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Torn between cMBP and MBA 2013

K

katcakess

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jun 23, 2013
5
0
I'm undecided about what to get. My choices are the non-retina MBP and the newly announced MBA. I'm a teacher / online grad student and I don't really do gaming (only when I feel like it and besides I have an iPad).

I use my computer mainly for office applications, some music, movie watching, video streaming, and some downloading (rarely).

The upgradeability of a non retina MBP sounds very promising for the future but the portability and speed of an MBA is a major advantage. The non-upgradeability of the MBA is a turn off for for me while the weight of MBP is too much for me.

Do you think it's also necessary to upgrade RAM and memory drive for whatever macbook I choose?

I'd like this laptop to last for a long time like at least 5 years. Do Macs last that long? This is my first mac btw.

Thanksss!
 
Get the 13 inch Macbook air, and use your education discount to upgrade to 8gb of memory.

You'll be fine.
 
If you're into the retro craze and like old fashioned technology, by all means get the cMBP.
 
katcakess said:
I'm undecided about what to get. My choices are the non-retina MBP and the newly announced MBA. I'm a teacher / online grad student and I don't really do gaming (only when I feel like it and besides I have an iPad).

I use my computer mainly for office applications, some music, movie watching, video streaming, and some downloading (rarely).

The upgradeability of a non retina MBP sounds very promising for the future but the portability and speed of an MBA is a major advantage. The non-upgradeability of the MBA is a turn off for for me while the weight of MBP is too much for me.

Do you think it's also necessary to upgrade RAM and memory drive for whatever macbook I choose?

I'd like this laptop to last for a long time like at least 5 years. Do Macs last that long? This is my first mac btw.

Thanksss!
Click to expand...

Go for the Air. You don't need the disk drive, and the MBA has the faster graphics, better battery life, better screen and is much lighter.
 
At some point you gotta buy what makes u happy instead of trying to hedge everything. I really want the convertible, but what if I have to pick up some lumbers at Home Depot? :eek: (answer u rent a Uhaul)

Buy a maxed out Air, skip the 512GB SSD because everybody think it's too expensive.

Done.
 
katcakess said:
I'm undecided about what to get. My choices are the non-retina MBP and the newly announced MBA. I'm a teacher / online grad student and I don't really do gaming (only when I feel like it and besides I have an iPad).

I use my computer mainly for office applications, some music, movie watching, video streaming, and some downloading (rarely).

The upgradeability of a non retina MBP sounds very promising for the future but the portability and speed of an MBA is a major advantage. The non-upgradeability of the MBA is a turn off for for me while the weight of MBP is too much for me.

Do you think it's also necessary to upgrade RAM and memory drive for whatever macbook I choose?

I'd like this laptop to last for a long time like at least 5 years. Do Macs last that long? This is my first mac btw.

Thanksss!
Click to expand...

Just buy a MBA 13 or 11". If you get either, I suggest you buy a 24" display and apple wireless keyboard and mouse (for the home setup).

I have been using my Mid 2009 MBP 13" and it has served me well. Trust me, you will never use the super drive when you are out of your home. If you really need a super drive, buy a generic one and hook it up to the USB when you need it.

For your level of use, I think the i5, 8gb, and 256 SSD option will last you significantly more than 5 years. Only reason I am upgrading to an 11" MBA is the portability factor. I dont need a super computer for writing documents, and reading science articles in PDF format.

I suggest the 11" for max portability and that way you can hook it up to your monitor at home for max real estate.

But by all means upgrade the ram!!!!
 
Thanks everyone! I settled with the 13 MBA i5/8Gb/128Gb. I figured that I don't need a lot of disk space since I have an external drive. I just ordered it online and I'm expecting it on the 4th! I can't wait! :)
 
That's probably the best choice. If you're going non-retina, then right now the MBA is better overall than the current-gen non-retina MacBook Pros.

This MAY change later on, IF Apple decides to continue the non-retina line of MacBook Pros and update them to Haswell architecture. But current rumors suggest this isn't likely to happen. It seems either Apple will likely continue the line on old hardware for a time, or it may soon drop them altogether.
 
Mrbobb said:
At some point you gotta buy what makes u happy instead of trying to hedge everything. I really want the convertible, but what if I have to pick up some lumbers at Home Depot? :eek: (answer u rent a Uhaul)

Buy a maxed out Air, skip the 512GB SSD because everybody think it's too expensive.

Done.
Click to expand...

Skip the i7 too as it's pointless.
 
I think the cMBP is close to being driven out, there's really no need to buy it anymore. Even in 2012 I wouldn't have recommended it
 
I recommend the i5/256gb/8gb ram (use education discount) for your needs.

the hard drive should be fine for a few years (and external usb 3.0 sticks and portable hard drives are very cheap these days).
 
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