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Guv280984

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2008
257
134
Norn Iron
Hey guys,

I have been a PC user for about 10 years and i have finally decided its time to try a new Mac.

I have been reading the forums here for a couple of weeks trying to make up my mind regarding the Macbook Air. I was concerned about the many complaints there was about the overheating and fan issues but i have decided to take the plunge and see it for myself.

I have just ordered the standard version with the 80 GB hard drive and also the Superdrive and Ethernet USB dongle as extras.

I would like to ask what you guys think i should do when i first get it? I seen a thread about completely re-installing the OS and saving some disk space. I wont require all those Language add ons and printer drivers, so i was wondering if there is a way to remove them without having to completely re-install the OS?

Thanks
Guv
 

RevolutionOne

macrumors member
Feb 5, 2008
89
0
Essex, UK
There is a great application called monolingual which deletes languages which you wouldnt need. It deletes languages from applications that you install yourself too, I used it once a month or so and it always cleans up lots of space.

The printer drivers can be deleted too, they are in system/library folders i do believe.

I would just install from fresh though. Doesn't take very long at all. I never use the likes of iDVD, iMovie, garageband, iWeb etc so that saves up a lot of space on my hard drive
 

Guv280984

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2008
257
134
Norn Iron
Thanks guys. Appreciate the replies. Cant wait to get it :)

Estimated delivery is not until the 2nd April! Thats a long time away. I wonder what the hold up could be?

I see that a flash bug could be causing all the overheating and fan issues. Hopefully there will an update to sort this issue out
 

clayj

macrumors 604
Jan 14, 2005
7,648
1,384
visiting from downstream
Thanks guys. Appreciate the replies. Cant wait to get it :)

Estimated delivery is not until the 2nd April! Thats a long time away. I wonder what the hold up could be?

I see that a flash bug could be causing all the overheating and fan issues. Hopefully there will an update to sort this issue out
As far as that Flash bug goes, my advice is this: Don't leave a Safari window up on the screen (when you're not actually watching it) if it contains Flash movies or animated GIFs and such. A minimized window uses virtually no CPU, even if there are Flash items in it. It's the drawing of stuff on the screen that causes the CPU hit. "Out of sight, out of mind", basically.
 

Guv280984

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2008
257
134
Norn Iron
As far as that Flash bug goes, my advice is this: Don't leave a Safari window up on the screen (when you're not actually watching it) if it contains Flash movies or animated GIFs and such. A minimized window uses virtually no CPU, even if there are Flash items in it. It's the drawing of stuff on the screen that causes the CPU hit. "Out of sight, out of mind", basically.

Fair enough. I will prob use Firefox as my browser, do you think it will have the same issues?
 

clayj

macrumors 604
Jan 14, 2005
7,648
1,384
visiting from downstream
Fair enough. I will prob use Firefox as my browser, do you think it will have the same issues?
I guess you'll find out. ;)

Seriously, the MBA uses integrated graphics and shared memory for video. There is no separate GPU like there is in a MBP. So intensive screen drawing is going to cause the CPU to spike, regardless of the app. Flash just seems to be really bad about it (my guess would be that it's simply inefficient). The best way to minimize this effect is to minimize any window you're not actually using at this moment... if there's nothing to draw, then the CPU gets to rest a bit. CPU rest = less heat = less need for the fans to spin. I follow a regimen like this and my fans rarely go over 3500 RPM.
 

raremage

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2005
548
0
Orlando, Florida
I guess you'll find out. ;)

Seriously, the MBA uses integrated graphics and shared memory for video. There is no separate GPU like there is in a MBP. So intensive screen drawing is going to cause the CPU to spike, regardless of the app. Flash just seems to be really bad about it (my guess would be that it's simply inefficient).

Haven't seen any difference to speak of between safari, firefox, or opera.

On the other hand, it's not a debilitating experience for me (knock on wood) so I wonder if certain units have more problems due to mis-applied paste. In general if I'm doing video-heavy tasks, the temp goes up and the fans spin up. When I stop, things cool down and the fans slow.
 

Scott6666

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2008
1,511
980
Be prepared

Be mentally prepared to take it back because of overheating and fan.

Hell, don't even crack the shrinkwrap. Send it back immediately. Save time.
 

w00tini

macrumors 6502a
Feb 28, 2008
661
62
Be mentally prepared to take it back because of overheating and fan.

Hell, don't even crack the shrinkwrap. Send it back immediately. Save time.
don't listen to this angry panda...my MBA has been a dream since day 1. best decision I ever made in computing. And I'm also a first time Mac buyer.

enjoy your new rig!
 

raremage

macrumors 6502a
Nov 21, 2005
548
0
Orlando, Florida
In fairness, it sounds like (from his posts) Scott has given it a fair shot and had some bad luck.

Having said that, an awful lot of us are working just fine. Hopefully you will too!

Enjoy!
 

ibmman69

macrumors member
Jan 8, 2008
36
0
There is a great application called monolingual which deletes languages which you wouldnt need. It deletes languages from applications that you install yourself too, I used it once a month or so and it always cleans up lots of space.

The printer drivers can be deleted too, they are in system/library folders i do believe.

I would just install from fresh though. Doesn't take very long at all. I never use the likes of iDVD, iMovie, garageband, iWeb etc so that saves up a lot of space on my hard drive

I prefer xSlimmer...but that is just me.
 

Cheffy Dave

macrumors 68030
Thanks guys. Appreciate the replies. Cant wait to get it :)

Estimated delivery is not until the 2nd April! Thats a long time away. I wonder what the hold up could be?

I see that a flash bug could be causing all the overheating and fan issues. Hopefully there will an update to sort this issue out

Delay is, they are selling them as fast as they can make them,(maybe even faster) ENJOY your wonderful new Apple!;):apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:
 

Scott6666

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2008
1,511
980
Thanks for the support

In fairness, it sounds like (from his posts) Scott has given it a fair shot and had some bad luck.

Having said that, an awful lot of us are working just fine. Hopefully you will too!

Enjoy!

I really did give it a try and I really did want it to work. I even posted a thread asking who did not have fan issues and got a rather tepid response with very few saying theirs had no issues. I see so many reports of 6200 fans ranging from sometimes to all the time; and reports of people on their second and third MBA with similar results. I don't want to open 2 more brand-new notebooks from Apple causing them to be unsaleable considering the short supply.

In my heart of hearts I believe that this thing has some design problems. A chip with 20 W TDP should not be causing this much trouble. Thermal paste? Too small a heat sink? Firmware? I don't know but I think there is in fact a design issue here. I also believe it will be fixed. I took a credit back and I intend to switch from windows as soon as they get the bugs out.

But I am an "angry panda" :eek: because I loved my MBA when it spun inaudibly at 2500 beautiful RPM.

PS I also think Apple did right by me taking it all back...
 

gregk205

macrumors member
Feb 16, 2008
71
0
New York
I just got back to the States and opened my new MBA that was waiting for me here. I reinstalled the operating system removing the drivers and languages. And after I restarted and set it up it ran at about 165 degrees with fans at 6200 rpm for about 6 or 7 minutes. And then they went back down to 2500 rpm and the temps have stayed around 120-130 degrees. And it is so cool to have on my lap. I am just web surfing and not working it hard but my MB I couldn't even do that with it on my lap. So far I love this thing.. :D
 

brn2ski00

macrumors 68020
Aug 16, 2007
2,242
14
MA
That USB ethernet dongle is a joke -- it totally defeats the purpose of the MBA. I am not mad, just don't any point in buying the Air if you don't plan to use WiFi. Also, I wouldn't have boughten the USB Superdrive either -- total waste. Should have boughten the Time Capsule with all your savings. IMO
 

clayj

macrumors 604
Jan 14, 2005
7,648
1,384
visiting from downstream
I just got back to the States and opened my new MBA that was waiting for me here. I reinstalled the operating system removing the drivers and languages. And after I restarted and set it up in ran at about 165 degrees with fans at 6200 rpm for about 6 or 7 minutes. And then they went back down to 2500 rpm and the temps have stayed around 120-130 degrees. And it is so cool to have on my lap. I am just web surfing and not working it hard but my MB I couldn't even do that with it on my lap. So far I love this thing.. :D
It is normal for the MBA to get hot and spin up the fans for a while right after you install the OS, because Spotlight is indexing the hard drive, which is pretty CPU-intensive. Once that completes, it'll cool down pretty quickly.

Glad you like it!
 

gregk205

macrumors member
Feb 16, 2008
71
0
New York
It is normal for the MBA to get hot and spin up the fans for a while right after you install the OS, because Spotlight is indexing the hard drive, which is pretty CPU-intensive. Once that completes, it'll cool down pretty quickly.

Glad you like it!


I was pretty sure thats what it was since I have had other macs do the same. And like I said .. Right after it finished indexing it has been perfect. And I am thinking that I will hardly ever use my other computers. Only for power stuff which I don't really do any of.. I just have to have the equipment in case I feel like it.. It is an expensive "Just in Case" but it makes me sleep at night.. :)
 

bence8810

macrumors member
Mar 1, 2008
77
0
Tokyo, Japan
That USB ethernet dongle is a joke -- it totally defeats the purpose of the MBA. I am not mad, just don't any point in buying the Air if you don't plan to use WiFi. Also, I wouldn't have boughten the USB Superdrive either -- total waste. Should have boughten the Time Capsule with all your savings. IMO

The Time Capsule is good, but only when you are at home (which defeats the purpose of the MBA), while you can use your Superdrive wherever you go. The USB Ethernet adapter can be crucial when there are no Wireless Networks, for example at most corporations that are security cautious. If you are in that situation, you wish you would have "boughten" it.

Its all a matter of what you need, and its not right to say that buying the dongle is a joke. I for example went and got it as most of the sites I visit when travelling are companies that have no internal WiFi networks. Others might have different needs and experiences though.

I didn't get either the time capsule, nor the superdrive as I don't need them. I have a server at home running Linux, and I hardly ever install something from a CD/DVD these days.

Cheers

Ben
 

Guv280984

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Mar 9, 2008
257
134
Norn Iron
Well guys, eventually Apple have put the tracking details up of MBA. It is scheduled for delivery tomorrow :) 2 weeks ahead of what they first suggested. I got my invoice and from the serial number on it, my machine is going to be week 10 so i hope everything will be grand with it.

Cant wait until tomorrow!

Guv
 
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