Purchase Dillema: June 2012 refurbished rMBP or 2013 MBA?

[dorange]

Hi all, I need a new laptop for college and I'm having a bit of a dilemma choosing between a June 2012 refurbished rMBP €1600 (http://store.apple.com/ie/product/F...-23ghz-quad-core-intel-i7-with-retina-display) or the new Haswell MBA €1400 (13" 256GB SSD Model with 8GB of RAM)

Now. I'm not too sure on the quality of refurbished macs, but I heard it's excellent. Also, the one I'm looking at is 'featured' is that because of price or because it's actually a model that was never used before and just replaced by a newer model? Anyway the key things are:

• Needs to last 4+ years
• Will be used for programming with Windows and other OS parallels too (Most prominent)
• Will be used for general use, i.e. web browsing, watching movies etc.
• Will be doing some basic video/image editing (Emphasis on basic)

Now normally I'd go for the MBA, but since the rMBP is such an amazing price for the specs listed; it's certainly a contender. The weight of the MBP doesn't bother me too much so it really isn't a deciding factor. Same with battery, the MBP lasts long enough. The clock speed on the Air worries me. 1.3 as opposed to 2.4 GhZ is quite significant.

So I ask of you, which would you recommend for me? The price of the MBP is indeed a slight problem, but I can get around it. I've heard of lag problems on the rMBP too, is this an issue at this stage with Mavericks around the corner?

Thank you all.

 

[Count Blah]

rMBP is also quad core versus the air's dual. My only concern for you would be the 8Gigs of RAM. You mention running multiple OSs. So if you are planning any use of VMs, then that is where you will run into RAM problems. I've not actually used Parallels as of yet(will be very soon). So I"m not sure what the memory usage is like with OS X and running some windows programs with parallels.

 

[Millionaire2K]

If I removed both a refurb and a new mac from their boxes and asked you to tell me which is which you would not be able to. A refub mac is sold in the same condition as a new. The only difference between the two is the packaging.

 

[Krazy Bill]

For your needs I'd pick 12 hours of battery life any day of the week. I really don't know why people overlook this in the new MBA. Plus, I don't know many "stationary" students. You guys are always on the go.

 

[prospervic]

For the kind of work you'll be doing -- staring at the screen for long periods of time, you want the retina display. The sharper, clearer, more readable text will make a huge difference in eyestrain and comfort (not to mention the colors are just beautiful). Plus, the more robust processor will really make a difference in how fast you can edit your video projects.

Don't listen to the people who claim they can't see any difference (I question the eyesight, and motives, of anybody who says this), just go to the Apple Store, or any other retailer that sells these, and judge for yourself.

Since you want to keep it for four years, you're making a serious investment. You'll be far happier in the long run with the rMBP.

(Note: I'm speaking from actual experience -- I have a refurbished 2012 15" retina MacBook Pro, and my wife has a 2012 13" MBA.)

 

[dorange]

Thank you all for your input, I decided to get the refurbished rMBP.