New MBA

Deep Thought

ok...so watching the new MBA launch

What basically is different...up to 512MB SDD, at an extra €500, i doubt its worth for me

is that it? -I thought there was a new chip, the current and even Refub store has i5 and i7 chips..

Cheers

MiniNukinfuts

It now has 2 USB 3.0 ports, a 720p Facetime camera, new processor and the other standard spec increases.

Colonel Panic

It uses the new Ivy Bridge version of the Core i5 and i7 which includes better integrated graphics. It also now comes with 1600MHz RAM.

ToadVine

So is the new MBA a significant upgrade over the previous version?

Would there be a noticeable difference in performance between the two machines?

Colonel Panic

You wouldn't notice for every day stuff, but things like compiling code, processing images, encoding videos, playing games and the like might be a bit quicker but we're talking seconds, not minutes.

MiniNukinfuts

As Colonel Panic said, the speed increase wouldn't be very noticeable. Unless you're going to be doing processor intensive tasks.

Tazium

There's a reported increase from 5 to between 5-7 hours battery life now too.

J-blk

TBH, I love the Air but would not go for one right now. I think Apple is testing the waters with the retina MBP and 1-2 years from now all the MBs (including the Airs) will have retina-class displays. Just look at how massively expensive (and underpowered) the 1st gen Airs were and only a couple of years later they are so much more powerful and affordable. Though I tend to be an early adopter, I think it's worth waiting this one out...

Sad Professor

For reasons of economics and battery life, I think it will be quite some time before the Air gets a Retina display. The remaining MBPs will get it much sooner.

J-blk

Sad Professor wrote: »

I think it will be quite some time before the Air gets a Retina display. The remaining MBPs will get it much sooner.

I don't disagree but I think 2 years is indeed quite some time in tech - I could see the remaining MBPs getting retina displays next year even - 1-2 refreshes from now. Airs probably would be more on the 2 year side of things but that's pure speculation on my side...

Deep Thought

Good chat going on here and tbh...am kinda thinking that in real terms does the new MBA have anything over the old one

If as per comments here that SSD really isnt a huge diff unless you doing a lot of processing or gaming...is it better to buy MBP with 8 GB and 750GB HD

Just wondering....

DT

Sad Professor

When you say "old one" do you mean the old MBA or MBP? Because the SSD in the Air makes a huge difference to everyday usage. Starting up, opening apps, everything is faster. HDDs are dog slow in comparison.

Deep Thought

old MBA...

I am really thinking....is 256GB sufficient and as the new 13 inch MBA 256GB is same price as new 13 inch MBP with 8GB and 750GB HDD....its hard to make a decision...

need to did deeper...

J-blk

Deep Thought wrote: »

I am really thinking....is 256GB sufficient and as the new 13 inch MBA 256GB is same price as new 13 inch MBP with 8GB and 750GB HDD....its hard to make a decision...

Well, if you buy a MBP of the now "old" design, you could always replace the HDD with an SSD yourself and even get rid of the optical drive and add an HDD, thus having the best of both worlds.

Lots of us here have done so - I have the 2008 13" unibody MB (which the next year became the MBP again) with an 80GB Intel SSD and a 1TB HDD (and have my SuperDrive in a USB caddy for the 1 time a year I might need it).

Like Sad Professor said, an SSD makes a massive difference to pretty much everything - I could never go back to an HDD as my main system drive.

Deep Thought

currently have a 2007 Macbook...

Will look into the uodate..I guess i would need a chasis for the SSD if i was to put it in place

Cheers folks

J-blk

Deep Thought wrote: »

I guess i would need a chasis for the SSD if i was to put it in place

If you simply swap the HDD for the SSD, you need nothing extra - it's a direct replacement that fits right in like any other hard drive. If you want to get rid of the optical drive and add an HDD/SSD in its' place, then you need a bracket like this one from OWC:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DDAMBS0GB/

BTW, all this is much more of a pain in the a** in the older design MBPs, like the 2007 model you have - it's very easy to do in the unibody ones though.

In any case, good luck with whatever you choose - but definitely get something with an SSD (or add one). You won't regret it.

Sad Professor

J-blk wrote: »

Lots of us here have done so - I have the 2008 13" unibody MB (which the next year became the MBP again) with an 80GB Intel SSD and a 1TB HDD (and have my SuperDrive in a USB caddy for the 1 time a year I might need it).

Yeah, I have the 2009 MacBook "Pro" model. I'm torn at the moment about whether to slap an SSD in it and give it a new lease on life, or just put the money toward a new machine. As it stands, it's pretty painful to use compared to my 11-inch Air.

Somehow I ended up with two notebooks that I never intended to be primary machines.

J-blk

My MB is older than yours and I still find it very fast for most tasks - and I use Xcode and other developer tools on this system so I can't recommend the SSD upgrade enough. Especially with the prices of SSDs now: I just got a 256GB Samsung 830 for about €180 (whereas my 80GB Intel cost me over €220 about 2 years ago...) - pretty cheap compared to any new machine. I'd like an Air at this point, but I think I'll wait it out a bit longer yet, for more significant updates.

Zimmerframe

Sad Professor wrote: »

Yeah, I have the 2009 MacBook "Pro" model. I'm torn at the moment about whether to slap an SSD in it and give it a new lease on life, or just put the money toward a new machine. As it stands, it's pretty painful to use compared to my 11-inch Air.

Somehow I ended up with two notebooks that I never intended to be primary machines.

Funny I too have a 09 pro and an 11"air and was deliberating the same plan.

I went for glory and stuck a Crucial M4 128gb ssd and 8gb ram into it a few weeks ago, did a clean install of Lion and between the lot, it's like getting a new machine.

Sad Professor

J-blk wrote: »

My MB is older than yours and I still find it very fast for most tasks - and I use Xcode and other developer tools on this system so I can't recommend the SSD upgrade enough. Especially with the prices of SSDs now: I just got a 256GB Samsung 830 for about €180 (whereas my 80GB Intel cost me over €220 about 2 years ago...) - pretty cheap compared to any new machine. I'd like an Air at this point, but I think I'll wait it out a bit longer yet, for more significant updates.

I just ordered the same. Should give my MBP a decent performance boost. The stock HDD in it is only 160GB, so it will be larger as well.

Deep Thought

Sad Professor wrote: »

I just ordered the same. Should give my MBP a decent performance boost. The stock HDD in it is only 160GB, so it will be larger as well.

Can I ask where you purchased it

Sad Professor

Amazon. There's a thread about it in Bargain Alerts:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056669836

J-blk

The 128GB is also €101 on Dabs.ie if you want something cheaper (and cheaper than the 128GB on Amazon currently) but the 256GB on Amazon offers the best value right now if you can afford it.

Colonel Panic

Don't forget you'll probably need a TORX #6 screwdriver to take the HDD out of your MBPs. I learned this the hard way one Sunday morning!