is MacBook Air 2017 i5 worth buying?

[HighSierraCatalina]

It's a lot cheaper than the new MacBook Air.
Is it any good though?
Apple MacBook Air 13 ", Intel Core i5 1.8 GHz, RAM 8 GB or is the new MacBook Air 2020 better? (The base model)

 

[tehStickMan]

Well the screen kinda kills it.

 

[The Clark]

I bought one and I use it everyday. The screen is certainly a downside but I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me much.. mostly because it lasts 11 hours on a single charge easily.

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

I bought one and I use it everyday. The screen is certainly a downside but I'm used to it now and it doesn't bother me much.. mostly because it lasts 11 hours on a single charge easily.

How does Unity, Xcode, Unreal run on it?

 

[The Clark]

How does Unity, Xcode, Unreal run on it?

I don't do game development so I can't speak to unity/unreal however I am comp sci and use Xcode regularly and it runs surprisingly well. I test apps on my physical phone, never the simulator and it works well for my purposes.

 

[thekev]

If you're buying a used machine, you should remember to factor in that it may have a 3 year old battery and keyboard. For me personally, those are the two greatest wear and tear items.

MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.8 13" (2017*) Specs (13-inch, 2017**, MQD32LL/A*, MacBookAir7,2, A1466, 3178): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.8 13" (2017*). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

The 2017 is using a broadwell era cpu, since the ultra low voltage cpus skipped some generations. It's definitely weaker, but I would consider it for writing and compiling code.

I typically prioritize ram == storage > cpu > gpu.

In this case I haven't tested how 8GB is holding up these days. Your results may vary. I would check how much memory unity and unreal can typically use. You also need to consider what your storage requirements will be like, and you shouldn't lie to yourself on that one. No one wants to buy an ultra light laptop which constantly requires an external drive.

You mentioned game development tools. Are you also going to play games on this? I don't think you would enjoy that going forward.

Lastly you don't mention how much of a difference. It needs to be a lot less. I typically factor in the cost of a possible battery replacement on an older used machine when determining if it's worth buying.

I'll tell you from personal experience, I prefer 1-2 larger displays and a full keyboard if I'm going to be using IDEs (such as XCode). That's me though.

 

[ayres]

great computer with great battery life. old tech? so what.

 

[heysid]

Hi there. Hope I can help you decide. I used my Macbook Air 2017 for game development using Unity as well as 3D rendering using Blender and SketchUp and I can say that it won't disappoint. I also use my Air 2017 for layouting and photo editing, sometimes I do it simultaneously and got no problems while using it. It would be better if you have an extra monitor though with better display. You would experience slowdowns but not a deal breaker really. Cheers, stay safe

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

Hi there. Hope I can help you decide. I used my Macbook Air 2017 for game development using Unity as well as 3D rendering using Blender and SketchUp and I can say that it won't disappoint. I also use my Air 2017 for layouting and photo editing, sometimes I do it simultaneously and got no problems while using it. It would be better if you have an extra monitor though with better display. You would experience slowdowns but not a deal breaker really. Cheers, stay safe

Thanks a lot
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If you're buying a used machine, you should remember to factor in that it may have a 3 year old battery and keyboard. For me personally, those are the two greatest wear and tear items.

MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.8 13" (2017*) Specs (13-inch, 2017**, MQD32LL/A*, MacBookAir7,2, A1466, 3178): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the MacBook Air "Core i5" 1.8 13" (2017*). Dates sold, processor type, memory info, hard drive details, price and more.

everymac.com

The 2017 is using a broadwell era cpu, since the ultra low voltage cpus skipped some generations. It's definitely weaker, but I would consider it for writing and compiling code.

I typically prioritize ram == storage > cpu > gpu.

In this case I haven't tested how 8GB is holding up these days. Your results may vary. I would check how much memory unity and unreal can typically use. You also need to consider what your storage requirements will be like, and you shouldn't lie to yourself on that one. No one wants to buy an ultra light laptop which constantly requires an external drive.

You mentioned game development tools. Are you also going to play games on this? I don't think you would enjoy that going forward.

Lastly you don't mention how much of a difference. It needs to be a lot less. I typically factor in the cost of a possible battery replacement on an older used machine when determining if it's worth buying.

I'll tell you from personal experience, I prefer 1-2 larger displays and a full keyboard if I'm going to be using IDEs (such as XCode). That's me though.

Hey!
In my country they still sell 2017 MBA officially (Apple resellers), so I doubt it'll have 3 year old battery?

 

[lagisibuk]

It's a lot cheaper than the new MacBook Air.
Is it any good though?
Apple MacBook Air 13 ", Intel Core i5 1.8 GHz, RAM 8 GB or is the new MacBook Air 2020 better? (The base model)

it depend on your activity and task.
im have one 2017 air with 8/128, it still great machine, sometime im using to compile xcode and android studio,
much more using for mobile activity at campus, traveling, presentation, office activity

 

[Saturn007]

A big question is who manufactured the display! The ones by Samsung get lots more accolades than those by other makers.

I have two MBAs of that vintage or near it — one has an LG display and the other Samsung. The LG display gives me eye strain, even a vertigo-like sensation after extended use. The one with a Samsung display NEVER produces those issues, even after most of the day use. I've even tried the supposed color profile display fixes, and used the MBA with the LG screen for weeks, and the problems persisted.

There are lots of threads here at MR about this — and elsewhere around the net. You may not be bothered at all, but for those of us who are, the difference is staggering. Note: many people seem to acclimate or adjust after extended use with the LG screen, while others even prefer it. It's definitely something worth keeping in mind and even asking the seller to check on which company made the LCD — there's a Terminal command one can run to determine that.

The older MBAs have lots going for them — quiet, cool, MagSafe, long lasting battery life (less, sometimes a lot, for those with 3rd party drives), SD card slot, USB-A, etc. Even the display is good (although not in the Retina league — and not good for scrolling down screen after screen of news websites — lots of flickering).

 

[Pacer69]

Writing this on a mid-'10 MBP 16/1tb ssd and it works fine for all the office and video computing I do. Light pro use in graphics programs and it still does fine. I can't imagine that a 2017 would be anything negative. I'd have to guess the display is much better than this one just from being 7 years more advanced...and this one is fine, never any eye strain here and I'm often on it for 10 hours/day. If it meets your budget and basic needs, including storage (rule of thumb is whatever you're using now, double it)...I'd go for it.

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

Writing this on a mid-'10 MBP 16/1tb ssd and it works fine for all the office and video computing I do. Light pro use in graphics programs and it still does fine. I can't imagine that a 2017 would be anything negative. I'd have to guess the display is much better than this one just from being 7 years more advanced...and this one is fine, never any eye strain here and I'm often on it for 10 hours/day. If it meets your budget and basic needs, including storage (rule of thumb is whatever you're using now, double it)...I'd go for it.

I mostly use external harddrive 24/7, so 128gb of storage would be okay for me. Ports are one of the reasons why I'm considering 2017mba as well, yeah.

 

[thekev]

Hey!
In my country they still sell 2017 MBA officially (Apple resellers), so I doubt it'll have 3 year old battery?

It's hard to say. If you're buying one used, you know it was first sold in 2017 or later, and keeping a computer for 3 years without swapping anything like battery is pretty common. I personally seem to have batteries go bad at 2-4 years of use, but that's a single data point.

 

[HighSierraCatalina]

It's hard to say. If you're buying one used, you know it was first sold in 2017 or later, and keeping a computer for 3 years without swapping anything like battery is pretty common. I personally seem to have batteries go bad at 2-4 years of use, but that's a single data point.

My MacBook Pro is 10 years old and the battery still holds around 2h of charge. I'd buy a brand new one, since they sell those over here (Apple resellers). To be fair, I'm not even 100% sure if it is 2017 model, but it comes with High Sierra. You get it for 800€. The new $999 MBA is ~1200€.

Sometimes I'm still considering a PC, but moving would be difficult, since I have 3 external harddrives etc, but seeing laptops with 6gb of Vram and with great specs makes me think about going back on PC.

I dont know. I'd buy it from the store in a box, I guess I'd get a warranty if the battery was bad. Oh, also, I love it that the screen washes out when you look from the side. It's a very important feature for me. I'm not kidding. I dont like it when people can clearly see what I'm doing.