rMBP (Haswell) or MBA? College Senior

[KUguardgrl13]

So I'm a college senior studying history and will be spending this spring semester writing my thesis. I've had my 2009 MBP (the one in my signature) since I was a freshman. It's starting to show its age though, and I will need a very reliable machine (a crash would be catastrophic!). I just had a new HDD installed, and I installed Crucial RAM myself. However SSDs are out of my budget, and I don't believe it makes a lot of sense for a 4 year old machine that has other issues. I thought about getting Mavericks, but I'm not sure how it would handle on this machine.

I'm considering asking for a new Mac for Christmas and my next birthday (graduation too, hehe) from my parents. Since it's that far out I'm hoping the rMBP will get a refresh with Haswell (although I know I don't need it). Basically my uses are MS Office (notes and essays), web surfing on Chrome, iTunes, and watching videos. I do extremely light gaming like solitaire. I might rarely edit an iPhone video in iMovie. I have external storage, but I would prefer 256gb just to be safe. My original HDD was 160gb, and it seems silly to get something smaller. It will depend on if I keep my current MBP for photos and music or sell it.

So the question is whether to ask my parents to drop the extra money on an rMBP (probably the 13" 2.5 ghz i5 with a 256gb SSD) or the 13" MBA with a 256gb SSD. I still love the cMBP, but I honestly don't use my superdrive or ethernet that often. I've also had problems with hard drives and cables the last few years.

Of course my question is mostly concerning the MBA's processor. I currently have a 2.26ghz c2d, so I'm having a hard time understanding if the MBA's 1.3ghz i5 is faster. I don't think 4gb of RAM will be a problem since I had 2gb just a few months ago. I could probably tolerate the screen since my current machine isn't retina, and I don't notice much of a difference from my iPhone 5. Portability is nice, but not a huge deal with what I'm used to (plus I'm also considering buying myself an iPad Mini).

So has anyone with an older MBP made the jump to an MBA? How do they compare?

PCs are out because I haven't used many since XP, and I have a knack for attracting viruses. Not to mention ecosystem!

I would probably be purchasing through my college bookstore with the education discount.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

I know there have been a lot of "what should I buy?" threads both here and on the MacBook Pro forum, but I could really use some advice! Thanks!

 

[Spink10]

Get the MBA - processor is much better than your MBP.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Get the MBA - processor is much better than your MBP.

Yeah unfortunately my other thing is form factor. The thinness around the trackpad worries me. It's going into a backpack with books and things.

On the flip side the price is better than what the rMBP currently is. I'm guessing the pricing won't change much.

 

[Spink10]

Get a nice sleeve for it.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

For your uses get the MBA 13" i5 with 8gb of RAM (it's soldered on and can't change it). I have the 2012 13" and it's fantastic. I really think an MBP would be overkill.

Though, I will admit that your 2009 MBP should still have some legs on it (please tell me you backup your files regularly!). I'm running a 2007 iMac and can't really complain. I know it's exciting to prospect a new computer but couldn't $2000 be spent on something else? (I know, I know, I'm getting preachy)

 

[KUguardgrl13]

For your uses get the MBA 13" i5 with 8gb of RAM (it's soldered on and can't change it). I have the 2012 13" and it's fantastic. I really think an MBP would be overkill.

Though, I will admit that your 2009 MBP should still have some legs on it (please tell me you backup your files regularly!). I'm running a 2007 iMac and can't really complain. I know it's exciting to prospect a new computer but couldn't $2000 be spent on something else? (I know, I know, I'm getting preachy)

Don't get me wrong, I still love my 2009 and do backup regularly. Unfortunately it has a chronic issue where it sometimes won't wake from sleep and needs a hard restart. I'm on my third HDD and probably fifth hd cable. I think it's just time to retire it as my main computer that gets lugged to campus every day. It will probably sit on my desk and store pictures and music and be used for downloading movies and such. The battery is also not in top condition so it's needs to be connected to power more often than I would like.

 

[GimmeSlack12]

Don't get me wrong, I still love my 2009 and do backup regularly. Unfortunately it has a chronic issue where it sometimes won't wake from sleep and needs a hard restart. I'm on my third HDD and probably fifth hd cable. I think it's just time to retire it as my main computer that gets lugged to campus every day. It will probably sit on my desk and store pictures and music and be used for downloading movies and such. The battery is also not in top condition so it's needs to be connected to power more often than I would like.

I hear ya, having to deal with those nagging little issues can really break you down over time. I really recommend the MBA and if needed in the future you can get an external monitor and you'll be sitting pretty.

 

[AXs]

Wait for the pros to be released, then check reviews and comparisons. Asking us whether you should get an unknown machine that hasn't been released yet VS something in the market, is fairly hard to answer. Just wait.

 

[KUguardgrl13]

Wait for the pros to be released, then check reviews and comparisons. Asking us whether you should get an unknown machine that hasn't been released yet VS something in the market, is fairly hard to answer. Just wait.

I will probably wait and see what happens. As I said this will hopefully be a Christmas gift. I was more asking if the new Air is worth it compared to what I have already.