I have same MBA and my thinking was exactly the same. Also I didn't think $1649 was too far out of line for an ultra portable that screams.
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Which Air for my needs: i5/8GB/128 --or-- i7/8GB/256
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I have same MBA and my thinking was exactly the same. Also I didn't think $1649 was too far out of line for an ultra portable that screams.
Because the well documented BB price+coupon or BHphotovideo are both local mortar stores.You don't have to be a genius to figure that one out.
And you don't have to be a genius to figure out the thread starter is from Japan(Read first post) Maybe the local Best Buy in Japan will price match
But im such a moron for stating the upgrade for RAM is $100. What was I thinking?
You can get discounted base models from Amazon JP or Kakaku.com but it's not much different from apple's educational pricing. (I think you get maybe 1man off for some models.) I'd rather get it from Apple for such a minor difference.
I recommend the i5 instead of the i7, because the performance increase is insignificant for your (our?) needs but the i5 runs much cooler, which is more significant for me because I hate sweaty palms.
You didn't ask for this but I recommend getting the 11".
I spend a lot of my time working in McD's and family restaurants and I'd rather have the small form factor, and the 11" just fits better at McD's counter seats where the power plugs are. It's not as small as you think, I code perfectly fine with it and I personally prefer the pixel density on this compared to the 13". The fonts just look nicer on the 11", important if you're coding all day long.
But I also have an iPad that can double as a 2nd screen if need be.
I would definitely get the 8G ram upgrade, though because of 2 reasons that no one here has mentioned yet. Double the ram also means doubling your vram. If you game, that would contribute somewhat.
It also means you have an additional 4Gb buffer before the system starts writing page files onto your SSD, the lesser read/writes there are the longer it'll last.
Though honestly, unless you're working with A1 sized 600dpi print files, 4Gb RAM is usually enough. I'd still get 8G anyway, because it's a more significant (and cheaper) upgrade than the processor.
For the SSD, I thought of getting the 256Gb upgrade as well, but I already have a ton of externals at home from my 40Gb-HDD-winXP-laptop-days. I COULD live with a 64Gb SSD but I decided to pamper myself with the 128Gb, and SONY sells a 64Gb USB3 thumbdrive.
It's also not a necessity, I'd rather wait for SSD prices to drop and slot in my own 500Gb~1Tb SSD in future.
IMO, you're better off saving the cash on the processor and SSD upgrades, and spending it on a good bag and also a 2nd screen to use at home since you want to play games.
Cheers from one gaijin web D to another.
I recommend the i5 instead of the i7, because the performance increase is insignificant for your (our?) needs but the i5 runs much cooler, which is more significant for me because I hate sweaty palms.
You didn't ask for this but I recommend getting the 11".
I spend a lot of my time working in McD's and family restaurants and I'd rather have the small form factor, and the 11" just fits better at McD's counter seats where the power plugs are. It's not as small as you think, I code perfectly fine with it and I personally prefer the pixel density on this compared to the 13". The fonts just look nicer on the 11", important if you're coding all day long.
But I also have an iPad that can double as a 2nd screen if need be.
I would definitely get the 8G ram upgrade, though because of 2 reasons that no one here has mentioned yet. Double the ram also means doubling your vram. If you game, that would contribute somewhat.
It also means you have an additional 4Gb buffer before the system starts writing page files onto your SSD, the lesser read/writes there are the longer it'll last.
Though honestly, unless you're working with A1 sized 600dpi print files, 4Gb RAM is usually enough. I'd still get 8G anyway, because it's a more significant (and cheaper) upgrade than the processor.
For the SSD, I thought of getting the 256Gb upgrade as well, but I already have a ton of externals at home from my 40Gb-HDD-winXP-laptop-days. I COULD live with a 64Gb SSD but I decided to pamper myself with the 128Gb, and SONY sells a 64Gb USB3 thumbdrive.
It's also not a necessity, I'd rather wait for SSD prices to drop and slot in my own 500Gb~1Tb SSD in future.
IMO, you're better off saving the cash on the processor and SSD upgrades, and spending it on a good bag and also a 2nd screen to use at home since you want to play games.
Cheers from one gaijin web D to another.
I got an i5 13inch model with the 8gb memory upgrade from the Japan store.
I don't think you will notice a huge difference between the i5 and i7, but I would recommend the 13" over the 11" if you are doing video and Photoshop.
I picked up a portable 1GB USB3 HDD from Amazon Japan, so I have no storage problems on the move.
I don't think you will notice a huge difference between the i5 and i7, but I would recommend the 13" over the 11" if you are doing video and Photoshop.
I picked up a portable 1GB USB3 HDD from Amazon Japan, so I have no storage problems on the move.
That may be true, but I'm not even considering getting a base model with 4GB RAM, which is why I believe Apple.jp is my only option. Additionally, I understand the advantages of the 11" screen, but for me, I'm only considering the 13" screen model. Cheers to you too, or 多分私たちは乾杯をしゃべましょうね！
I would use it. It's just not absolutely essential. I have a portable 1TB external USB3 HHD, but that's still not always ideal because that's more weight and space I have to carry around. I ride my bike to work every day, so the more I could keep on the computer itself, the better. But it's just so hard for me to justify the price premium that makes me say I could live still live without the extra disc space.I'm not sure I'd consider something I have to pay for but not use, a bonus.
Some people have mentioned that the upgrade from i5 to i7 is not expensive, like $100. But that's only true if a person was set on getting the 256 SSD anyway.
In other words, an i7/8GB/128 BTO is NOT possible. In order to upgrade from the i5 processor to the i7 processor, you MUST upgrade to the 256 SSD first, and then add upgrade the processor. So at least in my case, to upgrade to the i7 (and required 256 upgrade) it would cost an additional $430 (Japan, and with the educational discount taken into account). EDIT (change of wording): The i7 processor upgrade is dependent upon a minimum 256 SSD upgrade, unfortunately.
In other words, an i7/8GB/128 BTO is NOT possible. In order to upgrade from the i5 processor to the i7 processor, you MUST upgrade to the 256 SSD first, and then add upgrade the processor. So at least in my case, to upgrade to the i7 (and required 256 upgrade) it would cost an additional $430 (Japan, and with the educational discount taken into account). EDIT (change of wording): The i7 processor upgrade is dependent upon a minimum 256 SSD upgrade, unfortunately.
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