I'm in the market for a MBA 13" and can't decide on which one to get. A refurbished MacBook Air 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 July 2011 for $959 or the new MacBook Air 1.8GHz dual-core Intel Core i5 June 2012 for $1229. New one has USB 3, MagSafe 2, and is a bit faster but cost $300 more. Which one would you guys get?

Refurbished MacBook Air 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i5

^

Find someone who can get you edu discount on apple and buy the new one. Ivy bridge is better than Sandy Bridge in almost every imaginable way. You are already overpaying for apple product, do it right so you won't regret later.

The New MacBook Pro: Unfixable, Unhackable, Untenable | Gadget Lab | Wired.com

Fuck it, I'm still getting one.

order it online and go through the education store. get the discount and the free 100dollar giftcard to itunes.

after upgrading the ram to 8gb, everything including tax would come to $1,310.62

totally worth it for the better internals.

1. usb 3.0
2. HD4000
3. ivy bridge
4. faster ssd
5. 720p camera
6. same new fan design on the mpbr
7. comes with a free upgrade to mountain lion worth 30bucks
7. ability to upgrade to 8gb of ram

i dont see a reason to get the refurb...

I asked Ronin this question before, but has anyone else gone through the educational store to get the discount before while not being a student?
How do they actually track you regarding being a student, if they even do that...

Not so sure online, but at B&M stores they ask you for a student ID.

They didn't check the last time I ordered online through the apple store. But this was a couple years ago.

Wanting to upgrade my 2010 Mid Macbook pro 13inch 2.4 ghz, is it worth it to go SSD SATA2 or SATA3? Which one works I've been reading conflicting reports that the 2010 pros don't have the interface for SATA3 and it's capped at 3GB/S, others say SATA3 works and only SATA2 is optimal.

Want to sell me your 17" MBP?

I don't think there will be a 17" MBP now that it's been discontinued. I would have been really interested in a 17" MBP with a retina display.. would be KILLER for enjoying photos. I hope the pricing in the 17" MBP starts coming down.

Apple Refurb Macbook Pro (Early 2011) - $829/969

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.3GHz dual-core Intel i5 - Apple Store (Canada)
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.7GHz dual-core Intel i7 - Apple Store (Canada)

RAM is not upgradeable on the MBA.

I think he means upgrade from the factory, built to order. The previously gen MBA only allowed up to 4GB of RAM, this new model allows up to 8GB via custom order.

I played with the new retina display MBP today...a little underwhelming. 15" display is too small... I think I'm going to keep mine for a little while longer and get a current 17" refurb later on.

Agreed with a retina 17" - would have been awesome.

I ordered a new retina 15" last week. $2484 after taxes. Base model but with 16GB RAM.

Let me outline the reasons why:

1. The screen is fucking amazing. I've never seen THUMBNAILS look this good and the way it renders high resolution photos is unlike anything I've ever seen. They don't even look like pictures. They look like what I saw when I took the picture without a camera as a middle man. Might have a bit to do with my 5D3 as well but STILL.

2. Some of you are saying you can get a cheaper PC that's just as fast but I don't think you can find one that's just as thin or well built. I picked this thing up and it feels solid...like slamming the door on a Rolls. I looked around at PCs that are in the thin and light class and similarly specced, they're about $400-500 less but none are made with materials like this in a package like this. Sure you can NOS out a Civic and get under a 10 second 1/4 mile or you could pay more for an M5 (or whatever) that isn't necessarily faster but build quality of a luxury car > Japanese econobox.

Sure, thin and light might not matter to you but it does to me. Even in 2001, I was buying wedge shaped laptops that cost more for the same speed as a cheapie but were half the size.

3. Couldn't possibly care less about lack of fixability or upgrades. Upgrades are a thing of the past...and if you can repair your own laptop, then you're one of the very, very few on the planet. On laptops, you just add HD space and RAM anyways. 16GB RAM good enough until the next upgrade cycle and if you want a 1TB SSD on your laptop, that's just silly expensive anyways so not being able to open up the laptop doesn't bother me.

By the time it needs upgrading, it'll be time to buy something new rather than eek out a little bit more performance on old tech.

17" retina would've looked great but I probably wouldn't have bought it anyways. 17 is too big to be portable. 15" is borderline already.

WTB: high DPI standalone monitors...

At no point was I asked for student ID...

And come to think of it, I've purchased more than one Mac laptop this year (helped a buddy buy a MBP earlier this year).

Wow, that was incredible reading you justify a $2500 computer like that...

I'd spend $2500 to get amazing thumbnails too! ;)

LOL obviously not just thumbnails but even with a small previews you can tell the difference.

It's more that I don't get why everyone thinks this is so much more expensive. Show me a comparable PC for $999. Forget the screen. But apart from Vizio, I see few PC laptops of this sort of form factor. Sony and Samsung make even more expensive carbon fiber or whatever models.

With the screen, there is nothing to compare with.

Without the screen, hardware wise Apple hardware is better (assuming you will never want to upgrade or replace your battery, something I have done many times with my laptop). Software wise :heckno:

I think the price hit to be an early adopter of the Retina Display Mac is too much. Probably better to wait a 1/2 year until the industry catches up.

I could have sworn I paid more for my MBP back in 2008. I could be wrong though. If people can't afford it, move on, who gives a fuck.

Yep, I paid $3300 for my 17" in late 2009.

My 17" MBP screen is also brighter than the new retina one. Hmmmm....

Right. My 2008 MBP was $2500 with the higher res, matte screen.

Apple doesn't go on sale. This model will probably always be near this price. The upcoming 13" will probably be the one people buy.

New screen is also an IPS panel which the old 17" is not.

Just placed my order for a retina MBP.

Base model+16GB ram.

Sold my Mac mini yesterday, got a whole bunch of Apple GC and voila~ :D

Estimated ship time: 3~4 weeks. :fuckthatshit: