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Which MacBook Air? Help!

@newellj is correct, the Airs don't have a great display, but they're not terrible.

I would always recommend a rMBP over an Air if money isn't an issue, but they're pricey. You can get an Air on sale and an external minitor for cheaper than a rMBP since monitors go on sale often. I know Dell has frequent promotions.

Plus, you mention school work. Trust me, at some point that second screen will save you a lot of headache. I think an Air + display combo would be perfect.
 
Traverse said:
@newellj is correct, the Airs don't have a great display, but they're not terrible.

I would always recommend a rMBP over an Air if money isn't an issue, but they're pricey. You can get an Air on sale and an external minitor for cheaper than a rMBP since monitors go on sale often. I know Dell has frequent promotions.
...
Click to expand...

That's if you're comparing 13" models. The 11" MBA is much more portable than either/both.
 
Traverse said:
@newellj is correct, the Airs don't have a great display, but they're not terrible.

I would always recommend a rMBP over an Air if money isn't an issue, but they're pricey. You can get an Air on sale and an external minitor for cheaper than a rMBP since monitors go on sale often. I know Dell has frequent promotions.

Plus, you mention school work. Trust me, at some point that second screen will save you a lot of headache. I think an Air + display combo would be perfect.
Click to expand...

I found a refurbished MacBook Pro Retina 2014 model on Apple. It is $1359, 8gb RAM 2.6GHz i5 and 128 storage. I thought that if this laptop is significantly better in processing and stuff like that. I could maybe just wait a bit longer and get it. What are your thoughts?
 
Zeraus7 said:
I found a refurbished MacBook Pro Retina 2014 model on Apple. It is $1359, 8gb RAM 2.6GHz i5 and 128 storage. I thought that if this laptop is significantly better in processing and stuff like that. I could maybe just wait a bit longer and get it. What are your thoughts?
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Personally, and this is an individual thing, I'd be concerned about 128gb local storage. My wife has a Vaio Pro with a 128gb SSD that works great for her, but even with massive amounts of files stored on external disks, even 256gb doesn't really work well for me.
I recently replaced my rMBP with a 512GB version.

I think, and I think most here would agree, that a MBA runs well currently on 4GB RAM, but saving for 8GB will give you more comfort going forward for several years. I hate to recommend that people simply max out laptops, but I think 8/256 has a lot more legs down the road than 4/128.

Notice that I didn't comment on the CPU - I doubt it would make a big difference to you.

Other people's comments would be valuable on this, too, since they may see things differently.
 
newellj said:
Personally, and this is an individual thing, I'd be concerned about 128gb local storage. My wife has a Vaio Pro with a 128gb SSD that works great for her, but even with massive amounts of files stored on external disks, even 256gb doesn't really work well for me.
I recently replaced my rMBP with a 512GB version.

I think, and I think most here would agree, that a MBA runs well currently on 4GB RAM, but saving for 8GB will give you more comfort going forward for several years. I hate to recommend that people simply max out laptops, but I think 8/256 has a lot more legs down the road than 4/128.

Notice that I didn't comment on the CPU - I doubt it would make a big difference to you.

Other people's comments would be valuable on this, too, since they may see things differently.
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I do plan on having this for a few years, maybe 3-4 years. And I thought if I upgrade the ram to 8gb, I might as well get a pro. I actually want to do some simple edits using ADOBE after effects and the MBA would struggle running that. I thought that the pro would last longer and run better for longer as well. The 128gb doesn't worry me. I can just get an external harddrive or high storage usbs later which is cheaper than upgrading the ssd.

Thanks
 
Zeraus7 said:
I do plan on having this for a few years, maybe 3-4 years. And I thought if I upgrade the ram to 8gb, I might as well get a pro. I actually want to do some simple edits using ADOBE after effects and the MBA would struggle running that. I thought that the pro would last longer and run better for longer as well. The 128gb doesn't worry me. I can just get an external harddrive or high storage usbs later which is cheaper than upgrading the ssd.

Thanks
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You seem fine with 128GB so I wouldn't worry. Adobe aftereffects would work better with 8GB of RAM though.

My opinion, the Retina screen + Pro package is worth it. In most activities, you won't notice the difference in processing power. The Pro will edge out the Air, but not in a worth while way. In terms of general use, the Retina screen uses up the additional graphics power so it levels out. The Pro is more flexible because you have 2 thunderbolt ports for two monitors if that ever came up. The display would be better for graphical work and personally, I work with text and numbers all day and the retina screen is really nice. That being said, I usually use mine in clamshell mode with external monitors.

It's really a tough call that only you can make. Either one isn't a bad choice. I think your decision of 8GB is good. Not necessary for an enjoyable experience most of the time, but definitely helpful for adobe apps and the future. I would save up for the Pro myself.

Pro:
Box form-factor (which I prefer) - it actually has a smaller overall footprint than the Air
More ports
Better screen

Air:
0.5 pound ligher
3-4 hours of additional battery life.
Definitely cheaper so you could pocket the left over money or get a nice external display.


For what it's worth (and it may be irrelevant to you) I can get a good 9 hours out of my 15" rMBP and the 13" should fare better, but that's entirely dependent upon you usage. One interesting thing I have noticed at my university is that there has been a shift in seeing 13" MBAs to 13" rMBPs. I only see one student now with a MBA. One thing that's nice about the Pro is dynamic desktop space. You can scale up your display to 1440 x 900 or even higher with third party utilities. That is of great use when I'm on the go and need more room for documents.

I apologize for being long winded.

EDIT: one comment on the Air. Thought I still say the display isn't terrible there is one thing that may be annoying to you. Because it isn't IPS, you need to view it straight on. The attached screenshot is from this video review of the rMB (the video will start at the part where she discussed screens). Notice how the colors and contrast suffers when they close the display and you aren't looking at it straight on. I think the Air is a fine device and you'd be happy with it, but it is another consideration.
 

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newellj said:
weird display aspect ratio
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Meh, I don't think I'd call 16:9 weird, but it's definitely less optimal. I wish the industry wouldn't' have moved to it; it's only good for movies or video editing to me.

I used a 1920x1080 16:9 24" display for a while and recently got a 1920x1200 16:10 24" display and gained about an inch of vertical space. It really makes a difference to me. I love 16:10 for monitors.
 
Traverse said:
You seem fine with 128GB so I wouldn't worry. Adobe aftereffects would work better with 8GB of RAM though.

My opinion, the Retina screen + Pro package is worth it. In most activities, you won't notice the difference in processing power. The Pro will edge out the Air, but not in a worth while way. In terms of general use, the Retina screen uses up the additional graphics power so it levels out. The Pro is more flexible because you have 2 thunderbolt ports for two monitors if that ever came up. The display would be better for graphical work and personally, I work with text and numbers all day and the retina screen is really nice. That being said, I usually use mine in clamshell mode with external monitors.

It's really a tough call that only you can make. Either one isn't a bad choice. I think your decision of 8GB is good. Not necessary for an enjoyable experience most of the time, but definitely helpful for adobe apps and the future. I would save up for the Pro myself.

Pro:
Box form-factor (which I prefer) - it actually has a smaller overall footprint than the Air
More ports
Better screen

Air:
0.5 pound ligher
3-4 hours of additional battery life.
Definitely cheaper so you could pocket the left over money or get a nice external display.


For what it's worth (and it may be irrelevant to you) I can get a good 9 hours out of my 15" rMBP and the 13" should fare better, but that's entirely dependent upon you usage. One interesting thing I have noticed at my university is that there has been a shift in seeing 13" MBAs to 13" rMBPs. I only see one student now with a MBA. One thing that's nice about the Pro is dynamic desktop space. You can scale up your display to 1440 x 900 or even higher with third party utilities. That is of great use when I'm on the go and need more room for documents.

I apologize for being long winded.

EDIT: one comment on the Air. Thought I still say the display isn't terrible there is one thing that may be annoying to you. Because it isn't IPS, you need to view it straight on. The attached screenshot is from this video review of the rMB (the video will start at the part where she discussed screens). Notice how the colors and contrast suffers when they close the display and you aren't looking at it straight on. I think the Air is a fine device and you'd be happy with it, but it is another consideration.
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Well, I would be looking at the screen a lot and a nice screen would be nice to look at, my parents said they will give me a $300 loan I can pay back. So the retina MBP is going to be my choice. Thanks heaps guys for your help
 
I was absolutely fine with my 2011 MBA screen, till I spent a few days with my 2015 MBP. The text and numbers are so crisp that it makes a huge difference [to me] when I spend longish hours working.
 
Zeraus7 said:
Well, I would be looking at the screen a lot and a nice screen would be nice to look at, my parents said they will give me a $300 loan I can pay back. So the retina MBP is going to be my choice. Thanks heaps guys for your help
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I think you'll be very happy. It will easily last several years and OS X El Capitan is around the corner and promises to bring some drastic performance boosts to Retina devices.
 
Traverse said:
I think you'll be very happy. It will easily last several years and OS X El Capitan is around the corner and promises to bring some drastic performance boosts to Retina devices.
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Awesome, thank you.
 
Zeraus7 said:
Hash yes, I don't mind carrying small cords or USBs at all.
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In fairness, there are very good card readers that are the size of a compact USB stick. I've used them and they work fine. The big risk is losing or misplacing them...I was poking fun at the many gibes about the rMB's lack of ports. :D
 
newellj said:
In fairness, there are very good card readers that are the size of a compact USB stick. I've used them and they work fine. The big risk is losing or misplacing them...I was poking fun at the many gibes about the rMB's lack of ports. :D
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I gathered that was what you were hinting at. However I don't think it's an apt comparison. The air has enough ports and you only need one or two additional items.
 
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