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

Buy now or wait?

B

Beej2102

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2012
1
0
I've decided to ditch my work pc for a Mac. But I have 2 questions:
1. Buy now or wait till the next MBA release? Is that April?
2. Should I get a pro or an air


I use my work computer for excel, outlook, PowerPoint and the web but I multi-task a lot. I usually have multiple workbooks, powerpoints and web sites all up at the same time. Will also have to use Citrix or Parallels to access Siebel and sharepoint. I would ideally like an Air but don't know if it will run fast enough for what I do.

Thanks!
 
By the description you gave, you would probably be the perfect costumer for the MBA. Whether you get the 11" or the 13" is totally up to you but for simple computer tasks the MBA should be more than enough.

As for your other question, the waiting game is a difficult one to play. IMO there will always be something better so your better off purchasing what you want now instead of waiting for whats probably just going to be a simple speed boost. Both the MBA and the MBP were just recently updated so their refreshes are off into the second half of the year.

So go for it, waiting will only have you kicking yourself later when you figure out the refresh wasn't worth waiting for.
 
MBA is fine for you - very fast / understatedly powerful. I moved from MBP to Air and its 10 times faster.

You are potentially at the next upgrade cycle for mba. I brought mine a few weeks after the backlit keyboard model came out - 5 months ago.

If you agree that at 6 months approx there could be an upgrade, however small, and can wait, then just wait. But it might end up being another 6 months.

Id probably wait unless i was going to travel or something and then it makes sense to buy now.

Your next question will be - 11 or 13..... There are 100's of threads already, check them out. But it seems moving from a PC i would go for 13" unless you value the smallest footprint size.
 
I have had both the 11" and now the 13" MBA both July 2011 models.

I did go from a pc to the world o Mac...couldn't be happier, I also have a Mac Mini for home desktop...also great with a 20" monitor and Apple wired keyboard.

As far as waiting...one could wait forever and never get one, to me if the MBA does what you want and need it to do...grab it. Thats what I did, and I am glad I did. Cause it is so cool and easy to use.

My take on the 11 vs the 13 was....the screen was just a tad too small for me eyes...it worked great, but the 13 gives more than just a bigger screen too.

If one travels a lot, then the 11 would probably make more sense.

Just my 2 pennies.
 
sostoobad said:
I have had both the 11" and now the 13" MBA both July 2011 models.

I did go from a pc to the world o Mac...couldn't be happier, I also have a Mac Mini for home desktop...also great with a 20" monitor and Apple wired keyboard.

As far as waiting...one could wait forever and never get one, to me if the MBA does what you want and need it to do...grab it. Thats what I did, and I am glad I did. Cause it is so cool and easy to use.

My take on the 11 vs the 13 was....the screen was just a tad too small for me eyes...it worked great, but the 13 gives more than just a bigger screen too.

If one travels a lot, then the 11 would probably make more sense.

Just my 2 pennies.
Click to expand...

I too have the 2011 13" MBA and I love it. How do you like the combination of a MBA + Mini though?

I bought the 2011 base mini to use as a desktop, but I'm going to return it and just use my MBA until the 2012 Mini comes out. I've had a desktop that I just sold, so I never used my MBA as a main before. Did a lot of searching on the forums and seems like many people use the MBA as a main and couldn't be happier.

I'm thinking about doing a MBA + TBD combo for now, and seeing what changes they make to the mini, and depending on how I like using my MBA as a main, factor all those into making a decision on buying it or not.
 
I have the latest incarnation of the 2011 11" MBA with the following specs: 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4 GB of memory. I use my MacBook Air for many of the same things that you listed and I also use Parallels on occasion, as well. I can assure you that there is no lag in terms of the computer handling everything that I do while multi-tasking, even with Parallels running.

I contemplated getting the i7 for that added kick, but I was advised by an Apple Store rep, of all people, that such power was not needed for my intended usage. In my case, looking back in hindsight, the rep was right!

I remain amazed at all that this little beauty can handle and I encourage you to go forward with your purchase. If you remain doubtful about the computer's ability to process everything that you will be doing, then opt for the i7 upgrade.
 
dlim said:
I too have the 2011 13" MBA and I love it. How do you like the combination of a MBA + Mini though?

I bought the 2011 base mini to use as a desktop, but I'm going to return it and just use my MBA until the 2012 Mini comes out. I've had a desktop that I just sold, so I never used my MBA as a main before. Did a lot of searching on the forums and seems like many people use the MBA as a main and couldn't be happier.

I'm thinking about doing a MBA + TBD combo for now, and seeing what changes they make to the mini, and depending on how I like using my MBA as a main, factor all those into making a decision on buying it or not.
Click to expand...

Hi, I have 2 locations where I use computers, and at home the Mac mini is just fine for me, my needs are not great, so it is the poor mans iMac if you will.

I have a 20" Acer monitor, Apple wired Keyboard and the Mini, all tolled about 750 in tax free NH, I use the MBA at work as a desktop that can go on the go....it is great.

I think Apple hit a grand slam with the 13" Air, and the 11" is a bases clearing double.
 
sostoobad said:
Hi, I have 2 locations where I use computers, and at home the Mac mini is just fine for me, my needs are not great, so it is the poor mans iMac if you will.

I have a 20" Acer monitor, Apple wired Keyboard and the Mini, all tolled about 750 in tax free NH, I use the MBA at work as a desktop that can go on the go....it is great.

I think Apple hit a grand slam with the 13" Air, and the 11" is a bases clearing double.
Click to expand...

Nice! The reason I bought my air was for grad school, and I agree that apple did an awesome job with the 2011 Air's, I wasn't impressed as much by the 2010's.

I built a desktop to use as my main around the same time I got my air (wanted the MBA to be my school use only laptop), but ended up selling it because I prefer OSx over windows, even though Microsoft did a good job with windows 7. It had all this excess power that I wasn't utilizing haha.

I wouldn't consider the mini the poor man's iMac, they're two different products for a variety of different customers. I love the iMac, but I don't like all-in-one products. I already have a monitor, apple wireless keyboard, and logitech mouse, so either hooking it up to my MBA or getting a mini is perfect for me, specially since my needs don't call for the extra power in the iMacs!

I'd say apple has got their bases covered pretty well with all their products.

I'm going to try to get my hands on a TBD over the next few months, and the new mac mini when it comes out, though I don't see much changing about it other than ivy bridge + the intel 4000 chip.

----------
Beej2102 said:
I've decided to ditch my work pc for a Mac. But I have 2 questions:
1. Buy now or wait till the next MBA release? Is that April?
2. Should I get a pro or an air


I use my work computer for excel, outlook, PowerPoint and the web but I multi-task a lot. I usually have multiple workbooks, powerpoints and web sites all up at the same time. Will also have to use Citrix or Parallels to access Siebel and sharepoint. I would ideally like an Air but don't know if it will run fast enough for what I do.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I use my 13" MBA for my school computer + main computer at home, and at any given moment I have at least itunes, ichat, chrome, word, powerpoint, mail, and iCal running. Sometimes I'll watch something using VLC or Mplayer OSx extended, and I've run into 0 issues in multi-tasking anything.

I haven't used citrix or parallels so I can't give any input on that.
 
I would buy now, the refurbished products are basically brand new, minus the packaging. Who care what kind of box it come in.
 
illini71 said:
I would buy now, the refurbished products are basically brand new, minus the packaging. Who care what kind of box it come in.
Click to expand...

Exactly. Also, Airs have good resell value. When the upgraded, USB3 equipped one comes out, I'll just upgrade mine to it for a few hundred. People pay this kind of money for warranty extensions alone and—surprise—the upgrade gives me a fresh warranty too.
 
I agree with the others that the current MacBook Air is powerful enough for what you want to do with it. I use Parallels Desktop to run Windows 7 and it works very well with Quicken and Internet Explorer (which I need to access some work sites).

The likely advantages of the next MacBook Air are better gaming graphics, better battery life, and USB 3.0 support, all courtesy of the Ivy Bridge processor and chipset. I wouldn't expect any major design changes, except perhaps a 15" version (which may be designated a "Pro"). Also likely is a switch to the faster SATA III SSDs. The current version actually has a SATA III interface, but Apple ships it with SATA II SSDs.

As for when it comes out, only Apple knows for sure, but Intel is supposed to start releasing Ivy Bridge processors in Q2. Given Intel's push for "ultrabooks," it's a good bet that the ultra low voltage mobile chips will be released pretty quickly after the initial launch. I would guess May or June for the next version. The last one came out in July.
 
Ram

The only thing that's holding me back is the possibility of an 8GB RAM configuration in an upcoming Air (although with SSD I suppose virtual RAM access wouldn't entail a huge hit in performance).

It also looks like I'm not gonna like Lion.
 
alembic said:
The only thing that's holding me back is the possibility of an 8GB RAM configuration in an upcoming Air (although with SSD I suppose virtual RAM access wouldn't entail a huge hit in performance).

It also looks like I'm not gonna like Lion.
Click to expand...

4GB has been enough for everything I've thrown at it.
 
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