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To Macbook Air Users..

J

JJ2YmX

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 29, 2011
25
0
Hello everyone I just got my macbook air 13" 1.7 i5 4 GB Memory 128 SSD. My question is should I return it and get the 1.8 i7 macbook air or get macbook pro?
I will use it as main computer and at the same time for school and gaming. I spent many hours in the weekends gaming such WoW and Dota (Hopefully support Dota 2 lol) and at school just to take notes and write essays

Thanks so much in advance :)
 
don't upgrade the 13" MBA since the performance difference is only 8-10% between the i7 & i8 (anandtech posted a good review about this)...setting the graphics at medium should give you decently playable frame rates.

search for MBA 2011 WoW gameplay videos on YouTube & you'll get an idea about it's performance.

the Pro should definitely be better at gaming but then you'll be giving up the Air's lightweight portability & sexiness :(
 
JJ2YmX said:
Hello everyone I just got my macbook air 13" 1.7 i5 4 GB Memory 128 SSD. My question is should I return it and get the 1.8 i7 macbook air or get macbook pro?
I will use it as main computer and at the same time for school and gaming. I spent many hours in the weekends gaming such WoW and Dota (Hopefully support Dota 2 lol) and at school just to take notes and write essays

Thanks so much in advance :)
Click to expand...

If you'd rather have 10% performance over $100 then sure get the upgrade to the i7, I have it and love it. Also I suggest capping your frame rate to 30 in WoW and keeping most of the setting low except view distance and particle density. With these settings you will have absolutely no hiccups while playing and your Air's processor will run in the mid 80's instead of cooking in the high 90's.

I would not get a Pro, I think they are overpriced for the hardware you get.
 
Brandon0448 said:
If you'd rather have 10% performance over $100 then sure get the upgrade to the i7, I have it and love it. Also I suggest capping your frame rate to 30 in WoW and keeping most of the setting low except view distance and particle density. With these settings you will have absolutely no hiccups while playing and your Air's processor will run in the mid 80's instead of cooking in the high 90's.
Click to expand...

It's actually $400 more, because there is no 128gb i7 13" model.
 
well I was thinking on use this laptop anti I done with school lol (that is in 2-3 years) so should I upgraded? and are u sure is 400 ? and not 100?
 
it really depends on your needs, the processor jump wont make too much of a difference, but if you want to keep up with gaming without having to worry about upgrading for a while a pro would be much better for the job (15-17in since the 13 is the same as the air in the GPU department)

you can also wait and hope they announce some graphics cards via thunderbolt in which case you can upgrade your air but need to carry around an extra pack.

If you want some serious gaming a bigger screen would help you as well. A pro may be a much more viable alternative IF gaming was a large part of your consideration. However it is really up to what you want/need. Other than gaming you don't really need a pro, so as long as your life does not depend on gaming you may not need the pro.
 
if your worry is hard drive space, get an 1TB for less than $100. You save $300 bucks + the tax you will pay.
 
To be honest is not 100% for gamming (well not really since I miss 1 quater of school and all I do is play games.. >.>) but I really like the air cos is super lite + looks cool lol , anyways my main concert is WILL BE ABLE TO RUN DOTA 2!!! cos if not I will be so sad =( and how do u upgrade with video card with thuderbolt? (or w/e calls) means that the macbook air is upgradeable too? o_O and I want 13 inch no 15 or 17 ..

Thanks again every1 for ur answers
 
You really seem to focus on gaming so imho air is not really an option. Of course you can play most (if not all) games, but I wouldn't expose my mba to extended periods of time in such temperatures - after all it's not made for that.

MBA has grown up to be a very strong machine (in comparison to the first 2 generations of its life) and can hold on its own as a main laptop, but it all comes down to what usage you intend to do. MBA is definitely not a gaming laptop and you sound to me like a gamer.

Just my thoughts.
 
Being thin and light has it's sacrafices, gaming potential is one of those. It's simply not a good option for gaming. I personally don't think any Mac is, but the MBA most certainly isn't.
 
Awww =( Thanks so much for the fast reply .. what about macbook pro 13 ?
 
I really think the Air should run Dota 2, i mean it runs Diablo 3 beta fine... don't expect highest graphics but i think i will be nicely playable.
 
Why have you bought a MBA already, and then decided to ask what MacBook is right for you?!
 
Gaming Laptops Cost $$$$$£££££

See, bi-currency literacy:D

Ive never bought a gaming laptop, they cost a fortune and are heavy and still compromised.

I have the top spec Air. I got it for work and to do a bit of studio work. Its a superb device and I am thrilled with it. But gaming on it? Nope
 
the processor difference for what you're describing your use for wont make a dramatic difference in your gaming.

All Air's have the integrated HD3000 video adapter. so upgrading the CPU might yield marginal results at best since it too, uses the same adapter.

if you're looking for a gaming machine, you will need to look into the models that have a beefier graphics setup. The Air's do not.
 
what are the chances of running dota 2 ? and isnt airs video card better than pro (13 imch)
 
Thanks everyone so so so much for all the replys. I went to apple store today (genius bar) and the guy told me that macbook air 13 inch run as same as macbook pro 13 inch in therm of gaming since both has the same video card and that maybe the macbook pro 13 will run little faster that wont be a really big deal. So today I just install Starcraft II on my macbook air and runs pretty good , I mean is not the best gaming laptop but is really cool in general

Thanks again so much everyone for your comments and MACBOOK AIR!! TO THE AIR!!! =P
 
macbook air for dota 2

Can you update if you have tried using dota 2 on macbook air. I'm having the same case with you. Thank you so much.
 
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