2010 Macbook to 2012 MBA?

[GodWhomIsMike]

I have a mid-2010 Macbook that I have to return. Work lent it out to me for two years. So, I need to replace it in the next few weeks.

The white Macbook is a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, upgraded with 8GB of ram and a 7200rpm hard drive. It also has the Nvidia 320M graphics chip.

For personal use, the machine is used a lot for streaming 1080p video to a 50 inch TV via the DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. It's also used for Office and simple photo and video edited. Nothing professional. I also travel often between NY and PA with the laptop, and someone leave it open on my kitchen streaming video while I cook.

I am thinking of the new MBA with 8GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD. The 512GB would be nice, especially since I am using 300GB+ on the White Macbook, but it's outside my budget. :|

Is the MBA going to be good at 1080p video playback. I remember the last white Macbook, which was a 2008 model choked on 720p video.

13 inch would also probably suit me better, right?

 

[rygamble]

I have a mid-2010 Macbook that I have to return. Work lent it out to me for two years. So, I need to replace it in the next few weeks.

The white Macbook is a 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo, upgraded with 8GB of ram and a 7200rpm hard drive. It also has the Nvidia 320M graphics chip.

For personal use, the machine is used a lot for streaming 1080p video to a 50 inch TV via the DisplayPort to HDMI adapter. It's also used for Office and simple photo and video edited. Nothing professional. I also travel often between NY and PA with the laptop, and someone leave it open on my kitchen streaming video while I cook.

I am thinking of the new MBA with 8GB of RAM and 256 GB SSD. The 512GB would be nice, especially since I am using 300GB+ on the White Macbook, but it's outside my budget. :|

Is the MBA going to be good at 1080p video playback. I remember the last white Macbook, which was a 2008 model choked on 720p video.

13 inch would also probably suit me better, right?

I'm actually making the same jump, but from an SSD and 4GB on my White MacBook. The 13" Air should have no problem playing back 1080p video. It basically outperforms our computer in every way lol. Also, with all of that streaming you're doing, you should really look into an Apple TV since once Mountain Lion is released, you will be able to wirelessly mirror your computer to your TV using AirPlay.

 

[dcorban]

Is the MBA going to be good at 1080p video playback. I remember the last white Macbook, which was a 2008 model choked on 720p video.

There is no comparison. The 2008 white MacBook used the old Intel GMA X3100, which could barely be called "hardware acceleration" compared to everything that has come since. Specifically, the Nvidia and Intel chips since then all have h.264 hardware decoding, in addition to being many times faster overall.

 

[GodWhomIsMike]

I'm going to take a look at the new Air models this afternoon. Waiting for a friend to get ready. Hopefully he hurries up, because I am quite jet lagged after getting back to NY from Japan this morning. Feels like it's 2am, and my body wants to sleep.