So, I returned my $1200 i5/8gb/128gb Air, after selling a '11 MBP i5/8b/320 for $800. I couldn't (personally) justify the marginally faster performance for the $400 difference.
So, I printed a return label, gave it to the USPS, and bought another '11 MBP/i5/4g/320 for $650, and upgraded the RAM to 8gb for $55. This machine only has 107 charge cycles on it (compared to the 450-460 my old one had), and I'm "up" $95.
- Geekbench on my Air was 67xx
+ Geekbench on my MBP is 6,042
- WoW/Dreamweaver/Photoshop ran great on the Air.
+ WoW/Dreamweaver/Photoshop runs great on the MBP.
- 12h battery life on the air, 100% capacity, 3 cycles.
+ 6h battery life on the MBP at 93% total battery capacity, 107 cycles.
- Didn't have space for Boot Camp on the Air; had ~50gb left with all my programs and music.
+ Boot Camp Win 8 + Rift runs great; have 205gb left with all my programs and music (and Boot Camp + Rift).
All in all, I'm glad I decided to stay with an '11 MBP. It's a trooper, and I can always install an SSD (or two!) if I reeealy feel like I need that hard disk speed. And, although the battery life on the Air is amazing, I don't see myself ever being on longer than 6h on a battery without access to an outlet.
Hope this bit of pragmatism was informative to someone out there.
So, I printed a return label, gave it to the USPS, and bought another '11 MBP/i5/4g/320 for $650, and upgraded the RAM to 8gb for $55. This machine only has 107 charge cycles on it (compared to the 450-460 my old one had), and I'm "up" $95.
- Geekbench on my Air was 67xx
+ Geekbench on my MBP is 6,042
- WoW/Dreamweaver/Photoshop ran great on the Air.
+ WoW/Dreamweaver/Photoshop runs great on the MBP.
- 12h battery life on the air, 100% capacity, 3 cycles.
+ 6h battery life on the MBP at 93% total battery capacity, 107 cycles.
- Didn't have space for Boot Camp on the Air; had ~50gb left with all my programs and music.
+ Boot Camp Win 8 + Rift runs great; have 205gb left with all my programs and music (and Boot Camp + Rift).
All in all, I'm glad I decided to stay with an '11 MBP. It's a trooper, and I can always install an SSD (or two!) if I reeealy feel like I need that hard disk speed. And, although the battery life on the Air is amazing, I don't see myself ever being on longer than 6h on a battery without access to an outlet.
Hope this bit of pragmatism was informative to someone out there.