iPad Air to which MBP?

[JoeFig44]

Been using an ipad air but find flexibility and screen size limited.

I want to move to a MacBook Pro, but wondering which of the following two I should get for my uses (both are late 2013 builds) as I ca get either one for the same price::

rMBP 13 i5 2.4/16/256 new

rMBP 15 i7 2.0/8/256 refurbished

Uses by avg time:
60% browsing, light office work, watching online videos
15% organizing files, downloading, parsing, and unpacking mkv 1080p video files and torrents
15% editing photos, recording some music played on my guitar, and some video editing of home videos taken on my iphone mainly (although been thinking of getting a go pro hero3)
10% gaming (but mainly World of Warcraft, Skyrim, or other similar titles) - this is a tough use case as sometimes on a given week it may balloon up to over 50%
I still have a windows desktop PC for heavier gaming and myPS4, but could see playing more games on Mbp if it can handle it.

I don't need to travel much with it, although I do appreciate the around-the-house portability of the ipad, just miss being on a laptop for when I want to open multiple windows or create some files.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[fskywalker]

Been using an ipad air but find flexibility and screen size limited.

I want to move to a MacBook Pro, but wondering which of the following two I should get for my uses (both are late 2013 builds) as I ca get either one for the same price::

rMBP 13 i5 2.4/16/256 new

rMBP 15 i7 2.0/8/256 refurbished

Uses by avg time:
60% browsing, light office work, watching online videos
15% organizing files, downloading, parsing, and unpacking mkv 1080p video files and torrents
15% editing photos, recording some music played on my guitar, and some video editing of home videos taken on my iphone mainly (although been thinking of getting a go pro hero3)
10% gaming (but mainly World of Warcraft, Skyrim, or other similar titles) - this is a tough use case as sometimes on a given week it may balloon up to over 50%
I still have a windows desktop PC for heavier gaming and myPS4, but could see playing more games on Mbp if it can handle it.

I don't need to travel much with it, although I do appreciate the around-the-house portability of the ipad, just miss being on a laptop for when I want to open multiple windows or create some files.

Any advice would be appreciated.

I think you will do just fine with the 13 inch rMBP; you could find the spec of the 13 inch as a refurbished; create a reminder in www.refurb.me and it will alert you when a given model is available. That way you can save some additional money or even buy the next model (2.4/16/512).

The 15" rMBP is not as light, portable or lap friendly as the 13" rMBP; I had the 15" rMBP and switch to the smaller size and have no regrets.

 

[JoeFig44]

That's the way I am leaning too.

Just really hard to give up my ipad air too as it has some great flexible uses too, like reading/surfing in virtually any position (on my back on couch/in bed; plopping on kitchen counter for recipies, etc).
It's all around the house stuff though, as I never really take it out, as have iphone 5 for that.
But, I am more of a laptop person as often find myself constrained in ios (both regarding using productivity software and in the air's small screen, and no true side by side window multitasking).

Do you think I will miss it if I swap it out for the MBP 13?

Also, will I miss the higher pixel density of the ipad air vs the rMBP?

 

[kathyricks]

Click on Search, then Advanced Search and search the Macbook Pro forum using these keywords: 13" vs 15" You'll find alot of useful comparison information.

I'm in the same situation as you - addicted to the retina screen of the iPad Air, but needing the capabilities of a real portable computer. I was sold on the 13" rMBP until I started playing with the 15" as Best Buy and the 15" really WOWed me with it's screaming speed and immense screen.

The speed difference between the 13" and 15" is a bit of a contentious issue around here with some saying the 13" is just as fast at doing most things as the base 15". The only way to know for sure is to test them side by side so I am going to Best Buy this evening with my pocket video camera and will shoot a video of how the base 13" and 15" models compare in the speed of doing routine things.

 

[kathyricks]

Well I went to Best Buy tonight with my pocket video camera and tested a base model 13" rMBP ($1299) vs a base model 15" rMBP ($1999). I tested how long it took both computers to launch iMovie. 13" did it in 7.5 seconds. 15" did it in 4.6 seconds = around 50% faster. Video proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEPmB-6GwzE

So the 15" was around 50% faster.

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Also, will I miss the higher pixel density of the ipad air vs the rMBP?

Absolutely not. Photos look sharper and crisper on both the 13" and 15" rMBP than they do on the iPad Air. On the iPad Air photos look slightly soft.

 

[JoeFig44]

I guess I'm just hesitant to give up the around-the-house portability of the ipad air, which is phenomenal as it's always with me (which is turning into almost an addiction

If I get the 15", I get to play games on it and have available horsepower for when I want to edit some videos, etc, however I'm hoping that I don't miss the Air's portability (or, the huge amount of missing money in my bank account either).

Just wondering if the 13" is a just enough answer or not.

Thoughts?

I could just keep the iPad Air, continue to use my PC desktop (in the basement) for any gaming or laptop-like uses, and also save myself a whole bunch of money (I have the money to spend, but I like saving it too).
What would you do? Do you think it's a good investment for me knowing I won't have the ipad air any more?