MBA. My store had that one in stock but it was $650 more. They said they couldn't let me just add the RAM for $100. I would have to buy the specced out one to get 8GB RAM.
 
Last edited:
Any suggestions on how I could get the 8GB of RAM? Is there any way to kinda convince the store to order the 8GB one for me and have me pay the difference?:confused:
 
JerTheGeek said:
Any suggestions on how I could get the 8GB of RAM? Is there any way to kinda convince the store to order the 8GB one for me and have me pay the difference?:confused:
Click to expand...
1. You have been advised over and over that for your needs you will not require 8gb of ram.

2. You have also been told over and over that you can just get a refund and then buy whatever you like.
 
Meister said:
1. You have been advised over and over that for your needs you will not require 8gb of ram.

2. You have also been told over and over that you can just get a refund and then buy whatever you like.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I guess i just had it stuck in my head that my iMovie usage every two weeks requires 8GB.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back