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Refurbished MacBook Air for College Student

H

hope98

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 2, 2013
3
0
Hi,
My 2011 MacBook Pro just died, and I am not under warranty. It would cost $700 to replace, so my parents are just inclined to get a new one. I was talked into buying the Macbook Pro in 2011 'just in case' I would need the extra hardware (or something), but I have never needed it. I used my computer throughout the day, but mainly for reading and Microsoft Office. Would this (http://store.apple.com/us/product/FD231LL/A/refurbished-macbook-air-18ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5) be sufficient for my needs? I have never used the DVD drive on my old computer, and I do not play computer games. Is there anything in particular you would think I would regret about buying the Air? I am inclined to buy the Air because I carry my computer around all day and the Pro is a bit heavy.
 
I believe so. Due to it being powered by a SSD it should be faster. The only thing I think you need to look out for is the storage capacity. Maybe buy a case for Your MBP's HDD and use it as a external hard drive to get more space and save money. And yeah, the portability is a great plus! (If you really want to test the speed compare the geekbench of your old MacBook Pro with the one from the Air, the higher the better)

Good luck.
 
Last edited:
hope98 said:
Thanks! Also, how would that compare to these two options: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple&#...rage/6238297.p?id=1218721416338&skuId=6238297

or

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Apple&#...rage/6238297.p?id=1218721416338&skuId=6238297.

What are the differences btwn these two Best Buy machines?
Click to expand...


You linked the same page so..:p
Yeahhh, no differences.

Sounds good though... I believe every computer that Apple sells right now runs those things perfectly. And this one should to.
You should try the back to school apple promotion if you have it in your country.
Maybe you can save some money.
I just don't know about the storage space. Maybe 128GB is too low. (But maybe that is for me that already filled my three month old 1TB drive :p)

What do you think about a external hard drive, there are some not-so-expensive 3.0 ones that might help you with that.

Good luck!
 
Hey there, 2013 MBA owner who was in a similar situation to you here. Had a 2010 windows laptop that was kind of falling apart. For college use, an MBA is perfect. Light, portable, fast and unless you want to take HD movies or lots of music with you, most MBA models will do fine. External HDD's are relatively cheap if you really need the extra storage. There's this one, for instance:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Seagate...lack/5597395.p?id=1218669151322&skuId=5597395

1 TB, USB 3.0 for for 80 dollars. I use my old laptop's hard drive put in a USB enclosure that cost me 20 euros but you might not have that option.
 
Hello,

I was in the same situation 2 years ago. I decided to go with the Air and was absolutely happy. It'll be a great deal for you. Also, I think 128gb are enough. Never needed more.

For the record, I've to say that I now switched to a refurbished retina macbook pro which was on discount and I saved around 400 €. Luckily, the apple employee sent me the wrong item so that I now got 16GB of ram for free. :D

Anyway: take the 128 gb air. It will perfectly suit your needs.
 
You should be fine with it; however, as someone whose MBA has a 128GB SSD I would strongly recommend the 256GB if possible.

Otherwise, I love my MBA. As much as my MBPs, actually.
 
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