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Refurb 2013 MBA vs "2014" update

J

jetblk328i

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 20, 2010
403
0
Hey guys,

It's time for me to get a new laptop and I've been thinking about getting an air, rather than a rmbp as the new lowered price is a pretty good value.

They currently have the 2013 13" MBA base for $799 in the refurb store. Alternatively, the newly bumped MBA can be had for $949. Would you say the $150 is worth it for the minor processor upgrade and the move to PCIe ssds?

I am more interested in the significance of the PCIe SSDs vs SATA and if there would be a large improvement in speeds.

Thanks in advance!
 
If I'm not mistaken, the 2013 1.3Ghz refurb also has PCIe flash storage. I believe the only upgrade was to the processor; and of course they also dropped the price.

As for your question, no-- I don't think that 150$ for the extra 0.1Ghz will be a noticeable difference as far as speed goes. Of course, this is coming from someone who paid the $150 premium for the bump to 1.7Ghz (at the time, this was a 400Mhz upgrade, now it's only 300. ><).

The rumors on the front page do cite a published claim of better battery performance by Apple. So perhaps this is something to consider when deciding between the refurb model or the new one.
 
PCIe SSD's are vastly superior to the previous gen of SSD's but you would only notice this if you were running some intensive apps/tasks.

If all you are doing is moderate tasks then perhaps saving some money and going for a refurb would be the best option?
 
Thanks all for the info. I was not aware that 2013 also had the PCI e ssds. In that case I think the refurb for 799 is a much better deal. 150 for a tiny increase in processing power is steep
 
jetblk328i said:
Thanks all for the info. I was not aware that 2013 also had the PCI e ssds. In that case I think the refurb for 799 is a much better deal. 150 for a tiny increase in processing power is steep
Click to expand...

Yep, Apple refurbs are always a great deal. I'd also suggest checking Amazon. Assuming you're in the US, you save on taxes via Amazon.. So you end up paying roughly the same price as Apple refurbs.
 
Any idea how they achieved the bump in the battery? Both MBA 2013 the 2014 have a 54 Wh battery.

MBA 13 (2014) vs MBA 13 (2013)
Up to 12 hours vs 10 iTunes film playback
Up to 12 hours wireless web for both

MBA 11 (2014) vs MBA 13 (2013)
Up to 9 hours vs 8 iTunes film playback
Up to 9 hours wireless web for both

Here's the small print from the site:

*Testing conducted by Apple in March 2014 using pre-production 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based 13-inch MacBook Air units and pre-production 1.4GHz dual-core Intel Core i5–based 11-inch MacBook Air units. The wireless web test measures battery life by wirelessly browsing 25 popular websites with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The HD film playback test measures battery life by playing back HD 720p content with display brightness set to 12 clicks from bottom or 75%. The standby test measures battery life by allowing a system, connected to a wireless network and signed in to an iCloud account, to enter standby mode with Safari and Mail applications launched and all system settings left at default. Battery life varies by use and configuration. See www.apple.com/uk/batteries for more information.*

The video battery test is run in iTunes movie playback - maybe Apple has fine tuned the iTune software? Going up from 10 to 12 is still quite impressive - unless if the 2013 model could already achieve near 12? :confused:
 
Quicklite said:
Any idea how they achieved the bump in the battery? Both MBA 2013 the 2014 have a 54 Wh battery.
Click to expand...

It has to be software optimizations in latest Mavericks. There are no hardware changes in the latest refresh that would improve battery life, so it has to be software related.
 
ctyrider said:
It has to be software optimizations in latest Mavericks. There are no hardware changes in the latest refresh that would improve battery life, so it has to be software related.
Click to expand...

Along with bump in speed there could be improvements on the processor efficiency as well.

On the processor front, the Air now comes with a 1.4GHz Core i5 -- upgraded from a 1.3GHz chip. While that is a relatively minor performance upgrade, Intel may have improved the chip in other ways.

For instance, newer versions of a processor -- what Intel calls a "stepping" -- typically include manufacturing improvements, which can result in better power efficiency and cooling.
Click to expand...

http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-boosts-macbook-air-processor-cuts-prices-by-100/

Speculative of course, but it must be something with the CPU to improve battery life some, and probably a little software optimizations.
 
aznguyen316 said:
Along with bump in speed there could be improvements on the processor efficiency as well.

Speculative of course, but it must be something with the CPU to improve battery life some, and probably a little software optimizations.
Click to expand...

I would imagine any gains afforded to the battery life by the new 1.4Ghz processor does not apply to the i7 1.7Ghz chip-- this is probably unchanged from the 2013 release.
 
The macbook air 1.3 isn't lacking. The ram is and 4 gb make large tasks a bit slow. I would go for more ram in the outgoing model at the price of the upgraded model.
 
Refurb MBA prices dropped yesterday. It is now $600 for a 2012 base model 11" MBA.
 
Get the 2013 refurb. I bought one two months ago. Went from a 2010 iMac to a 13" 8 gig, 512 and have yet to regret it. Plus I saved enough to buy AC from B & H, great price, and an external disk drive.
 
They have PCIe, I had the 13"last year the battery was amazing I used to beta bout 13-14hrs on my usage. The only it slight slowed down was on VMware loading, but once workings as fine. I sold it as it was only a bit smaller then my retina 13.
 
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