Rev B owner looking to buy new AIR, but which one

[Tupelo2]

Hi,

Im looking for some help. I currently own a Rev B Air (1.86, 2GB DDR3, NVDIA, 128GB solid state). Ive had it for close to a year and a half now. Its my main computer and I absolutely love it, with one or two exceptions.

I typically have six or seven internet windows open at one time and i like to watch live streaming video on the internet (live sporting events etc.).

In most cases, this thing grinds to a halt with that many browser windows open and the video (even when running by itself) is extremely choppy for my taste.

I would LOVE to by a new AIR, but im concerned that perhaps ill just run into these same problems. Can anyone tell me for sure that i should not run into these problems and/or suggest a new model of AIR that would be sufficient for my needs?

Would the base 11.6 be sufficient? Would the base 13.3 be sufficient? Would the ultimate models of each be sufficient?

Are the video cards more powerful in the new AIRs than in my Rev B and will that make a huge difference?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

 

[axu539]

i'm guessing it's the 2 GB of RAM holding you back, so you should go with 4 GB whatever you do. the 320m in the new MBAs also seems to handle everything pretty well. as for screen size, it's really up to you. the 11" is incredibly portable, while i've heard the ultimate 13" is more than enough for most people as a primary machine.

 

[Cerano]

well according to benchmarks and everyone the base 11" is faster than your current 1.86 MBA

 

[fyrefly]

well according to benchmarks and everyone the base 11" is faster than your current 1.86 MBA

Benchmarks and end-users will both overvalue the "snappy" SSD in the new 11" Model. The SL9400 in the OP's MBA is the same processor as in the 2010 base 13", so processor-wise, it'll be faster than the 11" Models (when not being throttled by the RevB's intense cooling system).

I concur with the first reply saying get 4GB of RAM. 2GB of RAM is the only thing holding me back daily and I have the same MBA as you (except for the 1.6Ghz processor instead of the 1.86).

If you are going to upgrade, I'd at least get the 13" 1.86 with 4GB of RAM.

Buy from somewhere like BestBuy w/o a restocking fee so if you get it home and find that it still lags under your particular needs, then you can return it, no questions asked.

 

[Cerano]

Benchmarks and end-users will both overvalue the "snappy" SSD in the new 11" Model. The SL9400 in the OP's MBA is the same processor as in the 2010 base 13", so processor-wise, it'll be faster than the 11" Models (when not being throttled by the RevB's intense cooling system).

I concur with the first reply saying get 4GB of RAM. 2GB of RAM is the only thing holding me back daily and I have the same MBA as you (except for the 1.6Ghz processor instead of the 1.86).

If you are going to upgrade, I'd at least get the 13" 1.86 with 4GB of RAM.

Buy from somewhere like BestBuy w/o a restocking fee so if you get it home and find that it still lags under your particular needs, then you can return it, no questions asked.

its not overvalue. its realworld translation.
Due to aggressive throttling the previous 1.86ghz MBA was quite terrible.

I suggest you look up anandtech's review in which he does say the 1.4ghz MBA is faster than the previous rev

 

[KPOM]

Hi,

Im looking for some help. I currently own a Rev B Air (1.86, 2GB DDR3, NVDIA, 128GB solid state). Ive had it for close to a year and a half now. Its my main computer and I absolutely love it, with one or two exceptions.

I typically have six or seven internet windows open at one time and i like to watch live streaming video on the internet (live sporting events etc.).

In most cases, this thing grinds to a halt with that many browser windows open and the video (even when running by itself) is extremely choppy for my taste.

I had the same Rev B model as you, had the same complaints about multiple browser windows, and upgraded to the 2.13GHz model with 4GB. The new system is significantly faster. The SSD in the new version is much faster, so page outs to disk don't take as long. That said, I think the boost to 4GB is worthwhile at $100. I don't think the bump up to 2.13GHz is necessary (it's available only on the 256GB version, anyway). As others have pointed out, the Rev B models were prone to overheating and thus the CPU would throttle down. That's less likely in the Rev D.

I think the base model upgraded to 4GB (at $1399) would be a good upgrade.

 

[Sounds Good]

Buy from somewhere like BestBuy w/o a restocking fee so if you get it home and find that it still lags under your particular needs, then you can return it, no questions asked.

Does BestBuy carry the 4GB models?

 

[KPOM]

Does BestBuy carry the 4GB models?

I don't think they do. Most Apple stores have the "ultimate" models in stock, but not necessarily the "base" models with 4GB. Your best bets are resellers.

 

[Tupelo2]

I had the same Rev B model as you, had the same complaints about multiple browser windows, and upgraded to the 2.13GHz model with 4GB. The new system is significantly faster. The SSD in the new version is much faster, so page outs to disk don't take as long. That said, I think the boost to 4GB is worthwhile at $100. I don't think the bump up to 2.13GHz is necessary (it's available only on the 256GB version, anyway). As others have pointed out, the Rev B models were prone to overheating and thus the CPU would throttle down. That's less likely in the Rev D.

I think the base model upgraded to 4GB (at $1399) would be a good upgrade.

Thank you very much. I appreciate the input from everyone.

 

[KPOM]

Thank you very much. I appreciate the input from everyone.

For what it's worth, I got about $800 for my Rev B through a reseller's trade-in program, so in your case, it would be a net $600 to upgrade to a similar Rev D with 4GB. I've seen eBay sales closer to $1000, which is what the reseller is attempting to sell mine for.

You add an SD card slot, more RAM, higher resolution, an extra USB port, a faster GPU, and glass trackpad, but lose the backlit keyboard.

 

[Boston007]

Hi,

Im looking for some help. I currently own a Rev B Air (1.86, 2GB DDR3, NVDIA, 128GB solid state). Ive had it for close to a year and a half now. Its my main computer and I absolutely love it, with one or two exceptions.

I typically have six or seven internet windows open at one time and i like to watch live streaming video on the internet (live sporting events etc.).

In most cases, this thing grinds to a halt with that many browser windows open and the video (even when running by itself) is extremely choppy for my taste.

I would LOVE to by a new AIR, but im concerned that perhaps ill just run into these same problems. Can anyone tell me for sure that i should not run into these problems and/or suggest a new model of AIR that would be sufficient for my needs?

Would the base 11.6 be sufficient? Would the base 13.3 be sufficient? Would the ultimate models of each be sufficient?

Are the video cards more powerful in the new AIRs than in my Rev B and will that make a huge difference?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

I JUST ordered my MBA last night. I got the 13" model with 4G and 128SSD. Obviously I did not get the ultimate.

If you will be watching streaming video a lot I would not even bother with the 11".

I think you should get the model I got. You don't need to spend the extra money on the 13" ultimate. It sounds like space is not an issue so the 128SSD should be sufficient and you will not see a huge difference in the bumped up processor.

You can't go wrong with the 13" with 4G ram. Get the 4G ram that is the essential piece IMO