MBA 13"/i5/8/256 vs rMBP 13"/2.5/8/128?

[keviny]

Hi everyone,

Few days ago I received the new MBA 13"/i5/4/128. I've put it in the refunding progress since it doesn't really meet my needs. My thought was to replace it with a MBA 13"/i5/8/256, then I found that rMBP 13" base model has similar price and also has a retina display. Any suggestions?

 

[ssmed]

More information would be useful.

Few days ago I received the new MBA 13"/i5/4/128 ..... it doesn't really meet my needs.

In what way does it not meet your needs?

 

[keviny]

In what way does it not meet your needs?

Thanks for the reply.

i5/4/128 MBA works very well with almost every task but it's really not enough for a VM W7 with MS Office running in it. When i was trying to do so, MS Powerpoint just became laggy and laggy even I set 2GB memory for the VM W7. So I decided to go for 8GB memory.

128GB SSD is little bit insufficient but it's not a big deal to me since I don't usually keep many videos on a computer. And still the more the better, but 256 is not a must-have option.

 

[boycecodd]

Windows doesn't run very happily in just 2Gb, and you were probably starving OSX of resources too.

Either of those configurations will be a major improvement for you.

My system usage sounds very much like yours and I went with the MBA i5/8/256. If I needed the extra power/retina screen I would probably wait until Haswell comes around if I possibly could (but the Air suits me perfectly).

 

[AXs]

I read a few posts my board members saying that they were offered the 15" rMBP (2012) for 1299bucks.

now THAT would be an automatic trigger for me.

But as for your question, the Haswell MBA outperforms Ivy Bridge rMBP.
So 2013 Air > 2012 rMBP.

wait for the Haswell rMBP! Since you're clearly not going for the education benefits, there's no difference for you to buy a machine after back-to-school ends right?

Wait a month...ish, is my verdict.

 

[keviny]

Windows doesn't run very happily in just 2Gb, and you were probably starving OSX of resources too.

Either of those configurations will be a major improvement for you.

My system usage sounds very much like yours and I went with the MBA i5/8/256. If I needed the extra power/retina screen I would probably wait until Haswell comes around if I possibly could (but the Air suits me perfectly).

Thanks for the reply. It really describes what I'm thinking.
i5/8/256 suits my needs.
But is Haswell rMBP worth the waiting?

----------

I read a few posts my board members saying that they were offered the 15" rMBP (2012) for 1299bucks.

now THAT would be an automatic trigger for me.

But as for your question, the Haswell MBA outperforms Ivy Bridge rMBP.
So 2013 Air > 2012 rMBP.

wait for the Haswell rMBP! Since you're clearly not going for the education benefits, there's no difference for you to buy a machine after back-to-school ends right?

Wait a month...ish, is my verdict.

Thanks for the advice. I will sleep on it, lol.

 

[boycecodd]

Thanks for the reply. It really describes what I'm thinking.
i5/8/256 suits my needs.
But is Haswell rMBP worth the waiting?

Again it depends what you're after.

The rMBP will be more powerful, but it'll also be bigger and heavier. For me the Air ticks all the boxes for me but I can easily see why someone would find it limiting if they needed the extra power.

 

[keviny]

Thanks for the reply.
I think I'll just go for the MBA 13" i5/8/256. Don't want these kind of choice bothers me anymore. LOL.