Could a MBA last?

It really depends how much care you take with your machine and how much travelling you're going to be doing with it, my MBP is now pushing 2 years old and it's showing signs of age, it's travelled A LOT though and seen it's fair share of being rumbled around in transit.

Only get the i7 if you really feel you're going to need that modest speed bump, podcasting does not require a heavy duty CPU.

Also, SSD prices are only going to drop, I bought 2 x 480GB SSD's for my MBP, which cost me $600, which a year or 2 ago would've been unheard of. Wait off on upgrading. Also you need to buy a specially made SSD for the MBA, but looking that up on google will easily show your options.

If it's a primary machine that you plan to keep for more than 2 years then you really need to make a good guess as to the future. The 8 gb ram is a given and I see you already understand that.

Gpu and ssd could be huge. The gpu on the current generation is not bad, but I would never settle with it for my main machine. You may want to consider this as videos, games, etc become more demanding over time. As those get more demanding, they will also take up more space on the hard drive.

I feel that you have a good head on your shoulders and will be able to analytically figure out what fits your needs best. Just please try to predict your potential future needs so that you don't find yourself displeased in a couple of years.

It will last 3 years easily, my old 2008 iMac lasted over 5 years.

torana355 said:

It will last 3 years easily, my old 2008 iMac lasted over 5 years.

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How can you compare an iMac with an MBA on durability and more importantly future proofing?!

I have had a mid-2011 MBA for 18 months and shows no signs of slowing down. This is not a windows machine after all. But when I have tried to do even basic iMovie stuff, rendering takes for ever so the integrated GPU of yesteryear is not really up to much. My kids are able to play non-GPU intensive games on it though without problems. The two things that usually go on laptops are (1) battery and (2) HDD. We haven't heard any problems yet with batteries in the current form factor (with some 30 month experience to date) and with HDD, well you know in theory the SSD should be superior to HDD in terms of failure rates as it doesn't have the mechanical parts of the HDD. Good luck

Confuzzzed said:

How can you compare an iMac with an MBA on durability and more importantly future proofing?!

I have had a mid-2011 MBA for 18 months and shows no signs of slowing down. This is not a windows machine after all. But when I have tried to do even basic iMovie stuff, rendering takes for ever so the integrated GPU of yesteryear is not really up to much. My kids are able to play non-GPU intensive games on it though without problems. The two things that usually go on laptops are (1) battery and (2) HDD. We haven't heard any problems yet with batteries in the current form factor (with some 30 month experience to date) and with HDD, well you know in theory the SSD should be superior to HDD in terms of failure rates as it doesn't have the mechanical parts of the HDD. Good luck

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To start the current MBA's are much more powerful then my 2008 iMac. They have SSDs so there are no moving parts that can go wrong. If anything i think they are more future proofed then my iMac was when i got it.

As long as you take care of it, yes. It's prone to physical damage a lot easier than say, an iMac, but if it's looked after, I can see it lasting a long time.

Do it, you will never regret it. Max the memory now, deal with larger SSD when you must, later. Don't drop it and do keep it dry and it will last far longer than your interest in it lasts. Probably longer than 3-5 years, certainly.

wolfpuppies3 said:

Do it, you will never regret it. Max the memory now, deal with larger SSD when you must, later. Don't drop it and do keep it dry and it will last far longer than your interest in it lasts. Probably longer than 3-5 years, certainly.

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Exactly.

Max the memory. Understand that in a few years it is not going to feel as snappy as it does now. But, my wife is still using her 1st generation MBA...it is way way past warranty now. It sometimes feels slow to her, but I can't convince her it's time to upgrade as this one works just fine.

We got lucky too. The cat knocked it off the table once, and a corner got bent. It was cosmetic damage only, once we re-bent it to allow the top to open up again. It was ugly! But.... this summer the hinge broke, and apparently the hinges were covered by an extension to the warranty so she got a new lid - with display and no ugly corner - from Apple.

bedhugs said:

Hey guys, newbie to the forum here. I'm planning on buying a MacBook Air as my primary computer and I wondered how many years it could last while in this role. I'm currently a college student and would primarily use it for writing essays, web browsing, etc. also plan on using it to edit a podcast every now and then. If I do buy the MBA I hope on pushing 3+ years of life out of it.

Also planned on saving a bit of money by buying the base 13" and upgrading the ram to 8g with plans to install a larger ssd in the future but found out the processor can't be upgraded to i7 unless you get the 256 ssd .should I save the money and stick with i5 or get i7 with 256ssd and take the 400$ hit


Thanks

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I have a 2011 MBA that is now 1.5 years old. It still looks perfect despite having travelled with me throughout Europe and to the US (I travel a lot for my job). I am not obsessive when it comes to taking care of it. I don't use hard cases or keyboard covers. I use a simple leather cover when it's in my bag.

I pretty much agree with the others. Get 8GB Ram and since it's your main machine I would upgrade to 256GB because I think 128GB is just not enough at all and 512GB is too expensive. I got my Air since July and I got 118GB free space left, gotta start cleaning soon I guess haha.

I don't think you need the i7, there's no real benefit for you in spending a few more hundreds regarding the tasks you plan on doing.

No matter what u get I always give this advice, if u want ur machine to last:

Do not upgrade software, OS, App whatever unless there is a specific reason to do so. Newer software invariably demand more horsepower from your machine. Don't feed the software-hardware vendors upgraditis conspiracy if u know what's good for your wallet.

From time to time, u maybe tempted because the new software may FIX something ur currently is annoyed with, but not fatal. OK, I personally deal with this situation by having an image backup or my current stuff before upgrading so I can GO BACK if the new software doesn't do that I thought i would for me.

YMMV.

Another vote for 256 GB drive really being the minimum for most users, and also for getting 8 GB RAM if you plan on keeping it long term.

Get a keyboard cover, and keep your computing hands clean.

Generally be nice to it.

Certainly!

My (9 year old) sister currently uses my 2008 Macbook (This one, it's nearly 5 years old: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...duo-2.4-black-13-early-2008-penryn-specs.html) with 2GB RAM, a Core 2 Duo, and a 250GB normal HDD for similar uses to yours (writing things, web browsing, Netflix, Hulu+, iTunes). If that one lasted 5 years (2.5 with me using it, and 2.5 with a little kid using it) and still works for those tasks, I'm quite sure a Macbook Air with great specs will be fine for 3. Most computers I've owned start feeling a little slow around the 3-year mark, so on the speed aspect it'll be fine, and if you use it carefully (don't hold any drinks near or above it, I learned that with my 2007 Macbook (why I later got a 2008) ) the externals and internals will be fine.

Right now I have a 2010 Macbook Pro that's 2.5 years old (This one, although I stuck more RAM in mine to bring it up to 8GB a few months ago: https://www.everymac.com/systems/ap...5-2.4-aluminum-15-mid-2010-unibody-specs.html) and it's still great for even photo and short video editing (I tried to edit a 1 hour movie on it, and moved over to my desktop after 5 mins due to lag), so yeah, Macs age pretty well.

Anyway, go for it! With the money you save by not getting the i7 and upgraded SSD, make sure to get Applecare. It saved me when my logic board decided to go screwy ($800+ for a new one).

It all depends on how eager you are to have the latest and greatest.

My first MacBook Air, the original one from January 2008, is still in heavy use It is the MacBookAir1,1 - with 1.6GHz L7500 CPU, 2GB RAM, and an 80GB PATA HDD.

I used it for two years, and now my in-laws are using it, happily. I had the screen replaced on AppleCare, and they took the opportunity to replace the battery and the keyboard back in 2010.

The only thing irritating is of course that I cannot upgrade the OSX to 10.8. It is basically stuck on Lion, which I only realised when I was in the midst of trying to upgrade it

As for Apple desktop systems, I still am running my Mac Pro 2008, albeit with a few upgrades...

As for what to get, I now have the 13" MacBook Air Mid-2012, with the i7, 8GB RAM, and the 250GB SSD. I am so glad I got the i7 upgrade, as well as the upgrade to 8GB RAM. There is nothing it can't do, and though some people think Retina is the dog's bollocks, I am not missing it.

I also have a MacBook Pro, albeit the mid-2010 version, but with the i7 CPU, 8GB RAM, and the 250GB SSD. My MacBook Air out-performs it!!!

Confuzzzed said:

I have had a mid-2011 MBA for 18 months and shows no signs of slowing down. This is not a windows machine after all.

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What a load of bull. My 2006 HP laptop is still going strong and can handle everything I throw at it (PS, Lightroom, even light gaming [WoW]). Sure, it's a heavy 17" beast with a 1.5 hour battery life but it only cost me $699 at the time.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac but whenever I see comments like this I just roll my eyes.

To the original OP's question, yes, it'll easily last 4 years as long as you use common sense and take reasonable care of it.
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Schtumple said:

It really depends how much care you take with your machine and how much travelling you're going to be doing with it, my MBP is now pushing 2 years old and it's showing signs of age, it's travelled A LOT though and seen it's fair share of being rumbled around in transit.

Only get the i7 if you really feel you're going to need that modest speed bump, podcasting does not require a heavy duty CPU.

Also, SSD prices are only going to drop, I bought 2 x 480GB SSD's for my MBP, which cost me $600, which a year or 2 ago would've been unheard of. Wait off on upgrading. Also you need to buy a specially made SSD for the MBA, but looking that up on google will easily show your options.

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It all depends on how you take care of it. In 2012, I went to France 12 times, Vietnam twice, and Hong Kong once. My 1.5 year old MacBook Air looks brand new. My only recommendation on an MBA is to max out your SSD. If I only had to select either 8 GB RAM or a 256 GB SSD, I'd go with the bigger SSD in a heartbeat for all my media. The base 4 GB RAM is more than adequate.

phuocsandiego said:

The base 4 GB RAM is more than adequate.

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Not true at all! If you ever want to do some serious graphics work, or even just run Aperture with 30-50K pictures, scanning for Faces takes forever, but is much faster with plenty of RAM. Also, start using PhotoShop, or most other apps from the Adobe Creative Suite, and 4GB RAM will prove to little.

I'd max out on RAM, and go with the 250GB SSD, and if the storage is not enough, buy a cheap external USB3 HD for data. The RAM you can't upgrade on the MacBook Air, but storage you can always buy...

On my MacBook Air, which has the 250GB SSD, I still have some 100GB left. I know, I don't have any data on it, only OS, apps, and an image with Windows in Parallels, but data can be stored on ext. HDs, on your NAS or TimeCapsule, or in the Cloud.

Get the 256 i5. It will last you through college and until you can afford a new computer easily.

phuocsandiego said:

What a load of bull. My 2006 HP laptop is still going strong and can handle everything I throw at it (PS, Lightroom, even light gaming [WoW]). Sure, it's a heavy 17" beast with a 1.5 hour battery life but it only cost me $699 at the time.

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Each to their own. Enjoy the malware. I am sure your machine is running as fast as it did in 2006. Or 2007. Or 2008.

Killerbob said:

Not true at all! If you ever want to do some serious graphics work, or even just run Aperture with 30-50K pictures, scanning for Faces takes forever, but is much faster with plenty of RAM. Also, start using PhotoShop, or most other apps from the Adobe Creative Suite, and 4GB RAM will prove to little.

I'd max out on RAM, and go with the 250GB SSD, and if the storage is not enough, buy a cheap external USB3 HD for data. The RAM you can't upgrade on the MacBook Air, but storage you can always buy...

On my MacBook Air, which has the 250GB SSD, I still have some 100GB left. I know, I don't have any data on it, only OS, apps, and an image with Windows in Parallels, but data can be stored on ext. HDs, on your NAS or TimeCapsule, or in the Cloud.

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For your use, you're absolutely right.

However, for the OP's stated use, I stand by my comments that 4 GB RAM is more than adequate for the next 3-6 years at least and would still rather have the 256 GB SSD over the RAM if I can't have both. Sure, you can always use external drives but if you lug that thing around like a college student will, then that external drive is going to get bothersome really quick.

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Confuzzzed said:

Each to their own. Enjoy the malware. I am sure your machine is running as fast as it did in 2006. Or 2007. Or 2008.

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And this is why many people hate Mac users. I use both platforms and can honestly appreciate what each has to offer.

You assume that Macs has no malware targeted at it and that all Windows users don't take precautions to protect themselves. Why do I even bother? You should just keep on talking... I'm enjoying the entertainment. It's like my very own private TV reality show where I get to watch stupid people make a total donkey of themselves.

The only reason my Rev B MacBook Air would not have lasted me 3+ years would have been due to the memory. I believe I had the max memory we could get at the time but it was simply not enough. Safari was a hog, for one, and then opening other apps would kill it completely. Now, with the upgrade options, a MacBook Air would easily last me for many years. Hell, my Rev D PowerBook is still kicking ... slowly, but kicking.

bedhugs said:

I'm currently a college student and would primarily use it for writing essays, web browsing, etc. also plan on using it to edit a podcast every now and then. If I do buy the MBA I hope on pushing 3+ years of life out of it.

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Given your usage needs, the current crop of MBAs are more then enough to fulfill those needs. The only question is how well its maintained in those 3 years.