macbook air 1.86 late 2008 model vs 2010 model

[ansirone]

i am contemplating buying a late 2008 mbp air i found for $800 on CL. it has the 1.86 ghz 2gig ram and an 128 gb ssd. would that be comparable to the new 2010 version? i know the new one will edge it out, but by how much? i do a lot of art using flash, illustrator, and ps but just want to use this machine occasionally when i travel, ill have another machine for the heavy lifting if needed be. is that a good deal? or should i just wait and get the 2010 version which is double that?

 

[Adidas Addict]

i am contemplating buying a late 2008 mbp air i found for $800 on CL. it has the 1.86 ghz 2gig ram and an 128 gb ssd. would that be comparable to the new 2010 version? i know the new one will edge it out, but by how much? i do a lot of art using flash, illustrator, and ps but just want to use this machine occasionally when i travel, ill have another machine for the heavy lifting if needed be. is that a good deal? or should i just wait and get the 2010 version which is double that?

It might be twice the price, but the new 2010 also has twice the performance. No throttling, no overheating, higher res screen, 4GB ram etc etc All things that will help with your requirements.

 

[bossxii]

As stated above, big differnce. The base 11" model will outperform the old MBA due to the heat issues alone. The older MBA's were severely throttled due to overheating. Add to the fact the new MBA has the option for 4 gigs, glass trackpad, new hinge and double the battery life. I don't see how spending $800 would be a deal on a MBA with imo has so many issues. The 11" is $999 while it has less storage, will be faster overall.

My 2 cents anyhow.

 

[eba]

Go with the new model, if you can. You'd be better off with the base 11 than with the earlier MBAs. I have a rev C, and the new model is a major improvement.

 

[darngooddesign]

i am contemplating buying a late 2008 mbp air i found for $800 on CL. it has the 1.86 ghz 2gig ram and an 128 gb ssd. would that be comparable to the new 2010 version?...or should i just wait and get the 2010 version which is double that?

First of all, the new one with comparable specs is 1300, not double 800.

Secondly, I bet you could land it for 700, which is a good deal for a pretty good ultraportable, and since you have powerful home computer it could do fine for you. If the Air were to be your only machine then I'd say hold out for the new one. If the older one doesn't have the floppy hinge issue I'd say go for it. There are lots of sites like anandtech that have run speed tests so just use your judgement.

 

[KPOM]

That's the model I have, and I'm upgrading to the new "Ultimate 13" primarily for the extra RAM and larger SSD. I don't have it yet, and so can't make a comparison. However, the 2008 Rev B SSD model performed adequately for most OS X tasks (though having lots of browser windows open slowed it down). It reboots very quickly (much quicker than a HD-equipped Mac). $800 isn't too bad a price for it given that the "comparable" new model is $1300. I do think there are a lot of nice new features (SD card, better cooling preventing the CPU from throttling down, faster GPU), but the Rev B model had a lot going for it.