Can I upgrade my prossesor, ram, graphics card and motherboard on my MacBook Air 2008

Jack5060 · Jan 21, 2013, 03:17 PM

I have a MacBook Air 2008 and I like it very much but it isn't quick enough to do what I want it to. I know your can't upgrade it individually because there all atached but I want to almost replace everything, if so is there any company that can do this for me.
Thank you

Intell · Jan 21, 2013, 03:20 PM

You can only upgrade the hard drive on a Macbook Air.

simsaladimbamba · Jan 21, 2013, 03:21 PM

It would probably be cheaper to buy a late 2010 MBA than doing what you want, as you would have to get a new logic board.

mrkramer · Jan 21, 2013, 03:31 PM

You could possibly buy a newer Macbook air with a broken screen and try to put everything from inside it into your current MBA, but that would not save you much money over just buying a fully working used one to replace your current one, and it may not even work.

Mrbobb · Jan 21, 2013, 06:46 PM

How do u guys know a 2008 enclosure has the same exact interior dimension to accommodate a newer MOBO?

Robyr · Jan 21, 2013, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrbobb

How do u guys know a 2008 enclosure has the same exact interior dimension to accommodate a newer MOBO?

It doesn't. Members are talking out of their behind by even suggesting it.

wjlafrance · Jan 21, 2013, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robyr

It doesn't. Members are talking out of their behind by even suggesting it.

If you're good with a Dremmel, you might be able to do it. The new motherboard may not have the same display adaptor, or may not line up with any of the side ports (but you have a Dremmel, so cut new ports!).

I wouldn't recommend it.

blueroom · Jan 21, 2013, 08:58 PM

Short answer: No.

pgiguere1 · Jan 21, 2013, 09:44 PM

Just sell it and buy a more recent one. I've been shopping for used MBAs lately and 2008 models sell for around $550 while you can get a 2011 for around $850. The $300 difference isn't too bad, and the performance will be much, much better.

Mrbobb · Jan 21, 2013, 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wjlafrance

Dremmel

LOL.

With such close tolerance I think more like a laser cutting tool.

Common folks, this is not like building a desktop clone.

yusukeaoki · Jan 21, 2013, 10:21 PM

OWC offers SSD for your MBA.

wjlafrance · Jan 23, 2013, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pgiguere1

Just sell it and buy a more recent one. I've been shopping for used MBAs lately and 2008 models sell for around $550 while you can get a 2011 for around $850. The $300 difference isn't too bad, and the performance will be much, much better.

This. Your machine is 5 years old.

Stetrain · Jan 23, 2013, 02:05 PM

The only thing that you could possibly do would be to replace your logic board with one from a higher-end 2008 model Air. Even the fastest one of those you could find would still be pretty slow by modern standards.

As others have said I would suggest selling yours for as much as you can and looking for a nice used 2010 or 2011 model.

thei0009 · Mar 15, 2013, 03:31 PM

Kind of off topic here but one question does the 64gb ssd for 2008 MacBook Air beat the 80gb hdd?

simsaladimbamba · Mar 15, 2013, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thei0009

Kind of off topic here but one question does the 64gb ssd for 2008 MacBook Air beat the 80gb hdd?

In terms of speed and overall reaction times the SSD beats the HDD, the HDD beats the SSD with 16 GB more storage capacity.

Mrbobb · Mar 15, 2013, 05:58 PM

Splitting hair: Are we comparing 2008 SSD vs 2008 HD or 2013 HD? ^)

simsaladimbamba · Mar 15, 2013, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mrbobb

Splitting hair: Are we comparing 2008 SSD vs 2008 HD or 2013 HD? ^)

The 2010 and 2011 and 2012 MBA models do not come with an HDD, and since the original MBA came with an 80 GB HDD, the poster probably meant a 2008 4,200 RPM HDD.

thei0009 · Mar 15, 2013, 10:04 PM

Thanks I really needed to know the difference

thei0009 · Mar 18, 2013, 03:18 PM

Should i get the 2008 macbook air for portability or the macbook aluminum for power since i am upgrading from a powerbook.

simsaladimbamba · Mar 18, 2013, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thei0009

Should i get the 2008 macbook air for portability or the macbook aluminum for power since i am upgrading from a powerbook.

That depends on your computational needs, thus, what are those?

thei0009 · Mar 18, 2013, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

That depends on your computational needs, thus, what are those?

I need power but am afraid that the aluminum macbook wont be that much thinner than my powerbook does anybody know how much more thin it is?

simsaladimbamba · Mar 18, 2013, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thei0009

I need power but am afraid that the aluminum macbook wont be that much thinner than my powerbook does anybody know how much more thin it is?

The Aluminium G4 PowerBooks were 30 mm, 28mm and 25.4 mm high (12", 15", 17").
The 2008 MacBook Air is 4mm to 19.3 mm high.
The 2008 Unibody Aluminium MacBook is 24.1 mm high.

I guess your computational needs depend on thinness? Anyway, the 2008 MacBook Air is not as powerful as the 2008 Unibody Aluminium MacBook.

Mac Benchmarks by Geekbench

thei0009 · 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simsaladimbamba

The Aluminium G4 PowerBooks were 30 mm, 28mm and 25.4 mm high (12", 15", 17").
The 2008 MacBook Air is 4mm to 19.3 mm high.
The 2008 Unibody Aluminium MacBook is 24.1 mm high.

I guess your computational needs depend on thinness? Anyway, the 2008 MacBook Air is not as powerful as the 2008 Unibody Aluminium MacBook.

Mac Benchmarks by Geekbench

Thanks alot since i am coming from the powerbook i know that the air is my choice because it is still like five times faster than my g4.

mgipe · Mar 19, 2013, 12:47 PM

Apple sells a convenient upgrade kit for your 2008 MBA that takes care of all the parts you want to replace. You can pick one up at any Apple store. Ask for part number MD231LL/A.

thei0009 · Mar 20, 2013, 02:41 PM

Oh really thanks alot I didn't know that

Jan 21, 2013, 03:17 PM	#1
Jack5060 macrumors newbie Join Date: Jan 2013	Can I upgrade my prossesor, ram, graphics card and motherboard on my MacBook Air 2008 I have a MacBook Air 2008 and I like it very much but it isn't quick enough to do what I want it to. I know your can't upgrade it individually because there all atached but I want to almost replace everything, if so is there any company that can do this for me. Thank you
	0

Jan 21, 2013, 03:20 PM	#2
Intell macrumors G4 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Inside	You can only upgrade the hard drive on a Macbook Air. __________________ Last edited by Intell; Yesterday at 11:50 AM.
	1

Jan 21, 2013, 03:21 PM	#3
simsaladimbamba macrumors Core Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: in front of it	It would probably be cheaper to buy a late 2010 MBA than doing what you want, as you would have to get a new logic board. __________________ This is not
	1

Jan 21, 2013, 03:31 PM	#4
mrkramer macrumors 68040 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Somewhere	You could possibly buy a newer Macbook air with a broken screen and try to put everything from inside it into your current MBA, but that would not save you much money over just buying a fully working used one to replace your current one, and it may not even work. __________________ "Jesus was the first socialist, the first to seek a better life for mankind." -Mikhail Gorbachev
	0

Jan 21, 2013, 08:58 PM	#8
blueroom macrumors 601 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada	Short answer: No. __________________ My iOS devices are not jailbroken. Bill My Blog
	1

Jan 21, 2013, 06:46 PM	#5
Mrbobb macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2012	How do u guys know a 2008 enclosure has the same exact interior dimension to accommodate a newer MOBO?
	1

Jan 21, 2013, 09:44 PM	#9
pgiguere1 macrumors 65816 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Montreal, Canada	Just sell it and buy a more recent one. I've been shopping for used MBAs lately and 2008 models sell for around $550 while you can get a 2011 for around $850. The $300 difference isn't too bad, and the performance will be much, much better.
	0

Jan 21, 2013, 10:21 PM	#11
yusukeaoki macrumors 68020 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: California, USA.	OWC offers SSD for your MBA. __________________ 17" MacBook Pro (Early 2011), 2.2GHz i7 Quad, 16GB RAM, 128GB SSD+1TB HDD@5400rpm 11" MacBook Air (Mid 2012), 2.0GHz i7 Dual, 8GB RAM, 256GB Flash iPhone 5 (White), 32GB
	0

Jan 23, 2013, 02:05 PM	#13
Stetrain macrumors 68030 Join Date: Feb 2009	The only thing that you could possibly do would be to replace your logic board with one from a higher-end 2008 model Air. Even the fastest one of those you could find would still be pretty slow by modern standards. As others have said I would suggest selling yours for as much as you can and looking for a nice used 2010 or 2011 model.
	0

Mar 15, 2013, 03:31 PM	#14
thei0009 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2013	Kind of off topic here but one question does the 64gb ssd for 2008 MacBook Air beat the 80gb hdd?
	0

Mar 15, 2013, 05:58 PM	#16
Mrbobb macrumors 68020 Join Date: Aug 2012	Splitting hair: Are we comparing 2008 SSD vs 2008 HD or 2013 HD? ^)
	0

Mar 15, 2013, 10:04 PM	#18
thei0009 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2013	Thanks I really needed to know the difference
	0

Mar 18, 2013, 03:18 PM	#19
thei0009 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2013	Should i get the 2008 macbook air for portability or the macbook aluminum for power since i am upgrading from a powerbook.
	0

Mar 19, 2013, 12:47 PM	#24
mgipe macrumors Demi-God Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: CA	Apple sells a convenient upgrade kit for your 2008 MBA that takes care of all the parts you want to replace. You can pick one up at any Apple store. Ask for part number MD231LL/A.
	1

Mar 20, 2013, 02:41 PM	#25
thei0009 macrumors newbie Join Date: Mar 2013	Oh really thanks alot I didn't know that
	0

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