rMBP 15" or MBA 13" Haswell for college

[Macforcollege]

I am going to college starting August 30th and was wondering what would be the better computer for me. I will be using a 24 inch Asus LED monitor, brand new for my desk. I will be majoring in Entrepreneurial management and plan on starting my own company. I want a computer that will be great for website design because I am currently developing a technology website for college students. Money is not an issue, I have been working and saving up for years. The question is what is the best solution for a student who wants a computer that will last four years without issues. I would appreciate input as well as what specs you would do for each computer.

Thank you,
Connor

 

[Laco]

I am going to college starting August 30th and was wondering what would be the better computer for me. I will be using a 24 inch Asus LED monitor, brand new for my desk. I will be majoring in Entrepreneurial management and plan on starting my own company. I want a computer that will be great for website design because I am currently developing a technology website for college students. Money is not an issue, I have been working and saving up for years. The question is what is the best solution for a student who wants a computer that will last four years without issues. I would appreciate input as well as what specs you would do for each computer.

Thank you,
Connor

Since you will be using an external monitor (most of the time?) you may not receive a lot of benefit from a retina screen - my computer is plugged into an external monitor about 99% of the time. So I would go for an 11 inch Macbook Air with 8gb of ram and at least 256gb hard drive. That way you have an ultra portable computer when you leave the home and you have 24 inch when you work at your desk.

 

[Macforcollege]

Since you will be using an external monitor (most of the time?) you may not receive a lot of benefit from a retina screen - my computer is plugged into an external monitor about 99% of the time. So I would go for an 11 inch Macbook Air with 8gb of ram and at least 256gb hard drive. That way you have an ultra portable computer when you leave the home and you have 24 inch when you work at your desk.

I will be using the computer throughout campus so the 11 inch wont be big enough. The smallest I would go would be a 13 inch. I would love a retina screen but is the computer as a whole worth it for what I plan on doing?

 

[BuCkDoG]

I will be using the computer throughout campus so the 11 inch wont be big enough. The smallest I would go would be a 13 inch. I would love a retina screen but is the computer as a whole worth it for what I plan on doing?

Personally, if money isn't an issue, I would snap choose the Retina over anything else. It will give you everything you need moving forward with your business and schooling. If money is an issue or if your looking for something a bit more portable and light with all day battery life, then the 13in MacBook Air with 8GB RAM is where you want to be. Just my opinion.

 

[Macforcollege]

Personally, if money isn't an issue, I would snap choose the Retina over anything else. It will give you everything you need moving forward with your business and schooling. If money is an issue or if your looking for something a bit more portable and light with all day battery life, then the 13in MacBook Air with 8GB RAM is where you want to be. Just my opinion.

This is a really tough decision. Obviously the rMBP is great but at the same time I am worried the new one will not be out in time for when I go to school. I also don't want to purchase one at the end of the cycle.

 

[BuCkDoG]

This is a really tough decision. Obviously the rMBP is great but at the same time I am worried the new one will not be out in time for when I go to school. I also don't want to purchase one at the end of the cycle.

I agree it is a tough decision. It is up to you so think about it and do your research on whatever best fits your needs. I have the maxed out Retina version and I couldn't be happier man. I can do whatever i want on this thing and it doesn't even hesitate on anything. Gaming, Video editing, you name it, it gets it done without a problem.

 

[Macforcollege]

I agree it is a tough decision. It is up to you so think about it and do your research on whatever best fits your needs. I have the maxed out Retina version and I couldn't be happier man. I can do whatever i want on this thing and it doesn't even hesitate on anything. Gaming, Video editing, you name it, it gets it done without a problem.

How is your battery life? That is very important for college. My website I am creating is just for these types of situations. I wish I could use each for a test period then choose from my experiences.

 

[BuCkDoG]

How is your battery life? That is very important for college. My website I am creating is just for these types of situations. I wish I could use each for a test period then choose from my experiences.

My battery life is actually pretty good considering what I do with it. It really depends on how you use your Mac will determine its battery life. That really goes for any portable device. As far as my Mac goes, if I'm just browsing the web and doing some light email or typing in pages, I can get the full 7 hours or even more depending on the brightness. As far as a more intense usage, Gaming, Video Editing, running a lot of programs and taxing the system pretty good, I can get around 3 1/2 - 4 hours. If you fully max the machine out, you wont get more than 2 hours tops, like gaming at full res and full graphics and running every application on your mac at once. Considering all of that power and portability, that really is much better than anything else on the market, not to mention the incredible retina display screen. Once you go retina, you'll never go back to anything else, mark my words. If all day battery life is your concern, that go with the MacBook Air. If you can sacrifice a few hours, then by all means go retina.

 

[B...]

If you want to keep t for 4+ years, consider waiting for the refresh which could take place between next week and the end of the year. It should bring improved battery life, faster SSDs, AC WiFi and improved graphics performance (especially on the 13", and maybe not on the 15").

 

[Macforcollege]

My battery life is actually pretty good considering what I do with it. It really depends on how you use your Mac will determine its battery life. That really goes for any portable device. As far as my Mac goes, if I'm just browsing the web and doing some light email or typing in pages, I can get the full 7 hours or even more depending on the brightness. As far as a more intense usage, Gaming, Video Editing, running a lot of programs and taxing the system pretty good, I can get around 3 1/2 - 4 hours. If you fully max the machine out, you wont get more than 2 hours tops, like gaming at full res and full graphics and running every application on your mac at once. Considering all of that power and portability, that really is much better than anything else on the market, not to mention the incredible retina display screen. Once you go retina, you'll never go back to anything else, mark my words. If all day battery life is your concern, that go with the MacBook Air. If you can sacrifice a few hours, then by all means go retina.

do you think it would be ideal for web design

 

[MBA13"]

if you have the money, then definitely go for the rMBP15"... if u dont, just get the MBA13", you wont be disappointed

 

[B...]

do you think it would be ideal for web design

No, because you have to deal with the resolution barrier of designing on a 2880x1800 screen for the 99% of lower resolution screens out there. A lot more pixel manipulation required, but if used with an external monitor any time you need to do real work, it should be fine.

 

[BuCkDoG]

do you think it would be ideal for web design

You might like the screen better once you physically start working on the retina display especially for web design. But if external is your dead set way to go, then you might want to consider maxing out the macbook air and saving some money. But like you said money isn't an option, so spend the few hundred extra and get the retina. If you plan on getting the 13in retina, I would wait for the Haswell refresh. That is where Haswell will have the biggest impact. If your getting the 15in Retina, buy anytime. Haswell wont be that big of an upgrade for you.

 

[Macforcollege]

You might like the screen better once you physically start working on the retina display especially for web design. But if external is your dead set way to go, then you might want to consider maxing out the macbook air and saving some money. But like you said money isn't an option, so spend the few hundred extra and get the retina. If you plan on getting the 13in retina, I would wait for the Haswell refresh. That is where Haswell will have the biggest impact. If your getting the 15in Retina, buy anytime. Haswell wont be that big of an upgrade for you.

Thanks for the incite, the real question is do a pull the trigger on one now or wait for the haswell refresh(which will hopefully be before August 30 when i go to college)

 

[BuCkDoG]

Thanks for the incite, the real question is do a pull the trigger on one now or wait for the haswell refresh(which will hopefully be before August 30 when i go to college)

If your getting the 15in Retina, buy now. No point to wait because the machine will do you very well for many years to come without hesitation. If your'e going for the 13in, I would wait honestly. Haswell will make a difference in that machine because of the lack of a dedicated GPU.