old MBA 2.13 or new MBA 1.86

[rapidfire77]

Going for an MBA as a 2nd computer. i currently use MBP 15" i7 that i am tired of hauling all day in my backpack.

to make it clear, i am talking about the highest end old generation and the entry level 13.3 available.
-point of concern.
never being able to upgrade RAM on old MBA.
new MBA must be ordered with RAM upgrade otherwise forget it.
battery life 5 vs. 7? what are real times anyway, i get about 4hrs on my mbp that is supposed to do 7?
backlit keys?
performance?
$300 difference.
which one would you get?

 

[bossxii]

New MBA.

Much better heat management
Better hinge
Better trackpad
SD slot
2 USb
Faster than previous 2.13 simply because they are throttling the heck of it to deal with heat.
Better screen in quality and resolution

IMO buying a used MBA for much more than $500 bucks is a waste, he'll after owning the Rev B, I wouldn't spend more than $300 on any of them. The new model is so much better built. Again just my 2 cents.

 

[KPOM]

I'd go with the new 1.86GHz. The older 2.13GHz models were notorious for overheating and throttling down. IIRC, the Rev B 1.86GHz models tested about the same or even faster in Macworld's benchmarks as the Rev C 2.16GHz model. The Rev D 1.86 GHz models blow away the older models in most tests.

Note that if you want more RAM, you need to order it with 4GB. You can't upgrade it later.

 

[rapidfire77]

thanks for the replies thus far. so the new ones won't have a heating problem? has anyone used them enough to tell?

 

[rapidfire77]

and another question. does the heating applies to the MBA with SSD drives as well or just the mechanical?

 

[neteng101]

It isn't the old drives - it was the old CPU that was the heat culprit. Apparently Apple had issued updates that had to drop the CPU speeds to keep the speed in check... so the new one on paper while slower, will simply be as good or better overall.

No heat issues to report - even with the 2.13 newer model.