MBA 2G upgrade: graphics and video streaming

[hooly]

Hi

I got a 1 Gen MBA about 6 weeks ago and I love it

I have an MBP for heavy photography work and use my MBA for Office, browsing and general light use around town. It's great when I go away on business where I generally only need to take notes / access emails.

I have not had a core shutdown, but I have noticed that when viewing any kind of video playback for more than a few minutes those fans start to blow like buggery. And after 40 minutes of the Apple keynote last week I got the characteristic jumpy mouse pointer, glitchy graphics etc.

Any, what I am intested in is your speculation about whether an upgrade to the improved graphics processor and the 1.8 Ghz chip is likely to have a significant impact on these problems? I am prepared to make compromises for such a small and delicious machine, but it would be great to see a drastic improvement in this area.

Whadaya reckon?

I posted this as a new thread because the existing threads are covering quite a diverse range of topics related to other subjects like the trackpad, screen bezel, and it's difficult to follow views on this specific issue.

Regards

Hooly

 

[glitch44]

Yes. The 45nm processors will run cooler with more power and the nvidia GPU will take load off from the CPU. it will be better at graphics, but we'll have to wait to Nov 5ish to see the actual benchmarks.

 

[hooly]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate that for the time being it is only speculation, but I am interested to hear it!

I have to admit as a non-IT person I find it hard to see how watching youtube can tax a modern laptop; I don't remember having issues on my 3 year old Acer whose specs were lower than the air.

And yet still I love the machine (I am not much of a youtube user) and I only hope that things will get significantly better with this upgrade

 

[glitch44]

it's partially Adobe's fault for the way they inefficiently implemented Flash in OS X. you can try to get the most updated version to see if it helps:

http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/alternates/

 

[ducatidoc]

here's your answer (yes the new 2g mba will likely be better):

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/1...oding-of-h-264-on-new-macbooks-pros-and-airs/

 

[HiFiGuy528]

It's a shame to hear the Air can't keep up with Apple's own QuickTime. I like to watch the Keynotes too. Does it stall if you were to download the Keynote from iTunes and watch it on iTunes? I do that now with my 5g iPod and no problems.

 

[Mactagonist]

Thanks for the reply. I appreciate that for the time being it is only speculation, but I am interested to hear it!

I have to admit as a non-IT person I find it hard to see how watching youtube can tax a modern laptop; I don't remember having issues on my 3 year old Acer whose specs were lower than the air.

And yet still I love the machine (I am not much of a youtube user) and I only hope that things will get significantly better with this upgrade

Install 'Coolbook' there is a large thread in this forum with settings for the program. It will fix your problems.

 

[Krevnik]

It's a shame to hear the Air can't keep up with Apple's own QuickTime. I like to watch the Keynotes too. Does it stall if you were to download the Keynote from iTunes and watch it on iTunes? I do that now with my 5g iPod and no problems.

I didn't have my Air stall when watching the Keynote. The only time I have seen my 1.6Ghz Air stall on video playback was really heavy Flash, or 1080p video (I've had no problems with 720p trailers).

Are you sure you aren't just hitting the streams on a slow network, or when Apple's servers are hammered more than usual?

 

[hooly]

Are you sure you aren't just hitting the streams on a slow network, or when Apple's servers are hammered more than usual?

I am pretty sure. The behaviour was very similar to what I see after 40 mins or so of any kind of video streaming. Normally the fans start to blow and everything is still fine, but if I keep watching video whilst doing other things (browsing, emails, nothing heavy) eventually the mouse pointer starts to get jittery and so does the video playback.

It has only happened 3 or 4 times, each time after 30 mins plus of watching some kind of video playback. Each time to laptop has been propped up on my knees in bed which probably doesnt help!