MacBook Air 1.6Ghz (Rev B) or the new MacBook?

[sdm1985]

Hi guys,

I would like some advice. I love my MacBook Air but the lack of diskdrive, heating issues and lagging when watching a 2 minute clip on YouTube does annoy me. Also the battery isn't that great. The machine is beautiful though.

Would I benefit more from the new MacBook? Will videos/ movies run better? I know the machine has a better battery life and is slightly thicker but I think I can deal with that.

Please advise.

Shawn

 

[GeekGirl*]

As much as i love the Air, the problems with outweigh the benefits I am buying the new macbook ASAP.

 

[Mactagonist]

Sounds like the new MB would be great for you. You want a little more performance and storage space, better battery life and dont mind a little larger machine.

 

[caonimadebi]

You should really check out both machines before you buy. Functionally, the new MB suits your needs best. Aesthetically, the plastic macbook is quite a bit uglier than the Macbook Air. If you decide to go with the MB, be convinced it's really what you need to prevent buyer's remorse after you've seen the MBA.

 

[Gaelic2]

I just bought a refurb MBA 1.8 with 128 solid state drive. I have a pretty new 24'iMac as my desktop and will use the MBA as a travel computer. I looked at this for quite awhile before deciding on the MBA as opposed to the heavier MBP since I have my desktop for the heavy work. The MBA is due in today so I'll soon find if I made a good choice.

 

[NC MacGuy]

If you love the esthetics of the MBA, you may be better served by a refurb or new 13" MBP instead of the MB. Even the base model totally blows away the MBA in any rev.

 

[RSW]

I just bought a refurb MBA 1.8 with 128 solid state drive. I have a pretty new 24'iMac as my desktop and will use the MBA as a travel computer. I looked at this for quite awhile before deciding on the MBA as opposed to the heavier MBP since I have my desktop for the heavy work. The MBA is due in today so I'll soon find if I made a good choice.

I have almost the same set up for work and travel. I have a 24" iMac at my office, and a MBA 1.6 while on the road, or whenever I am not in front of my iMac like home. In my opinion, you can't go wrong with this setup.

 

[bobjob186]

If you can get the SSD version I'd get that over the macbook any day. I haven't messed with the new macbook yet, but knowing how apple does it's screens your MBA will have a much better screen than your new MB. Plus the SSD and 6mb of L2 will make the MBA faster than the MB for non CPU intensive applications.

 

[gnr319]

If you can get the SSD version I'd get that over the macbook any day. I haven't messed with the new macbook yet, but knowing how apple does it's screens your MBA will have a much better screen than your new MB. Plus the SSD and 6mb of L2 will make the MBA faster than the MB for non CPU intensive applications.

Is this true? After the MB update, I was expecting the new MB to have the exact same screen as the MBA considering that both will lack the glass panel a la the MBPs.

 

[noodle654]

Hi guys,

I would like some advice. I love my MacBook Air but the lack of diskdrive, heating issues and lagging when watching a 2 minute clip on YouTube does annoy me. Also the battery isn't that great. The machine is beautiful though.

Would I benefit more from the new MacBook? Will videos/ movies run better? I know the machine has a better battery life and is slightly thicker but I think I can deal with that.

Please advise.

Shawn

Is your MBA your only/main computer? If so, I would ditch it for a MBP any day. I just got my MBA today, and while it is a fast computer, it is hard to use as a main computer. I would look at the mid range 13" MBP. MB is a waste of money, for an extra $200 you get a much more superior machine.

 

[vstephenson]

What NC MacGuy said!

I love my MBA for general tooling around surfing etc but thats it

Sounds like you should look at a refurb alu model

 

[Nautilus007]

advice

only buy the air if you have another computer to use, otherwise grab the entry macbook pro they are both nice machines ive owned both.

 

[Scottsdale]

I use the MBA 2.13 GHz with 128 GB Runcore SSD as my primary Mac. The rev B/C V 2,1 MBA with an SSD is plenty of Mac to use as a primary computer. I connect mine to a 24" LED backlit ACD at the desk. Leave the USB external SuperDrive plugged into the USB hub of the ACD. The ACD has built in speakers, webcam, and even recharges the MBA. A BluTooth Wireless Apple Keyboard and new Magic Mouse make the perfect complete desktop solution.

The SSD makes the MBA feel much faster than anyone could imagine from an ultraportable. On the go it's an amazing Mac with brilliant display, full keyboard, weighs and takes the same space as a few magazines in your tote. Connect to an AirPort Extreme or Time Capsule at home while on your own wireless network at home for backups and secondary drives. Need to connect from your favorite book store or office - you can access the drive from your home network in the Time Capsule or attached to AirPort Extreme remotely via the Internet.

Need more CPU clock speed? The MBA is a Penryn CPU with dual cores at up to 2.13 GHz... that's fast enough for most people. Need more RAM? Maybe not with an SSD swap files are a snap at upwards of 10x faster than an HDD accesses them. Even when considering RAM needs the SSD factors in.

The Nvidia GPU paired with Penryn Core 2 Duo CPU is powerful and more... all in a tiny little form factor that's lightweight yet stunning to look at with full 13.3" LED display. Add some apps that take advantage of OpenCL and Grand Central Dispatch in Snow Leopard and it's an even more worthy Mac.

It all comes down to what you truly NEED. Most people WANT more power, but I would guess 85% of Mac users would experience faster computing use of the MBA with SSD than an MBP running at 2.66 GHz with 4 GB RAM and a 7200 rpm Western Digital HDD.

Sometimes I think I need more power as it's an easy mindtrap to get into. The truth is the 1.86/SSD Penryn/Nvidia MBA is plenty of Mac to be most Mac users Primary computer.*

Want to boost the speed further? Add a Runcore aftermarket 128 GB SSD and make the MBA even faster with up to triple read speed of stock SSD and fifteen times the read speed of a 4200rpm stock HDD!

I know professors, consultants, attorneys, grad students, business executives, and even ENGINEERS who use the MBA v 2,1 as their primary Mac! If they can why cannot you?

You can definitely watch YouTube or even HD videos on iTunes or Quicktime with the MBA with SSD. I recommend a rev B at 1.86 GHz or C at 2.13 GHz for video performance. Flash and QuickTime hit the CPU pretty hard. With a 1.86/2.13 GHz Penryn video is good on the MBA's native display and even better on the 24" LED Apple Cinema Display! Remember too that Snow Leopard and Quicktime X use h.264 hardware decoding with Nvidia 9400m to provide better playback of video on the MBA!

Best wishes with whatever Mac you get!



* results not similar for an original MBA, 1.6 GHz CPU, nor any MBA with HDD. Apple has allowed MB like performance from this ultraportable by using a low voltage SL9600 Penryn CPU (6 MB L2 cache), Nvidia 9400m GPU, SATA-II SSD, 1066 MHz DDR3 RAM, and cooling heatsink like construction of aluminum unibody.

 

[urahoho]

the only difference in rev b and c is the battery and processor. I bought a refurb MBa,it says it is 2.1 how do I tell the battery is the 37 w or 40w hr battery? Does it make that big of a difference?

 

[fluffyx]

I'm typing this on a 1.8GHz, 128 GB MacBook Air (revision B). It's the only Mac I use.

I experience few to zero core shutdowns. YouTube runs great. While it is not a powerhouse, it is a very respectable computer. In my view, the Revision A MacBook Air was not so desirable because of the performance issues.

If you need a disc drive, get a MacBook or MacBook Pro. However, in the year I've had my MBA, I've used a disc drive two times. To each his or her own.

 

[ayeying]

Maybe not with an SSD swap files are a snap at upwards of 10x faster than an HDD accesses them. Even when considering RAM needs the SSD factors in.

Thats still hundreds of times slower than actual ram. And ram is literally cheaper to buy and upgrade on the MB/MBPs. DDR3 ram runs over 3000MB/s, a fast SSD does about 150MB/s and hard drives do about 30-40MB/s. Don't matter if its SSD, swap onto a SSD or HDD is slow and many SSDs are bad for writing small 4K blocks and such. Furthermore, you're wearing out the SSD a lot faster with the swap also.