macbook air first thoughts and overview.

[themaniac]

Oh hey another Minnesotan... Hey!

oh hey mr minnesotan how ya doing in the somewhat coldness of minnesota at this time of year

[Guest]

Yeah, I want a refund. <_<

this thread detailed quickly

[AlwaysFSX]

this thread detailed quickly

This wasn't quick, let me tell you. I can make it quick.

[handymanshandle]

oh hey mr minnesotan how ya doing in the somewhat coldness of minnesota at this time of year

It's not cold. 

[themaniac]

It's not cold. 

to me it is in the morning

[Builder]

If I did not say that I would get heat from VAIO haters.

Now you know how we feel...

[Victorious Secret]

You're profile pic goes really well with that recommendation. Sad to see the Vaio name leave Sony. Parents had one of these a really long time ago. First computer I ever used.

 

THAT WAS MY FIRST COMPUTER!!!

 

I honestly loved it 

[Builder]

I have to say there are two companies that can stand up to the overall quality of Apple's hardware besides Apple: Lenovo and Vaio. Lenovo always had great build quality, and Vaio has always had a crack design team. Apple has the best of both of them.

[connorpiper]

Now you know how we feel...

 

Who is we?

[Builder]

Who is we?

People who like Apple stuff.

[connorpiper]

People who like Apple stuff.

 

You are right. I do dislike apple because of their fanbase more than their products.

[Sauron]

i love using osx for things like watching movies and using ms office and all the sort but really thats all i see this notebook doing (which is perfectly acceptable). but the thing that really kinda hit me when i first starting using it was the trackpad (as always from apple).

 

 

Doesn't that bother you considering the price? I mean, of course there's nothing wrong with this kind of ultrathin laptop only being suitable for that kind of stuff, but it's priced the same as way more powerful hardware. Just earlier today I was eyeing (pun intended) an asus laptop with a dual core i7 @ 2.0 ghz and dedicated nvidia graphics (nothing amazing but still) for just 600euros. It has 8gb of ram and a 1366 x 768 display, just like the macbook. The only thing that's missing is an ssd, but I can get my hands on a 128gb model for 70 bucks no problem. Granted it's quite a bit bulkier, but there is a 400 euro difference in price between that and the macbook.

[Builder]

Doesn't that bother you considering the price? I mean, of course there's nothing wrong with this kind of ultrathin laptop only being suitable for that kind of stuff, but it's priced the same as way more powerful hardware. Just earlier today I was eyeing (pun intended) an asus laptop with a dual core i7 @ 2.0 ghz and dedicated nvidia graphics (nothing amazing but still) for just 600euros. It has 8gb of ram and a 1366 x 768 display, just like the macbook. The only thing that's missing is an ssd, but I can get my hands on a 128gb model for 70 bucks no problem. Granted it's quite a bit bulkier, but there is a 400 euro difference in price between that and the macbook.

The MacBook has ~14 hour battery life and not just any SSD but a PCIe SSD. 

[Victorious Secret]

The MacBook has ~14 hour battery life and not just any SSD but a PCIe SSD. 

 

The battery life is what actually started me looking away from laptops, cause outside a select few laptops period you are generally putting up with average battery life. 

 

But then you have Apple, whose "worst" specced laptops are still nailing 8 hours, Airs nailing 14 (I personally have gotten 8-9 consistently on my rMBP) and that might be worth the price of entry. Hell, ask students, who apart from buying Apple to be cool, actually LOVE having laptops that can last a long time in between outlet sessions, which if you are on campus a lot, aren't exactly littered all over the place especially in study and library areas, at least on my campus. 

I'd wager the PCIe SSDs are what drive up the majority of the cost difference now, not the brand or aluminum chassis; those things aren't exactly cheap by any stretch. 

Even the 480Tb upgrade options from 3rd party places are on average around 400-450. Not cheap. 1TB? Hah, lets not cry over that price tag.

Right now, expensive as balls. No one can avoid that, and for once Apple isn't being entirely unreasonable on that front.  

[Builder]

-snip-

Honestly they haven't really been touched on the battery life front. And the PCIe SSDs...jesus, it's almost as bad as printer ink.

[Victorious Secret]

Honestly they haven't really been touched on the battery life front. And the PCIe SSDs...jesus, it's almost as bad as printer ink.

 

Unlike printer ink, SSD prices will drop. 

 

Printer ink costs more than Red Bull, and thats just sad. 

[Easy To Pronounce Name]

"aquired"? I don't believe someone would deliberately pay for a macbook so how did you come across this? Nice review nonetheless.

[steffen_anywhere]

I agree, I love my Mac, and it's from 2006

 

The trackpads on MacBook are absolutely impeccable. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING even comes close- even if it did, Windows has terrible support for them- weird scrolling, unnatural gestures, and every manufacturer configures it differently. The momentum-based scrolling and just solidity of them is untouchable. Sadly, I only get to use a new trackpad when my brother comes over with his new 13" MBA . But even my super-old one is better than most new laptops' trackpads...

Yes, I agree. Linus always wants a touchscreen on a laptop, but I find that whem running OS X on a Macbook, the trackpad completely eliminates that need.

[bcredeur97]

I love those HD-5000 Graphics in those macbook airs... really good value.

 

especially since they are only 1366 x 768. They will run games really decently if youre bored on the go.

 

very good price/performance if your looking at an ultrabook to game on. though u need to add in the cost of windows

[Builder]

I don't believe someone would deliberately pay for a macbook so how did you come across this?

Tens of millions do. Every year. If that's news to you I'm not sure what to say.

 

Yes, I agree. Linus always wants a touchscreen on a laptop, but I find that whem running OS X on a Macbook, the trackpad completely eliminates that need.

Touchscreens on Windows laptops were added in as a crutch for how badly Windows 8 sucked when using a mouse. Nobody wished they had a touchscreen on Windows 7 because the UI was mouse centric. OS X is extremely touchpad centric compared to other operating systems because you can do nearly all window management tasks using the trackpad.

[Sauron]

The MacBook has ~14 hour battery life and not just any SSD but a PCIe SSD. 

 

What's the point of a pcie ssd when you have a 1.4ghz dual core ulp cpu in there? There's basically no difference, you aren't going to be video editing on it anyway (wich is one of the 2 or 3 applications which actually make good use of a pcie ssd). I can give you the battery life, but honestly I wouldn't consider that to be worth 400 euros more when the rest of the specs are slightly inferior. Of course everyone has their own use scenario, personally I'd be using a laptop for usiversity and there are plenty of power sockets there (but again I understand that not everyone has constant access to a power socket). To be honest I could buy the other laptop, an ssd and a second battery for extended battery life for 300 euros less than the macbook. I'd spare even more if I compared it to a macbook with the same specs.

[Sauron]

 

I love those HD-5000 Graphics in those macbook airs... really good value.

 

especially since they are only 1366 x 768. They will run games really decently if youre bored on the go.

 

very good price/performance if your looking at an ultrabook to game on. though u need to add in the cost of windows

 

Ehm we're talking a dual core ulp 1.4ghz cpu here, a lot of games won't even run on that. Clock frequency is important when it's so low.

[bcredeur97]

 

 

 

Ehm we're talking a dual core ulp 1.4ghz cpu here, a lot of games won't even run on that. Clock frequency is important when it's so low.

 

but isnt the turbo boost at like 3.x GHz ?? providing you can keep temps low, it will run at boost speed a lot of the time..

[13CA350]

I love mine, my only complaint is that the steel scratches VERY easily over time. I use this cover and I'd recommend it

 

Btw that Amazon link has Linus's kick-back code on it

[Builder]

What's the point of a pcie ssd when you have a 1.4ghz dual core ulp cpu in there? There's basically no difference, you aren't going to be video editing on it anyway (wich is one of the 2 or 3 applications which actually make good use of a pcie ssd). I can give you the battery life, but honestly I wouldn't consider that to be worth 400 euros more when the rest of the specs are slightly inferior.

Are you saying the SSD is dependent on the CPU? What? GHz is not everything my friend. There's also an enormous difference in speed. I get around 600MB/s write and 750MB/s read off of mine.

 

Ehm we're talking a dual core ulp 1.4ghz cpu here, a lot of games won't even run on that. Clock frequency is important when it's so low.

I don't know what you're getting at but MacBook Airs can run most games.