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macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 4, 2014
14
0
I'm on the fence about getting a new retina MBP or to get a MacBook Air. I'm currently a CS student and I work part time as a web developer. I'm still using a 2009 MBP, which is fine for web browsing and such, but it's slowed down a lot, and has a battery life of only about 4 hours maximum.

I do also have a very recent desktop I built that I use as my primary machine when I'm at home, so the laptop I'll be purchasing will not be a replacement--it'll only be for use when I work away from home and when I'm on campus. Having said this, the most obvious answer might've been the MacBook Air. However, there's currently a Best Buy promotion where I'm able to get a late-2013, 8/256 rMBP for $1275 (pre-tax), the same price as a rMBP refurbished from Apple. A MacBook Air configured to 8GB RAM (using the education discount on Apple's website, since Best Buy has no 8/256 Air models), costs about $1200 (pre-tax).

Looking at the pros/cons of both models, I feel like paying $75 more is worth it for a better screen and a faster processor. Another option I considered would be to wait until a rMBP refresh, but it seems like a significant one won't occur until Q4 2014, or even Q1 2015. And even then, I most likely won't be getting as large of a discount as $225 ($75 base discount + $150 student discount).

I've put some time into doing some research, so let me know what you guys think!
 
If you are planning on getting a 13" rMBP anyways, get it now. If you are on the fence, you might as well wait until June to see if Apple announces anything else. The BB promotion goes until June anyways.

Matt
 
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