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Help me decide on a MBA spec

D

DeusInvictus7

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 13, 2008
2,377
28
Kitchener, Ontario
Hey guys, basically here is my situation:

I'm trying to switch my setup from a MacBook Pro and iPad to an iMac and MacBook Air.

Here is what I want the new setup to be like:
iMac for heavy lifting: video editing and converting, media storage
MacBook Air for lighter stuff: School work and basic browsing usage

Both will be playing games, but it's WoW so overall power on the MBA doesn't really matter to me.

What I really need help in deciding is the MBA spec.

As a Rogers employee in Canada, I can get the employee discount at the Apple Store, which is a bit better than the Student Discount on some products.

Here is what I am left deciding between:
13" MBA new= 1.86GHz/4GB RAM/128GB SSD = $1362
13" MBA refurb = 2.13GHz/4GB RAM/256GB SSD = $1569
11" MBA refurb = 1.6GHz/4GB RAM/128GB SSD = $1229

These are all in stock right now at the Apple Store Online. I could wait for the refurb 13" MBA = 1.86GHz/4GB RAM/128GB SSD that would be $1229, but it's quite rare.
All would be plus taxes on top.

I'm a little hesitant to go for the 11 inch just because of the size, which I like, but may be a bit too small.

The main thing comes down to storage really. Do you guys think I would ever need to get the larger SSD? I would be keeping all my media and such on the iMac for the most part, maybe load in some music on the MBA, but most of my music I carry around is on my iPhone.

Do you guys have any suggestions/advice?

Thanks
 
I'd choose a maxed out 11" if my number one goal is a extremely light weight machine to do lightweight activities. I've played with one for awhile and I never once felt that it was too small. It is light years ahead of any other similar sized laptop I've had the chance to use.

Depending on the specs of ipad 2 on wednesday, I may be biting the bullet and getting one quite soon.
 
torbjoern said:
I think I would go with the 11" if I already had an iMac.
Click to expand...

Yeah that was what I was thinking too. I'm only going to have the MBA as a main machine for a couple months and then I'll get the iMac once it is updated.

plumosa said:
Depending on the specs of ipad 2 on wednesday, I may be biting the bullet and getting one quite soon.
Click to expand...

I thought about this too, and while I love my iPad, I just found myself using it less and less over the past couple months. Although this could change if iOS 5 changes things a lot.
 
You'll love the pixel density on the 11". The size is awesome as well.
Resolution on the 11" sets it apart from any other MacBook.
 
Well I ended up getting the refurb 13" Ultimate. So excited! Right when the guy that I'm selling my computer to said he'd take it I was so happy and ordered the MBA. I'm actually going to like carrying my MacBook around with me again! :D
 
torbjoern said:
Congratulations! You won't regret this.
Click to expand...

Yeah I really hope so. As much as I liked having that much power in a mobile computer I think I'd rather have that kind of power in a desktop that can do batch converts and do all the heavy lifting while the MBA will be my main school and normal use computer, which is what I do 90% of the time.

Now I just have to wait until the iMacs get updated and get that! :D

EDIT: Wow, on the refurb site it said ships in 1-3 business days, but I just checked the status and it's already prepared for shipment! That was really fast, less than an hour after I placedthe order. Hopefully it ships right away on Monday. :)
 
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