Hey guys!
I'm choosing a new MacBook and persist in a quiet a confusion after several days of reading and thinking.
I choose between 2018 rMBA and 2018 13' tbMBP. And specific configurations.
The cornerstone of Mac's resources use is that I'm unfortunately forced to use a single (damn!) win-based program - MemoQ in Parallels Desktop - that doesn't exist in any way on Mac OS. My pattern of use: Parallels, and also MS Office, Skype, Acrobat Reader, Mail, Safari on the Mac side simultaneously. Now I'm using 1.1 rMB 2015 base model and sometimes suffer lack of performance like freezes and lags. So I'm facing a purchase. The thing I like the most in rMB is it's dead silence and the fact that it doesn't get extremely hot under any workload when on my laps (and I use it on the laps 90% of time). Portability is a pleasant feature anyway. But today I want somewhat bigger screen and surely stronger performance. Below are the costs of different models in my country as of today considering discounts:
rMBA 8/128: $1275 (to tell the truth, if not for Parallels Desktop that eats up 50 Gigs of my SSD, I would be OK with 128 Gb: now I have 120 Gb of purely free space and 28 Gb of erasable space on my 250 Gb SSD)
rMBA 8/256: $1499
rMBA 16/256: hard-to-impossible to find in my country; it's not relevant to order it from the US due to enormous custom tariffs via mail. I can ask my friend to bring it here for $1550 with a discount, if buy these days, but only at some point of spring'19.
tbMBP 8/256: $1680 - limited discount
tbMBP 16/256: ~$2300; $1980 from the friend, but again, only in the coming spring.
There's also an option of 2018 15' MBP for ~2200 with a limited discount, but I'm really concerned about it's size, weight and footprint using in a couch, on a coffee table and on the go (even considering this win price): I have a 27' 5K iMac, i.e. a really big screen when I need it. Not to mention 15' MPB's performance is perhaps excessive for my needs if it can be viewed as a take off.
My concerns about rMBF: performance (I don't edit photo/video, but use VM on everyday basis), fan noise.
My concerns about tbMBP: heat when on the laps, fan noise (I'm absolutely OK with the fan sound of my iMac).
General concerns: is 8 Gb enough, considering VM use and that this MB will be for years to come? But, as u see, these custom 16 Gb version are considerably overpriced in my country. Will there be any battery degradation if my friend buys me a MB now at a discount price and I will first turn in on in some 4-6 months?
As my head is literally spinning now, I will greatly appreciate any advice on what model to buy? or wait, for example, for next year rMB upgrade? maybe on ARM chip (hi!)?
Thank you!!!
UPD: let's throw ntMBP in the mix. But there're concerns about it's cooling system being some sort of outdated compared to tbMBP and rMBA and also 2nd generation bf keyboard. The cost of 16 Gb/256 ntRMP model for me is about
I'm choosing a new MacBook and persist in a quiet a confusion after several days of reading and thinking.
I choose between 2018 rMBA and 2018 13' tbMBP. And specific configurations.
The cornerstone of Mac's resources use is that I'm unfortunately forced to use a single (damn!) win-based program - MemoQ in Parallels Desktop - that doesn't exist in any way on Mac OS. My pattern of use: Parallels, and also MS Office, Skype, Acrobat Reader, Mail, Safari on the Mac side simultaneously. Now I'm using 1.1 rMB 2015 base model and sometimes suffer lack of performance like freezes and lags. So I'm facing a purchase. The thing I like the most in rMB is it's dead silence and the fact that it doesn't get extremely hot under any workload when on my laps (and I use it on the laps 90% of time). Portability is a pleasant feature anyway. But today I want somewhat bigger screen and surely stronger performance. Below are the costs of different models in my country as of today considering discounts:
rMBA 8/128: $1275 (to tell the truth, if not for Parallels Desktop that eats up 50 Gigs of my SSD, I would be OK with 128 Gb: now I have 120 Gb of purely free space and 28 Gb of erasable space on my 250 Gb SSD)
rMBA 8/256: $1499
rMBA 16/256: hard-to-impossible to find in my country; it's not relevant to order it from the US due to enormous custom tariffs via mail. I can ask my friend to bring it here for $1550 with a discount, if buy these days, but only at some point of spring'19.
tbMBP 8/256: $1680 - limited discount
tbMBP 16/256: ~$2300; $1980 from the friend, but again, only in the coming spring.
There's also an option of 2018 15' MBP for ~2200 with a limited discount, but I'm really concerned about it's size, weight and footprint using in a couch, on a coffee table and on the go (even considering this win price): I have a 27' 5K iMac, i.e. a really big screen when I need it. Not to mention 15' MPB's performance is perhaps excessive for my needs if it can be viewed as a take off.
My concerns about rMBF: performance (I don't edit photo/video, but use VM on everyday basis), fan noise.
My concerns about tbMBP: heat when on the laps, fan noise (I'm absolutely OK with the fan sound of my iMac).
General concerns: is 8 Gb enough, considering VM use and that this MB will be for years to come? But, as u see, these custom 16 Gb version are considerably overpriced in my country. Will there be any battery degradation if my friend buys me a MB now at a discount price and I will first turn in on in some 4-6 months?
As my head is literally spinning now, I will greatly appreciate any advice on what model to buy? or wait, for example, for next year rMB upgrade? maybe on ARM chip (hi!)?
Thank you!!!
UPD: let's throw ntMBP in the mix. But there're concerns about it's cooling system being some sort of outdated compared to tbMBP and rMBA and also 2nd generation bf keyboard. The cost of 16 Gb/256 ntRMP model for me is about
Last edited: