Macbook air comparable to a pc laptop?

[kockgunner]

Sorry to start another thread so soon but I really cannot decide if I should get a Macbook air or not.

Many people say that watching flash movies can really slow the computer down and that opening a few apps does too. I really noticed noticeable stutters in graphical tasks like Cover Flow and spaces too .

I was wondering, why is the air like this? My sister has a $500 Acer with a 1.6 ghz PENTIUM M and ONLY 1 gb of ram. The air's specs are obviously superior to those of the Acer but when using the Acer, it doesn't lag when watching Youtube videos nor stutter when scrolling web pages. I even produced many videos for a play with a lot of effects and music using Windows Movie Maker on the Acer while one user said that they wouldn't even try using iMovie on the air? What makes the air's performance so different to PC laptops? Before now, I thought 1.6 ghz was enough for my needs. After reading these forums I'm starting to have doubts. What's going on?

 

[Phil A.]

Sorry to start another thread so soon but I really cannot decide if I should get a Macbook air or not.

Many people say that watching flash movies can really slow the computer down and that opening a few apps does too. I really noticed noticeable stutters in graphical tasks like Cover Flow and spaces too .

I was wondering, why is the air like this? My sister has a $500 Acer with a 1.6 ghz PENTIUM M and ONLY 1 gb of ram. The air's specs are obviously superior to those of the Acer but when using the Acer, it doesn't lag when watching Youtube videos nor stutter when scrolling web pages. I even produced many videos for a play with a lot of effects and music using Windows Movie Maker on the Acer while one user said that they wouldn't even try using iMovie on the air? What makes the air's performance so different to PC laptops? Before now, I thought 1.6 ghz was enough for my needs. After reading these forums I'm starting to have doubts. What's going on?

The flash "problem" is an OS X issue, not an MBA one: The flash plugin for OS X is not as efficient as the Windows one and it uses a lot of processor power to run. Early MBAs seem to have an overheating problem when pushed hard which causes a core to shut down (although this seems to have been sorted now and I personally have never seen any problems on mine)
I've never seen any stutters at all with coverflow, spaces or web pages and regularly run applications such as VMWare Fusion, Aperture and Photoshop CS3 on mine.

 

[NC MacGuy]

I have not had these issues with my week 2 build. Nor slow app. starting/sluggish issues you referenced in a previous thread.

Used it without any problems for more than a month and a half. Video - fine, apps start fast (after first time) no lag in coverflow. I'm not sure the data you've been gathering is not without bias.

Everyone who's seen and used my Air has been impressed with performance as well as physical package. The portability of the machine does force some compromises but none have hindered me in the least.

 

[n0de]

I have a week 1 MBA and have not had any issues at all.

My work supplied notebook, with an identical configuration, does seem a bit snappier though.

I really love OSX, because it just works and I rarely have any problems with it. It boots faster and shuts down faster, but compared to XP there are times when I feel like I have to wait longer than I should. This does not apply to Vista though.

The times when things are slow do tend to be heavy on video/flash or with Office 2008(osx) vs. Office 2003(win).

When I travel I do take my MBA instead of my win machine. Not just because of the size but because of the reliability. Nearly every trip I have taken my win machine on I have had issues with hotel internet, both wired and wireless. With my MBA I have never had these problems; even at locations which state they only support windows.

You do mention Movie Maker though. Here is the one spot where the MBA will lag. I suspect it has to do with the video drivers, which may also be causing the problems others mention about stuttering and lag times. I have yet to need an optical disk when traveling, I just always bring a 4gb flash drive with me (I do not watch DVDs when traveling).

The only really annoying thing is the amount of attention the MBA draws. When I bring it out in public I am constantly interrupted with questions and in a corporate environment it tends to be a distraction for others.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Father Jack]

If you want a laptop with some "poke" stretch the finances a few more pounds (or dollars) and get a macBook Pro.

 

[kockgunner]

...Used it without any problems for more than a month and a half. Video - fine, apps start fast (after first time) no lag in coverflow. I'm not sure the data you've been gathering is not without bias...

good to hear. and my info is not biased, i was having quite positive expectations when i went and tried it out in store

You do mention Movie Maker though. Here is the one spot where the MBA will lag. I suspect it has to do with the video drivers, which may also be causing the problems others mention about stuttering and lag times.

i hope they release the drivers soon

If you want a laptop with some "poke" stretch the finances a few more pounds (or dollars) and get a macBook Pro.

it's not a financial problem,i just want the air lol

 

[NC MacGuy]

good to hear. and my info is not biased, i was having quite positive expectations when i went and tried it out in store /QUOTE]

I think they work better in person and customized than they do in the stores. I'm the most pleased I've been w. any Apple product since my dearly departed PB 12".

Good luck w. your decision.

 

[CaptainCannabis]

I really dont know why people say that their computer slows down after watching flash movies, or that it overheats, or when they watch HD that it slows down too.

I've had my mac running safari, photoshop, itunes, iphoto, ichat, msn messenger, word, excel and powerpoint at the same time and i havent experienced overheating, the temp was 65C and the fan at 3500rpm.

I have also played wow on it a few times for around 1h30min, and core just shut 3 times on ONE occasion for 1-2 secs. And I barely noticed the shutdown. The game runs around 20fps, and sometimes goes to 24-25.

Ive watched flash movies for more than 2 hours and no lag or anything... i think i must be lucky and got a nondefective one or something, cus I cant really explain, it always surprises me that people have so many problems with it.

 

[hotsauce]

Wirelessly posted (Apple Communication Device: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU like Mac OS X; en) AppleWebKit/420.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.0 Mobile/4A102 Safari/419.3)

No problems here. 2hr movie with no stutter. 3rd week model btw.