Rev C not really a Rev C

[Halon X]

I don't think a minor processor speed bump and a price cut are enough to call the latest MBA a Rev C. There is no major rearchitecture or changes as there was REV A to Rev B. There are no worries about will a Rev B HD/SSD fit in a Rev C, etc. Everything is basically the same.

It seems to me that with all the Rev C hoopla leading up to the announcement, people are just, for whatever reason, on whatever bandwagon calling it a Rev C without really thinking about it. This is v2.1, not 3.0 ;)

Who determines what the actual revision designation is? It seems to be very MBA specific as I don't really see it with the other platforms.

[jessica.]

It'll be called rev C whether anyone likes it or not.

I believe it should be called Rev C for ... C is for costly, a mistake forced onto people who bought the Rev B SDD. :D

[NewGenAdam]

I agree the changes are small. I think more RAM would have been wonderful, especially since it's soldered straight onto the logic board.

But the term "Rev" A, B, C, is not official. It's derived by us, basically, so all it means is this is the third iteration of the product. Not that it has to be big. Which it isn't.

[Halon X]

I agree the changes are small. I think more RAM would have been wonderful, especially since it's soldered straight onto the logic board.

But the term "Rev" A, B, C, is not official. It's derived by us, basically, so all it means is this is the third iteration of the product. Not that it has to be big. Which it isn't.

It's not really a new iteration though, just a minor speed bump. Zero other changes. Sort of like the little tweaks car manufactures make to their cars every rear in between major revisions and design changes.

[ayeying]

It's not really a new iteration though, just a minor speed bump. Zero other changes. Sort of like the little tweaks car manufactures make to their cars every rear in between major revisions and design changes.

Speed bump, bigger battery (37 wHr -> 40 wHr), faster graphics? (4x faster -> 6x faster)

[qubex]

I concur. This is not a Revision C machine.

The recent white MacBook speed-bump was not subjected to this degree of "revision" fanfare. Why this price-cut has been elevated to the status a machine revision is beyond me.

Anyway... it's a disappointment for everybody who hoped to see the Air platform move forward. Whatever you choose to call it.

[Veinticinco]

I concur. This is not a Revision C machine.

Anyway... it's a disappointment for everybody who hoped to see the Air platform move forward. Whatever you choose to call it.

Agree.

[Kwill]

I thought the revision designation must be used to distinguish models for support and resale. Apple uses no other way to identify different models other than "early 2009" and "late 2009" MacBook Air.

[darngooddesign]

Anyway... it's a disappointment for everybody who hoped to see the Air platform move forward. Whatever you choose to call it.

Aside from 2GB RAM what exactly didn't they move forward?

It has faster processor
Faster graphics
Uprated battery

[h1d]

If they fixed the display, then it's a giant leap forward.

[Halon X]

Speed bump, bigger battery (37 wHr -> 40 wHr), faster graphics? (4x faster -> 6x faster)

All minor enhancements, not major changes... ;)

Both share the same video specs (9400M, 256MB shared DDR3 memory). How exactly is the new one faster? I didn't watch the keynote and haven't seen anything online so am very curious and interested to learn more.

[929406]

bottom line is that it is a faster machine with a huge reduction in price, good enough for me! I figured the Rev B was enough computer for me for the next couple of years at least, now the Rev C is even better

[ayeying]

All minor enhancements, not major changes... ;)

Both share the same video specs (9400M, 256MB shared DDR3 memory). How exactly is the new one faster? I didn't watch the keynote and haven't seen anything online so am very curious and interested to learn more.

Minor enhancements are still enhancements regardless of anything else. Think about it, the MBP's had "revisions" and they only had CPU bumps and a minor update to video ram. For example, the MBP Rev D (Late 2007) and MBP Rev E (Early 2008).

The video card is still the same chip, however, originally, the MacBook Air had a underclocked model compared to the MacBook or MacBook Pro's 9400M. It could've been that they removed that restriction and clocked the system back to full specs? The "6x" is listed on their site. Here's the link and quote:

"Games get up to a 6x performance boost in MacBook Air, compared to the original model."

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/graphics.html

The original Rev B model had:

"With up to a 4x graphics performance boost, graphics-intensive applications now run faster."

http://store.apple.com/us/product/FB940LL/A?mco=MjE0Njc4Ng

Whether or not the CPU bump caused the performance boost, it seems very odd/doubtful a 1.86 -> 2.13GHz would be enough to "double" graphics performance

[iMacmatician]

Minor enhancements are still enhancements regardless of anything else. Think about it, the MBP's had "revisions" and they only had CPU bumps and a minor update to video ram. For example, the MBP Rev D (Late 2007) and MBP Rev E (Early 2008).Most Mac updates are like that. The new MacBook Air is a Rev. C.

[orrelse44]

C is for costly, a mistake forced onto people who bought the Rev B SDD. :D

<GASP> Where is Scottsdale when you need him!!!???!!! :D

[pekkapee]

If I checked this correctly, the graphics have improved slightly
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=341025

The "4x or 6x" claim is valid for OpenGL, other benchmarks show 1.5x compared to the original and 1.1x compared to RevB. So you get 10% more performance for 350$ if you compare refurb RevB (1449$) and new RevC (1799$). Correct me if I'm completely wrong... :rolleyes:

Rev C 2.13 128GB SSD (OS X 10.5.7.) vs
Rev B 1.86GHz 128GB SSD (OS X 10.5.6) vs
Rev A 1.8GHz SSD

Quartz Graphics Test
160.12
132.94
108.23

Line
146.30
129.74
116.50

Rectangle
182.96
155.93
123.37

Circle
149.16
127.43
99.54

Bezier
154.87
134.51
108.80

Text
173.52
121.83
97.34

OpenGL Graphics Test
135.29
128.57
18.70

Spinning Squares
135.29
128.57
18.70

User Interface Test
271.16
215.67
132.38

Elements
271.16
215.67
132.38

[Scottsdale]

<GASP> Where is Scottsdale when you need him!!!???!!! :D

Hey, don't blame me. I have been telling people for two months to wait as it was seven month old tech ready for an update.

Apple has really screwed over every MBA buyer to date!

Rev A = JUNK! Biggest price dump ever!

Rev B = lines and a $700 price drop destroying the value for Air owners again!

Rev C = LINES and 9C90 worthless display reported by all Air buyers thus far!

[Veinticinco]

If I checked this correctly, the graphics have improved slightly
http://db.xbench.com/merge.xhtml?doc2=341025

The "4x or 6x" claim is valid for OpenGL, other benchmarks show 1.5x compared to the original and 1.1x compared to RevB. So you get 10% more performance for 350$ if you compare refurb RevB (1449$) and new RevC (1799$). Correct me if I'm completely wrong... :rolleyes:

Rev C 2.13 128GB SSD (OS X 10.5.7.) vs
Rev B 1.86GHz 128GB SSD (OS X 10.5.6) vs
Rev A 1.8GHz SSD

Quartz Graphics Test
160.12
132.94
108.23

Line
146.30
129.74
116.50

Rectangle
182.96
155.93
123.37

Circle
149.16
127.43
99.54

Bezier
154.87
134.51
108.80

Text
173.52
121.83
97.34

OpenGL Graphics Test
135.29
128.57
18.70

Spinning Squares
135.29
128.57
18.70

User Interface Test
271.16
215.67
132.38

Elements
271.16
215.67
132.38

Frankly in the circumstances, I couldn't care less about the semantics as to what qualifies it to be a true third itinerant of MBA.

Fact remains it still has a POS display unless you're one of the lucky few to have found an early one (the 9C8F model) without screen lines. That alone is unacceptable. Given that epic fail, any other tweaks are just utterly meaningless in context.

[gri]

Speed bump, bigger battery (37 wHr -> 40 wHr), faster graphics? (4x faster -> 6x faster)

Still 2 gigs of RAM (like my 5 year old PB) and still the same 128 gig SSD HD...? OK, cheaper but the proces are falling anyway for these. With a 256 SSD and 4G RAM -oh yeah. But as is - no!:(

[Iphone3gs]

Wikipedia decide which rev

if you check on wikipedia and search for macbook air or other macbooks etc.

You can see comparison between each updates etc.

Every new update means a new rev etc

If you consider rev only to be made when major changes then it will be hard to distinguish these major changes.

To some people an extra nvedia chip may not be much of a change and for other big differnce.

Its simple to make it called a new rev after each update.

[Thiol]

Wikipedia decide which rev

if you check on wikipedia and search for macbook air or other macbooks etc.

You can see comparison between each updates etc.

Every new update means a new rev etc

If you consider rev only to be made when major changes then it will be hard to distinguish these major changes.

To some people an extra nvedia chip may not be much of a change and for other big differnce.

Its simple to make it called a new rev after each update.

Actually, Apple decides. If you open "About this Mac" and then "More Info," you'll notice a "Model Identifier." It's something like MacBook3,1 or MacBookAir2,1. The first number designates the revision in the view of Apple. So, if you open up a Rev. C MBA, what's the model identifier?

[King t.]

well i just sold my REV:C SSD model again, I think i
ll stay by REV:A until they really bring out a Air that looks and feels the way ot should.

and since i don't do anything graphic intensive, i really don't need the nividia :p
i don't think there is much difference in the processors they used.

and i only paid 1000$ for my MBA rev:A 1,8 SSD model incl. apple care 2011 and superdrive + 2 bags, so all in all i think that was the best way to go :D

and SL will also make the rev:A go a bit snappier, i hope :cool:

[shikimo]

So...anybody got a guess as to the timetable of Rev D??

[wetrix]

Actually, Apple decides. If you open "About this Mac" and then "More Info," you'll notice a "Model Identifier." It's something like MacBook3,1 or MacBookAir2,1. The first number designates the revision in the view of Apple. So, if you open up a Rev. C MBA, what's the model identifier?

This is what I was going to say.

Apple doesn't refer to products as "Revision A,B,C etc", so I'd let the model identifier decide.

[aleksandra.]

This is what I was going to say.

Apple doesn't refer to products as "Revision A,B,C etc", so I'd let the model identifier decide.

It seems to be 2,1 for both revision B and C, IIRC.