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Undecided about new MBA

MickeyVee

MickeyVee

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
96
76
Canada
I'm typing this on my new base MBA and amy trying to decide whether I all that impressed or not.

Let me give you some background. I have the original MBA and put in a super 128GB SSD. The overall experience is quite quick and it seems more responsive that my late 2009 MacMini. I do mostly office stuff, surf, iTunes to my A/V system, remote into work and some initial Lightroom processing.

On to the new machine.. it's a little more responsive but not definitely night and day. Almost disappointed given I'm comparing it to an original MBA.

What I like -
- the fans don't nearly go on as much
- the extra screen real estate is nice but not noticeably different
- 2 USB ports & SD card reader (definitely better than the flip down port)
- love the new form factor
- photos render faster, especially when using HDR software

What I don't like -
- what happened to IR?? I listen to headphones a lot with an external USB/DAC Headphone amplifier, lie back and skip/repeat songs with my Apple remote.. no more
- miss the power on light on the original MBA
- not sure I like the new track pad.. miss the buttons but it seems to work the same way as with the physical click buttons

So, I have a couple of weeks to decide. I know that the 2011 MBA is dearly loved around here. I just don't see the night and day difference that I was expecting given over 4 generations of changes..
 
D

dakhein

macrumors member
Aug 24, 2011
56
1
NorCal, USA
Yea, it doesn't seem that much better than what you had for what you do but the only negative that you listed that I might be disappointed in was the IR.

I don't think it will take long to get used to the power light or lack thereof and I'm certain less fan noise is definitely a plus. Play with the trackpad some more, I think you'll get used to it. That being said, your mba sounds like it was still perfectly capable of doing its job.
 
Lukeyy19

Lukeyy19

macrumors 6502a
Feb 16, 2010
771
3
England, UK
just wanted to mention about the remote thing, incase you didn't know, you can use your iPhone as a remote for iTunes on your mac, using the Remote App, it uses your WiFi network rather than infra red.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,024
7,867
I had the original (1.8GHz), Rev B w/SSD, Rev D, and now the Rev E. To me, they have each been nice jumps. The Rev B took care of the worst overheating issues of the Rev A and was my introduction to SSDs. The Rev D added the 2nd USB port, and IMO the 11" design set the standard by which all "Ultrabooks" are measured. With the Rev E, the Air finally has a processor reasonably on par with mainsteam notebooks.

I'm surprised the processor and GPU improvements between the Rev A and Rev E aren't making more of an impression, particularly since you use Lightroom.

As for the trackpad, you can still pretend the button is there and click on the bottom part (or anywhere else) with your thumb while scrolling with your finger. It is smart enough to distinguish between that and a multitouch gesture.
 
MickeyVee

MickeyVee

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
96
76
Canada
Lukeyy19 said:
just wanted to mention about the remote thing, incase you didn't know, you can use your iPhone as a remote for iTunes on your mac, using the Remote App, it uses your WiFi network rather than infra red.
Click to expand...

Yup, know that, but when I'm lying back relaxing, don't want to have to turn on the iPhone, reconnect and choose.. can just click with the remote.. eyes closed & no effort :D

Hey KPOM.. almost forgot about the heat issue.. guess I just got used to it. And yes, the rendering is faster in LR, Photomatix & HDR eFx Pro. Not missing the constant fans and am getting used to the trackpad.

The only kicker is the IR.. Used to have a Griffin AirClick but they're (and mine) are long gone.. found a USB IR receiver.. may go that route.

BTW..anyone know what my MBA Rev A with custom 128GB SSD, all the original accessories, SL DVD & MBA Superdrive should sell for.. all mint.
 
Last edited:
A

acsherman

macrumors newbie
Dec 2, 2011
2
0
This bothers me

If you like your old one, return the new one.

You sound like a whiny baby - it is APPLE, they evolve!

Get used to it.
 
johnhurley

johnhurley

macrumors 6502a
Aug 29, 2011
777
56
MickeyVee said:
So, I have a couple of weeks to decide. I know that the 2011 MBA is dearly loved around here. I just don't see the night and day difference that I was expecting given over 4 generations of changes..
Click to expand...

I do like my new macbook air ... but nothing too much wrong with the old machine that you purchased.

It all depends probably on how much you push your machine. I don't push mine much.

If you were not pushing the limits of your old machine then you probably won't see too much of a performance bump from the new one!
 
C

couto27

macrumors 6502
Nov 10, 2008
264
0
lisboa,portugal
MickeyVee said:
I'm typing this on my new base MBA and amy trying to decide whether I all that impressed or not.

Let me give you some background. I have the original MBA and put in a super 128GB SSD. The overall experience is quite quick and it seems more responsive that my late 2009 MacMini. I do mostly office stuff, surf, iTunes to my A/V system, remote into work and some initial Lightroom processing.

On to the new machine.. it's a little more responsive but not definitely night and day. Almost disappointed given I'm comparing it to an original MBA.

What I like -
- the fans don't nearly go on as much
- the extra screen real estate is nice but not noticeably different
- 2 USB ports & SD card reader (definitely better than the flip down port)
- love the new form factor
- photos render faster, especially when using HDR software

What I don't like -
- what happened to IR?? I listen to headphones a lot with an external USB/DAC Headphone amplifier, lie back and skip/repeat songs with my Apple remote.. no more
- miss the power on light on the original MBA
- not sure I like the new track pad.. miss the buttons but it seems to work the same way as with the physical click buttons

So, I have a couple of weeks to decide. I know that the 2011 MBA is dearly loved around here. I just don't see the night and day difference that I was expecting given over 4 generations of changes..
Click to expand...

looks like the end of the world for you
i also had the original air with a renice sad, and the 2011 model doesn't look like nothing at all like the rev A

rev A - after 20 minutes the fans are kicking to 6000rpm

rev E - after 12 hours in bed ( flu ) i don't hear the fans running, trackpad is fantastic, have you listen the power of this speakers ? bluetooth is the way.
 
Last edited:
MickeyVee

MickeyVee

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 28, 2009
96
76
Canada
Not whining.. not the end of the world.. just my observations after 3 years with my MBA Rev A. Been using the new machine most of the night.. no heat.. no obnoxious fan noise.. that's pretty much worth it amongst the other benefits.
Found a USB IR receiver for $22 for when I want to do the headphone thing. Looks like she's a keeper. Just needed some time to think it through.
 
jmoore5196

jmoore5196

macrumors 6502a
May 19, 2009
840
333
Russellville AR
I've had one of every iteration except Rev. C.

I just don't think there's much comparison between Rev. A and Rev. E. Granted, going from 13" to 11" isn't for everyone, but I love the new MBA and don't feel compromised using it.

With the Rev. A or B, on the other hand, I always thought I was sacrificing speed or storage for portability. The current iteration gives a significant speed bump, ample storage and is even more portable.

To each his own. If you like your Rev. A in comparison to one of the current machines, I suspect you should have plumped for a speedier processor or a larger SSD.
 
convergent

convergent

macrumors 68040
May 6, 2008
3,034
3,082
Try configuring the trackpad for "tap to click" instead of physically clicking the trackpad. It takes a couple days to adjust, but it is the only way to roll. I find the actual clicking of the new trackpads to be obnoxiously loud, but the tap to click thing is wonderful. There are some configuration options, even within tap to click that I experimented with finally figure out the way I liked best.
 
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