The Macbook Air 2019 Sucks

[TheMouseKid]

So I had to get a mac for my school, and I thought I would be getting a refurbished old MacBook Air. My parents surprised me with a brand new one with upgraded storage. It ended up being $1,200 for the laptop. I was so excited because I had a 2010 MacBook Pro that ran Minecraft at 5 fps. This computer ran Minecraft at around 50 fps. Just Minecraft and Roblox runs well. Cities: Skylines runs at 10 fps, and Airport CEO at 20 fps. I also dream of being a content creator on YouTube. My games selection is also crap because mac has such a limited amount of supported games. I have a channel but I find myself doing videos with my camera facing my monitor because if I even try and shut down all other applications, open OBS, and put it on the lowest setting, I always get the "Encoding overload" message that tells me to reduce the quality. I dream of a PC that can record content and game at the same time with no problems. My CPU on my Air is also clocked at 1.6 GHz *grrrrrrrrrrr*. Apple really needs to step up their game because I could have gotten a refurbished MacBook Air for the same price as a decent rig. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day .

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

you realize Mac's aren't made for gaming? most of them have integrated graphics. like don't try. 

 

don't use OBS, use QuickTime Player to record the display, it's much more optimized. 

 

it's 1.6ghz base clock, it boosts much higher. 

[Fasauceome]

It's your own fault if you got a Macbook and expected it to be a gaming machine. 

[TheMouseKid]

I know that, it was required for school.

[Commodus]

2 hours ago, TheMouseKid said:

I know that, it was required for school.

Honestly, I'd say even higher-end laptops are ill-suited to livestreaming.  An eight-core gaming laptop might have the CPU power to handle a stream alongside COD or Minecraft, but the cooling system and power supply might object to the system working so hard for so long -- you might actually drain the battery while plugged in.

 

Look at it this way: for now, don't worry about streaming from that MacBook Air unless you're doing a "just chatting" broadcast or simpler games like Jackbox Party Pack and Twitch Sings.  I'd just enjoy the Air for what it is and wait until I could produce a broadcast I'd be happy to share with others.

[seanondemand]

Round pegs suck because they don't fit in square holes

 

Notebooks for productivity/portability ≠ gaming/streaming machines

[Lord Vile]

On 4/11/2020 at 2:23 PM, TheMouseKid said:

So I had to get a mac for my school, and I thought I would be getting a refurbished old MacBook Air. My parents surprised me with a brand new one with upgraded storage. It ended up being $1,200 for the laptop. I was so excited because I had a 2010 MacBook Pro that ran Minecraft at 5 fps. This computer ran Minecraft at around 50 fps. Just Minecraft and Roblox runs well. Cities: Skylines runs at 10 fps, and Airport CEO at 20 fps. I also dream of being a content creator on YouTube. My games selection is also crap because mac has such a limited amount of supported games. I have a channel but I find myself doing videos with my camera facing my monitor because if I even try and shut down all other applications, open OBS, and put it on the lowest setting, I always get the "Encoding overload" message that tells me to reduce the quality. I dream of a PC that can record content and game at the same time with no problems. My CPU on my Air is also clocked at 1.6 GHz *grrrrrrrrrrr*. Apple really needs to step up their game because I could have gotten a refurbished MacBook Air for the same price as a decent rig. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day .

I mean you could always get an EGPU? 
 

But a MacBook Air isn’t for gaming and steaming. It’s for productivity.

 

You should look for Mac orientated software instead of ones primarily designed for windows. For example Final cut vs Adobe Premier.

[Lord Vile]

1 hour ago, Kaloob said:

Just be happy your parents got you a $1200 laptop.

When you're done with school you can sell it for something that suits you better because of the high resale value of Macs.

Lol yeah tad ungrateful. And I know you should do what makes you happy but “YouTube creator” isn’t exactly a great career, sure people can carve out a decent or even great income through it but those are a fraction of a percentage and not something you should strive to be as a main career, should be a hobby that turns into a career. Plus even if you’re earning a good living one algorithm change and you’re from $2000 a month to $300
 

Overall just sounds like a spoilt kid who doesn’t appreciate what his parents got him. Come to think of it if you’re getting an expensive laptop for school for your kid a MacBook Air is great cos it’s awesome for y’know school work and bad for gaming and stuff not related to school. 

[Egad]

I'm confused, was the Air specifically required?  Because the 13" Pro starts at 1,299 and is a reasonably competent. Sure Apple tax still and you won't be streaming much given that's the quad core configuration and you'll still need to turn down graphics so as not to overload the Intel Iris graphics given that's the quad core, but you're not going to run into the whole issue that the dual core CPU that can't push back 1.6 GHz thing is the real thing killing you.  

 

So if it was just OS X was required, should have gone entry level MacBook pro instead of buying the upgraded ultra thin.  If it's the Air specifically, I'd imagine the school goes for them specifically because you know you won't be gaming on them in class and they can do a full school day without needing to visit a charger.

[Lord Vile]

3 hours ago, Egad said:

I'm confused, was the Air specifically required?  Because the 13" Pro starts at 1,299 and is a reasonably competent. Sure Apple tax still and you won't be streaming much given that's the quad core configuration and you'll still need to turn down graphics so as not to overload the Intel Iris graphics given that's the quad core, but you're not going to run into the whole issue that the dual core CPU that can't push back 1.6 GHz thing is the real thing killing you.  

 

So if it was just OS X was required, should have gone entry level MacBook pro instead of buying the upgraded ultra thin.  If it's the Air specifically, I'd imagine the school goes for them specifically because you know you won't be gaming on them in class and they can do a full school day without needing to visit a charger.

13” pro only has an iGPU, 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD and isn’t much better than the air. The Pro that is worth getting is £1800 by which point you’re closer to the £2300 Pro than you are the £1200

Air. 

 

[Evanga]

so the moral of the story is boys and girls: the MacBook Air is a great machine, but its not made for gaming.

[TheMouseKid]

I just started this thread if there were any people who would expect the same thing as me (People who aren't that tech savvy) to be disappointed and not take the route I did. I am currently saving up for a gaming pc and have learned my lesson as to not buy a mac again (they have a pretty long lifespan). Also I am extremely grateful for my parents contribution, and they understand my frustration.

[Lord Vile]

47 minutes ago, TheMouseKid said:

I just started this thread if there were any people who would expect the same thing as me (People who aren't that tech savvy) to be disappointed and not take the route I did. I am currently saving up for a gaming pc and have learned my lesson as to not buy a mac again (they have a pretty long lifespan). Also I am extremely grateful for my parents contribution, and they understand my frustration.

That you want to be a YouTuber/streamer? (which is a hilariously dumb to go for as a primary career)

[TheMouseKid]

As a hobby, not a career. I actually want to work for the Disney company, not be a youtuber.

[Ashley MLP Fangirl]

On 4/11/2020 at 3:32 PM, Fasauceome said:

It's your own fault if you got a Macbook and expected it to be a gaming machine. 

well, you can game on some Mac's. iMac's have decent gpu's in them, the 16" MBP isn't bad either. if you run Windows on them they are fine ish. a MacBook Air though, unless you have an eGPU nope. 

 

On 4/12/2020 at 5:12 PM, Lord Vile said:

For example Final cut vs Adobe Premier.

iMovie is fine for casual things and it's free from Apple. 

 

On 4/17/2020 at 6:57 PM, TheMouseKid said:

and have learned my lesson as to not buy a mac again (they have a pretty long lifespan). Also I am extremely grateful for my parents contribution, and they understand my frustration.

...your parents shouldn't help you. you made this choice, you should be fortunate you got a MacBook. I have to pay for my computers. 

regardless, you should buy a Mac for other reasons than wanting a gaming machine since it's not for that. if you bought it for doing schoolwork and general productivity and video editing, you would be very satisfied with it.