MacBook Air....which Rev is this? A,B, or C

[iphonesrq]

Which Rev is this one? Is there a way to tell & is there a big difference in Rev's? I looking at buying this. Also, is $850 a fair price? They are selling for $999 on apple's refurb site w/ 1 year warranty.

Model Name: MacBook Air
Model Identifier: MacBookAir1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz

 

[iBookG4user]

It says it is MacBookAir1,1 which means that it is Rev A

 

[Scottsdale]

Which Rev is this one? Is there a way to tell & is there a big difference in Rev's? I looking at buying this. Also, is $850 a fair price? They are selling for $999 on apple's refurb site w/ 1 year warranty.

Model Name: MacBook Air
Model Identifier: MacBookAir1,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 1.6 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz

It's the very worst one possible! Don't buy it.

 

[iphonesrq]

It's the very worst one possible! Don't buy it.

Oh ok...what makes it bad? Is there a better price I should ask for too?

 

[apersianboyCOM]

I've heard that it's got really bad heat issues, is slow and has an intel graphics card which is crap (can't even watch youtube on it properly!)

 

[iphonesrq]

#1 Are these heat issues covered w/ Apple Care?

#2 What is a good price to offer for it?

 

[Miker2k]

My Rev A MBA has been flawless. I love this machine.....


However, it was purchased as a refurb from Apple and there has been some speculation as to whether or not improvements were made to the machine to help alleviate the heat issues.

I use this machine for web browsing, MS Office apps, Adium and various other lightweight applications.

Mileage will vary though.

 

[King t.]

i just sold my MBA rev:C again due of the bad display!

i'm very happy with my REV:A SSD model, haven't had any problems so far

 

[Scottsdale]

I recommend the 1.86 GHz SSD refurbished at Apple.com. At $1449, it's a great buy and wonderful Mac. Will probably be a new one reboxed as refurbished. It has the 9400m graphics which will take full advantage of OpenCL and Snow Leopard. Quite an amazing little Mac.

The original has a worse drive controller, CPU, RAM, and graphics card. I believe the original MBA is the very worst option of any Mac sold in the last three years. It has a terrible component makeup that leads to overheating, core shutdown, locking up, and video stutering. Some swear they have a better experience with Cool Book installed and by taking it apart and reapplying thermal paste. I say just buy one that works without the headaches! Read some of the other threads where people talk about upgrading from their original to new one and the big differences.

BTW, I have owned all three, and for $1449 the high end rev B MBA is an incredible bargain and amazing Mac. Will get even better with Snow Leopard in a few months. And you will get that upgrade for only $9.99 if you buy the MBA from Apple.

Good luck whichever route you go!

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Oh ok...what makes it bad? Is there a better price I should ask for too?

Don't listen to Scottsdale. The Rev A is a great machine. He had a bad experience with one ages ago, so now he spends most of his time on this board hunting down threads about the Rev A and bashing them to anyone who will listen.

If you are getting one used, does it still have any warranty left? If not, but you still want a less-expensive Air, you should strongly consider going the refurbished route via the Apple Store, or offer the seller quite a bit less. If they are going for $999 new (for all intents and purposes) with a full year's warranty, plus the ability to buy Apple Care if you really wanted to, a $149 "discount" on a used machine is probably too much.

 

[caonimadebi]

Rev. A's are great for basic day-to-day functions. You buy the MBA for its form factor, and as far as I can tell, Rev. A is identical to B and C.

 

[ayeying]

Don't listen to Scottsdale. The Rev A is a great machine. He had a bad experience with one ages ago, so now he spends most of his time on this board hunting down threads about the Rev A and bashing them to anyone who will listen.

I have a Rev A also and it's been great. I have no heat problems, it runs cooler then my current Rev C. I haven't seen any problems such as core shutdown, overheating, yadada. Infact, my Rev C has been having crappy performance (to the point where the cpu clocks to 800Mhz) when i use it on the bed, while the Rev A just gets warm.

 

[iphonesrq]

If you are getting one used, does it still have any warranty left?


Yes, but only until August....so how can I know before I buy if it is ok? I prob wouldn't notice the stuttering, or lines, etc until I have time to really get to know the machine

 

[gooddeal]

Yes, but only until August....so how can I know before I buy if it is ok? I prob wouldn't notice the stuttering, or lines, etc until I have time to really get to know the machine

I don't think there's line issue w/ the A version, only w/ B and C. You can get the applecare for around $120 on ebay.

I have the A version for a year now and I'm very happy w/ it. I just added the applecare about 2 weeks ago.

 

[Scottsdale]

Don't listen to Scottsdale. The Rev A is a great machine. He had a bad experience with one ages ago, so now he spends most of his time on this board hunting down threads about the Rev A and bashing them to anyone who will listen.

If you are getting one used, does it still have any warranty left? If not, but you still want a less-expensive Air, you should strongly consider going the refurbished route via the Apple Store, or offer the seller quite a bit less. If they are going for $999 new (for all intents and purposes) with a full year's warranty, plus the ability to buy Apple Care if you really wanted to, a $149 "discount" on a used machine is probably too much.

Not true, these threads here have been full of people who had problems with their original MBAs. I personally know ONE person that still has an original MBA, when I knew MORE THAN TWENTY who moved on (mostly to rev B). It wasn't the double the drive space. It was before Cool Book was widely known, and the MBAs overheated just playing video for five minutes. There are a few happy with their original MBA, but most are using Cool Book and/or have reapplied the thermal paste.

Also, my track record on honesty of the MBA in all its revisions is pretty damn good. I have owned all three. For someone wanting to use an MBA as their primary Mac, they absolutely MUST go rev B or newer and SSD. The HDD is just no fun as it's really slow. For a secondary Mac, for LIGHT web browsing, email and Pages, sure the original MBA with SSD and Cool Book is acceptable. Maybe even rev B (or newer) with HDD is good too.

Those of you that own the original MBA, who bought it refurbished, have a completely different measure of value. When you pay $999 your value decision is far different than the original MBA buyers who bought them for $1799 to $3099, only to not be able to use their MBA as a light secondary Mac, as even for light video use, disappointment set in quickly.

The original is for some, but I prefer "It just works," and that is the rev B or new MBA. Fast is SSD (even with original). So it all depends how you want to use it.

Personally, I disagree with some of your posts, but I don't go saying don't listen to them! That's really disgusting when we are all just trying to help someone out. What would you tell your brother or sister or mom or dad or best friend??? I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND AN ORIGINAL MBA TO ANY OF THEM ESPECIALLY WHEN COMPARED TO THE PRICING NOW ON A REV B WITH SSD FROM APPLE FOR $1449!!!

 

[Deppe]

(can't even watch youtube on it properly!)

Not true - I have watched plenty of porn on mine rev a with no problems! Well it was not on youtube but it was flash

 

[IgnatiusTheKing]

Those of you that own the original MBA, who bought it refurbished, have a completely different measure of value. When you pay $999 your value decision is far different than the original MBA buyers who bought them for $1799 to $3099

But here's the issue. The OP is not looking to buy a $3000 computer. He's looking to buy one for $850.

Yes, but only until August....so how can I know before I buy if it is ok? I prob wouldn't notice the stuttering, or lines, etc until I have time to really get to know the machine

That's the trouble with buying anything used. There's always the chance that someone is trying to pull one over on you. You'll have a month or two before the warranty runs out to really put it through its paces, and if you're worried about it then you can always buy Apple Care.

In all honesty, though, it might be worth the extra $149 to just buy a refurb from Apple directly to get the piece of mind AND the full warranty year.

 

[ayeying]

I've heard that it's got really bad heat issues, is slow and has an intel graphics card which is crap (can't even watch youtube on it properly!)

Yeah, that part is an if-if thing. Flash on OSX just sucks. However, for some reason, Me and a few friends were able to watch over an hour worth of youtube videos on my Rev A in HQ/Full Screen without any studder.