Rev B. vs. Rev C. Battery Life

[Aboo]

Hi,

I am interested in getting a refurbished Macbook Air. I was looking at the following two models:

Macbook Air Rev B., 1.86 GHz, 2GB RAM, 128 GB SSD for $1349 OR
Macbook Air Rev C., 2.13 GHz, 2GB RAM, 128 GB SSD for $1549

Other than the processor difference of 0.27 GHz, and based on reading the technical specs of each system, I don't see any difference between the two machines. The one piece of information that I couldn't find was the advertised battery life for the Rev. B unit. The Rev. C unit is supposedly rated for 5 hours of wireless productivity. Is the same battery used in the Rev B also or is the battery of lower WHr?

My needs are pretty simple - I would like to get the Air as a small and portable, easy to carry machine for rounds and writing up patient notes, consult notes, etc. It will not be my primary machine, but hopefully a worthy road-warrior. I will be using Windows for the clinical electronic medical record application, but other than that, all other use will be on Mac OS X. Based on this, would you recommend going with the Rev B or Rev C. Money is tight, and this will be a gift from one of my mentors, but I do want to get the biggest bang for the buck. If the only difference between the two machines is processor speed, I can't justify spending 200$ extra just for a 0.27 GHz gain.

Thanks in advance!

 

[thinkdesign]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

The current Airs have a 40 watt battery. Before, they had 37 watt.

Not sure if the new one changes what the battery is made of, too.... or adds any new improvements to "power management".

 

[fr4c]

I'm pretty positive they're the same batteries, as the Rev.C refresh came with CPU bumps and a huge cut in price.

 

[halledise]

2.13 ghz hands down faster and better battery life also.
don't ask me why (as the specs are almost identical) but my friend has the 1.86 and mine does everything that much quicker

 

[Aboo]

2.13 ghz hands down faster and better battery life also.
don't ask me why (as the specs are almost identical) but my friend has the 1.86 and mine does everything that much quicker

Seriously? How much quicker? I have been doing some searches on MRgoogle, and it appears that Macworld did a review when the Rev Cs had just come out, and they claimed that the 1.86GHz Rev B w/ SSD was actually faster than the 2.13 GHz Rev C because of some CPU throttling that Apple had applied to the Rev Cs.

 

[halledise]

Seriously? How much quicker? I have been doing some searches on MRgoogle, and it appears that Macworld did a review when the Rev Cs had just come out, and they claimed that the 1.86GHz Rev B w/ SSD was actually faster than the 2.13 GHz Rev C because of some CPU throttling that Apple had applied to the Rev Cs.

If you already know the answer, then why bother asking the question?

my experience is based on a real time comparison we ran of simple procedures like starting up; opening a Pages/Keynote/Numbers/Word file; multiple Safari tabs; etc; all with both Airs side by side and seeing which one finished first.
in every case it was the 2.13ghz with SSD - albeit by a small margin in most cases.

we then fully charged both Airs and went away performing 'normal' tasks and compared notes later as to how long battery lasted until enforced sleep.
the 2.13ghz went 32 minutes longer.

but hey … you already have the answer from the experts so I'm surprised you've read this far.

 

[Aboo]

If you already know the answer, then why bother asking the question?

If I had know the answer, I wouldn't have asked the question - MacWorld did their testing w/ a benchmark platform which didn't take into account daily uses. I was hoping to get some information on real-life testing which you have clearly done and shared, so thank you for the information.

 

[stoconnell]

That $200 increase also gets you the normally $29.00 USB ethernet adapter. If you planned to buy one, that cuts your price difference down to $171 before taxes. Also, looking at the "what's in the box" link, it appears the Rev B ships with Leopard (OSX 10.5) rather than Snow Leopard (10.6) .. another $29.00. Some of that battery difference could be a result of OS differences, but I recall some discussion about a battery capacity change as well (covered by the first response).

It seems like the $200 gets you a better machine.

Good luck.

 

[cleric]

That $200 increase also gets you the normally $29.00 USB ethernet adapter. If you planned to buy one, that cuts your price difference down to $171 before taxes. Also, looking at the "what's in the box" link, it appears the Rev B ships with Leopard (OSX 10.5) rather than Snow Leopard (10.6) .. another $29.00. Some of that battery difference could be a result of OS differences, but I recall some discussion about a battery capacity change as well (covered by the first response).

It seems like the $200 gets you a better machine.

Good luck.

Wrong refurb rev B ships with a Retail Snow Leopard disc and Leopard restore discs. Which is a better deal because the disc could be used in other systems :shifty: . Who the hell is going to use the usb ethernet adapter its probably about as fast as wireless n.

 

[stoconnell]

Wrong refurb rev B ships with a Retail Snow Leopard disc and Leopard restore discs. Which is a better deal because the disc could be used in other systems :shifty: . Who the hell is going to use the usb ethernet adapter its probably about as fast as wireless n.

Good to know about them tossing in Snow Leopard for refurbs. I was hoping they would do that, but it's not .. how shall I put? .. clear

As for the USB ethernet, there are places where wired ethernet is your only option, e.g. work.