Macbook Air 2013 8GB?

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AnthIste

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So I've been looking to get myself a laptop with portability, battery life and design as the top deciding factors. Most of the ultrabooks just feel a bit tacky to me (even the solid ones like the top-end Sonys), so I decided that I might set my personal differences aside and consider a Macbook Air.

I'd want to push up the specs to maximum as that's kind of the minimum of what I'd expect from a laptop in this day and age, so I was looking at buying the 8GB / i7 / 256GB SSD option (from the 2013 Haswell range). However all of the Airs that I could find for sale only come in the 4GB option, and this is really a no-go as the RAM is not upgradable, being soldered to the motherboard and all.

Is it possible to get these in SA and at what sort of price? Even the 4GB option seemed to sell for a lot higher than I'd expect. Also I will still be able to ask for student discount so I guess this is a factor in determining where to buy too.

And as an aside, does anyone own one of these? My rationale was that I know exactly what to expect so even if it isn't perfect, I know I'll be satisfied dropping the cash, for a long time.
 
Spec it out on the Apple website, make a screen shot and take it to a iStore- or email it. I believe there's a lead time of 4-6 weeks since it is a custom order.
 
What are you planning to do with it?

I've got the entry level model and it runs pretty well for normal day to day tasks, even some light programming and photo editing work is pretty good.

More memory is probably always a good thing but to be honest I really don't notice any issues with only have 4GB. These SSDs are so ridiculously fast that it makes up for the lack of memory in a way.

If you're planning to do heavy work on it then I would much rather recommend the MBP instead.
 
SYNERGY said:
Spec it out on the Apple website, make a screen shot and take it to a iStore- or email it. I believe there's a lead time of 4-6 weeks since it is a custom order.
Click to expand...

Sweet, thanks. The time is not really an issue, I am not in a rush. If it's a custom order, will that also affect the price?

DrJohnZoidberg said:
What are you planning to do with it?

I've got the entry level model and it runs pretty well for normal day to day tasks, even some light programming and photo editing work is pretty good.

More memory is probably always a good thing but to be honest I really don't notice any issues with only have 4GB. These SSDs are so ridiculously fast that it makes up for the lack of memory in a way.

If you're planning to do heavy work on it then I would much rather recommend the MBP instead.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say heavy work, that's what I have my desktop for. However the majority of work that I will be doing is coding. Reason for the extra memory is virtualization - I'm very likely to install a VM. Also, 4GB isn't all that much these days, so while it won't be an issue for most things, when it does become an issue... bleh. If I consider a laptop to be a long-term investment (which it is for me, I'm very good at looking after things), the 8GB is a no-brainer.

So yeah, longevity is a pretty big motivator, rather than any _immediate_ needs that I may or may not have. I plan on using the crap out of this thing after I saw what a mate of mine could squeeze out of an oldschool macbook, that thing just didn't die.

EDIT: to clarify Air vs MBP, it's partly objective, partly subjective. As far as I can tell nothing can beat the Air on battery life, which is a big thing for me. I really like the form factor - I want to be able to just not think about taking it places. Sure, it's a small difference, but it sort of epitomizes that for me. Also, I've just kind of wanted one on-and-off for a long time, so now that I can afford it, why not :)
 
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No it won't affect the price - Core/iStore prices are always high compared to Apple.
I know Discovery should offer a 10% discount before. Now they offer to finance interest free - no discount.

I do believe students still get discounts thou.
 
SYNERGY said:
No it won't affect the price - Core/iStore prices are always high compared to Apple.
I know Discovery should offer a 10% discount before. Now they offer to finance interest free - no discount.

I do believe students still get discounts thou.
Click to expand...

So there is no way to get around the high price in SA, right? Seeing as all imports go through Core group... ?

FNB also has some financing options, but how does the Discovery thing work? I assume you'd have to be a client?
 
AnthIste said:
So I've been looking to get myself a laptop with portability, battery life and design as the top deciding factors. Most of the ultrabooks just feel a bit tacky to me (even the solid ones like the top-end Sonys), so I decided that I might set my personal differences aside and consider a Macbook Air.

I'd want to push up the specs to maximum as that's kind of the minimum of what I'd expect from a laptop in this day and age, so I was looking at buying the 8GB / i7 / 256GB SSD option (from the 2013 Haswell range). However all of the Airs that I could find for sale only come in the 4GB option, and this is really a no-go as the RAM is not upgradable, being soldered to the motherboard and all.

Is it possible to get these in SA and at what sort of price? Even the 4GB option seemed to sell for a lot higher than I'd expect. Also I will still be able to ask for student discount so I guess this is a factor in determining where to buy too.

And as an aside, does anyone own one of these? My rationale was that I know exactly what to expect so even if it isn't perfect, I know I'll be satisfied dropping the cash, for a long time.
Click to expand...

The money you are gonna pay to upgrade all that, you can just get a entry level Macbook Pro. You get the advantage of a better onboard GPU, Retina screen and full mobile cpu vs a ULV cpu.
 
AnthIste said:
So there is no way to get around the high price in SA, right? Seeing as all imports go through Core group... ?

FNB also has some financing options, but how does the Discovery thing work? I assume you'd have to be a client?
Click to expand...

I think if you get a credit card through them you can get the finance. Not sure though.
 
Ah ok then I'll just go through iStore or somesuch. I'll do more research regarding the Air vs Pro, should be plenty of information available.
 
AnthIste said:
Ah ok then I'll just go through iStore or somesuch. I'll do more research regarding the Air vs Pro, should be plenty of information available.
Click to expand...

Find out if student discounts still apply.
No way getting around the high price.

I recommend getting a Mac book Pro as well. The Macbook Air resolution of 1366 is debilitating at times.
 
If you put it that way, it does sound rather poor. That's something that would be a lot more jarring for-realsies compared to reading it in a review where they mention that the screen has "good viewing angles and is high quality for the resolution".

Strangely enough a friend of mine recently bought a MBP through Incredible Connection and managed to negotiate a nice discount, I think it worked out cheaper than iStore with student discount. Might be worth investigating.

Thanks for the info
 
I would almost always go for the MacBook Pro Retina over the Air personally.

Can't think of a single time that the trade of for saving a little bit of weight is worth it.
 
SauRoNZA said:
I would almost always go for the MacBook Pro Retina over the Air personally.

Can't think of a single time that the trade of for saving a little bit of weight is worth it.
Click to expand...
If you travel/commute a lot then the advantage of a laptop that's not only lighter, but also has a significantly better battery life, is pretty easy to see.
 
bwana said:
If you travel/commute a lot then the advantage of a laptop that's not only lighter, but also has a significantly better battery life, is pretty easy to see.
Click to expand...

Yes I travel with mine on my back on a motorcycle every day.

The new Retinas are so lightweight that when I tested one for a little while I hardly noticed it on my back.

Back in 2011 it was a different story, my MBP is crazy heavy.

When I upgrade it still won't be an Air.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Yes I travel with mine on my back on a motorcycle every day.

The new Retinas are so lightweight that when I tested one for a little while I hardly noticed it on my back.

Back in 2011 it was a different story, my MBP is crazy heavy.

When I upgrade it still won't be an Air.
Click to expand...
Sure the air isnt for everyone but for someone like my mother who travels for work exhaustively - probably over 100,000 km per year - the 11" Air is perfect - even the power supply is smaller and lighter. I've got one of her hand-me-down 11" Airs and even I prefer it when I'm travelling.
 
Yeah if you are already willing to comprise on the 11-inch screen size then it's a different story.

I was more arguing the 13-inch vs 13-inch where the Air doesn't make enough sense.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Yeah if you are already willing to comprise on the 11-inch screen size then it's a different story.
Click to expand...
It's all a matter of perspective. ;)
SauRoNZA said:
I was more arguing the 13-inch vs 13-inch where the Air doesn't make enough sense.
Click to expand...
For someone who wants a smaller, lighter, cheaper device with better battery life it makes perfect sense. :) It's easy enough to justify either one depending on your wants and needs. ;)
 
Thing is on the 13-inches the battery life is very very close.

Or at least close enough that I don't think twice about it.

It's certainly a tough decision to make.
 
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