Some questions on the MacBook Air

[GreatUsername]

So with all the craziness going on today and for the rest of this week between E3 and WWDC and after painstakingly deciding between building a PC, buying an Xbox One, buying a 15" rMBP, the new Mac Pro unveiled today, or the new MBA unveiled today, I decided to go with the Air and the Xbox to meet my gaming and computing needs.

From what I've read and seen, the MBA seems like an astonishingly powerful machine capable of running every game there is (so long as you have the proper graphics settings). I wouldn't be playing that many games, probably just the Elder Scrolls Online when it comes out, but knowing that is has those capabilities really comforts me. And with the new Haswell chip making the integrated graphics almost 50% faster, it seems like the MBA is too good to be true.

I'm a little unsure about having a computer so small be my everything computer. I'm also a little unsure about the processor only having two cores. Then there's the question on how well it lasts. I've read that Macs typically last longer than PCs due to them being more efficient and that all seems believable but how well does that work out on Apple's smallest laptop? Especially if this laptop will clock hours of moderate to heavy usage a day. Does anybody here have an original MBA and uses on a daily basis to testify that they do last long?

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I bought my MBA in September 2010 and use it daily. By early 2011, I had sold my MBP and my MBA had become my sole computer. It travels the world with me, and is used - in some rather challenging environments - on a daily basis. So, I can attest to its durability, sturdiness, its speed (the SSD is wonderful), and, until retina was developed, the screen of the MBA was the best that could be found on a laptop.

I love the sheer portability of the MBA - when travelling, I put it - and its plugs, magsafe, etc. in my briefcase, sometimes in an A4 padded envelope, but, these days, increasingly not.

It is easily the best computer I have ever had.

Now, there is one caveat, and it is this. I am not a gamer, and have no interest whatsoever in the world of gaming, so I cannot comment on whether even the latest MBA is suitable for gaming or not. Instead, I will say that if you want a fast, portable, surprisingly sturdy and reliable computer, the MBA is an excellent buy.

Indeed, irrespective of whatever else I buy in the future (and I'm not averse to the idea of purchasing a high spec 15" retina MBP as a desktop), given that I travel so much, use it daily, and value portability, I do not expect to be without a MBA.