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Questions about Macbook Air

N

nycmi

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 5, 2013
41
0
Hi all,

I'm coming from a Macbook Pro 2.8ghz Core 2 Duo 2009. I like to do some light photoshop and illustrator. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Audio Production so I'll be running a bunch of audio programs. I'm also learning coding in my free time.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Macbook Air, though I need some advice on what model to get. Looking at 13 inch. Budget is $1600.

Thanks.
 
Upgrade memory, SSD and CPU, in this order until you hit your budget.
 
nycmi said:
Hi all,

I'm coming from a Macbook Pro 2.8ghz Core 2 Duo 2009. I like to do some light photoshop and illustrator. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Audio Production so I'll be running a bunch of audio programs. I'm also learning coding in my free time.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Macbook Air, though I need some advice on what model to get. Looking at 13 inch. Budget is $1600.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Go with 8gb ram and 256gb ssd first which is the sweet spot. One of the reasons I sold my 2012 11" was the 128gb SSD, got tired of carrying external hard drives and constantly deleting files to make room. SSD's are also much slower when full. If you can afford it, throw in the i7 cpu which will nicely fit in the $1600 budget with the back to school program that Apple is running right now.
 
magbarn said:
Go with 8gb ram and 256gb ssd first which is the sweet spot. One of the reasons I sold my 2012 11" was the 128gb SSD, got tired of carrying external hard drives and constantly deleting files to make room. SSD's are also much slower when full. If you can afford it, throw in the i7 cpu which will nicely fit in the $1600 budget with the back to school program that Apple is running right now.
Click to expand...

+1. Solid advice given the budget. You are really going to like the MBA... :D
 
nycmi said:
Hi all,

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Macbook Air, though I need some advice on what model to get. Looking at 13 inch. Budget is $1600.


Since you're a student you qualify for Student Pricing. If you are in a 'sales tax free state' you could get a i5/8g RAM/512g SSD for about $1608. I went this route getting the biggest SSD because somehow storage of programs and files just grows and grows. And...I do not want to lug around external storage as that defeats the whole concept of 'portable'. With the biggest SSD and the best battery this machine provides....well...WOW!...the world is yours.
Click to expand...
 
nycmi said:
Hi all,

I'm coming from a Macbook Pro 2.8ghz Core 2 Duo 2009. I like to do some light photoshop and illustrator. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Audio Production so I'll be running a bunch of audio programs. I'm also learning coding in my free time.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Macbook Air, though I need some advice on what model to get. Looking at 13 inch. Budget is $1600.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I think if your budget is $1600, if you're happy with less battery life and the small increase in size, the rMBP might be a better fit for you. It'll run faster than the i7 Air, comes with 8GB a standard and has more thunderbolt ports to connect audio accessories. I'm a technical theatre student myself so I do some sound work along with design, but I use a PC for really intensive stuff because my Air is mostly just a portable machine :) It's up to what you're most happy doing really.

Otherwise, if you really want an Air, I'd go for the i7/8/256, it sounds like it'd fit your needs the best!
 
Tried a new air for a few days. Everything about it is great, but the display.
Going from a previous retina model, it was unbearable. Battery life was great, but not what I was hoping for.

Now have a 13" macbook pro retina, and life is good.
Weight difference is negligible -

For photo editing you will prefer the retina display for detail ... not to mention crisp text in pretty much every app you use. Until the air does retina - skip it.
Go for max ram, and SSD
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

Thanks heaps for the replies.

Its the form factor and the battery life which are the two biggest points for me as I travel fairly regularly. I just need to know that what I'm getting can support my needs. The 8gb ram/i7/256 sounds pretty neat.
 
nycmi said:
Hi all,

Thanks heaps for the replies.

Its the form factor and the battery life which are the two biggest points for me as I travel fairly regularly. I just need to know that what I'm getting can support my needs. The 8gb ram/i7/256 sounds pretty neat.
Click to expand...

That's a good choice, of course as you can see on my 'stable' of machines I've had much experience with Apple's Macbooks. The MBA is superior for travel due to battery life and weight. However, the Haswell rMBP 13 should have much better battery life vs the 1st gen Ivy Bridge machines. Still doubt it can match the MBA 13's stamina though as the retina screen is a power hog.
 
I dislike the idea of the 13 inch Retina Macbook Pro, without the dedicated graphics card and generally disliked the 13 inch Macbook Pros.

Thanks heaps,
 
I've owned or used (at work) several iMac's, PowerBooks, MBP's and MBA's over the years, many which I really liked, but IMO this Ultimate 2013 MBA (i7/8/512) is the finest Apple computer I've ever used. I think you will love yours as well! :)
 
Ronnoco said:
I've owned or used (at work) several iMac's, PowerBooks, MBP's and MBA's over the years, many which I really liked, but IMO this Ultimate 2013 MBA (i7/8/512) is the finest Apple computer I've ever used. I think you will love yours as well! :)
Click to expand...

U sound like the President of the Olympic Committee, every olympic, he proclaimes, This is The Best Olympic EVER! :)
 
I went from a 2008 15" 2.4ghz MBP to a 13" i5 MBA in 2011. The 2011 MBA ran circles around my old MBP. You will be really happy with the performance of the 2013 models.

I just sold the 2011 MBA and got an 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA and I love it. It runs Logic and Final Cut Pro really well. After using the 13" machine for 2 years, I decided to drop down to the 11" since it's just SO portable. I can handle the smaller screen when travelling, but at home I always use a big external monitor and keyboard.

The new i7 MBA actually scores a little higher on the geekbench tests than the 13" rMBP. It's a great machine. If you can spend just a little bit more, consider getting the 512gb SSD. For audio and graphics work, you will be glad you have the extra space a year down the road. :)
 
nycmi said:
Hi all,

I'm coming from a Macbook Pro 2.8ghz Core 2 Duo 2009. I like to do some light photoshop and illustrator. I'm currently studying a Bachelor of Audio Production so I'll be running a bunch of audio programs. I'm also learning coding in my free time.

I'm about to pull the trigger on a Macbook Air, though I need some advice on what model to get. Looking at 13 inch. Budget is $1600.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Depends, how long are you willing to keep it?
 
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