Macbook air is....SLOW!!!!

[jacksam101]

I recently bought an ex-demo rev C MB Air (with the 120gb HD) - It did feel slow compared to my other Macs - but I found someone selling a suitable SSD on ebay which was quite easy to fit and has transformed my experience with the MB Air - it is sooo much quicker!!

I was lucky as the SSD was half the price of a new one from the only UK supplier I could find (advertises through Amazon and their own website).

SSDs for the earlier Air's seem more common on ebay in the Uk but if you look hard enough you can find the right one.

My Air has now completely replaced my old Macbook (I use a 1TB portable drive for the iTunes library etc)

 

[barkjohn10]

Thanks guys!!! I think what I will do is Sell it and get an 11" MBA!!! I will miss the back-lit keyboard and being able to use the apple remote(

 

[jonnysods]

Wipe it clean and set stuff up again?

 

[SR71]

Thanks guys!!! I think what I will do is Sell it and get an 11" MBA!!! I will miss the back-lit keyboard and being able to use the apple remote(

You will not regret it!

 

[tmarks11]

If you can hold off for about 3 months, Apple might do a refresh of the MBA to the i5 processors.

If Apple can figure out how to put a discrete GPU in the MBA along with an i5, it might be worth the wait. OW, that might mean that you could buy the current MBA11 cheaper on ebay as the uninformed flock to the latest and greatest.

Regardless, the current MBA11 rocks. Make sure you get it with 4GB of ram, since the next version of OSx reportedly doesn't run as well on 2 GB.

 

[TheXFactor]

I just received my 13" refurb Air 1.86/4/128 a few days ago. I am blown away at how fast this is. We also have a MB and a MB Pro in the house. Very happy so far.

 

[barkjohn10]

Opp's and yeah when running skype and facebook and macrumors that is using like all the ram, and it says I only have 328mb free!!! Very disappointed in this macbook, when the ibook came out I was amazed and I thought I would be even more amazed with the MBA!!! A MBA 11" with 4gb ram sonds great!!! Thank you all for the good answers!!! Very helpful, No one ever answers my questions on yahoo answers!!!

 

[gwsat]

barkjohn10 -- I agree with the recommendation already made by others that you would be well advised to sell your old Rev A MBA and replace it with one of the current model MBAs. I have used Mac laptops for 8 years and my current 13 inch Ultimate MBA, which I have had for nearly 6 months, has been the best of the bunch. There are a number of refurbished current MBAs available for reasonable prices at the Apple site. Go for one of them, you won't regret it.

 

[revelated]

I hate to break it to you John, but I think you've been had. I suggest you sell it and save up for a refurbished current model.

No, he got ripped. Badly. There is simply no value proposition for spending anything more than around $600 for a 2008 Air.

 

[Lara F]

it's even worse ...

And to my knowledge Apple only used GMA 950 in '06-'07 MBs.
I can't believe I still have one of those

Me too, and yet it keeps on ticking...actually, I used to have major video glitches to the point I got a Mac Mini for that (wanted a permanent TV hookup anyway) which somehow seem to have gotten fixed in the last year. No idea why, I can only assume it was an OSX update even though the Apple Store genius thought the logic board needed replacing. So it's gotten better except of course for battery life. Kinda crazy.

I'd like an upgrade but don't *need* it, so I'm holding out for the best time.

 

[Bakari45]

I'm guessing the culprit is having only 2GB of RAM. To verify this, look at the System Memory tab of Activity Monitor and check your "page outs" and "swap used". If they're high, you're maxing out your RAM.

Okay, I'm curious about the RAM issue. I don't feel my MBA is running particularly slow, but my page outs and and swap used seem pretty high—though I'm not running hardly any major applications except Safari.

Is my usage normal? My MBA has 2gigs

 

[EspressoLove]

Image

Okay, I'm curious about the RAM issue. I don't feel my MBA is running particularly slow, but my page outs and and swap used seem pretty high—though I'm not running hardly any major applications except Safari.

Is my usage normal? My MBA has 2gigs

 

[Cheffy Dave]

Make sure you get it with 4GB of ram, since the next version of OSx reportedly doesn't run as well on 2 GB.


Not true according to BETA testers who post here

 

[Exana]

no it has the x3100 my mistake (edited post ), but actually a original MB 1.83 core duo with intel 950 will beat it in performance despite the crab intel GMA 950

MB core duo 1.83 gma 950 geekbench score 2286
MBA core 2duo 1.66 x3100 geekbench score 2032

the core 2 duo had to be downclocked so much to avoid the original MBA from melting and to give a longer battery life , result the core 2 duo can't play out its advantage over a core duo any more

the late 2008 model has the same processor , same amount of ram but a nvidia 9400 but scores 2257
if you buy a Mac again this here might be helpful to compare
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-comparison-chart/?compare=all-intel-macs

and as you are not even using the full 2 GB a upgrade to a ssd would be money thrown out the window , sure boot time would be better and apps would load faster , but from after loading the app it depends on CPU, GPU and ram and only if you got a lot of page outs it makes sense to upgrade to a ssd , but as you still got 1 gb free ram i would say better spend that money towards a new MB, as i doubt you would need a MBP for your needs ...ok doesnt come in aluminium ..but hey look there if you want a other color then white
http://www.colorwarepc.com/c-3-computers.aspx

It's not the same CPU. MBA 2008 have Core 2 Duo 1.6 GHz FSB 800 MHz 4MB L2 cache (L7500) 65 nm while MBA 2009 have Core 2 Duo 1,6 GHz FSB 1066 MHz 6MB cache (SL9300) 45 nm. The extra power show in GeekBench comes from the CPU not from the GPU.

 

[theSeb]

I think I made a good investment!!!! A MBA for 350 plus new hinges and hd,

Yea, you sure did. Well done. *thumbs up*

 

[theSeb]

Image

Okay, I'm curious about the RAM issue. I don't feel my MBA is running particularly slow, but my page outs and and swap used seem pretty high—though I'm not running hardly any major applications except Safari.

Is my usage normal? My MBA has 2gigs

127 MB of page outs is insubstantial and nothing to lose sleep over.

 

[Mobius 1]

i have the 2009 REV C uMBA and i bought the 2008 MB (traded it), and upgrades for it before i destroyed the air

seriously, even with a 2.13GHz and SSD it's slow as hell

sell the one you own it to a stupid person and get yourself the new 2010 model lol


err, i think i'll get the ivy bridge model at june