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MacBook Air - good deal at refurb store. Should I go for it?

Love

Love

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 20, 2007
1,782
4
Just southeast of Northwestshire
I'm looking at a 1st generation MacBook Air.

I know this model has had lots of issues, but would a macbook air that's refurbished be maybe more reliable? Would it be a good idea to get a MacBook Air? I know it has a reduction compared to regular Macs but I do like the thin form factor. I don't mind the lack of ODD and other stuff, but would it be a good idea to spend $100 more on a Unibody? I really do like the MBA.
 
The mb is a better value. Its faster, has a longer battery life, the same footprint as the air (virtually), the mulitouch trackpad, etc.

The only real benefit of the air is its weight (3 lbs). Compared to the 4.5 lbs of the macbook, I would ask myself, "is the 1.5 lbs really worth downgrading the laptop?" It really all depends on who you are and what you do with your mac. Since I don't know you situation I can't offer any advice, but I will say that the 2.0 unibody macbook is one of the most endorsed machines on this forum.

+1 macbook (cause most of us don't have infinite funds... did you ever think of that infinite loop? :rolleyes:)
 
Love said:
Ah, I see. Any words about reliability and issues with the 1stgen MBA?
Click to expand...

Check the air forums, they discuss a lot of hardware problems there. In a nutshell, a significant number of people have reported fan issues, hinge issues & slower performance (the whitebooks & blackbooks are faster). Imo, the air was designed to work with the SSD, using a normal hard drive can cause some of the stated problems
 
the rev. a 1st gen macbook air which is being sold at the moment in the refurb store had heating problems which would make it shut down. If feasible I would suggest paying more to get the Rev. B with its more efficient 45nm CPU and Nvidia graphics. you'll have more fun with it and keep it longer.

If not, like the others say the macbook is a great choice. :)
 
I see the MacBook Air being discontinued soon (2 years soon) unless they lower the price dramatically. Since it's been out I have only seen one person using it in public. It's just not worth it when you could get a better performing laptop that is still small for a little more.
 
The first mac commandment, from a buddy of mine that has been using them since the challenger shuttle blew up:

"THOU SHALT NOT BUY A VERSION A."

The overheating issues and graphics card would make the first gen MBA a non choice for me. I'm not going to debate the pros and cons of the MBA versus the MB, etc. I would suggest a quick search on the MBA forums to see what people who have actually used that model think about it.

If you do buy that model, make danged sure you get applecare for it.
 
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