Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which MBA?

A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
Hey guys, I'm looking to get a MacBook Air as a supplemental computer to my MacBook Pro. I want something to take to work every day that does basic web and Word. My question is: do I need the new Rev. C for what I need or would I be good with a used Rev. A (with AppleCare)? Like I said, it'll be used for web surfing and word processing. Maybe a little Hulu.

Thanks

Alan
 
ayeying

ayeying

macrumors 601
Dec 5, 2007
4,547
13
Yay Area, CA
alansmallen said:
Hey guys, I'm looking to get a MacBook Air as a supplemental computer to my MacBook Pro. I want something to take to work every day that does basic web and Word. My question is: do I need the new Rev. C for what I need or would I be good with a used Rev. A (with AppleCare)? Like I said, it'll be used for web surfing and word processing. Maybe a little Hulu.

Thanks

Alan
Click to expand...

Any would be fine with Basic Web, Word and Hulu (non High-Def). Don't let other users discourage you to only getting the newer nVidia models. I've used both Intel and nVidia models and for basic stuff, its perfect regardless which is on.
 
M

mobilevisual

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2009
40
0
"a little Hulu" changes everything. Go rev B. I don't believe it costs much more than rev.A, but the advantage is: it keeps its value longer when you decide to upgrade. Oh yeah, and a separate GPU ain't bad.
 
A

aleksandra.

macrumors 6502a
Sep 13, 2008
674
0
Warsaw, Poland
mobilevisual said:
"a little Hulu" changes everything. Go rev B. I don't believe it costs much more than rev.A, but the advantage is: it keeps its value longer when you decide to upgrade. Oh yeah, and a separate GPU ain't bad.
Click to expand...

Just because it's made by nVidia doesn't change the fact it's still integrated graphics with shared memory.

I agree that you should get revision B at least. I don't argue the fact that there have been some people who are/were happy with rev. A, but too many units suffered common problems (overheating etc.) to take the risk IMO. Take into account that people who have issues with the computer are more likely to sell it than those who got the perfect one, and it isn't really like they're selling a faulty unit, because Apple's official policy is that it's normal. So even if it's someone you know they may simply not know theirs is a bad one and tell you everything's alright with it - and it's hard to check.

Also note that even though specs seem similar, almost every part was upgraded between revisions A and B - CPU (Merom -> Penryn), RAM (DDR2 -> DDR3), drive interface (PATA -> SATA II), drive storage (80/64GB -> 120/128GB), GPU (Intel -> nVidia). Revision C only got new battery, slightly improved CPU (within the same architecture) and less underclocked GPU.

On the other hand, main issue with revisions B/C is "grey lines", which have been discussed to no end already. This is easy to avoid if buying used though, because you can check for it immediately.

Then there's a matter of HDD/SSD. I get it that it's a secondary computer and you probably don't need an SSD, but if you're considering revision C/HDD, keep in ming B/SSD is $50 *less* and will feel faster in everyday use.
 
bowlerman625

bowlerman625

macrumors 68020
Jun 17, 2009
2,135
11
Chicago, IL area
aleksandra. said:
Just because it's made by nVidia doesn't change the fact it's still integrated graphics with shared memory.

I agree that you should get revision B at least. I don't argue the fact that there have been some people who are/were happy with rev. A, but too many units suffered common problems (overheating etc.) to take the risk IMO. Take into account that people who have issues with the computer are more likely to sell it than those who got the perfect one, and it isn't really like they're selling a faulty unit, because Apple's official policy is that it's normal. So even if it's someone you know they may simply not know theirs is a bad one and tell you everything's alright with it - and it's hard to check.

Also note that even though specs seem similar, almost every part was upgraded between revisions A and B - CPU (Merom -> Penryn), RAM (DDR2 -> DDR3), drive interface (PATA -> SATA II), drive storage (80/64GB -> 120/128GB), GPU (Intel -> nVidia). Revision C only got new battery, slightly improved CPU (within the same architecture) and less underclocked GPU.

On the other hand, main issue with revisions B/C is "grey lines", which have been discussed to no end already. This is easy to avoid if buying used though, because you can check for it immediately.

Then there's a matter of HDD/SSD. I get it that it's a secondary computer and you probably don't need an SSD, but if you're considering revision C/HDD, keep in ming B/SSD is $50 *less* and will feel faster in everyday use.
Click to expand...

Thanks Aleksandra, I found this comparison helpful !
 
A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
NikFinn said:
That puts your price range at about $650ish? I haven't checked out the market recently, but it might be hard to find one at that price.
Click to expand...

I've been watching eBay and seeing them go for any where between 750-920 with Applecare. That's my budget.
 
Scottsdale

Scottsdale

Suspended
Sep 19, 2008
4,473
283
U.S.A.
Get any MBA with an Nvidia GPU. Intel's graphics and Merom CPU on the original MBA is disaster! You can buy one for $1099 refurbished from Apple with HDD.
 
pvmacguy

pvmacguy

macrumors 65816
Sep 2, 2009
1,114
29
Jax
I have a rev. A that I got off ebay for $820. No issues what so ever, and what you plan on doing the rev A will accomplish just fine. Fan will rev up when watching some videos but it doesn't bother me. In fact I'm glad it does because then I know things are functioning properly. But that's just me.
 
A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
pvmacguy said:
I have a rev. A that I got off ebay for $820. No issues what so ever, and what you plan on doing the rev A will accomplish just fine. Fan will rev up when watching some videos but it doesn't bother me. In fact I'm glad it does because then I know things are functioning properly. But that's just me.
Click to expand...

Good to know. That seems to be the way I'm gonna go.
 
A

adamjackson

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2008
2,340
4,743
alansmallen said:
I was hoping to pay about half that.
Click to expand...

I'm not being elitist here when I say save up until you can afford that one.

NVIDIA GPU will change the entire experience.
SSD too.

Avoid the first gen MBA like a plague cause it's just not the speed or power you want and you'll end up being disappointed.
 
A

alansmallen

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 25, 2007
859
3
There's a guy on the forums who is selling a rev a with warranty fr 800. Is that worth it
 
U

urahoho

macrumors newbie
Oct 14, 2009
10
0
adamjackson said:
I'm not being elitist here when I say save up until you can afford that one.

NVIDIA GPU will change the entire experience.
SSD too.

Avoid the first gen MBA like a plague cause it's just not the speed or power you want and you'll end up being disappointed.
Click to expand...



agreed, my brother has the rev A MBA and I was not impressed, plus he says the video keeps lagging and when he was trying to video chat with his gf, the video lagged every 15 mins and he would have to put the machine to sleep
 
A

adamjackson

macrumors 68020
Jul 9, 2008
2,340
4,743
urahoho said:
agreed, my brother has the rev A MBA and I was not impressed, plus he says the video keeps lagging and when he was trying to video chat with his gf, the video lagged every 15 mins and he would have to put the machine to sleep
Click to expand...


Yep. I could have gotten a rev A back in January. I just kept saving my pennies and finally bought one in July. I'm so glad I got the faster model
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom