MacBook Air - Lastability

[DisplacedMic]

Yes, I've done a little video rendering with mine too, and it does the job well enough. However, the people at the Apple store also warned me that doing a _lot_ of video rendering/conversion/etc on an MBA will shorten the computer's lifespan because this computer "isn't designed for that" (their words).

Video rendering was, however, the only type of use they warned me about. Anything else you might want to do with this computer, it will do well, and for a good long time (as long as you take care of it).

Rendering one or two videos isn't going to kill the machine -- but since the OP's question was specifically directed toward the computer's durability .... well ....

i suspect they are talking about the life of the SSD. i wouldn't worry too much about this.

 

[Boyd01]

i suspect they are talking about the life of the SSD.

So you think they would warn you not to get a 15" rMBP with an SSD then? That would surprise me.

 

[beautifulcoder]

The 2013 MBA should be fine to last you a few years. Desktop/Laptop technology looks like is not really going anywhere. I think tech companies see this line of products as a "done" technology. All the exciting cool stuff is happening on Mobile these days.

 

[tooobe]

So you think they would warn you not to get a 15" rMBP with an SSD then? That would surprise me.

There is nothing else than the SSD that could wear out from video editing...

 

[Boyd01]

Maybe, but that advice also implies you need a more expensive computer. And if you chose the more expensive model, I sort of doubt they would tell you not to get the even more expensive model with an SSD.

Does video editing really hammer on the SSD harder than other apps that require a lot of disk access? 5 years ago I was renting top of the line Mac Pro machines with SSD's for video servers feeding "big iron" 10,000 to 20,000 lumen projectors in stage shows. Nobody seemed too worried about wearing those out.

Are SSD's mature enough that we have any real-world experience with wearing them out?

I wonder if the advice was more along the lines of the high heat levels from intensive CPU? The MBA gets warm and the fans kick into high during rendering. But my 2008 15" MBP got even hotter - too hot to use it on your lap!

 

[robvas]

Are SSD's mature enough that we have any real-world experience with wearing them out?

The only Apple ones I hear consistent stories about failing are the original MacBook Air SSD's from way back in 2008.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

Yes, I've done a little video rendering with mine too, and it does the job well enough. However, the people at the Apple store also warned me that doing a _lot_ of video rendering/conversion/etc on an MBA will shorten the computer's lifespan because this computer "isn't designed for that" (their words).

Video rendering was, however, the only type of use they warned me about. Anything else you might want to do with this computer, it will do well, and for a good long time (as long as you take care of it).

Rendering one or two videos isn't going to kill the machine -- but since the OP's question was specifically directed toward the computer's durability .... well ....

Ridiculus. Shame on them for even suggesting that the components in a MBA will "wear out" due to video rendering. What is in the MBP that makes it more robust than the MBA? Sounds like they have an excess of MBPs and want to move them!

 

[ntrigue]

Contemplating a 2013 MacBook Air 13".

How long does these thing run smoothly?
Can I expect it to be a perfect daily driver, say 3-5 years from now?

A family member's MacBook Air Rev A just had the HDD fail so six years and a $65 HDD fixed it.

*These were awful drives that were necessary for the thin-factor. ZIF connector and 3200RPM PATA speeds. Ewww

 

[Clix Pix]

Yes, I don't depend on my first-gen MBA to last much longer, but she's been going great for a long time and when she's ready to give up the ghost, well, that'll be it. I don't have anything important on her and I don't use her heavily or for extensive work these days. That 64 GB SSD sure seems tiny now in comparison to what's available these days!

 

[jksu]

yup my 2010 11" 4/128 has been great. needed the track pad fixed x2 but both done for free by apple.

just gave it to my brother when i got a 2013 11" 8/256 since i was maxing out the SSD.

if you're judicious with backing/up drive space or use the cloud a lot, your MBA will do 3-4years easily.

 

[silvershamrock]

Ridiculus. Shame on them for even suggesting that the components in a MBA will "wear out" due to video rendering. What is in the MBP that makes it more robust than the MBA? Sounds like they have an excess of MBPs and want to move them!

Actually they suggested that _if_ I had wanted to do a _lot_ of video work, I'd be better off with a quad core (instead of a dual core ...)

They never mentioned a particular model. And since I didn't want to do a lot of video work, I didn't ask for any details....

 

[fedecape]

It might not last as long if you were using it to render a lot of video, for example. But for internet, word processing, spreadsheets, and other everyday things, I've found it perfect.)

you're saying that video editing decreases the computer's life?

 

[2IS]

you're saying that video editing decreases the computer's life?

Yes... Instead of the processor dying after 50 years it'll die after 30...