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Going round in circles (11 vs 13 for sole machine)

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badgerman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 9, 2008
546
1
Anyone else is similar situation? If so what are your plans;

So I have collectors edition aluminium uMB 2.0 4GB RAM 500GB HDD plus 16GB wifi.

I mostly use iTunes, firefox, iphoto, vlc, mail, tweetie, transmission, air video and iteleport, istats all the time. Sometimes use pages and iMovie. I mainly watch tv on it.

On iPad I use mail n safari as well as air video or vlc.

Thinking of getting rid of the above for MBA 11 base with 4Gb ram plus AEBS attached to my 1.5TB for photos, movies, iTunes. Can transfer latest stuff temp for planes etc like I do on my 16gb iPad.

I like the portability n easy of iPad use in bed on sofa but annoyed after 6m of real Internet experience n having go use the mothership to load stuff on.

For ~£200 more could get the 13 with obvious extras over 11. But like the idea of something so small can use around the house n beyond without using desk.
 
E

EggrollShop

macrumors member
Jun 22, 2009
71
0
Honestly I don't think you'd notice the difference in terms of weight carrying a 11 inch compared to the 13 inch. They weight just about the same and the 13 inch for 200 more is definatly worth it in every way. But that's just my 2 cents :D
 
mr0c

mr0c

macrumors regular
Jul 5, 2010
112
4
Virginia, US
As EggrollShop says, there's really no difference in weight between the 11 & 13: 2.3 vs 2.9 lbs (they both seem super light in store).

The real difference comes down to the specs & future proofing (11" vs 13"):
Screen: 1366 by 768 vs 1440 by 900
Processor: 1.4 (1.6) vs 1.86 (2.13) (upgrades)
Frontside bus: 800MHz vs 1066MHz
Storage: 64 (128) vs 126 (256) (upgrades)
Battery: 5 hours vs 7 hours
L2 cache: 3MB vs 6MB
It's pretty much a given that everyone SHOULD get 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM.
Only the 13" has the SD Card slot.

For me it's almost a no brainer to get the fully spec'd 13", my only concern is running VMs on it (need access to some windows apps for work). I'm waiting on some further benchmarks and testing once everyone else gets their BTO.
 
Y

YOKOJP

macrumors member
Oct 25, 2008
81
0
badgerman said:
Anyone else is similar situation? If so what are your plans;

So I have collectors edition aluminium uMB 2.0 4GB RAM 500GB HDD plus 16GB wifi.

I mostly use iTunes, firefox, iphoto, vlc, mail, tweetie, transmission, air video and iteleport, istats all the time. Sometimes use pages and iMovie. I mainly watch tv on it.

On iPad I use mail n safari as well as air video or vlc.

Thinking of getting rid of the above for MBA 11 base with 4Gb ram plus AEBS attached to my 1.5TB for photos, movies, iTunes. Can transfer latest stuff temp for planes etc like I do on my 16gb iPad.

I like the portability n easy of iPad use in bed on sofa but annoyed after 6m of real Internet experience n having go use the mothership to load stuff on.

For ~£200 more could get the 13 with obvious extras over 11. But like the idea of something so small can use around the house n beyond without using desk.
Click to expand...

Honestly I think MBA 11 will be fine, but I do advice you to grade to 4GB Ram.
 
nidserz

nidserz

macrumors 6502a
Mar 28, 2008
955
16
Dubai x Toronto
I was going to do that... replace MB and iPad with Air... and then add a desktop around Christmas or next year. However, I decided that was a bad move... for me.

If I was to go that route, I would definitely get a Max'd out 13.3" or at least 4GB.
After using this 11.6" MBA for 2 days, I can't see it being my sole computer, but then again I only got the 2GB version, so who knows.

But I still think 13.3" with 4GB Ram would be the way to go if the MBA is going to be your sole computer. It is still very portable and has great battery life.
 
wirelessmacuser

wirelessmacuser

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2009
1,968
0
Planet.Earth
EggrollShop said:
Honestly I don't think you'd notice the difference in terms of weight carrying a 11 inch compared to the 13 inch. They weight just about the same and the 13 inch for 200 more is definatly worth it in every way. But that's just my 2 cents :D
Click to expand...
Have both, and ironically the 13 feels lighter due to the larger footprint... :)
 
teerexx52

teerexx52

macrumors 68020
May 1, 2005
2,072
173
Florida West Coast
I have a MacBook pro 15" i7. I wanted aMacBook Air after playing with them so bought an 11.6". I am stead fast in my wanting to have only one computer so I needed to look at which one of the two Airs would be best. After spending two days with the 11.6" (which by the way did everything I asked it to do) I started thinking that for an only computer the screen just wasn't big enough for me. It was just great when I took it to Starbucks and a joy to use but....I took it back to the Apple Store and got a stock 13". I do the basic surfing, email, Facebook, iphoto, itunes and an occasional video. No problems at all with either model. However, my opinion is the 13" is a better choice for an only computer, So, I've paired it up with my ipad an I'm thrilled.
 
H

HardLuckStories

macrumors regular
Oct 23, 2010
244
0
UK, Manchester
koobcamuk said:
I'm debating selling my 15" MBP and 32GB 3G iPad for a 11" MacBook Air too...
Click to expand...

I sold my 3month old MBP15 for 11.6/4/1.6/128, debating on sale of iPad 32/3G. I never had the pro above idle usage wise, and once the iPad came it was only used to load up the iPad with content. The rest of the time it sat on desk unused!

I think the 11 air is a beast frankly, but I do love my iPad too hahaha

Edit:I ordered hdmi cable for air, it seems everywhere I'd need extra screenage, there's a screen available to hook up to these days
 
maflynn

maflynn

macrumors Haswell
May 3, 2009
73,682
43,740
check both out at your local store.

One thing people are not saying too much is whether the 11" screen and its resolution is too small. Its a completely subjective call, so I can say the 11" is too tiny, but you might find it spacious enough to get your work done.

Check both out, that way you can also see the dimensions, weight and screen personally and make a better educated decision.
 
AAPLaday

AAPLaday

Guest
Aug 6, 2008
2,411
2
Manchester UK
For an only machine id get the 13" version. Either way id definitely purchase the 4GB RAM version. 2GB isn't enough IMO. Let alone in 2/3 years time.
 
koobcamuk

koobcamuk

macrumors 68040
Oct 23, 2006
3,195
10
HardLuckStories said:
I sold my 3month old MBP15 for 11.6/4/1.6/128, debating on sale of iPad 32/3G. I never had the pro above idle usage wise, and once the iPad came it was only used to load up the iPad with content. The rest of the time it sat on desk unused!

I think the 11 air is a beast frankly, but I do love my iPad too hahaha

Edit:I ordered hdmi cable for air, it seems everywhere I'd need extra screenage, there's a screen available to hook up to these days
Click to expand...

I do like my iPad, but I really do wonder if I justify its purchase enough. I read the web on it more than I do here, but I don't actually produce anything on the damn thing as the keyboard layout just isn't nice. I can't do any work. I might be able to fiddle about with photos; in a much nicer way than on a MBA actually (e.g. colorsplash) if I buy the camera attachment, but as it is, it's just a fun gadget.

But, do I want to replace my trusty MBP? 2008 model, C2D with 3GB (max) RAM, 7200 RPM disk with 250 lovely GB to spare... Backlit keyboard (not black keys either) and generally an all-round lovely laptop.

There's even a chance I won't need a computer for anything other than just mucking about next year, in which case, should I just keep what I already have? ;)
 
jclardy

jclardy

macrumors 601
Oct 6, 2008
4,233
4,577
If it were me replacing my main machine and iPad I would go with the 13". Mainly for the extra speed, extra screen space, and the SD card slot for my camera.

But I am not replacing my main machine so i'm going for the 11.6".
 
teerexx52

teerexx52

macrumors 68020
May 1, 2005
2,072
173
Florida West Coast
AppleGoddess said:
I did the same thing just sold my ipad and the 11.6 is my sole mac. loving it.
Click to expand...

Hey AppleGoddess. Returned 11.6 for 13". Now debating what to do with the ipad and the MacBook pro. Either choice the 11 or 13 is great. I spent hours with both. You can't go wrong except to lighted keyboard. They say the keys are reflective???? Glad you are enjoying it
 
AppleGoddess

AppleGoddess

macrumors 6502a
Sep 30, 2010
787
0
teerexx52 said:
Hey AppleGoddess. Returned 11.6 for 13". Now debating what to do with the ipad and the MacBook pro. Either choice the 11 or 13 is great. I spent hours with both. You can't go wrong except to lighted keyboard. They say the keys are reflective???? Glad you are enjoying it
Click to expand...
why did you go bigger?
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,308
8,320
For an only machine I'd go with the 13". It's plenty small as it is (I've been using a Rev B SSD for the past 2 years as an "only Mac"). I'd definitely go with 4GB for the future. The 1.86GHz version is benchmarking pretty well from what I've seen on Macworld and some threads here. That said, I decided to "max out" on the 2.13GHz (which is on its way and should be here next week).
 
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