Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Macbook Air: "Intel GMA X3100 graphics processor with 144MB of DDR2 SDRAM shared...."
- Thread starter iW00t
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
speakerwizard
macrumors 68000
if it doesnt suit your need dont buy it. for some people its perfect, its not exactly suitable for say gaming anyway because they need a disk inserted. I think its cool, ahead of the times for some people and a sign of the directing all notebooks will take. Im glad to see the back of optical media i only hope blue ray etc follows.
Schmoe0013
macrumors regular
yeah, this is not a gaming laptop, heh.
i could see myself doing keynote / powerpoint and reports on this thing. very nice. just not the price
i could see myself doing keynote / powerpoint and reports on this thing. very nice. just not the price
It was obviously going to be integrated, how would they seriously fit a dedicated graphics card into that thing!? And as far as integrated goes, this one isn't bad. I did notice The Sims 2 icon in the downloads stack of one of the demo machines, if it can run that okay on low settings, it exceeds what I'd expect from such an incredibly small laptop.
it is kind of a shame though, i do presentations/demos on photoshop and illustrator and could use some decent non-shared memory
i'm still very excited to see this thing
i'm still very excited to see this thing
while I'd love a 13" laptop with a dedicated GPU I didnt really believe this to ship with one. Clinging to my delusional hope that a future macbook will reintroduce dedicated GPUs.
IN all honesty, a lot of us weren't expecting "a thin MB." We were expecting something with Pro features that was maybe a little smaller than a regular MacBook.
You know, like the 12" PowerBook.
fistful
macrumors 6502a
juanm
macrumors 68000
Not anymore. look at the iMac or even the Mac Mini. Those days are gone.
The MBA is in another category. A MacBook can be your main machine. A MacBook Air cannot, unless you have very very specific needs. It complements nicely an iMac or a Mac Pro, though.
Stridder44
macrumors 68040
Yeah I'm not much a fan of the MBA but I was never expecting any sort of power (moreover a dedicated GPU) to actually come out of the deal.
CalMin
Contributor
Actually these are wise words indeed. Apple has compromised on all the things that you can do IF you have another Mac, but generally don't need when you're on the road.
Um, how is it more like a MBP than a MB? It doesn't have a dedicated GPU (doesn't need one anyway for its purpose), 13.3" screen, MacBook keyboard etc.
It is a pro laptop - designed for professionals on the go, business people on an aeroplane etc.
I don't think they could fit anything better into the size of the damn thing anyway.
I completely agree. The MBA will be my first Mac since 1993 and I plan on using it to be the remote computer that I take to my classes and to the library.
Aside from the price, the Macbook Air is ideally suited for students (I'm trying to look at its few limitations as positives)...
1) Can't really play games so that helps limit distraction
2) Mono speaker so not going to use it as a stereo while studying
3) Fits into a messenger bag already stuffed with books.
4) 5hr battery life will keep you near power source... such as the library.
5) Boot camp => One Note, my best friend 😛
If all goes well with the MBA I'll look into replacing my main PC somewhere when the Mac Pro gets its next update or if a Mac tower is released, so not in the near future.
Still, I will really appreciate it if I can at least have the option of bringing extra batteries.
CalMin
Contributor
Well, options are good, but in 4 years of PowerBook ownership, I have never changed my battery on the go. It's one of those things that I think I would like to do, but, never have a spare battery charged when I need it. Same thing goes goes for my Vista work laptop.
This is individual of course, but power outlets are everywhere these days. And on flights longer than 5 hours, I rarely need to actually use the computer that long. Besides, you can't open a MacBook Air in a coach seat and if you're flying business class, you get a power dongle anyway!
The one time I actually have played computer games was a trial of World of Warcraft. Worked fine on my ibook g4 lol. I imagine if I want to play it again for some reason it'll work fine on my MacBook air. If you are hardcore computer gaming I think a machine made for that would be better.