Which Macbook Air to Get ?

[fab5freddy]

I am looking for a Used Macbook Air on Craigslist
and wanted to which models to avoid ?
As some of the earlier models had issues..

thanks!

 

[fab5freddy]

Just wanted to hear about some revs that i should avoid!

 

[Veinticinco]

Honestly, if you want a hassle-free MBA, it's a fairly straightforward choice now...

Rev.B refurb 1.86 GHz SSD $1499

or...

Rev. C 2.13 GHz SSD $1799

Personally I'd avoid CL like the plague. Rev.A's need software fixes like Coolbook, plus reapplication of thermal paste helps a lot too but generally they're underpowered. Rev.B's infinitely better in pretty much every department especially GPU. If you can a cheap rev.B with HDD then go for it, but keep in mind the Apple refurb price.

 

[entatlrg]

one model you want to look for is the MBA revb 1.8ghz/128ssd. They're good value for the money right now, you may want to check out the refurb's at Apple too.

Good luck, you'll love your MBA I'm sure!

 

[aleksandra.]

revision C with SSD > revision B with SSD > revision C with HDD > revision B with SSD >> revision A with SSD > revision A with HDD.

The first two are worth buying - Apple's prices are $1799 and $1449 (refurb) respectively. Whatever you do, don't buy revision A (unless you get it dirt cheap and use as a netbook).

 

[King t.]

well this is the thing, i have a MBA rev:A with 1,8ghz and the 64gb SSD and today i received my replacement MBA rev:C 2,13ghz with 128gb SSD.

And I really expected it to be better, I really don't see much differences between my MBA reV:A 1,8ghz SSD and the MBA 2,13 ghy SSD model??

that's why i'm thinking of selling the MBA rev:C now
i tested it, by boot up it's only 5-7 sec. faster and by launching apps only 1 sec. difference, thought the REV:C would be faster.

plus the big dilema is that my screen on the MBA rev:A is so much better than the MBA rev:C.

MBA rev:C


MBA rev:A


both screens were set to full brightness and i used the same color profile on both of them!

 

[GadgetGeek407]

well this is the thing, i have a MBA rev:A with 1,8ghz and the 64gb SSD and today i received my replacement MBA rev:C 2,13ghz with 128gb SSD.

And I really expected it to be better, I really don't see much differences between my MBA reV:A 1,8ghz SSD and the MBA 2,13 ghy SSD model??

that's why i'm thinking of selling the MBA rev:C now
i tested it, by boot up it's only 5-7 sec. faster and by launching apps only 1 sec. difference, thought the REV:C would be faster.

plus the big dilema is that my screen on the MBA rev:A is so much better than the MBA rev:C.

MBA rev:C


MBA rev:A


both screens were set to full brightness and i used the same color profile on both of them!

are you getting lines or just a difference or color cause I can see the difference but its not a huge difference and I am sure comparing any laptop even same model side by side there would be SOME difference...

 

[Scottsdale]

First, I have owned all three versions of the MBA!

Wait to see huge gains with Snow Leopard. Make sure you buy SSD, and make sure the SSD is 128 GB. I would strongly advise the new 2.13/SSD or refurbished 1.86/SSD. The refurbished has full year warranty, and it should be eligible for Snow Leopard upgrade too. HDD is too slow, as the SSD is what makes the ultra portable Air feel like a PRO model.

Want to watch HD video, buy the 2.13 for sure! iTunes HD video playback requires 2 GHz CPU. Any SSD with 128 GB has the 9400m GPU, and that is going to payback huge dividends with Snow Leopard and its OpenCL!

Also, people selling used are wanting more than they cost refurbished from Apple. AVOID ANY REV A MBA AT ALL COSTS (80GB HDD or 64GB SSD)!

Good luck.

 

[fab5freddy]

Thanks for all the replies!

 

[GadgetGeek407]

First, I have owned all three versions of the MBA!

Wait to see huge gains with Snow Leopard. Make sure you buy SSD, and make sure the SSD is 128 GB. I would strongly advise the new 2.13/SSD or refurbished 1.86/SSD. The refurbished has full year warranty, and it should be eligible for Snow Leopard upgrade too. HDD is too slow, as the SSD is what makes the ultra portable Air feel like a PRO model.

Want to watch HD video, buy the 2.13 for sure! iTunes HD video playback requires 2 GHz CPU. Any SSD with 128 GB has the 9400m GPU, and that is going to payback huge dividends with Snow Leopard and its OpenCL!

Also, people selling used are wanting more than they cost refurbished from Apple. AVOID ANY REV A MBA AT ALL COSTS (80GB HDD or 64GB SSD)!

Good luck.

interestin, where will we notice the big difference for snow leopard?

 

[King t.]

are you getting lines or just a difference or color cause I can see the difference but its not a huge difference and I am sure comparing any laptop even same model side by side there would be SOME difference...

if u would see it live, it's really a huge difference unfortunately. on the picture it's not that clear, but like i said if u would see it live u would probably say "take it back"^^

it's kinda yellowish compared to my MBA rev:A, I already thought of swapping the screens, but I think I'll ask Apple support first

 

[aleksandra.]

it's kinda yellowish compared to my MBA rev:A, I already thought of swapping the screens, but I think I'll ask Apple support first

My revision B Air was horribly yellow at first. Calibration helps.

 

[King t.]

My revision B Air was horribly yellow at first. Calibration helps.

to what did u calibrate it? to 2.2? what else do i have to do? do i have to create a color profile? cause i'm using SuperCal color profile on both of them.

 

[Balthezor]

I agree, get the 2.13 SSD or 1.86 SSD refurb. I just got the 2.13 SSD, its super nice.

 

[aleksandra.]

to what did u calibrate it? to 2.2? what else do i have to do? do i have to create a color profile? cause i'm using SuperCal color profile on both of them.

I've never used SuperCal, just created a color profile via ColorSync. It's really simple although a bit tedious if you want to try a few different profiles. At first I only adjusted white point and kept 1.8, then moved to 2.2 since some people said it helps with lines (very slight difference).

 

[iAmLegend]

revision C with SSD > revision B with SSD > revision C with HDD > revision B with SSD >> revision A with SSD > revision A with HDD.

The first two are worth buying - Apple's prices are $1799 and $1449 (refurb) respectively. Whatever you do, don't buy revision A (unless you get it dirt cheap and use as a netbook).

According to the Apple geniuses I spoke to, the Rev C HDD runs faster and better than the Rev B SSD. Apple made a lot of behind the scenes improvements to the Rev C. At the end of the day, none of these models perform significantly better than the other. People buy the MBA for the form factor and portability, not for high performance and speed. I bought the 1.86 HDD and spent the extra $300 on a Nintendo DSi and some games : ) I am so happy with my new toys : )

I love my MBA, it runs so smooth and feels so good to carry around. Now I'm off to play some more Pokemon Platinum.

 

[Veinticinco]

According to the Apple geniuses I spoke to, the Rev C HDD runs faster and better than the Rev B SSD. Apple made a lot of behind the scenes improvements to the Rev C.

Honestly, what a load of nonsense.

1.86GHz 5400rpm HDD faster than a 1.86Ghz SATA-II SSD with almost identical architecture?

Did they have any bottles of snake oil to offer you on your way out?

As for behind the scenes improvements, well, they're obviously so under the radar as to be negligible. Come off it, you'd think with such an anaemic upgrade on the face of it, they''d want to shout all the new improvements from the rooftops. Why haven't they? Because they'd be lying and probably sued under various trades descriptions legislature.

Never has the word 'Genius' been so misappropriated.

 

[zedsdead]

For only $300, the SSD is completely worth it, not to mention the extra horsepower which is useful to HD playback.

However, the Air's are still plagued with the "line" issue, so be warned your display may suck.

 

[aleksandra.]

According to the Apple geniuses I spoke to, the Rev C HDD runs faster and better than the Rev B SSD. Apple made a lot of behind the scenes improvements to the Rev C. At the end of the day, none of these models perform significantly better than the other. People buy the MBA for the form factor and portability, not for high performance and speed. I bought the 1.86 HDD and spent the extra $300 on a Nintendo DSi and some games : ) I am so happy with my new toys : )

I love my MBA, it runs so smooth and feels so good to carry around. Now I'm off to play some more Pokemon Platinum.

It depends on what you call "faster". All reports so far confirm that revision C improved in CPU- or GPU-intensive tasks, so in typical definition of computer's speed it's faster. But perceived speed - what we think of it without any benchmarks - depends on responsiveness, and a faster drive is a key factor here. I would prefer the SSD as its benefits are obvious most of the time, while processor-intensive tasks are relatively rare. Although I would still prefer revision B with HDD over A with SSD, but that's because revision B was a dramatic improvement over original MBA.

 

[Stormygirl]

Why a *refurb* 1.86 mba?

A couple posters are recommending either the new 2.13 mba or a *refurb* 1.86, both with SSD. I'm curious why you are you recommending a refurbished unit? The end-of-life 1.86 units with SSD are now going for $1600 at the Apple store, or $1500 with the educational discount (plus a free iTouch if you buy it with the educational discount). So I'm curious if the refurbished units have some advantage? Thanks.

 

[mcpryon2]

A couple posters are recommending either the new 2.13 mba or a *refurb* 1.86, both with SSD. I'm curious why you are you recommending a refurbished unit? The end-of-life 1.86 units with SSD are now going for $1600 at the Apple store, or $1500 with the educational discount (plus a free iTouch if you buy it with the educational discount). So I'm curious if the refurbished units have some advantage? Thanks.

Probably because not everybody is able to take advantage of the education discount, that would be my guess, anyway.