I've got a 2010 13" 1.86 ghz 4 gb ram model. I find it a little underpowered. Even youtube in HD is a hassle but acceptable at best. Besides that it seems to be a decent laptop. I still think the old 2010 models were way overpriced for what you got but I needed a new laptop ASAP so I had to take the plunge. My question is should I lose around $400 for 3 months of use and upgrade to the 2011 or is the difference in daily tasks between the two negligible? I dont want to spend $400 just to watch youtube a little better.
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Is upgrading to a 2011 air worth it?
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difference in 'daily tasks' is probably zero.
unless you're doing video, music, number crunching, etc., the CPU won't make much of a difference, though i assume it will make watching HD video a breeze.
you'll probably notice the backlit keys more.
$400 is a lot to lose.
on the other hand, you would lose some anyways. what's a good upgrade cost/loss? $200? well, then the question is, can you stand to lose an extra $200?
the current model will hold up much better over time.
tough call.
my advice is wait till the 2011s show up as refurbs. then decide. (should be a month or two)
unless you're doing video, music, number crunching, etc., the CPU won't make much of a difference, though i assume it will make watching HD video a breeze.
you'll probably notice the backlit keys more.
$400 is a lot to lose.
on the other hand, you would lose some anyways. what's a good upgrade cost/loss? $200? well, then the question is, can you stand to lose an extra $200?
the current model will hold up much better over time.
tough call.
my advice is wait till the 2011s show up as refurbs. then decide. (should be a month or two)
I have the same machine. It still is a very good machine. I would hold off and consider the 2012 upgrade when ever that comes. Going from one model year to the next can get expensive. It is working very well, correct.
On another note from all the LG threads. I would say the refurbs will be 99% Toshiba/LG....lol, not that it makes a difference. My TS128 is plenty fast.
On another note from all the LG threads. I would say the refurbs will be 99% Toshiba/LG....lol, not that it makes a difference. My TS128 is plenty fast.
I have a 2010 MBA '11.6 ultimate, and I'm definately gonna wait for the 2012 model. 4 reasons: 2012 = Ivy Bridge (cooler CPU), USB3 (Apple d**n well better include USB3 next year..), CoolBookController (using CBC on 2010 MBA makes it a substantially cooler computer than the Sandy Bridge 2011 models), and more powerful intergrated graphics.
Quite frankly the 2010 MBA is still a great machine.
Quite frankly the 2010 MBA is still a great machine.
I have the 2010 13" MBA ultimate and I had for 2 weeks the updated i7-based MBA. There really was no difference in day-to-day tasks. The nicest thing really was the backlit keyboard. One thing that I wasn't thrilled with was that the 2011 model did not include more powerful graphics. I'm still considering my options, but it is possible that I may also wait for the next refresh.
I have the 2010 Ultimate and will probably stick with it for the long battery life in my use case- browsing, reading, watching an occasional movie. The thing I don't like about the 2011 models is the Sandy Bridge TurboBoost and weaker IGP. When TB kicks in to it's max, it's basically 2x the TDP rating. My next purchase will probably be the updated MBP in 2012.
http://www.anandtech.com/Show/Index...slug=intels-sandy-bridge-architecture-exposed
Look at the power consumption axis.
Good advice guys. I think I'll hold out for the ivy bridge one with hopefully better graphics. The thing that keeps making me want to switch is knowing the 2010 has 5 yr old processor technology.
yeah
been kicking around the idea of upgrading, but its that $400 difference, not sure if its worth it
but a back-lit keyboard would be nice!
been kicking around the idea of upgrading, but its that $400 difference, not sure if its worth it
but a back-lit keyboard would be nice!
just think of how old the keyboard technology is. or the fact that it still plugs into a wall (instead of just grabbing anti-matter from the ether).
seriously, if you're going to start applying that approach to everything in your life, you will die by explosion and all that will be left for your family and friends will be a splatter of warm jelly that will take hours to collect and taste bad on crackers.
do you have the latest and greatest TV, car, microwave, tennis shoes, toothbrush, helicopter, noise hair clippers, ... ?
you know they have new headphones that cancel outside noise now right? THROW YOUR OLD HEADPHONES AWAY.
you know they have new cars that help you parallel park now right? THROW YOUR OLD CAR AWAY.
you know they have new something somethings that are 3% better at something now right? THROW YOUR RIDICULOUSLY OUTDATED AND SHAMEFULLY OBSOLETE SOMETHING SOMETHING UNDER A BUS BEFORE YOU'RE SEEN WITH IT AND EXECUTED FOR YOUR CRIMES AGAINST PROGRESS AND AWESOMENESS.
love, family, happiness, sex, coffee, friends, sunshine, oxygen, music, food, water, health, sleep? ALL MORE THAN 5 YEARS OLD. THROW THEM IN THE GARBAGE. FROM NOW ON YOU WILL INTERACT WITH THE UNIVERSE SOLELY VIA MAGNETIC INTERACTION, DE AND RE-COUPLING YOUR ELECTROMAGNETRONIC RESONANCE WAVE FIELD WITH THAT OF YOUR NEAREST NEIGHBOR, JUST AS OUR NEW LESS-THAN-FIVE-YEAR-OLD GOD, TECHNOSIUS, HAS ORDERED. LONG LIVE TECHNOSIUS! (FOR A FEW MORE YEARS, ANYWAYS; WHEN HE'S FIVE WE WILL SACRIFICE HIM TO OUR NEW LEADER, AND SO ON.)
I have a 2010 MBA '11.6 ultimate, and I'm definately gonna wait for the 2012 model. 4 reasons: 2012 = Ivy Bridge (cooler CPU), USB3 (Apple d**n well better include USB3 next year..), CoolBookController (using CBC on 2010 MBA makes it a substantially cooler computer than the Sandy Bridge 2011 models), and more powerful intergrated graphics.
Quite frankly the 2010 MBA is still a great machine.
The main thing I want from Ivy bridge is increased battery life. If they could add an hour while still improving performance then that would be awesome.
USB3 might be kind of a stretch though. Would be nice to have it, but Apple seems to want to push Thunderbolt, even though it hasn't really made it into any consumer level products yet. But now since the MBA has Thunderbolt and it is now Apple's cheapest notebook I think some companies might start looking into it.
Unless you're doing a ton of processor intensive things, it probably wouldn't be worth it. Yes there is a noticeable difference between the two. I'm not sold however on Apple buying into the Ivy Bridge processors right away. Hopefully I'm wrong.
I am also thinking about the same thing recently.
My rationale is that, I will want to buy a new one say in 3 years' time. So if I can sell the old model and upgrade to the new one with a 30%-40% loss now (and repeat the process every year), I will be spending roughly the same amount of money because I doubt we will be able to sell the 2010 model 3 years later, but having a new model every year.
The only difference would be, if I keep my 2010 MBA for 3 years and buy the 2013 model, I will be left with the 2010 model at home. (assuming that no one is willing to buy your 3-year-old MBA)
So to me it's like, "Having the latest model every year" Vs "Retaining the retired model in your home collection"
My rationale is that, I will want to buy a new one say in 3 years' time. So if I can sell the old model and upgrade to the new one with a 30%-40% loss now (and repeat the process every year), I will be spending roughly the same amount of money because I doubt we will be able to sell the 2010 model 3 years later, but having a new model every year.
The only difference would be, if I keep my 2010 MBA for 3 years and buy the 2013 model, I will be left with the 2010 model at home. (assuming that no one is willing to buy your 3-year-old MBA)
So to me it's like, "Having the latest model every year" Vs "Retaining the retired model in your home collection"
I upgraded and am enjoying the faster experience AND the feeling of knowing I have the latest and greatest. Of course, now that I think about it, I have been feeling a tad bloated since I got the machine...burping a lot, passing methane, etc. Wonder if I should go ahead and stock up the house on crackers?
Nebulos, great post! I actually agree with your perspective on everything BUT computers.