I've got a Mid 2011 13" MBA (1.8GHz i7 Sandy Bridge, 4GB) which I love, but am considering upgrading to the 2013 model (1.7GHz i7 Haswell, 8GB). I code, watch films, Photoshop, type and a bit of video editing. 2 years with it, it would be nice to have an upgrade and I don't want to be left behind, but I'm wondering whether the speed difference will be worth the hassle of upgrading?
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Upgrade to 2013 MBA?
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Is there something you do now that is slow? Because if what you do now is working fine, then I wouldn't upgrade.
USB 3 is nice. Video editing might benefit, although i would recommend taking a long hard look at the new MBPs.
USB 3 is nice. Video editing might benefit, although i would recommend taking a long hard look at the new MBPs.
100% Agree. If there's something you can't do now that an upgrade would enable you to do, then go for it. Otherwise, the 2014 model is about 9 months away and will be an improvement over the 2013 model.
Weeelllll, if he waits a bit more, the 2015 model will be even better...
There comes a point when you need to pull the trigger. When that point is depends on each individual's tolerances and budget. There is no one size fits all answer.
Some people like to have the latest and greatest. Some people like to squeeze the most out of their expense. Where do you fall?
If you wait for "the next big thing", you will be waiting forever. It is a good idea to keep your ears to the ground and keep up with the rumors to see if something truly remarkable is on its way, and Apple's announcements are pretty regular. Like buying an iPad 4 now would be crazy.
The rumors for the 2014 model make me appreciate my 13" MBA even more. I am not crazy about a 12" model, retina or not. It will be a little faster, have a little spec bump here and there, but what will determine whether you should get it or not is probably your need to have the latest tech.
Unless you are trying to do something with your system now that is very slow, in which case you are better off with a MBP anyway.....
if you're going to invest extra to get i7/8gb on the Air, it's better to go with the new rMBP.
It costs $200 for a bump from 128gb to 256gb and 4gbRAM to 8gb. It's $300 on the Air. And of course, it's 2.4ghz i5 VS i7 1.8 on the air.
And not to mention, the rMBP is going to end up falling cheaper than the Air.
I'd recommend you stick with the base config on the Air, perhaps just upgrade to 8GB Ram, otherwise go for the rMBP.
More advanced screen, much higher power, better graphics (Iris).
Only sacrifice will be Battery life, and half a pound more in weight which can't possibly be noticeable.
Oh and of course, HDMI port and extra TB.
It costs $200 for a bump from 128gb to 256gb and 4gbRAM to 8gb. It's $300 on the Air. And of course, it's 2.4ghz i5 VS i7 1.8 on the air.
And not to mention, the rMBP is going to end up falling cheaper than the Air.
I'd recommend you stick with the base config on the Air, perhaps just upgrade to 8GB Ram, otherwise go for the rMBP.
More advanced screen, much higher power, better graphics (Iris).
Only sacrifice will be Battery life, and half a pound more in weight which can't possibly be noticeable.
Oh and of course, HDMI port and extra TB.
Weeelllll, if he waits a bit more, the 2015 model will be even better...
There comes a point when you need to pull the trigger. When that point is depends on each individual's tolerances and budget. There is no one size fits all answer.
Some people like to have the latest and greatest. Some people like to squeeze the most out of their expense. Where do you fall?
If you wait for "the next big thing", you will be waiting forever. It is a good idea to keep your ears to the ground and keep up with the rumors to see if something truly remarkable is on its way, and Apple's announcements are pretty regular. Like buying an iPad 4 now would be crazy.
The rumors for the 2014 model make me appreciate my 13" MBA even more. I am not crazy about a 12" model, retina or not. It will be a little faster, have a little spec bump here and there, but what will determine whether you should get it or not is probably your need to have the latest tech.
Unless you are trying to do something with your system now that is very slow, in which case you are better off with a MBP anyway.....
Couldn't have said it better myself.
Don't "upgrade" to a 2013, it's old tech now, except for the battery life. Same chassis and screen that was intro'd in 2010.
Either get a new rMBP for about $13-1400 or a refurb rMBP for about $11-1200. Or wait for next year's 12" Air with IGZO, DDR-4, and redesigned chassis.
Either get a new rMBP for about $13-1400 or a refurb rMBP for about $11-1200. Or wait for next year's 12" Air with IGZO, DDR-4, and redesigned chassis.
If it ain't broke Anyway, there are quite a few compelling reasons to upgrade to a 2013 model, even from a 2012.
Next year's rumored update.
Many thanks for the replies. I may investigate the new 13 rMBP in the meantime - last review I read on the verge was that it wasn't quite refined enough yet and there was some lag, but I'll read some other reviews.
To be honest I'm probably not struggling with speed enough yet though so will probably stick until next year. It's an incredible laptop for size/price.
To be honest I'm probably not struggling with speed enough yet though so will probably stick until next year. It's an incredible laptop for size/price.
The 2012 13" rMBP did have some lag issues, mainly due to graphics. But all of the initial impressions I've seen for the 2013 indicate that the lag has been fixed.
I went from a 2011 13" i5/4gb/256gb MBA to a 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA and am very happy with the upgrade. USB3 is certainly a noticeable improvement. If you get the 13" model, the SD card slot is also much faster (the 2011 SD slot is connected to the USB bus and the 2013 is not).
For me, the 512gb SSD was the major win, it is super fast and gives me some breathing room. I edit pro HD video (XDCAM EX) and like to keep current projects on the SSD. 256gb gets small real fast. I definitely see faster rendering on the 2013 machine but have not benchmarked it.
In Logic Pro, my latency dropped from 13ms on the 2011 machine to 8 ms on the 2013 machine. I suspect that is mostly due to the faster SSD.
8gb RAM is always nice to have, although I was doing fine with 4gb before.
But the main reason I upgraded was in order to help a friend who needed a laptop, so I sold her the 2011 machine really cheaply as a favor. I also decided that the 11" form factor would be nicer for travel. While installing everything on the 2013 machine, I had both side by side. I was actually surprised that for "everyday" type stuff, there was very little noticeable difference between the 2011 and 2013 machines however.
For me, the 512gb SSD was the major win, it is super fast and gives me some breathing room. I edit pro HD video (XDCAM EX) and like to keep current projects on the SSD. 256gb gets small real fast.
I definitely see faster rendering on the 2013 machine but have not benchmarked it.In Logic Pro, my latency dropped from 13ms on the 2011 machine to 8 ms on the 2013 machine. I suspect that is mostly due to the faster SSD.
8gb RAM is always nice to have, although I was doing fine with 4gb before.
But the main reason I upgraded was in order to help a friend who needed a laptop, so I sold her the 2011 machine really cheaply as a favor. I also decided that the 11" form factor would be nicer for travel. While installing everything on the 2013 machine, I had both side by side. I was actually surprised that for "everyday" type stuff, there was very little noticeable difference between the 2011 and 2013 machines however.