HOw much faster is the 1.86 vs. 1.6

[FFTWarren]

I really want one of the new MBAs but I dont want to spend a ton of money because I am a student and will be taking the $ out of my savings to buy it. How much faster is the 1.86. would it really be worth it or would it be so minute that its not worth the $500. I will be using it 90% of the time, in the classroom taking notes and writing papers.

[FFTWarren]

or should I go with the 1.86 SATA HD instead of the SSD. I know the SSD will be faster but will the 1.86 make the big difference over the 1.6 or without doing the HD upgrade will I see basically no change

[NC MacGuy]

For the applications you've described, I think the base model should serve you well. The extra 260MHz will make a small difference but not enough to justify the price IMO. Use the money towards a superdrive and some software.

[six.four]

1.6 to 1.86 will give you a marginal boost at best

as for the HDD vs SSD, that has yet to be determined.

I would advise getting the HDD now and upgrading later when the prices for SSD's come down a bit more to reasonable levels.

[NC MacGuy]

^^^Agreed. And this refresh looks like it should be fairly easy going from the funky PATA in gen.A to hopefully a standard SATA in Gen B.

[FFTWarren]

how would that work though. at the store when I bought the MB they told me to get the ssd upgrade that I would have to order it online or they would have to ship it off to them. they said they cant do the HD upgrade in stores

[NC MacGuy]

how would that work though. at the store when I bought the MB they told me to get the ssd upgrade that I would have to order it online or they would have to ship it off to them. they said they cant do the HD upgrade in stores

It's not difficult at all to do the upgrade yourself, as long as it's the right size physically and has same interface. If you go to ifixit or any other mac dissecting sites you'll see it's really a piece of cake. Surprised they couldn't do it in the store, not much more difficult than swapping the battery.

[FFTWarren]

Id prolly find someone who can do it. Im not to keen on taking apart my computers cuz Im not intelectually inclined in that department.

[twist2b]

Used but perfect condition Rev A with a SSD and 1.8 is $700

If you just do light browsing and basic assignments for class for the next 3 years you should REALLY consider just getting the cheaper "older" air. It works really well, just a little less awesome.

if you DONT get the SSD upgrade but the 1.8 its totally worthless! You wont be able to tell the diff pretty much.
However, the upgrade to SSD IS worth it :)


THis is somewhat opinion and google " macbook air hdd vs ssd" for more info. THe first link shows you REALLY good vids of how much faster the SSD is!

[FFTWarren]

WOW after seeing that video I would not even waste my time with the 1.6 120 that ssd is tremendously faster. thats crazy

[twist2b]

WOW after seeing that video I would not even waste my time with the 1.6 120 that ssd is tremendously faster. thats crazy
Don't forget that the Rev B is tremendously faster especially with the 128 GB SSD. faster then the pro in some cases. Personally, I am going to wait for it to come down in price.. I am sure it will be just like the Rev A, cheap cheap cheap in less then a year on ebay.

[six.four]

Used but perfect condition Rev A with a SSD and 1.8 is $700


I definitely wouldn't count on that. Just because you see one end for that price (after cashback and coupon) is by no means the average price.

The average price on ebay for a 1.8/SSD is probably around $1300+ for just the MBA alone.

[twist2b]

I definitely wouldn't count on that. Just because you see one end for that price (after cashback and coupon) is by no means the average price.

The average price on ebay for a 1.8/SSD is probably around $1300+ for just the MBA alone.
Not after the rev B... less people are going for the old version now.
Maybe I am wrong, But I have seen many at 700 AFTER some bids.

[six.four]

Not after the rev B... less people are going for the old version now.
Maybe I am wrong, But I have seen many at 700 AFTER some bids.

I've been monitoring the prices of MBA's for some time now (about 4 or 5 weeks). You are most definitely wrong.

I can't even stress enough how far off your estimate is. The odds of the average price of a 1.8/SSD macbook air being $700 anytime in the NEXT YEAR is slim to none.

just search completed items - there is only one in good condition that ended for less than $1100, and like I said, the average price is around $1300+.

And if anything, more people are looking to buy the older MBA because the new revision - honestly, that's what got me to purchase a rev A MBA.

[twist2b]

I've been monitoring the prices of MBA's for some time now (about 4 or 5 weeks). You are most definitely wrong.

The odds of the average price of a 1.8/SSD macbook air being $700 anytime in the next year is slim to none.

just search completed items - there is only one in good condition that ended for less than $1100, and like I said, the average price is around $1300+.

And if anything, more people are looking to buy the older MBA because the new revision - honestly, that's what got me to purchase a rev A MBA.

Ok, yeah I guess so. I think I saw the ones that still had time left.... :P My b.
Yeah, If I were to buy NOW, I would get the SSD Rev A
But I wont be buying till 2009 so I will deff be getting the Rev B if they don't update or plan to sooon by then.

[phillipjfry]

it would be 16.25% faster :cool:

Get the base model cheapest one, The increase in speed will be so marginal. Plus you have nothing to base it off of. It's not like you have a 1.6 right now and are looking for a speed boost

[aristobrat]

WOW after seeing that video I would not even waste my time with the 1.6 120 that ssd is tremendously faster. thats crazy
Have you seen the last video on this AppleInsider review(comparing the HD to the SSD? No denying that the SSD boots a truckload faster, but depending on what you do with it after it boots, you may not notice the SSD speed increase.

However, the speed launch trick is only impressive at the first launch of an application after a reboot. Mac OS X aggressively caches data to allow the slower HDD launch its applications nearly as fast on a second try (below).
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/11/macbook_air_face_off_hdd_vs_ssd_with_video.html

[HeadForTheHills]

it would be 16.25% faster :cool:

Only for CPU operations providing they do not use any RAM or perform any disk IO :(

Reality, probably half the MHz % gain ?

[twist2b]

Have you seen the last video on this AppleInsider review(comparing the HD to the SSD? No denying that the SSD boots a truckload faster, but depending on what you do with it after it boots, you may not notice the SSD speed increase.


http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/11/macbook_air_face_off_hdd_vs_ssd_with_video.html

That IS true, but still, SSD will always have a faster write speed. And over a 2 hour period, you may open MANY apps and other things. It will be noticeable for a long period of time and you never feel like your computer is sluggish. Also, the battery life is better. Also, remember things like movies and such are continuous NEW information. It really depends on what your doing and how many times your going to do it. I personally think the SSD's ups far outway its price. (at least in the US)

[six.four]

That IS true, but still, SSD will always have a faster write speed. And over a 2 hour period, you may open MANY apps and other things. It will be noticeable for a long period of time and you never feel like your computer is sluggish. Also, the battery life is better. Also, remember things like movies and such are continuous NEW information. It really depends on what your doing and how many times your going to do it. I personally think the SSD's ups far outway its price. (at least in the US)


You meant to say read speeds.

The 1st gen SSDs are not worth their price. The newer generation led by the new Intel X series SSDs are perhaps something to keep an eye on. Call me a cheapass, but unless prices drop closer to $1/gb, the read speed increase and the marginal addition to battery life are not yet worth the premium.

To put things into perspective, if your base laptop is $1800, the $500 cost of the SSD (if I am informed correct) means you are paying an extra 27% more. That's more than one quarter of the cost of the laptop AND you don't get to keep the HDD the SSD would be replacing. In my mind, the value of the hard drive is not worth paying 27% more for.

[aristobrat]

That IS true, but still, SSD will always have a faster write speed
IIRC, that's not correct. There are times when a SSD writing is slower than a regular drive.

Check out this benchmark between the Air 2.0 with a SSD and a MBP. Scroll down to the writing benchmarks towards the end. Looks like the MBP is faster on three out of the four write benchmarks. :confused:

http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc1=316749&doc2=316883

[jessica.]

You meant to say read speeds.

The 1st gen SSDs are not worth their price. The newer generation led by the new Intel X series SSDs are perhaps something to keep an eye on. Call me a cheapass, but unless prices drop closer to $1/gb, the read speed increase and the marginal addition to battery life are not yet worth the premium.

To put things into perspective, if your base laptop is $1800, the $500 cost of the SSD (if I am informed correct) means you are paying an extra 27% more. That's more than one quarter of the cost of the laptop AND you don't get to keep the HDD the SSD would be replacing. In my mind, the value of the hard drive is not worth paying 27% more for.

So you're saying that people sitting on the fence about HDD or SSD, your suggestion based on performance and price is to get the HDD version and upgrade once the SSD prices drop a bit? I'm more or less asking because unless I am misunderstanding, it would appear you're very pro-SSD and very pro-SSD MB Air, not so much the other way around.

I'm still wavering myself. Then again I'm considering trying my hand at another MB too.

[dudup]

I have a 1st gen HDD MBA, and I regret myself for not getting the SSD version.

Mainly because it still seems impossible to find 1.8" 64 GB SSD drives for $500.00.

And even when I find one, I'll have to open and deal with flat cables and lots of screws do get it replace -- it's not difficult to replace an HD on the MBA, but it's not easy either.

Be mindful the the MBA uses 1.8" drives, and they are not so popular as the regular 2.5" notebook drives.

So, my point is: I really hope to buy a new MBA buy january, and I'll be buying the SSD version. If you check prices for a 128GB 1.8" SSD, it's worth it.

[QCassidy352]

it would be 16.25% faster :cool:

Only in CPU bound tasks for which there was no other limiting factor. Meaning it would be at MOST 16.25% faster.

[iDave]

It's really surprising how many people swear by the SSDs which are ridiculously expensive. I watched the videos. I wasn't impressed. Sorry, but I never launch 17 applications all at once. I boot my MacBook only about once a week. (The rest of the time it's sleeping.) To save $700, I can wait an extra 19 seconds, once a week. :rolleyes:

As others have said, the processor difference isn't substantial either. There is no way I'd even consider the high end MacBook Air, for what you get, unless I was really wealthy. As a student, the OP can do much more with that extra $700.

[six.four]

So you're saying that people sitting on the fence about HDD or SSD, your suggestion based on performance and price is to get the HDD version and upgrade once the SSD prices drop a bit? I'm more or less asking because unless I am misunderstanding, it would appear you're very pro-SSD and very pro-SSD MB Air, not so much the other way around.

I'm still wavering myself. Then again I'm considering trying my hand at another MB too.

1. yes that is what I am suggesting

2. Sorry for the confusion - the last line in my quote should just be drive not "hard drive".

and... I'd say I am very pro-value... I'll vouch for anything I believe is a good value

[HeadForTheHills]

Xbench Macbook Air 2 : 1.6GHz vs 1.86GHz

128 vs 137

http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=317388


Unfortunately I will have to return it as the USB door is not flush - bent plastic :mad:

[aristobrat]

Sorry you have to return it, but many thanks for running the XBench before boxing it back up!

[lincolnchee]

1.6 to 1.86 will give you a marginal boost at best

as for the HDD vs SSD, that has yet to be determined.

I would advise getting the HDD now and upgrading later when the prices for SSD's come down a bit more to reasonable levels.

Upgrade ? How do I upgrade from HDD to SSD after I bought my MBA? Will Apple does this for us ?

[funkyc]

Xbench Macbook Air 2 : 1.6GHz vs 1.86GHz

128 vs 137

http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=317388


Unfortunately I will have to return it as the USB door is not flush - bent plastic :mad:

128 v 137
what does that mean? is there a lot of difference or not? doesn't seem like it