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Macbook air for school!

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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
Ok, so by next week sometime I should be able to buy a Macbook air for school so I just want all the macbook air users to weight in here. Should I buy the 11.6 or 13.3 Inch macbook air, what are the reasons that you love this machine and how much memory is enough? :apple:
 
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Poisoned1

macrumors member
Feb 25, 2011
67
1
I got the 11" with the 1.6 and 4gb ram upgrades. I bought the 11" one because:
1) It was cheaper
2) I like the its small size

I considered the 13" because it has a better screen resolution and obviously a bigger screen. But, I figured if I was to buy a 13" laptop then I could instead just get the white mac or the mbp.
My needs were to get a small laptop with high portability. This mba is my first mac and so far I really like it. Its very easy to use, long battery life, and seems to be very quick thanks to the SSD. One thing I noticed is if you do end up getting an 11" mba, pre-order a case for it because stores like BestBuy and Walmart do not carry cases for the 11"mba's, but they do have plenty of cases for 13" laptops. Hope this helped. Good luck shopping.
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
Poisoned1 said:
I got the 11" with the 1.6 and 4gb ram upgrades. I bought the 11" one because:
1) It was cheaper
2) I like the its small size

I considered the 13" because it has a better screen resolution and obviously a bigger screen. But, I figured if I was to buy a 13" laptop then I could instead just get the white mac or the mbp.
My needs were to get a small laptop with high portability. This mba is my first mac and so far I really like it. Its very easy to use, long battery life, and seems to be very quick thanks to the SSD. One thing I noticed is if you do end up getting an 11" mba, pre-order a case for it because stores like BestBuy and Walmart do not carry cases for the 11"mba's, but they do have plenty of cases for 13" laptops. Hope this helped. Good luck shopping.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much I will surely think about this... :D :apple:
 
Beanoir

Beanoir

macrumors 6502a
Dec 9, 2010
571
2
51 degrees North
Which screen size is discussed here...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1151097/

and here...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1134443/

and here look there is even a poll for 11" or 13" as it's been asked so often..

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1110492/


Answer to how much memory is enough is discussed here.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1150406/

and here...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1149405/

and here...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1143596/

Don't sweat it though..
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
It's going to be my main computer when I get it, I am going to school for an IT degree, just started late last year. Mainly wondering if 2GB's will be enough for if I should try for 4GB's. I am confused on this subject because everyone has said different things. However, 2GB's are still stander on the white macbook! So it is really that big of a deal. :apple:
 
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SR71

macrumors 68000
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
mayhone1 said:
Thanks thats all that I was trying to say...:D
Click to expand...

By the way, I've got a 13" MBA for school and it's perfect. I decided to get the 13" over the 11" for school for two important reasons: the longer battery life, and more screen real estate. Battery life is very important as on the 13" MBA you get on average 2 hours longer than on the 11" MBA, and the screen on the 13" offers more screen real estate than the 11", which had a weird aspect ratio, in my opinion. The fact that I just couldn't get used to the aspect ratio on the 11" and the longer battery life on the 13" is what caused me to buy the 13" and I don't regret my decision at all.

Also, not to mention that the 13" is faster and has a full size keyboard, while the 11" has smaller function keys. Just some added bonuses if you ask me. :)
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
SR71 said:
By the way, I've got a 13" MBA for school and it's perfect. I decided to get the 13" over the 11" for school for two important reasons: the longer battery life, and more screen real estate. Battery life is very important as on the 13" MBA you get on average 2 hours longer than on the 11" MBA, and the screen on the 13" offers more screen real estate than the 11", which had a weird aspect ratio, in my opinion. The fact that I just couldn't get used to the aspect ratio on the 11" and the longer battery life on the 13" is what caused me to buy the 13" and I don't regret my decision at all.

Also, not to mention that the 13" is faster and has a full size keyboard, while the 11" has smaller function keys. Just some added bonuses if you ask me. :)
Click to expand...

I think you may be right, did you get the 2GB or 4, just trying to figure out whats enough...
 
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wpotere

Guest
Oct 7, 2010
1,528
1
Get the 13... For school you will want the screen real estate. Small screen is nice but I even hate my 13 from time to time and ended up getting an external monitor to help me out.
 
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SR71

macrumors 68000
Jan 12, 2011
1,604
372
Boston, MA
mayhone1 said:
I think you may be right, did you get the 2GB or 4, just trying to figure out whats enough...
Click to expand...

4GB as you never know what the future will hold and if you might need the extra 2GB's of RAM, and also because if the RAM is soldered on, why not just get the 4GB for an extra $100. It's not that much. ;)
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
SR71 said:
4GB as you never know what the future will hold and if you might need the extra 2GB's of RAM, and also because if the RAM is soldered on, why not just get the 4GB for an extra $100. It's not that much. ;)
Click to expand...

Alright thanks to you and thanks to everyone else who answered positively. I think I may know what I want... :D:p:apple:
 
leftywamumonkey

leftywamumonkey

macrumors 6502a
Jun 23, 2010
909
3
California
You should get 4GB since you might end up finding out that you need to run a Windows specific program. Although the computer labs will have the program, sometimes you want to work on your own in the comfort of your own room. But that does make me think about if 64GB or 128GB would be enough to partition. But, you probably won't need to install Windows, it's just something you might want to consider.

Also, are you going to be using it without an external monitor at all times? Since an 11" screen can be quite small and also support bad posture (unless you're using a stand).

Hope I helped somehow. :) Good luck
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
I decided to get the 13" and most likely the 4GB's of memory if I can afford it...
I just want to get a protection plain against spill damage and the like right away. If anything I can just get the 2GB now and sell it later when they update it...:apple:
 
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Kungshi

macrumors member
May 11, 2011
47
0
Like you, I am also a student looking at a MBA. Screen size is really something to consider, mostly when you're slaving away at a desk for hours at a time. The suggestion for an external monitor is a great idea for either screen size. I use a 13" macbook now and had to buy a monitor for it probably a few months after getting it. That extra screen real-estate when working for long hours is just too valuable.

I hope whichever you choose your happy with but do keep in mind these are great machines but not your usual power houses like a macbook pro or iMac. I know you haven't stated you needed much power, but just in case you are interested in that as well, have you considered a new base iMac complemented with a base model air?
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
Kungshi said:
Like you, I am also a student looking at a MBA. Screen size is really something to consider, mostly when you're slaving away at a desk for hours at a time. The suggestion for an external monitor is a great idea for either screen size. I use a 13" macbook now and had to buy a monitor for it probably a few months after getting it. That extra screen real-estate when working for long hours is just too valuable.

I hope whichever you choose your happy with but do keep in mind these are great machines but not your usual power houses like a macbook pro or iMac. I know you haven't stated you needed much power, but just in case you are interested in that as well, have you considered a new base iMac complemented with a base model air?
Click to expand...


Should have mentioned, I have a 21.5 inch iMac, late 2009 model!:apple:
 
K

Kungshi

macrumors member
May 11, 2011
47
0
bc008 said:
I too am in the same predicament regarding which air I want for college. I told myself to just wait until I see them together in an apple store before deciding haha. good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm doing everything I can to be patient till this rumored June refresh. haha
 
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superpalmtree

macrumors regular
Mar 6, 2009
166
0
North Dakota
Kungshi said:
I'm doing everything I can to be patient till this rumored June refresh. haha
Click to expand...

here is what i just did. knowing a refresh is soon i did not want to pay full price for a macbook air. so i bought a "used, like new" model from amazon.com, direct from amazon too. I got the 13" with 256gb hd for 1186 shipped. when the new model comes out I shouldn't lose much in the swap. at least not as much as if you bought it for the 1599 retail.
 
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Patrick946

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2009
163
0
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

Don't forget that the back to school sale is supposed to start at the end of this month.
 
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mayhone1

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 12, 2011
208
0
Wisconsin
Patrick946 said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

Don't forget that the back to school sale is supposed to start at the end of this month.
Click to expand...

I thought the back to school sale was only for iPods and printers, do you actually save on macs?:apple:
 
K

Kungshi

macrumors member
May 11, 2011
47
0
mayhone1 said:
I thought the back to school sale was only for iPods and printers, do you actually save on macs?:apple:
Click to expand...

The student discount and the 99 dollar rebate on a printer is year round as far as I know, but the free ipod touch promo is only during the summer. I saw that in Japan this promo is already going on and with it I read a rough translation somewhere that the 11 inch Air and Mac mini weren't included. That doesn't mean that will translate to the US promotion, but I wouldn't hold my breath haha.

Also the iPod touch promo only works with a new purchase at student pricing. It wont work if your a student buying a refurb.

(I guess you can tell I've looked into this)
 
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