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Which 11" to buy: 2012 MBA 2.0 i7/256gb/8gb or 2013 1.3i5/4gb/128gb

P

phandango

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 9, 2010
6
0
Upland
I have an iMac desktop and and am purchasing an Air for on the go. I was able to find some nice used 11" MBAs and have narrowed it down to 2:

$750 - 2012 MBA 2.0 i7/256gb/8gb

or

$800 - 2013 1.3i5/4gb/128gb

I'll be using it for light gaming (LOL), light photoshop work, checking email and web browsing. Battery life is a factor, but performance I think is a bit more important (would like to be able to get better FPS on LOL).

I know the new Haswells have updated CPUs and an updated video card, so that's the only thing kind of holding up this decision. Any constructive feedback is appreciated.

Thanks,

.dan.
 
The 2012 is a better machine unless you value battery life then go for the 2013.
 
2012 machine for sure. It has a faster processor, and has more storage and RAM.

Battery life on both should be excellent. The SSD on the 2013 is faster, but really you won't notice the difference.

For work like Photoshop, you'll appreciate the extra RAM.


And finally it's cheaper for the 2012.
 
I wouldnt buy a 2012 model. I'd save up and get the 2013 model. Better processor, much better graphics card, USB3. Buying old tech is not a good idea, unless you are saving a TON of money. TON, of course, is relative. To you, $50 could be a TON. I would recommend saving up some more and getting a 2013 with 8GB of RAM, and save enough for the 256GB SSD. You'll be a lot happier with a little extra patience and sacrifice.

My $0.02.
 
ZBoater said:
I wouldnt buy a 2012 model. I'd save up and get the 2013 model. Better processor, much better graphics card, USB3. Buying old tech is not a good idea, unless you are saving a TON of money. TON, of course, is relative. To you, $50 could be a TON. I would recommend saving up some more and getting a 2013 with 8GB of RAM, and save enough for the 256GB SSD. You'll be a lot happier with a little extra patience and sacrifice.

My $0.02.
Click to expand...

2012 model has usb 3.0.
 
neverhadanewton said:
2012 model has usb 3.0.
Click to expand...

Yup, my bad. I was thinking 2011 model which is the one I had before I bought the 2013.

Still, the HD4000 vs HD5000 difference is huge. And the battery life difference is from 7 to 12 hours per Apple specs. Haswell is a big deal in ultra portable computing. I still would rather have the newer model.
 
MBP memory...is 128gb flash enough??

sorry I'm new here so I'm posting here cuz i dont know what to do srry

anyways, would 128gb flash be enough for everyday use, word documents (quite a lot) powerpoint (a fair bit) and probably excel (not too much)

but, i also play LOL and mine craft quite a bit (not too much) and some small games from the mac app store...

oh and it (the mbp) has 4gb ram and is 13 in...just saying

again, srry I'm really new here and really needed answers so i just had to post here sorry
 
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