AppleInsider › Forums › Mac Hardware › Current Mac Hardware › rMBP 13" vs. Mac Air 13" Which is better for a portable-wanting dev?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

rMBP 13" vs. Mac Air 13" Which is better for a portable-wanting dev?

post #1 of 3
2/15/13 at 11:31am
Thread Starter 

Hey all,

 

I do dev work in Xcode and iOS simulators on a rMBP 15" for a living, and have an app I want to make - but that means I've got to do it offline from my work, hence not use work assets to develop app. So I need a Mac. But I have no idea what to get.

 

I'm kind of kicking around between a Mac Air and a rMBP 13. The rMBP 15 is nice but expensive - I'd get a much higher powered desktop for the same money and I don't do anything that needs crazy video. And I really like the portability of the SSD 13" chassis machines. The Mac Air is much sleeker and I can get an i7 Core, but the rMBP has that screen and though only an i5. HELP!

Reply
Reply
post #2 of 3
2/15/13 at 5:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HAL-9000 
The Mac Air is much sleeker and I can get an i7 Core, but the rMBP has that screen and though only an i5.

You can get an i7 on the rMBP too.

It would be either:

13" 2GHz i7 Air
8GB RAM
256GB SSD
$1599

or

13" 2.9GHz i7 rMBP
8GB RAM
128GB SSD
$1699

but you can get a Retina 15" refurb with 256GB SSD and 8GB RAM for $1779:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FC975LL/A

I'd say the refurb is the best value when you consider that you get the bigger Retina display, dedicated GPU, quad-core i7 and 256GB SSD for just $80 more than the 13" rMBP.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 3
2/21/13 at 11:57am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for the tip - on refurbs. I found a 13" rMBP (base config, stock) for $1269 and bought that. Saved $hundreds$ and have a really neat little machine here, it runs a Sim tip-top and makes my book's fonts and such look spectacular. I might still get a Haswell 13" rMBP later this year, but man I got a good buy with this little refurb. Again, thanks! Had no idea about refurbs.

Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Current Mac Hardware
AppleInsider › Forums › Mac Hardware › Current Mac Hardware › rMBP 13" vs. Mac Air 13" Which is better for a portable-wanting dev?