I have a Unibody 2.0ghz macbook, and I was wondering what the switch would be like to a rev.b mba? How much of a difference would be from 2.0 to 1.8 or 1.6? I really want the air for portability, but also I play the sims and flight simulator on windows, so im not worried about the graphics, but the processor... what do you think, should I trade or stay?
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Macbook trade for Rev. B air?
- Thread starter youssefm
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I have a unibody 2.0 GHz MacBook right now. I only have it because my rev B MacBook Air was stolen a few weeks ago. I absolutely would prefer a rev B MBA to a uMB.
The differences are extremely minor as far as components are concerned.
The CPU in the MBA is actually a really nice Penryn 45 NM SSF Core 2 Duo. While the clock speeds are a little lower, the CPU in the MBA does have 6 MB L2 cache. I would say the 1.86 in MBA and 2 GHz in MB are very similar.
The MBA has the same GPU slightly downclocked, but I would doubt you would see a difference. The RAM and BUS speeds are the same. The MB ships with 2 GB of RAM but is upgradeable to 4 GB, while the MBA is not upgradeable from 2 GB.
The MBA uses an external drive, which can be a pain if you use it often. For me, I never used it except the day I installed the software. If you have a PC or other Mac available, it's simple to install disks via a remote drive.
Perhaps the most important differences come with the drive. The MBA uses a 1.8" drive with a proprietary cable. This means you cannot easily upgrade the drive. The drive in the MBA doesn't have as much file space as the drive in the MB. However, the drive in the MBA can be a big advantage, in terms of speed, if you go with the SSD. The high end MBA with SSD makes the MBA boot in half the time of a MB. It makes the MBA feel faster than a MBP for common tasks. Apps open instantly. Large files are a breeze. The SSD is the quickest way to make a Mac faster. It is expensive, but I believe it makes the MBA experience go from fun to incredible. It makes the MBA go from average speed to insanely fast. If you go with the HDD, the MBA will feel slightly slower than the MB (4200rpm HDD in MBA vs 5400rpm HDD in MB).
Both are built with a wonderful aluminum brick frame/case.
The display in the MBA is actually MUCH NICER than the display in the MB. The MBA feels so much lighter than the MB. Carrying around the MBA is like carrying a few magazines in a bag. Even though it only weighs 1.5 lbs less, it feels like it's a fraction of the weight of the MB.
I would say if you can afford the high end MBA, it will be worth trading. If you cannot afford the high end MBA, you should wait until you can before switching.
Lastly, may be worth waiting a month to see what happens. There are some rumors going around that the Mac notebooks will be updated in June. However, it may just be the MB and MBP getting updated in June. I am waiting to see what happens in June. If a rev C MBA is released in June, I will buy that. If nothing happens, I will buy a rev B MBA just like the one that was stolen from me. I just don't see an advantage to buy now, as the MBA is nearing seven months of age, and the price is the same as the day it was released. It's like paying full price for six month old technology. At the same time, I cannot wait more than a month to get rid of this MB, as I really miss my MBA with SSD.
Good luck with your decision.
The differences are extremely minor as far as components are concerned.
The CPU in the MBA is actually a really nice Penryn 45 NM SSF Core 2 Duo. While the clock speeds are a little lower, the CPU in the MBA does have 6 MB L2 cache. I would say the 1.86 in MBA and 2 GHz in MB are very similar.
The MBA has the same GPU slightly downclocked, but I would doubt you would see a difference. The RAM and BUS speeds are the same. The MB ships with 2 GB of RAM but is upgradeable to 4 GB, while the MBA is not upgradeable from 2 GB.
The MBA uses an external drive, which can be a pain if you use it often. For me, I never used it except the day I installed the software. If you have a PC or other Mac available, it's simple to install disks via a remote drive.
Perhaps the most important differences come with the drive. The MBA uses a 1.8" drive with a proprietary cable. This means you cannot easily upgrade the drive. The drive in the MBA doesn't have as much file space as the drive in the MB. However, the drive in the MBA can be a big advantage, in terms of speed, if you go with the SSD. The high end MBA with SSD makes the MBA boot in half the time of a MB. It makes the MBA feel faster than a MBP for common tasks. Apps open instantly. Large files are a breeze. The SSD is the quickest way to make a Mac faster. It is expensive, but I believe it makes the MBA experience go from fun to incredible. It makes the MBA go from average speed to insanely fast. If you go with the HDD, the MBA will feel slightly slower than the MB (4200rpm HDD in MBA vs 5400rpm HDD in MB).
Both are built with a wonderful aluminum brick frame/case.
The display in the MBA is actually MUCH NICER than the display in the MB. The MBA feels so much lighter than the MB. Carrying around the MBA is like carrying a few magazines in a bag. Even though it only weighs 1.5 lbs less, it feels like it's a fraction of the weight of the MB.
I would say if you can afford the high end MBA, it will be worth trading. If you cannot afford the high end MBA, you should wait until you can before switching.
Lastly, may be worth waiting a month to see what happens. There are some rumors going around that the Mac notebooks will be updated in June. However, it may just be the MB and MBP getting updated in June. I am waiting to see what happens in June. If a rev C MBA is released in June, I will buy that. If nothing happens, I will buy a rev B MBA just like the one that was stolen from me. I just don't see an advantage to buy now, as the MBA is nearing seven months of age, and the price is the same as the day it was released. It's like paying full price for six month old technology. At the same time, I cannot wait more than a month to get rid of this MB, as I really miss my MBA with SSD.
Good luck with your decision.
I think overall it would be a really portable and nice computer. However, comparing speed, the MB 2.0 would be faster, by a bit... not quite a bit, but a bit. The 4200 rpm HDD in the MBA is fairly slow. Expect 25% slower for things like bootup and app opening. If you do CPU intensive stuff, it will be 20% slower. At the same time, it will feel like "Air" as it's super light and portable.
I would do it unless you expect to use heavily for a CPU intensive app. Basically, it will do normal stuff fairly well. Will be fine for apps like Photoshop, Safari, Dreamweaver, Email, Firefox, Word, Excel, Pages, Keynote, iLife, and etc. Will be ok for video, but really depends on app you want to use (more of a software issue). Wouldn't use it for games, any advanced video editing, 3D, nor all CPU intensive stuff.
The rev B has a CPU that doesn't commonly overheat. It has a nice GPU. It has fast RAM. It can support up to a 30" external display. A nice overall machine but not fast.
Good luck with whatever you buy.