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surfer17

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 28, 2012
48
0
Canada
I already have a gaming rig with very good specs, but sadly it can't run OS X.

I am in need of a laptop for school when I go back in Sept 2013. However, I need something for iOS dev too.

Here are my option and thoughts, please help me choose:

1) Get a Macbook Air, use it with an external monitor - i5/256gb SSD/8gb RAM ($1513 incl. tax[Canada]) - I like this option mainly because of the battery life of the new machine that was introduced yesterday. But I'm not sure if it will be powerful enough for iOS dev for next 3 years.

2) Get a Mac Mini + a cheap Windows Laptop - Only because Mac Mini is user upgradeable. (Don't really know which option would be good enough here)

3) Get a rMBP - I feel its not the right choice for me when I think about all the issues its laden with (ghosting, non-user upgradeable, over heating). Also not inclined towards it due to the high pricing when I already have a powerful desktop.

4) Get a cMBP - Would have like to get this. In fact I had decided upon getting the 15" cMBP with high-res display if it was updated with Haswell. But doesn't look like it will be happening.
 
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