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Clear things up - MBA

Ace134blue

Ace134blue

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2009
734
2
For everyone saying it is crappy upgrade/it sucks, etc, it is a very good upgrade. Ill tell you why

1. Faster Processors. Even the slowest CPU, is fairly decent, and is A HUGE bit faster than a netbooks atoms cpu. The newer 2.13 CPU, the SL9600, is probably 30% faster than the older 2.13 P7450. SL9600 has 6MB of L2 cache, while the P7450 has 3MB of L2. More cache =s better performance in pretty much every single application/real world test.

11.6in MBA
The 1.4GHz CPU is the SU9400, i believe. It has 3MB of L2 cache and has a 800Mhz bus, which doesnt make sense because the ram is rated at 1066mhz. This thing will be slow, much slower than the others. (still faster than an atom cpu).try to upgrade this CPU, will make a difference.

The 1.6GHz cpu (11.6in Upgrade) is the SU9600, it also has 3MB of L2 Cache. I would say its almost as fast older 1.8ghz cpu. If your looking to keep the netbook size, but increase performance a bit then upgrade to the 1.6GHz CPU. And for an extra 100$ is a no brainer.
13.3in MBA
Standard 1.86 is the SL9400. Will be a lot of difference between the 1.6 and 1.86.
2.13 is the Sl9600. Again, not a huge difference between 1.86 and 2.13, but it adds up. You should upgrade it tho because its only 100$

2. Ram

I dont know why but there are people complaining/asking on why it only has 2gb of ram. Well just want you to know its upgradeable to 4Gb, which i think is PLENTY for its uses. Its only 100$ so also you should upgrade. You cannot upgrade later because the ram is soldered onto the board, so best to get 4gb to future proof.

3. Hard-drive.
The newer Flash hard-drives are indeed faster than the old mechanical drives, but do not get it mixed with SSDs thinking that they are the same. They aren't. SSDs are still MUCH faster than flash memory, but are also much more expensive per GB. Apple went this way to save money and because SSDs wouldn't fit in the current form factor. Its still a decent upgrade. Flash also uses considerably less wattage, =s better battery.

4. GPU

The 320M is almost 2x faster than the 9400m. main point is the increase of CUDA cores from 16 to 24, and also a higher core/shader and memory clock speed. It is a 14 TDP gpu, from 12TDP(9400M) So for an extra 2 watts you get some decent performance enhancements.

5. Price point, I dont know about you guys but the REV c was originally 1799 and 1499$ accordingly. ( correct me if i am wrong). They have slashed the prices quite a bit so if someone is complaining that they suck, well then they need some help. With Nice upgrades and cheaper cost i believe now is a good time to upgrade.

What do you guys think about the new MBAs?
 
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ace134blue: So, comparing the Rev. C 2.13 with what's now the top of the line 2.13 w/ 4gb RAM.... the GPU makes it go faster but the loss of the SSD slows it down.

So, overall, which is faster?

Also, does losing the SSD mean losing some resistance to trouble if the case gets bumped?

Which memory unit will last longer?

 
thinkdesign said:
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile6.0) Sprint T7380)

ace134blue: So, comparing the Rev. C 2.13 with what's now the top of the line 2.13 w/ 4gb RAM.... the GPU makes it go faster but the loss of the SSD slows it down.

So, overall, which is faster?

Also, does losing the SSD mean losing some resistance to trouble if the case gets bumped?

Which memory unit will last longer?
Click to expand...

Id still go with the Newer MBA, its still gonna be faster, and the loss the of SSD wont make a huge difference as it does going from a mechanical drive. Newer one is faster no doubt. What do you mean by memory unit? If your talking about life expectancy between the SSD and Flash, then they are the same, bad thing is Flash memory does not support Trim.
 
I think you have the specs for the CPU's wrong. Both 11" are 3MB L2:

1.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB on-chip shared L2 cache; optional 1.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB shared L2 cache
Click to expand...

And both 13" are 6MB L2

1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB on-chip shared L2 cache; optional 2.13GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 6MB shared L2 cache
Click to expand...
 
You know the intel SU and SL cpu are interchangeable and if you know how to unsolder the cpu you could have the SL cpu in the 11.6in Air. I know I saw a video of some guy in Asia who did that and installed the SL9400 in his Vaio TT and was still able to get about 7 hours of battery life out it in power save mode(SU gets about 8-10 in that mode depending on if you have SSD or HDD, and how bright the screen is). May have to do that some day.
 
bloodycape said:
You know the intel SU and SL cpu are interchangeable and if you know how to unsolder the cpu you could have the SL cpu in the 11.6in Air. I know I saw a video of some guy in Asia who did that and installed the SL9400 in his Vaio TT and was still able to get about 7 hours of battery life out it in power save mode(SU gets about 8-10 in that mode depending on if you have SSD or HDD, and how bright the screen is). May have to do that some day.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but its hard and probably not worth it in the end. The 13in cpus could be put in the 11.6in if they really wanted the smaller form factor.
 
Ace134blue said:
Yeah, but its hard and probably not worth it in the end. The 13in cpus could be put in the 11.6in if they really wanted the smaller form factor.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure you could find a service on ebay or somewhere local that will do it, pending you source the SL cpu your self. It should not cost more than 350 total at least that is what I was told.
 
The 11.6" I think has it's place. The combo of size and form factor justify the lower (comparatively speaking) CPU speed and other small compromises. It's definitely a compelling argument for someone who wants a real laptop and an iPad/netbook device but wants it all in one. The 13.3" is kind of no mans land to me. The 13" MBP just seems to be a far more capable system. Is it thicker? Yes, but I think once the novelty of how crazy thin the new Air is, it really doesn't buy you much in terms of desk or backpack space to justify the compromises. Yes, it's lighter. However I really don't see it making all that much difference in the long run.
 
Kadman said:
The 11.6" I think has it's place. The combo of size and form factor justify the lower (comparatively speaking) CPU speed and other small compromises. It's definitely a compelling argument for someone who wants a real laptop and an iPad/netbook device but wants it all in one. The 13.3" is kind of no mans land to me. The 13" MBP just seems to be a far more capable system. Is it thicker? Yes, but I think once the novelty of how crazy thin the new Air is, it really doesn't buy you much in terms of desk or backpack space to justify the compromises. Yes, it's lighter. However I really don't see it making all that much difference in the long run.
Click to expand...

I am the same way, i laugh when people complain that a 2lb laptop hurts their arms. MBA is still to weak IMO
 
I think it sucks because it has no backlit keyboard, like my current MBA does.

I think it sucks because it only comes with 2 GB of RAM. Every single system Apple sells (except for the Mac Pro) comes with 4 GB of RAM standard. The MBA's should be no different. Period.
 
Wild-Bill said:
I think it sucks because it has no backlit keyboard, like my current MBA does.

I think it sucks because it only comes with 2 GB of RAM. Every single system Apple sells (except for the Mac Pro) comes with 4 GB of RAM standard. The MBA's should be no different. Period.
Click to expand...

MacBook and Mac Mini have 2GB RAM. Besides, it's only a $100 upgrade.
 
so the 11" doesn't really sound that cheap anymore with an increase of $400 :( after upgrading to 1.6 GHz (only on 128GB model) and upping to 4GB

Wild-Bill said:
I think it sucks because it has no backlit keyboard, like my current MBA does. …
Click to expand...

yeah that sucks. some people might not use it at all and i only use it sometimes, but it's very useful for when typing in bed instead of blinding yourself with full brightness to see the keys and has the whole cool look at factor as well.
 
Wild-Bill said:
I think it sucks because it has no backlit keyboard, like my current MBA does.

I think it sucks because it only comes with 2 GB of RAM. Every single system Apple sells (except for the Mac Pro) comes with 4 GB of RAM standard. The MBA's should be no different. Period.
Click to expand...

The macbook and mini only comes with 2gb. The air is not for power users.
 
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