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Macbook Air Purchase Help...

J

jchs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 25, 2014
4
0
Good Morning!

My daughter is starting College in the fall and I am looking at purchasing her a used MBA 13". I have two options and am curious as to which one would be the better deal.

#1: Mid 2011 Macbook Air 13" 1.6ghz 64GB SSD. Has Applecare until 2015.

#2: Mid 2011 Macbook Air 13" 1.7ghz 128GB SSD. NO Applecare.

Both are the same price listing and in flawless condition.

Thanks so much for your help!!
 
Both are not good choice for a college student. When she goes to the campus for a full day, she may have to find a place to charge the computer and have to take the charger.

Buy a 2014 or 2013 Macbook Air. The battery is good for 12-15 hours, ideally for a student. She can leave the charger at home.

Also, 11" Macbook Air and a 24"-plus monitor can be a good choice for a student. The 11" is a perfect replacement of desktop computer with external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and it's more portable than the 13".

jchs said:
Good Morning!

My daughter is starting College in the fall and I am looking at purchasing her a used MBA 13". I have two options and am curious as to which one would be the better deal.

#1: Mid 2011 Macbook Air 13" 1.6ghz 64GB SSD. Has Applecare until 2015.

#2: Mid 2011 Macbook Air 13" 1.7ghz 128GB SSD. NO Applecare.

Both are the same price listing and in flawless condition.

Thanks so much for your help!!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
I think most people would be unhappy with a 64gb SSD these days. Also, you don't list the amount of RAM. Can't remember - were they still selling the 2gb/64gb models back then? That would definitely be a deal-breaker IMO.
 
I just got a 2012 13" 4/128 for 600 for my son. You can probably get a similar deal for a 2012 or 2013. Don't get the 2011, especially if it's for a student.
 
I think $600 is too high for a two year old MBA considering you can get a 2014 13 inch for $800 from Best Buy with the education discount.
 
Option 2 is better but as previously stated. 600 is too much. 650-700 would snag you a 2013 model with much better battery life and such.
 
To echo was everyone else is saying, get a 2013 or 2014 (with education discount). The improved battery life is almost necessary for a college student.
 
Another factor is to remember the 2012+ has USB3 vs USB2 on the earlier units. Helpful for external storage / backup / etc.
 
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