Worth getting a new battery for MBAir 2011 11 inch?

[ozone]

I have an old MBAir 11 inch from mid-2011. 1.8 Core i7, 4 GB RAM, 256 GB drive. It was my favourite, portable computer, but after years of use, the battery life faded, and the keys are getting a little mushy. Screen is still good.

I bought a replacement battery a few years ago, but it never really made much difference. In fact, the replacement battery looked dusty and I think it was an original battery but sitting on the shelf for years. The MBAir only now gets about 60 to 90 minutes of battery life. The fan would start spinning too even after relatively modest use.

Still, its form factor is the one I miss using the most. Would it be worth it to at least upgrade the battery from Macsales (OWC)? I'm assuming the battery OWC offers is much better than the one I bought from this other place several years back. But given the age and condition of the MBAir, I'm wondering if this is money well spent or not.

Like others, I really, really wish Apple would renew its 11" size portable Mac, but I guess that isn't ever happening.

 

[brdeveloper]

If you like the portability, I think it's worth the battery replacement. Ask OWC for information about battery life. Also, use the opportunity to apply new thermal paste on the CPU and clean the fan and logic board. I usually clean my Mac boards by using a paint brush with organic soft brushes... never had issues regarding static.

 

[ozone]

If you like the portability, I think it's worth the battery replacement. Ask OWC for information about battery life. Also, use the opportunity to apply new thermal paste on the CPU and clean the fan and logic board. I usually clean my Mac boards by using a paint brush with organic soft brushes... never had issues regarding static.

I've never applied thermal paste. Is it a difficult procedure?

 

[brdeveloper]

I've never applied thermal paste. Is it a difficult procedure?

The difficult part is disassembling the logic board, fan, heat sink and so on. Once you reach the CPU, it consists basically on a cleaning and applying new paste. Never entirely disassembled a Macbook Air, but already fully disassembled MacMinis. I presume it's not hard once you have the proper tools (I have these since I've already bought upgrade kits that come with tools). There certainly is a YouTube tutorial for your Mac.