2011 Air, where next?

rare · 30 Jul 2013 at 18:16

Okay, so I sold my desktop as I rarely got to use it these days. I use my air all the time, mainly for doing uni work. But since I sold my PC I am using my air all the time as my main machine. It works absolutely fine most of the time (i7, 4GB, 256SSD) but I do get some slow down when trying to do heavy multitasking, and the 13 inch screen isn't really big enough for working at home.

I was looking at a retina pro but I am concerned about all the screen problems and sluggishness I have read about. I was thinking perhaps get a previous model 15 inch Pro, with a ram and SSD upgrade? I would assume a higher end last years model (perhaps?) would still be much quicker than my Air, while offering a larger screen and still having the ability to move it with me wherever I go. Also, there seem to be quite a lot for sale on auction sites etc, so could save a small fortune over buying a brand new 2013 model.

Thought any one, as I don't know much about the previous generation Pro's and whether or not they would be much of an upgrade as my Air was a pretty high spec when I bought it.

Ryan-3 · 30 Jul 2013 at 20:38

You would probably find the 2013 Air in the spec I have a bit of an upgrade, and be able to connect it to a monitor at home?

But if you are wanting to have a bigger screen for all uses (as well as having a lot more power), you could look at the current 15" rMBP. The new one's are meant to be out by mid/end September though.

Krisali · 30 Jul 2013 at 21:27

The reason your macbook is sluggish is due to your memory 4gb. If you upgrade that to 8 or 16gb you will see a vast improvement in multitasking. 16gb can be had for around £100 ish.

Edit: just read the 13 inch screen isnt big enough. Have you got an external screen you could connect to? Getting an external screen and 16GB is still a lot cheaper than changing mac though =)

rare · 30 Jul 2013 at 22:04

Trouble is the Air ram is non upgradable, as far as I am aware. Do the 2013 airs come with more ram now? I will have to check it out.

lamboman · 31 Jul 2013 at 14:42

They come with 4GB but you can upgrade up to 8.

What kinda multitasking are we talking? It really could be the CPU or RAM, depending entirely on what you are doing.

Krisali · 31 Jul 2013 at 15:25

lamboman said:
They come with 4GB but you can upgrade up to 8.

What kinda multitasking are we talking? It really could be the CPU or RAM, depending entirely on what you are doing.

He has an I7, I really doubt there is too much that will trouble it. 4GB on the other hand is simply not enough to prevent page writes. My Macbook Pro has a new lease of life since I upgraded to 16gb. It flies now

Edit: A quick browse and indeed the Macbook Air memory is soldered to the logic board and can NOT be upgraded. You learn something new everyday. Sorry rare

rare · 1 Aug 2013 at 17:58

I am sure it is the 4GB causing the problem. I multitask as in plenty of PDF's open, lots of word documents, many many windows in safari, itunes, that kind of thing. I would really like a 15inch screen, but I simply don't think I can justify the cost of a 15 inch retina, so I am still considering the previous generation pro with lots of ram and a large ssd. Especially the cost which apple charge for ssd's which is ludicrous.

lamboman · 1 Aug 2013 at 21:22

Krisali said:
He has an I7, I really doubt there is too much that will trouble it. 4GB on the other hand is simply not enough to prevent page writes. My Macbook Pro has a new lease of life since I upgraded to 16gb. It flies now

Edit: A quick browse and indeed the Macbook Air memory is soldered to the logic board and can NOT be upgraded. You learn something new everyday. Sorry rare

Regardless of i7 or i5 (not much difference in performance for this generation), it depends on what rare is doing. In this case, RAM is not upgradable, yet is the issue

rare said:
I am sure it is the 4GB causing the problem. I multitask as in plenty of PDF's open, lots of word documents, many many windows in safari, itunes, that kind of thing. I would really like a 15inch screen, but I simply don't think I can justify the cost of a 15 inch retina, so I am still considering the previous generation pro with lots of ram and a large ssd. Especially the cost which apple charge for ssd's which is ludicrous.

Keep in mind that unless you go for the upgraded MBP display, the resolution of the 13" Air and 15" MBP is the same. Therefore there isn't much point moving to a machine that is physically much bigger (and much heavier). A new i5 13" Air with 8GB RAM will be perfectly fine for what you are looking to do, but of course the issue is the expenditure for the new machine. Costs £884.xx (don't remember the exact figure) for that with the university discount, and if you buy now (during the Back to School sale) you'll get a £70 Gift Card

Damn sight cheaper than a 15" MBP with the upgrades, will offer better battery life, and will be, for day-to-day use, a faster machine due to the SSD. You'd be better off financially to get yourself an external keyboard, mouse, and display along with the Air than you would to just get the 15" MBP and purchase the SSD and RAM elsewhere.