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9huyna1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 4, 2012
11
0
Hi all,

I was hoping for your opinion on this. Bestbuy is having a nice sale on the 2013 macbook airs and I've read great things about their battery life and all. I was wondering if I should upgrade from my early 2011 15-inch macbook pro.

Specs:
2.2 GHz Intel core i7 quad core (Sandy Bridge...I think?)
16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB
240GB SSD

I don't think I've ever really used the processor to its fullest, but I wanted a quick comparison between this processor and the new Haswell ones on the Air. Likewise with graphics, I don't do any image/video editing nor do I play any games. I do usually have a lot of tabs open though, for research papers and studying. I will primarily be using this for medical school (if I get in this cycle).

Thanks in advanced for your opinions!
 
Last edited:

mtneer

macrumors 68040
Sep 15, 2012
3,179
2,714
I disagree. I think a MBA would be better for a medical student. It's fast and powerful.

I am afraid, I have to disagree with you on this one.

The OP mentioned that (s)he does not max out the processor on the existing Sandy Bridge, so why would anything faster and powerful be more useful for a medical student reading research publications, writing term papers, emailing and watching videos? The Sandy Bridge with 16GB RAM should be good enough for that usage model for quite a few more years.
 

9huyna1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 4, 2012
11
0
Thanks so much for your opinions! I decided I couldn't pass on the great battery life and caved in. :p
 

throAU

macrumors G3
Feb 13, 2012
8,772
6,935
Perth, Western Australia
I'm in the same boat with the same machien and the only reasons I haven't pulled the trigger on an MBA 13" are:

  • unsure as to whether GPU will be a significant downgrade vs the 6750. it will be close
  • no 16 GB RAM option on the MBA at the moment
  • 512 GB SSD is still expensive, and I'd prefer 786 GB
  • my 2011 still works fine, but smaller and better battery would be nice


Yes, I could go for a MBP retina, but they're due for refresh and are a lot more expensive.
 

jadAce

macrumors regular
Aug 10, 2013
204
149
Hi all,

I was hoping for your opinion on this. Bestbuy is having a nice sale on the 2013 macbook airs and I've read great things about their battery life and all. I was wondering if I should upgrade from my early 2011 15-inch macbook pro.

Specs:
2.2 GHz Intel core i7 quad core (Sandy Bridge...I think?)
16 GB RAM
Graphics: AMD Radeon HD 6750M 1024 MB
240GB SSD

I don't think I've ever really used the processor to its fullest, but I wanted a quick comparison between this processor and the new Haswell ones on the Air. Likewise with graphics, I don't do any image/video editing nor do I play any games. I do usually have a lot of tabs open though, for research papers and studying. I will primarily be using this for medical school (if I get in this cycle).

Thanks in advanced for your opinions!

I imagine that right now, you'd mostly be using Word (and, occasionally, PubMed in medical school). If you don't do any gaming, the MacBook Air really helps with its 12 hour battery life (take it to lectures, or the library without a charger). I also went from a Sandy Bridge to a Haswell (i5), and the difference has been quite amazing in terms of performance (and I don't do gaming either).

Good luck with your medical school application!
 
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