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eric/

Guest
Sep 19, 2011
1,681
20
Ohio, United States
I've spilt a Red Bull on my keyboard, and dropped my MBA from 3-4 feet onto concrete twice and I've had 0 problems other than a little dent on the corner.

As far as hardware goes, it's really not better or worse than anything else. If you're looking at it from (will this serve my purposes in 4-5 years) I think it depends on those purposes. at 256 SSD, 1.7 i5, and 4gb ram, my air serves me perfectly, and has since I bought it July 2011.
 

l.a.rossmann

macrumors 65816
May 15, 2009
1,096
372
Brooklyn
This is a pretty impressive demonstration for the durability of an Air.

They completely abuse the pulp out of it, freeze, it bake it drop it, spill a full glass of water on it, still turned on after the water spill, but killed the battery.

I am just wondering the few who have had failures, were they dropped ?
even multiple times ?

I have a 2011 Air and a 2012 13" air, also have a 2006 MPB, works fine, bought it used, made sure it didn't have any dents= dropped etc, heck thats now 7 yrs old.

It does not take much water to destroy an air. The motherboard components are unprotected and the water goes right through the keyboard.

----------

I agree that any machine, which solders all critical components on one logic board is quite prone to catastrophic failure/costly repairs.

On the other hand, I disagree with the praise you shovel onto other brands.

It's true that lenovo's have "fluid channels", so that liquids are supposed to run through the machine, but that's plain bs in real world scenarios. The most the machine is able to channel without seepage into internal components is about a tablespoon. Also, if you dip a glass of water on the table, chances are your machine is screwed, as it does not stand high enough off the table.

In my experience, real thinkpads (read IBM) are quite sturdy, but no way near indestructible, most lenovo designs are far less sturdy. Fact of the matter is that laptops simply are not baseball bats.

Regarding the OP's point: Sure, MBA's have some design compromises, which render them more prone to failure, while OTOH, they have less moving parts.
On the whole, I'd say: "MBA's have less component failures than MBP's, but MBP's allow you to replace the broken components easier."

RGDS,

If you're talking about Lenovo Ideapad/new crap, correct. It's as bad as the $324 + tax Toshibas/HPs in Best Buy.

If you're talking Lenovo's Thinkpad T series... these are as indestructible as the IBM days. Throw some water into one and see for yourself. The entire board is covered in protective tape anywhere that water can land, it slides right off and goes under the machine before it can actually get to crucial motherboard components.
 

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
Mine are both solid as rocks, practically indestructible given reasonable protection in a BookBook case. I do turn mine off when not in use.

My experience with Macs has been that MBAs are no more or less fragile than my MB Pro which is built like a tank as well. It is Mac's build quality that helps to differentiate them from the very fragile Toshiba, Gateway, and HP laptops I have worn through.

In what world toshibas are fragile ? Those brand can probably survive a drop with no issues while the aluminum macs are going to fall pretty damm hard.

Anyway in regards of the OP my mba have been very reliable with no issues so far, its the 2011 base model fwiw plus my other mbp and previous mac have been legit :) blame it on bad luck i guess.

Btw i consider myself a machine abuser and the weather well i live in the caribbean.
 

CapnJackGig

macrumors 6502a
Jul 17, 2011
572
0
I've been using my MBA 2010 model for years now, hours a day. Many hours of Diablo 3 and WoW. Still runs like a champ. The only issue I've had is the idiotically designed power cable, that frays at multiple points. I duct taped them, but it still looks bad. For the price Apple charges for the power cables (80 bucks), you'd think they'd have the decency to build them well.
 

JHUFrank

macrumors 6502a
Apr 16, 2010
652
66
I have a 2010 C2D MBA still ticking away as my main computer. I travel extensively and it goes into some challenging locations. Does a great job.


I've been using my MBA 2010 model for years now, hours a day. Many hours of Diablo 3 and WoW. Still runs like a champ. The only issue I've had is the idiotically designed power cable, that frays at multiple points. I duct taped them, but it still looks bad. For the price Apple charges for the power cables (80 bucks), you'd think they'd have the decency to build them well.
 

LeeM

macrumors 6502a
Jan 1, 2012
603
0
Hey now, I wouldnt dismiss the physical integrity of an Air so easily. Take a look at this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_0CN-12npY

very impressive, but id have liked to see a keyboard test. a friend of mine had a 2009 air that took a drink to the keyboard, it worked on mains power once we took the back off and unplugged the battery but the keyboard didnt fully work so he had to use an external one
 

kulimer

macrumors 6502
Aug 30, 2011
330
2
They say Ford is "built to last", but that car gave me so many problems that I call it FORD (Fix Or Repair Daily).

I don't think it will die, but it will take longer and longer to run the same program, and it will show it's sign of age in that way.
 

ardent73

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jan 14, 2010
156
61
In case you wanted to know

My old MBA has been repaired (logic board). FINALLY!
 

saberahul

macrumors 68040
Nov 6, 2008
3,645
111
USA
Personally I think a pro and an ipad are more useful than a single Air. Depends on use of course.
 
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