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11inch MBA as primary device?
- Thread starter Gunny011
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I use my 2010 11" ultimate as my main computer and I haven't had any problems at all. Sure it could have a bit more battery life but you could always get one of those hyperjuice external batteries
rezenclowd3
macrumors 65816
I understand the concern, but honestly computing power in these machines is just phenomenal for what they are. I myself am still using an Oct 2007 2.4Ghz Santa Rosa Macbook Pro (maxed with ram, and "high" end GPU 8600m GT 256MB!), which really is almost for all intents and purposes, now less powerful than the i5 MBA. GFX performance is slightly better, but not by much honestly. I use it for IT administration, some iMovie work, and a little gaming, and its just dandy even today.
It's just the screen resolution and size that have kept me in the 15" market rather than jumping on an Air, even though the Air would just about suit all my needs/ performance. I know geekbench is not all too useful, but my 2007 machine scores about 2000 less than the 11" i5 air (3300 running off an Expresscard SSD) vs the i5 Air at about 5000. Now if only there was a Thunderbolt dock similar to what the new Sony Vaio Z has...
I do go through a battery every 10 months though...457 cycles so far since the last one....and I need a new one again...
It's just the screen resolution and size that have kept me in the 15" market rather than jumping on an Air, even though the Air would just about suit all my needs/ performance. I know geekbench is not all too useful, but my 2007 machine scores about 2000 less than the 11" i5 air (3300 running off an Expresscard SSD) vs the i5 Air at about 5000. Now if only there was a Thunderbolt dock similar to what the new Sony Vaio Z has...
I do go through a battery every 10 months though...457 cycles so far since the last one....and I need a new one again...
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I was wondering if anyone else has been using the MacBook Air 11" (2011) as their primary computer, and what specs their machine has.
This is what I'm currently using:
- 13" MacBook Pro (Mid-2009)
- 2.53GHz
- 4GB Ram
- 250GB HD
I bought an iPad 2 on release day, and I found that I did't use it much, because I would mostly just go to my MacBook for surfing the web because I liked the tabbed browsing and how quick pages loaded. Apparently I would also frequent sites that required flash such as Hulu. I also felt a lot of overlap with my iPhone. I used it for the past two months for class as well, and while I liked using PDFs on it, I realized I was much faster writing notes by hand, and typing on the touch screen keyboard wasn't what I would call enjoyable. I didn't want to buy an external keyboard either because I felt that would negate the size and one of the main reasons why I purchased the iPad. So I sold it today.
Now I'm looking to sell my MacBook Pro because I'm considering getting something in between the size of my MacBook and the iPad. I'm considering the 11" MacBook Air 1.8GHz i7 with a 256GB Flash drive as my main computer. I'm considering the i7 because I sometimes do some photo editing on photoshop or some simple video editing in iMovie and read that it gives a 25% speed boost on the 11" as opposed to the i5. I realize that the 13" would be better for screen real-estate while editing photos and such, but I really want something smaller than my current Mac to take to class.
This is what I'm currently using:
- 13" MacBook Pro (Mid-2009)
- 2.53GHz
- 4GB Ram
- 250GB HD
I bought an iPad 2 on release day, and I found that I did't use it much, because I would mostly just go to my MacBook for surfing the web because I liked the tabbed browsing and how quick pages loaded. Apparently I would also frequent sites that required flash such as Hulu. I also felt a lot of overlap with my iPhone. I used it for the past two months for class as well, and while I liked using PDFs on it, I realized I was much faster writing notes by hand, and typing on the touch screen keyboard wasn't what I would call enjoyable. I didn't want to buy an external keyboard either because I felt that would negate the size and one of the main reasons why I purchased the iPad. So I sold it today.
Now I'm looking to sell my MacBook Pro because I'm considering getting something in between the size of my MacBook and the iPad. I'm considering the 11" MacBook Air 1.8GHz i7 with a 256GB Flash drive as my main computer. I'm considering the i7 because I sometimes do some photo editing on photoshop or some simple video editing in iMovie and read that it gives a 25% speed boost on the 11" as opposed to the i5. I realize that the 13" would be better for screen real-estate while editing photos and such, but I really want something smaller than my current Mac to take to class.
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I've got the 11 MBA you're considering (1.8GHz i7 with 256GB drive), and it's my only computer. I don't use iMovie, but I use Photoshop Lightroom for photo organizing and editing. When doing so the fan spins up, but then seems to subside after a bit, apparently after cooling things down inside. I don't notice much lag in Lightroom's performance, I assume because of the speedy flash drive.
I really have had no problems using the Air as my only computer. I hook it up to a larger monitor while at my desk, but use it away from home about half of the time. The light weight and small footprint are worth the downside of a smallish screen. But actually, photo editing works fine on the small screen, as do most other tasks.
I'm currently debating moving to a 13in Air for my daily machine. I would get a 11in but I multi task a lot and find the 13in resolution better for having a window I want to keep an eye on partly in view in the background while I work on something else on the foreground.
But with the new ASUS Zenbook out, I'm having a hard time trying to decide on the Air, or saving about $200 and getting the Zenbook. Nothing I use has thunderbolt, it all has USB, it's cheaper, SATA3 SSD and has a higher resolution. I also refuse to be limited by what OS I use, so I don't care if I'm on Windows or OS X. I can do my work on either.
But with the new ASUS Zenbook out, I'm having a hard time trying to decide on the Air, or saving about $200 and getting the Zenbook. Nothing I use has thunderbolt, it all has USB, it's cheaper, SATA3 SSD and has a higher resolution. I also refuse to be limited by what OS I use, so I don't care if I'm on Windows or OS X. I can do my work on either.