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One month in: 2013 13" Ultimate Rave

U

uncletoby

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 16, 2010
17
0
I am not a power user of these forums, but I do come here when I am considering purchases. I figured I owed a heartfelt post:

I've had a 13" Ultimate for about a month now, and it is the best computer I've ever owned.

The screen was weird for the first week, but then changed. I remembered that it might be the glue drying. It had a yellow tint but is now gone and looks just as good as my 2010 15" MBP.

The battery life is astounding, especially if I keep the screen brightness low. It rarely gets hot, and the fan has turned on maybe twice the whole time I've owned it. And I keep Parallels running Win7 running in the background.

I carry it to the coffee shop like it's a notebook. It's a delight. Best purchase I've ever made computer-wise.
 
I've just upgraded from a 2011 11" (i5 1.6/4/128) to a 2013 11" (i7 1.7/8/256) and I must say the new machine feels better built than the old one. We've owned a few Airs now - four (2 x 11", 2 x 13") to be precise - and while the 2010 models impressed, my 2011 never felt as well-made. Hinge, keyboard, backplate (creaky), heat (fans) as well as quite a few OS bugs were some of the issues.

This new one has worked well straight out of the box and just feels more . . . solid (even though it appears to be the same design).

The only point I would raise is the new 1.7Ghz i7 processor does not feel any faster than my old i5 1.6Ghz machine. I would have expected the new CPU to be quite a bit faster with turbo boosting etc, but it doesn't feel like it.

For that reason alone I'm glad I went with the i7 instead of the 1.3Ghz i5.

However, the new Wifi is very fast
 
it is nice to hear that the yellow tint goes away. I guess for build to order models it is brand new huh. Hope the natural yellowy tint goes away on my samsung screen as well.

@mp: it comers down to usage. I went with the i5 against my initial urge for i7 due to reviews from Anandtech, and from plenty of users here. Battery life was priority, but after using the system I bet I would have been more than fine with i3 even, as I never hit 50% ever for cpu usage.

Key is RAM, since I run multiple OS... so went with 8gb.

2GB dedicated to ubuntu running on vmware on extended display, and total free RAM is is 2.15GB, and 1GB inactive. Once I get windows I'll dedicate 1.5GB to ubuntu and windows, so I'll still have at least 1GB free and 1GB inactive at all times.
Oh and I'm streaming music and video right now as well to my Sony Internet TV.

My only concern was not being able to use dual external displays when I'm at home at my station, due to lack of thunderbolt 2 despite Haswell's support. I need my 21" External display for my e-commerce and database management, and others... so I thought I would have to keep switching cables to my tv, and choose between the 2.

But since I can do thunderbolt->hdmi to 21" Samsung Display, and stream videos to my 40" Sony Internet TV, I'm ecstatic.

GOOOO Team AIR!
 
On my third at 1 month as well. 10', 11', and 13' all 13".

All have been solid performers and virtually no issues. They are all still in the family in full, daily use. Mostly emails, Youtube, internet, mild gaming. Last week I fully charged them and then did my own battery life test. The 2010 was showing longer battery life than the 2011. 2011 at 6+ hours and the 2010 at 7.5+ hours while the 2012 showed 15 hours by comparison. I was AMAZED at how strong the 2010 battery was after three years of use. I was thrilled the 2011 showed as strong as it did after two years of use. Both are right at 350 cycles on the battery count. The 2010 used to spend most of it's time on the AC adapter while the 2011 traveled more.

I can't imagine using another computer. Yes, the screen leaves a bit to be desired in a world of ultra graphics and HD. But it's more than enough to handle even HD movie content. It's so light. Lasts so long. Ready to roll as soon as you open it. Close it without worrying. No virus'. No bloatware. It's nearly perfect. For me anyways. :D
 
Just 2 days with the new 13" and I have to say it's leaps and bounds beyond the 2008 aluminum unibody MacBook I had, and that was a solid computer already. Couldn't be happier with it. Here's to another 5 years! :apple:
 
I own a 2010 15" MBP, a 2011 MBA 11" and now this new 2013 MBA 13" (Ultimate). Great machines all, but this new Air is just awesome. Build quality is the best I've owned (and I've owned over a dozen macs the past decade).
Fantastic machine...BLAZING fast SSD, quiet, super fast 802.11ac and light as a feather. Truly a pleasure to own and use.
 
zipur said:
This post is a air orgy, doesn't anyone have a bad comment on this machine?
Click to expand...

No bewbs!!! :p

No, seriously. The only thing lacking is an hd screen. Albeit at the cost of battery life... so as I will pick battery life anyday, I'm very happy with this. It is perfect.

And I plug it to an external hd monitor anyways when I'm at my station.

Oh that, and the fact that it isn't waterproof yet.
 
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