Ultimate 13 to Ultimate 11

[KPOM]

Well, over the weekend, I switched to an Ultimate 11 from an Ultimate 13. I sold my Ultimate 13 on eBay and donated a portion to relief efforts in Japan. When all is said and done, after eBay and PayPal fees, the donation, the tax deduction, and the lower cost of the refurb 11, it worked out almost even.

Anyway, I realized I was using far less than half of my 256GB SSD, and I've been eyeing the 11" ever since I saw it in the store (the 13" was an online purchase). I am a bit annoyed that while the "256GB" was really 250GB, the "128GB" is only 120GB (less than half the size), but it is enough for me.

So far, the only thing I miss about the 13" is the 900 vertical pixels. Going back to 768 takes a little getting used to, but the portability of the 11" is great. Sure, the SD card slot was nice on the Ultimate 13", but with the 2nd USB port on all the MacBook Airs it isn't quite as necessary.

Despite the slower CPU, this still feels like a decent upgrade from my Rev B that I was using as recently as last November, and in retrospect, I'd have gone with this one from Day 1.

 

[ovrkast]

Well, over the weekend, I switched to an Ultimate 11 from an Ultimate 13. I sold my Ultimate 13 on eBay and donated a portion to relief efforts in Japan. When all is said and done, after eBay and PayPal fees, the donation, the tax deduction, and the lower cost of the refurb 11, it worked out almost even.

Anyway, I realized I was using far less than half of my 256GB SSD, and I've been eyeing the 11" ever since I saw it in the store (the 13" was an online purchase). I am a bit annoyed that while the "256GB" was really 250GB, but the "128GB" is only 120GB (less than half the size), but it is enough for me.

So far, the only thing I miss about the 13" is the 900 vertical pixels. Going back to 768 takes a little getting used to, but the portability of the 11" is great. Sure, the SD card slot was nice on the Ultimate 13", but with the 2nd USB port on all the MacBook Airs it isn't quite as necessary.

Despite the slower CPU, this still feels like a decent upgrade from my Rev B that I was using as recently as last November, and in retrospect, I'd have gone with this one from Day 1.

Congrats!

It's funny that I actually did the opposite I do some light photography and require the larger resolution for post-processing, but still wanted some portability that the MBP couldn't offer.

Either MBA's are awesome systems!

 

[KPOM]

Congrats!

It's funny that I actually did the opposite I do some light photography and require the larger resolution for post-processing, but still wanted some portability that the MBP couldn't offer.

Either MBA's are awesome systems!

Maybe next time we can trade!

Now that I have the 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo, I'm more likely to upgrade to the the Sandy Bridge MacBook Air when it comes out (or certainly the Ivy Bridge if I skip the Sandy Bridge). Although my tasks are not really CPU intensive, it's a little odd having a slower CPU than I have had in any computer since January 2008, and undoubtedly new software will start catching up to it pretty soon. Next time I'll be more likely to start with the 11" model, though I might consider getting a 13" MacBook Air as a "pro" model and keeping the 11" around for travel purposes. The 1400x900 screen on the 13" is nice.

 

[munkees]

I just purchase the 11 ultimate, I do time lapse and software tilt shift, i wanted a portable computer I could use on the road, and the iPad just does not cut it. iPads are consuming devices not really producing, and the apps do not integrate.

on a MPA I can do everything an iPad can do plus some, before I purchased, I did a trial run at the store, on the basic 11, and was pleased with the results.

now my use is cpu intensive, but this devices is my on the road, and I understand it is not as powerful as my iMac.

I still can processes 4000 pictures in a decent time frame.

 

[ovrkast]

I just purchase the 11 ultimate, I do time lapse and software tilt shift, i wanted a portable computer I could use on the road, and the iPad just does not cut it. iPads are consuming devices not really producing, and the apps do not integrate.

on a MPA I can do everything an iPad can do plus some, before I purchased, I did a trial run at the store, on the basic 11, and was pleased with the results.

now my use is cpu intensive, but this devices is my on the road, and I understand it is not as powerful as my iMac.

I still can processes 4000 pictures in a decent time frame.

Very true! And with any computer there's a key term you must understand and that's "patience" Regardless of how much RAM it has or how powerful the CPU can be...it all boils down on whether you are willing to be patient with the computer, or need instant gratification. For the latter, you will never get with any system out there today. There will always be a waiting period of some degree.

 

[joejoejoe]

Well, over the weekend, I switched to an Ultimate 11 from an Ultimate 13. I sold my Ultimate 13 on eBay and donated a portion to relief efforts in Japan. When all is said and done, after eBay and PayPal fees, the donation, the tax deduction, and the lower cost of the refurb 11, it worked out almost even.

Anyway, I realized I was using far less than half of my 256GB SSD, and I've been eyeing the 11" ever since I saw it in the store (the 13" was an online purchase). I am a bit annoyed that while the "256GB" was really 250GB, the "128GB" is only 120GB (less than half the size), but it is enough for me.

So far, the only thing I miss about the 13" is the 900 vertical pixels. Going back to 768 takes a little getting used to, but the portability of the 11" is great. Sure, the SD card slot was nice on the Ultimate 13", but with the 2nd USB port on all the MacBook Airs it isn't quite as necessary.

Despite the slower CPU, this still feels like a decent upgrade from my Rev B that I was using as recently as last November, and in retrospect, I'd have gone with this one from Day 1.

What's the difference in battery life in your experience?

 

[KPOM]

I just got it over the weekend and spent most of yesterday trying to figure out how to reinstall my Windows partition. I wound up doing a clean install because both WinClone and LapLink DiskImage had issues with me trying to copy it to a smaller partition.

That said, I'm recalibrating the battery right now and expect it to power down after about 3 hours of moderate usage running Caffeine (compared to about 4.5 hours of heavy usage on the 13"). It appears about on par with my Rev B. The battery has about 70% of the capacity of the 13" model, but the processor is lower volt and the display is smaller, so that offsets it a little bit. I think Apple's estimate that the 11" model has 5/7 of the battery life of the 13" model is on target.

 

[solaris7]

Did you sell the ultimate 13" to donate a portion to Japan? Well played sir.

 

[KPOM]

Did you sell the ultimate 13" to donate a portion to Japan? Well played sir.

Yes. I wish that it would have been under better circumstances, but I'd been eyeing the 11" for quite a while. The pictures on TV prompted me to finally pull the trigger.

 

[jamesryanbell]

Yes. I wish that it would have been under better circumstances, but I'd been eyeing the 11" for quite a while. The pictures on TV prompted me to finally pull the trigger.

Much respect for that. Very cool.

 

[joejoejoe]

Wow only 3.5 hours? That's a lot less than Apple's claim of 5 hours, might have to consider getting the 13inch for myself now.

Thanks for the info!

 

[BornAgainMac]

If I had to do it over again, I would have got the 11 inch MBA. Like the MBP, the Ultimate 13 is more than what I really need in a portable. I think the battery is the only true drawback of the 11.

I think Apple messed up how they make you lust after the cheaper model. At least people are getting the 4 GB model at a minimum.

 

[KPOM]

Wow only 3.5 hours? That's a lot less than Apple's claim of 5 hours, might have to consider getting the 13inch for myself now.

Thanks for the info!

It actually powered down in about 4 hours. Note that I was deliberately trying to run the battery down to calibrate it. I ran Caffeine, which prevents it from going to sleep or powering down the display. I also ran Parallels for a little bit.

Had I been operating it normally, I would have gotten very close to the 5 hours.