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Refurb Air 1.6 - 999.99 - Apple Refurb Store
- Thread starter kellen
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Capable?
I have to agree that the Rev A macbook air is a plenty capable machine.
My girlfriend just received hers and it is a real treat for her. Though it does not have the raw power I am usually looking for, this machine does everything it should, and ... actually shouldn't. For instance, I ran a 1080P .MKV file and it played fine. Of course there were hiccups, but they only happened when huge explosions and actions were splattered on the screen (I was watching The Dark Knight).
As for youtube...nope, there's not a problem there. I had really expected for this machine to suck with all the bad press. But man this thing doesn't even get scalding hot like the 12" powerbooks did. I even used it on the bed watching more than 10 videos of Youtube with my girlfriend.
I stress tested it like crazy, and it only slowed down, no core shutdowns or freezes. At one point I opened garageband, imovie, calendar, itunes, iphoto, ichat, safari, mail and textedit all at the same time. It took around 60 seconds to get each one of them open. Then I took it further and actually used it with all of the applications open. Soon I had 4 windows of safari, while i was playing a youtube video and syncing my mail through POP. Then I ran Geekbench...again with the 9 applications open...and I got a score of 1985 (I geekbenched it after this stress test and got a score of 2105). After that I opened 4 more windows of safari...playing 4 youtube videos. I expose'd and it worked without a hitch, movies at real-time and all.
And then something amazing happened.
The fans turned on.
It was at that moment I realized that I wanted this computer. I had forgotten about fans at that point. But I did check the heat of the computer and it was no hotter than the hottest my aluminum macbook gets.
That's just the computer stuff too. With design and usability, nothing beats this computer. Its screen is amazing, better than my dell 20 inch screens. And it's design is wonderful. The weight also is very noticeable. The people that don't believe so...try carrying a 15lb messenger bag around a university for 3 years. Then put an air inside the bag, replacing your current computer. I bet I will hear a sigh of relief from your mouth.
If this Rev A computer can take the crap I just through at it, then I want the Rev B, and would gladly trade my unibody macbook for a Rev B Air with money on top.
Anyone considering this purchase of the Rev A, by all means pull the trigger. This machine is a beaut.
I have to agree that the Rev A macbook air is a plenty capable machine.
My girlfriend just received hers and it is a real treat for her. Though it does not have the raw power I am usually looking for, this machine does everything it should, and ... actually shouldn't. For instance, I ran a 1080P .MKV file and it played fine. Of course there were hiccups, but they only happened when huge explosions and actions were splattered on the screen (I was watching The Dark Knight).
As for youtube...nope, there's not a problem there. I had really expected for this machine to suck with all the bad press. But man this thing doesn't even get scalding hot like the 12" powerbooks did. I even used it on the bed watching more than 10 videos of Youtube with my girlfriend.
I stress tested it like crazy, and it only slowed down, no core shutdowns or freezes. At one point I opened garageband, imovie, calendar, itunes, iphoto, ichat, safari, mail and textedit all at the same time. It took around 60 seconds to get each one of them open. Then I took it further and actually used it with all of the applications open. Soon I had 4 windows of safari, while i was playing a youtube video and syncing my mail through POP. Then I ran Geekbench...again with the 9 applications open...and I got a score of 1985 (I geekbenched it after this stress test and got a score of 2105). After that I opened 4 more windows of safari...playing 4 youtube videos. I expose'd and it worked without a hitch, movies at real-time and all.
And then something amazing happened.
The fans turned on.
It was at that moment I realized that I wanted this computer. I had forgotten about fans at that point. But I did check the heat of the computer and it was no hotter than the hottest my aluminum macbook gets.
That's just the computer stuff too. With design and usability, nothing beats this computer. Its screen is amazing, better than my dell 20 inch screens. And it's design is wonderful. The weight also is very noticeable. The people that don't believe so...try carrying a 15lb messenger bag around a university for 3 years. Then put an air inside the bag, replacing your current computer. I bet I will hear a sigh of relief from your mouth.
If this Rev A computer can take the crap I just through at it, then I want the Rev B, and would gladly trade my unibody macbook for a Rev B Air with money on top.
Anyone considering this purchase of the Rev A, by all means pull the trigger. This machine is a beaut.
Fogcat, which model did she purchase?
I watched a few videos last night, hulu and fancast, full screen and the fans did not come on at all, but the machine did run a bit hot at around 59C, without CoolBook.
Anyhoo, glad to know your GF is enjoying her computer, and good luck with the Rev B. I hope the screen issue has been resolved.
Jude
I watched a few videos last night, hulu and fancast, full screen and the fans did not come on at all, but the machine did run a bit hot at around 59C, without CoolBook.
Anyhoo, glad to know your GF is enjoying her computer, and good luck with the Rev B. I hope the screen issue has been resolved.
Jude
anyone else having short battery life experiences?
I am strongly considering returning my refurbished 1.6 ghz Rev A, and unfortunately paying the shipping and restocking fees. I'm fairly unhappy with the battery life on my air. Even with the power calibrations, I get about 2.5 hours max of use (1/4 screen brightness, bluetooth turned off), and it takes abnormally long times to fully charge the battery. I used the air this morning from about 7:00am to 8:50am for email and chat before the battery died, and in the 2.5 hours since, the battery has only charged to 45% capacity while on standby! AppleCare techs offered to diagnosed it and if needed replace the battery, but I might just return it while I am still within the return window.
I am strongly considering returning my refurbished 1.6 ghz Rev A, and unfortunately paying the shipping and restocking fees. I'm fairly unhappy with the battery life on my air. Even with the power calibrations, I get about 2.5 hours max of use (1/4 screen brightness, bluetooth turned off), and it takes abnormally long times to fully charge the battery. I used the air this morning from about 7:00am to 8:50am for email and chat before the battery died, and in the 2.5 hours since, the battery has only charged to 45% capacity while on standby! AppleCare techs offered to diagnosed it and if needed replace the battery, but I might just return it while I am still within the return window.
Thanks for that video. You just confirmed my words that the MBA revA is GARBAGE since your video stuttered over 25 times
For everyone who bought this junk, please save your money and add some more to it and get the revA or go and get the Vaio TT if you need the portability.
MBA revA = sucks big time.
MBA revB = defective screeeeeeeens!
Apple = worst company when it comes to new products.
However, I still love their products and that might not last long if this continues!
Why are you here?
Ya mhnajjar you should be confused as it's a recording of someone else's air with jerky video. My 'new' Rev A runs HD smoothly with a superior screen and I've updated to the latest software , flash 10 and $10 with coolbook (so that makes it $1009 for me).
I've owned a rev B SSD and now a Rev A HDD and I still stand by my claim that:
Yes the rev B is snappy but not an extra $1500 of snappyness.
I'm patiant and work through my Rev A if an issue arises because $999 is a bargain. Isn't that what this thread is about?
april,
Have you use coconutbattery yet? http://coconut-flavour.com/coconutbattery/
What's your cycle count and current battery capacity?
Thanks for responding, Flipside - I just downloaded coconut:
current battery charge: 4797 mAh
max battery charge: 4962 mAh
original batter capacity: 5090 mAh
battery load-cycles: 8 (it was 4 when I received it)
age of mac: 8 months
From the system profiler and now coconut battery, the numbers look good. I'm just not sure what I am doing that would drain the batter that quickly... If you have suggestions of recalibration or tweaks, that would be great. Thanks!
Though if this sort of battery usage and recharge times (it has been 5 hours and 50 min, and my battery has 4% left to charge.) are normal, then I'd prefer to return the air hdd, and go with the ssd or just continue my waiting game.
Those numbers look good. When you say power calibration did you mean this? http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh2339.html
Yep! Tried it 2x... will try it again for safe measure - maybe I didn't wait long enough btwn charging times.
If i had $10 to giveaway, I'd ask u to get coolbook. The idea is to use less voltage which consumes less battery. Depending on settings u can squeeze out an extra 45 minutes. Mind u the MBA is still bad on battery, I won't buy next gen MBA until they redesign the battery, even if they get a faster CPU.
I just noticed today that my refurb Air's case is warped.
Too bad I didn't notice it until after I reapplied the thermal paste. It still functions just fine, but I know it's there. Every time I open or close it or pick it up, I know it's there.
I've thought about sending it back, but I'm wondering how quickly they'll notice I took off the peanut butter they use for thermal paste.
Too bad I didn't notice it until after I reapplied the thermal paste. It still functions just fine, but I know it's there. Every time I open or close it or pick it up, I know it's there.
I've thought about sending it back, but I'm wondering how quickly they'll notice I took off the peanut butter they use for thermal paste.
The internal screws are coated black on the battery and the V-clip for the CPU so if you chipped it they can tell it's been unscrewed as the black chips off easily.
btw, did you notice a difference in temps after reapplying?
Yeah, the screw on the lower right of the heatsink seems to be made out of graham crackers, too, it just falls apart if you don't use the exact size bit.
Before the swap of thermal paste my system would idle in the mid to high 50s (centigrade) and with a few apps like Safari open it would heat up to the low 60s, then WoW or Handbrake would put it through the roof to 95c.
After the operation it idles at about 40c, Safari and a few apps will put it to 48c, then it tops out around 75c under load. I haven't done any null tests yet. I've noticed that the temps have dropped a couple degrees since the reapplication, I've got about four heat/cool cycles so I'm guess it's the thermal paste starting to cure. We'll see if it changes any more in the next couple weeks.
EDIT: I was just playing a little WoW, with two Safari windows, a bunch of MSN Messenger windows, and a Hulu video playing and the system seemed to stay around 68c, fans at max.
The difference is pretty dramatic and Hulu videos are actually watchable now. I don't have coolbook, I'll probably get it sometime soon to try it out. I made a few posts in the Pro Tools on the Air thread in the Digital Audio forum about my amazing mad scientist results with Pro Tools.
I don't regret my purchase at all, for a grand this refurb Air is a steal. It's just too bad they can't have a copper heatsink and a fan that actually does something. As far as I can tell there is very little air movement away from the CPU.
Attached is a before picture for your amusement...
Attachments
Looks like you applied it right. Did your use arctic 5?
I wish the bottom cover that was .25" thicker. The entire casing does a poor cooling job. I wonder if I can remove the bottom and add the incase hard cover to cool it better:
http://goincase.com/products/detail/hardshell-case-cl57143/4
Wow, that is jaw droppingly bad! I remember back in the days when I was into performance gaming PCs, I was very careful to make sure I only put enough thermal paste on the CPU (too little = poor contact with heatsink, too much = forms an insulating layer). Arctic Silver advised to put a pea-sized amount on the chip and allow the heatsink pressure to spread it across the die, although other pastes instructed the use of a very thin layer evenly spread across the die with a credit card. No matter what way you look at it, that is far too much by anyone's standards!
Cheers for posting the image
Actually, I used my old, old AS3. I wanted to try it out and then try AS5, which I just got a new tube of, to see if there's much of a difference on the Air. I'd expect just a few degrees difference, but perhaps it will be amplified by the A's gimped cooling solution. I should have taken more accurate temps before taking the stock paste off the CPU, oh well.
I just wonder how soon until I break down and try making my own heatsink for it.
I find it funny that many people probably on this thread, bashed the mba rev a model just last year (most likely due to the price) and now when its much cheaper everyone is praising it.
Just to show you that price means everything.
Just to show you that price means everything.
I did own the rev. a mba (only 1.6ghz 80gb model) and it ran everything just fine but I just thought the fan noise was kind of annoying.
And now I'm starting to think about ordering the 1.8/64GB SSD model... hmmmm..
And now I'm starting to think about ordering the 1.8/64GB SSD model... hmmmm..
I owned and used the SSD model since Jan. 13th and I have yet to hear the fans, even at 6200RPM, with my ear to the computer.
If fan noise is holding you back, I don't think it is still an issue any longer.
Jude
The fact we're buying Apple stuff kinda proves that price isn't everything. If it was, we'd be buying cheapo netbooks and generic PC stuff
The same thing happened with the Xbox 360. There were all types of complaints about the heat and red rings of death but then Microsoft dropped the price so low that even with the problems people are buying it like hotcakes now.
You got it half right. As mentioned here, there were 2 versions of the MBA-A and these refurbs are from the second batch. Along with newer software, the problems of the rev A seemed to have been managed.