Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Macbook Air 13.3 2010 or 13.3 2011 Model?

B

beeinformed

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 30, 2010
369
6
Hi!

I am considering purchasing either the base macbook air 13.3 2010 version or the base 13.3 2011 version.

My primary uses for this laptop is word processing, web surfing and saving some photos on computer.

I do not use a computer to play games nor do I use it for watching movies,etc.

Would the base 13.3 2010 macbook air model suit my needs as mentioned above and it will I be able to get three or four years of use on it?

I appreciate any input/feedback from the members about which macbook air model I should consider purchasing! :)
 
If you're just typing up docs and surfing the net, the older model will be fine, although I would suggest getting it with 4GB of RAM if possible.
 
As long as you use it for only simple tasks like docs, movies, browsing, photos, it'll be fine. It has 2GB of RAM which is minimum for Mac OS X Lion, 4GB is highly recommended. I feel its better to get the 2011 model or 2010 model with 4GB RAM if possible as its a lot more future-proof.
 
I just have a test for the macbook air 13.3 2011 version yesterday. It's really really amazing. So fast to run multi-tasks and business apps. I'm considering to sale my old macbook on ebay and get the new one, should I? :rolleyes:
 
alust2013 said:
Why is the 2011 so much better if it's got the same battery life, same storage, same weight, same everything other than CPU, which doesn't matter at all for word processing or surfing the net?
Click to expand...

The 2010 model has 2GB RAM which clearly isn't future-proof, even the Mac OS X Lion requires a minimum of 2GB RAM. Thats one of the main reasons for considering the 2011 model.
 
jmpnop said:
The 2010 model has 2GB RAM which clearly isn't future-proof, even the Mac OS X Lion requires a minimum of 2GB RAM. Thats one of the main reasons for considering the 2011 model.
Click to expand...

Yes, the very basic model does, but 4GB was available on all of them, and I suggested that in my original post.
 
alust2013 said:
Yes, the very basic model does, but 4GB was available on all of them, and I suggested that in my original post.
Click to expand...

The choice is between base 13" 2010 and 2011 models, OP didn't mention 4GB model in his post. 4GB 13" 2010 model is a good buy but if the price difference isn't big I'd go with the 2011 model which has backlit keyboard and a lot better CPU.
 
I bought last year's....

I bought a used MBA last year's version right before the new one came out. 4GB and 256GB SSD. I paid $950 for it. VERY happy although I sure wish I had back-lit keys.....Runs MS Office for Mac perfectly and I watch movies through iTunes without a glitch...

That being said, my boss said if I hit a certain sales goal, she will buy me the new one and take the old one for herself.

I guess you need a boss like mine! It makes the decision so much easier!!!

:)
 
eric/ said:
Only problem is that the GPU is irrelevant for what he wants to do.

So I'd go with the 2011. That backlit keyboard is so beautiful. ;)
Click to expand...

Well, it's not practically relevant, but theoretically, with support for OpenCL on the 2010 MBA, the NVIDIA GPU could be used for non-video based task crunching, in essence providing a second multi-core CPU.

But, that's mostly theoretical at this point as actual OS and application support for OpenCL is very limited (if there is any at all--to the best of my understanding. Haven't read up on OpenCL recently.)

Practically speaking, the i5 is much faster than the Core2Duo and it probably doesn't make sense to consider OpenCL in the equation. By the time OpenCL is in the mix, the Intel integrated GPUs will probably support it.

Cheers, all.
 
eric/ said:
Definitely go with the 2011 version. Backlit keyboard, for example you won't find on the earlier model. You get what you pay for.
Click to expand...

Great option if you don't know how to type. To me backlit keyboard is a waste of battery, and they could have upgraded something else.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back