What should I get with my MBA 13"

[Usernameisvalid]

I think I'm just about sold on a new MBA but what I need to decide on is specs. I'm a student who will use it to power an external monitor when I'm at home, run HD movies, various word processing and the occasional use of X-Code. Keeping this in mind should I fork out for the i7 and 8GB of ram or is that serious overkill. I am moving to Mac so I want something that will last for the foreseeable future with out need of upgrade. Also if I plan to store document and movies on cloud storage and external HD's will 128GB be enough (keeping in mind I will most likely bootcamp win7).

Thanks.

 

[maflynn]

Cloud storage is nice but it still doesn't compare to have your data local. I'd go for the 256GB storage just to be safe. I found the 128GB to be to constraining. The 8GB of ram is a plus as well.

 

[designs216]

I'm a student who will use it to power an external monitor when I'm at home, run HD movies, various word processing and the occasional use of X-Code. Keeping this in mind should I fork out for the i7 and 8GB of ram or is that serious overkill.

Thanks.

Definitely get at least the 256 drive and 8GB RAM. You can ease the financial blow somewhat by looking at the 2012 model. These are hard or impossible to upgrade. 256GB storage will allow you to partition and comfortably install Windows if needed. I've found that certain EDU web sites/applications are written on a shoestring budget and run only on Windows/IE.

Consider getting the USB Superdrive and Applecare. Many textbooks still come with supplemental materials on CD/DVD. This machine is going to get bumped around a lot. It might not be a bad idea to get a hard case that obscures the Apple logo -- which screams "Steal Me" especially in this environment.