iMac + MBA combo: 11in or 13in?

[KylePowers]

Hey everyone,

So I thought living the 27in iMac + iPad 2 combo would be an acceptable lifestyle (I sold my laptop to help pay for my iMac)... but I miss having a laptop. I've been waiting for the new MBAs since the 2011 MBPs came out (13in disappointed), so I'm thinking about selling my iPad 2 for an MBA.

I mainly miss lounging in my bed and around my apartment with a laptop... and I'd like to be able to program (Xcode mainly) without being tied to my desk (don't get me wrong, I LOVE my iMac's 2560x1440 resolution and wouldn't trade it for the world). Plus, I'm a 3rd year in college. I didn't typically take my laptop to class, but sometimes I'd go to the library or office hours... and that'd be inconvenient with an iMac and impossible with an iPad.

I prefer the 13in (base model), but I'm just wondering if already having an iMac makes it not worth the extra cash and I should just go with the 11in. So for those with iMacs, which MBA did you go with and/or recommend? Thanks!

Cheers,
Kyle

 

[i0Nic]

What about selling your iMac as well and getting a MBA plus cinema display?

 

[Hellhammer]

I have 24" iMac and personally I went with 13" MBA. I feel that 11" is too small for comfortable use and I also like to have many windows open.

 

[GeekGuys]

+1 with Hellhammer. I have a 24" iMac and 13" MBA Rev A and iPad 1. Just thinking about upgrade options. Would love a new iMac but 27" is too large and 21" is too small. I also have 24" 2nd display. Just the peerfect size so will hold off till Apple increase to 24" and 32"!!!!

MBA is a dream but now thinking I can upgrade to 13" as well

iPad is great for movies on flights or easy carry presentations, lectures etc but I would say 90% of the time I end up taking iPad for flight, MBA for working and sometimes a client Windows laptop as well... Travelling light!

Long and short.... 24" iMac and 13" MBA Is perfect combo, plus iPad for pure consumption purposes

 

[KylePowers]

What about selling your iMac as well and getting a MBA plus cinema display?

Definitely an option, but not a route I particularly would like to go. I enjoy and require the extra umph my 27in iMac provides (quad-core CPU, dedicated GPU, slew of necessary ports, Superdrive, etc). Plus, I have about ~400GB of files that would obviously not all fit on an MBA.

I guess comparatively, if I just got the new ACD ($1000), I'd have to get a new keyboard ($70), a new trackpad ($70), the super drive ($80), and maybe an external hard drive (~$80)... so that's $1300 right there. So we're basically looking at a $300 difference between the MBA + ACD setup vs an MBA + iMac setup (I don't want to have to rely on the MBAs trackpad and keyboard). So I guess it comes down to whether the quad-core CPU, dedicated GPU, and 8GB of RAM are worth the $300? Plus, my iMac came with a printer and the $100 App Store promo, which the ACD doesn't qualify for (I'd imagine).

Hmm, so what do you guys think about that? An iMac can do everything an ACD can do, plus more. And who knows how much of a loss I'd take if I'd try to sell it, ya' know? Also, if I went ACD + MBA, I'd probably upgrade to the 256GB; where as, if I stuck with the iMac + MBA, I'd just go 128GB... which is a $300 difference.

But to Hellhammer and GeekGuys, it sounds like the 13in seems to be the one of choice. Sorry I didn't add the 24in in the poll, silly me! I wonder if I should have put this thread in the MBA subforum, as I think we'd see a lot more results and differing opinions (there's a lot of 11in love there).

Question though, how does everyone keep their files relatively synced? And will Apple's cloud solutions help with this? Or is that strictly between iOS and Lion and not Lion to Lion?

Thanks though everyone! I'd love to hear more opinions.

 

[solowmodel]

I have a 27" iMac + 11" MBA mainly.

Currently a MSc student, but don't do anything extremely taxing. I love this combination.

The 11" MBA is roughly the same length as a pad of A4 paper, and hence extremely easy to carry around. The screen size is surprisingly useable for me (YMMV), and even though my MBA is the base 2010 version, I have no complaints whatsoever. Would consider the 13" if it were my only computer, but the 11" complements the 27" perfectly

 

[i0Nic]

Definitely an option, but not a route I particularly would like to go. I enjoy and require the extra umph my 27in iMac provides (quad-core CPU, dedicated GPU, slew of necessary ports, Superdrive, etc). Plus, I have about ~400GB of files that would obviously not all fit on an MBA.

I guess comparatively, if I just got the new ACD ($1000), I'd have to get a new keyboard ($70), a new trackpad ($70), the super drive ($80), and maybe an external hard drive (~$80)... so that's $1300 right there. So we're basically looking at a $300 difference between the MBA + ACD setup vs an MBA + iMac setup (I don't want to have to rely on the MBAs trackpad and keyboard). So I guess it comes down to whether the quad-core CPU, dedicated GPU, and 8GB of RAM are worth the $300? Plus, my iMac came with a printer and the $100 App Store promo, which the ACD doesn't qualify for (I'd imagine).

Hmm, so what do you guys think about that? An iMac can do everything an ACD can do, plus more. And who knows how much of a loss I'd take if I'd try to sell it, ya' know? Also, if I went ACD + MBA, I'd probably upgrade to the 256GB; where as, if I stuck with the iMac + MBA, I'd just go 128GB... which is a $300 difference.

But to Hellhammer and GeekGuys, it sounds like the 13in seems to be the one of choice. Sorry I didn't add the 24in in the poll, silly me! I wonder if I should have put this thread in the MBA subforum, as I think we'd see a lot more results and differing opinions (there's a lot of 11in love there).

Question though, how does everyone keep their files relatively synced? And will Apple's cloud solutions help with this? Or is that strictly between iOS and Lion and not Lion to Lion?

Thanks though everyone! I'd love to hear more opinions.

Does your iMac have an SSD?

I'm in the same boat as you, I came to a similar rationale that getting an iMac is more cost effective than the cinema display - however, that would only be the case with an iMac without an SSD. Once you factor in the SSD, it boosts the costs significantly.

I can't justify having a portable with SSD yet my main desktop not. The SSD provides a big performance jump, and my little MBA would feel speedier than my desktop.

So if I purchased 27" iMac+SSD along with a MBA, the costs become far greater than a bumped up MBA + cinema display - even taking the added cost of extra peripherals.

Just my thoughts..

 

[Hellhammer]

Question though, how does everyone keep their files relatively synced? And will Apple's cloud solutions help with this? Or is that strictly between iOS and Lion and not Lion to Lion?

Dropbox does that for me and the free 2GB version has been enough. I only sync my documents; music, videos etc I sync manually depending on what I want. File sharing is also brilliant so I rarely need to transfer anything when at home.

iCloud should help music sharing but atm it's limited to music so no videos or other stuff.

 

[KylePowers]

Does your iMac have an SSD?

I'm in the same boat as you, I came to a similar rationale that getting an iMac is more cost effective than the cinema display - however, that would only be the case with an iMac without an SSD. Once you factor in the SSD, it boosts the costs significantly.

I can't justify having a portable with SSD yet my main desktop not. The SSD provides a big performance jump, and my little MBA would feel speedier than my desktop.

So if I purchased 27" iMac+SSD along with a MBA, the costs become far greater than a bumped up MBA + cinema display - even taking the added cost of extra peripherals.

Just my thoughts..

My iMac doesn't have an SSD, just the standard 1TB HDD. I did this because I couldn't justify the extra four or six hundred (whatever it is) to add the SSD. I'd rather just wait a year or two and get one when their price per gigabyte is a lot more reasonable... whether I install it internally or via Thunderbolt, it doesn't really matter to me. But I do see your point that an MBA would probably feel faster in most every tasks because of the SSD... I mean, even now iPhoto opens because I leave my SD card in my iMac and it beachballs forever -_-

Dropbox does that for me and the free 2GB version has been enough. I only sync my documents; music, videos etc I sync manually depending on what I want. File sharing is also brilliant so I rarely need to transfer anything when at home.

iCloud should help music sharing but atm it's limited to music so no videos or other stuff.

Yeah, I have about 8GB I think on Dropbox through education referrals... but I was hoping for a better solution (my documents folder is about 10 times as large or more). Hmmmm....

So yeah, not sure what to do yet. It seems as if most people have a 13in (8 people vs 3 people if you count the 24in owners I left out). Pretty interesting, I'd say.

 

[Obscurelight]

Just get both sides of the spectrum smallest MBA and biggest iMac

 

[KylePowers]

Just get both sides of the spectrum smallest MBA and biggest iMac

Definitely a possibility... I just fear that my casual programming (along with whatever I may run into in my classes) and casual photography (SD Card) will make having an 11in somewhat inconvenient, ya' know?

I definitely think I'm going to go 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD... so it really just comes down to the $100 difference between the upscale 11" and the base 13". Erm, not that $100 is the problem... just the whole size argument, that is.

I know the .1GHz clock frequency doesn't make any noticeable effect in the CPU (especially on casual usage), but does the 50MHz difference in GPU clock frequency abide by that same principle?

 

[i0Nic]

Definitely a possibility... I just fear that my casual programming (along with whatever I may run into in my classes) and casual photography (SD Card) will make having an 11in somewhat inconvenient, ya' know?

I definitely think I'm going to go 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD... so it really just comes down to the $100 difference between the upscale 11" and the base 13". Erm, not that $100 is the problem... just the whole size argument, that is.

I know the .1GHz clock frequency doesn't make any noticeable effect in the CPU (especially on casual usage), but does the 50MHz difference in GPU clock frequency abide by that same principle?

I'm still trying to decide too. Let us know how you go!

I'm leaning towards the 11" as it just seems so portable. Though the lack of SD card slot is a drag.

 

[KylePowers]

I'm still trying to decide too. Let us know how you go!

I'm leaning towards the 11" as it just seems so portable. Though the lack of SD card slot is a drag.

Yeahhh, it's such a difficult decision. I'm starting to lean more toward the 11in, because I know if I got the 13in, I'd be more likely to ignore my iMac.

And I guess I can justify the 11in not having an SD card slot with the fact that I'd probably store all my photos on my iMac's 1TB HDD anyway.

It's a tough choice. And which route to go about buying it also adds to the craziness. I went Apple with education discount for my iMac... think I might go Best Buy in a tax-free state with their matched education discount + $100 BB giftcard this time.

Gahhh, I wish I could just play with both of them for a week and decide lol

 

[Airforcekid]

21.5 i7 with 11 inch i7. Perfect setup both have SSD drives!

 

[DeusInvictus7]

I had a 27" iMac + 13" MBA combo, up until yesterday when I sold the MBA. I did however, order an 11" MBA to replace it. I think the 27" iMac + 11" MBA is an awesome combo, and I'm not surprised that it's the popular choice on the poll.

 

[KylePowers]

So if you count the two people in this thread who have 24in iMacs and got 13in MBAs, the total comes up 10 (13in) vs 11 (11in). So it's pretty neck and neck, overall. But just looking at those with 27in iMacs, 11in is the clear winner.

I've definitely gotten mixed responses when posing this question in the MBA subform... sooooo I have no idea lol.

I guess I'll just play with the both of them and just get which ever feels better?

 

[Onimusha370]

i think you'd value the extra screen space over the small increase in portability.
go for the base 13", great machine.