MacBook Air :: 1.86 SSD Or 2.13 SSD Refurb - Real World Speed Difference
Nov 1, 2009
Is it worth the extra cash to go up to the 2.13? I know it's a small amount, but that could be a new mouse, or a super drive. I've seen tests that indicate the rev b 1.86 is actually faster than the new 2.13. This will be my only personal mac. I'm a graphic designer (adobe cs4) but I don't do much design work on my personal computer (I have a nice iMac at work). The usual facebook, email, web browsing, YouTube
Just wondering if it's worth getting a machine with 8Gb of RAM over the standard 4Gb for things like video editing, aperture etc. Can most of today's apps even use 8 gigs of memory? I assume the biggest advantage would be for running a virtual windows machine within OSX and things like that.
I bit the bullet and upgraded from a Rev A 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA - to a Rev B 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA. I wanted to post my observations on what it's like to upgrade - I know many Rev A owners have - or are thinking about - upgrading to Rev B. In this post/comparison, I refer to "Rev A" and "Rev B". The Rev A is my older 1.6GHz 80GB HDD MBA. The Rev B is my new 1.86GHz 128GB SSD MBA
Caveat - Unlike some (but not all!) Rev A MBA owners, I love my Rev A MBA. I've had zero problems with it. It runs cool and I have not experienced any core shut downs. It would heat up when most laptops normally heat up and the fans would kick. It would cool down quickly when I moved on to something else. With video it never stuttered... Perhaps my Rev A has run so nicely because I don't ask a lot of it. It is a second Mac to my Mac Pro - I use it primarily for email, word processing, iTunes movies and web surfing - on the couch and on the road. It has REALLY been a great laptop and I have nothing bad to say about it...................
I am looking to buy a new AEBS to replace my Linksys WRT610N. The Linksys has dual simultaneous 5 & 2.4GHz capability as well, but suffers from constant disconnects and issues with both radios on at the same time. My question is to those of you that have the new AEBS with this capability and are actually using the dual network option. Have you had any problems with the new Apple unit? Any disconnects or other signs of flakiness?
I have a "My book Pro" 250 GB external hard drive spinning at 7200 rpm. This thing is dog slow. It takes about 5 to 10 seconds to copy about 2 megabytes. I have another drive that copies about 160 megabytes in about 5 seconds. I called Western Digital (the maker of the "My Book Pro") and they said that USB 2.0 transfer rates are about 2 MB a second! That is not true but he insisted. My question to you all is how can i win this argument with them? Do you know a formula that would give me real world numbers. In other words how to translate 480 megabits (the USB 2.0 transfer spec) into megabytes? Ive searched the net and cant find anything. Its messed up cause both drives have basically the same specs. Ive even tried reformatting to every possibility, ive switched cables from the fast drive to the slow drive. Nothings working. Im gonna call WD back tomorrow but i wanted a way to talk about what could honestly be expected from USB 2.0. I just cant believe that USB 2.0 tops out at 2MB a second. And to top it all off, todays call ended up with me getting disconnected so i called back and guess what, they were closed...that guys a DOUCHE. I really cant put my faith into Western Digital after this. Are there drives that are geared more towards professionals seeking performance and reliability?
There are two 17" G4 powerbooks in the refurb section, and I was thinking of picking one up. What is the difference between the two? It says one has DDR333 SDRAM and the other is DDR2 PC2-4200 SDRAM. what is the difference? Which one to get? The only reason I would spend that on an older powerbook and not a new intel, is that all of my pro apps need to be used natively, and I don't plan to upgrade to CS3 anytime soon. I also use flash, final cut and shake, so new versions could get pricey! Plus rosetta doesn't support Final cut.
i have a 1.5 Mbps AT&T DSL connection, and multiple speed tests show a download speed of 1.2 Mbps (and 200 Kbps upload). when i download files, such as software updates from Apple, various podcasts, and even Silverlight from Microshaft, the speed is always between 140 - 160 Kbps. i contacted AT&T, and the rep said it was because of buffering by the servers i was receiving the files from. is this a reasonable explanation? is this an accurate use of the term "buffering"?
How much speed difference is there? Battery I take it is almost double in real life, actually using the MBA. I get barely 3 hours with moderate use on my Rev B and I take it most people get close to 7 with similar usage?
I know this topic has been gone over several times, but I'm still having trouble deciding on which to get in a new 15", 2.8Ghz MBP - 5400/500GB, or 7200rpm/320GB (or 500, really). I'll be using the machine largely for graphic design, but also for various other tasks as my main computer. I've heard the faster drive IS a noticeable difference, but it also drains battery life and runs hot. There doesn't seem to be a consensus on this anywhere. Is the 7200 worth it?
In the UK and looking to buy a refurb 09 27" iMac. Pondering 2 models at the moment, the 2.66 i5 @ 1259 and the 2.8 i7 @ 1399. One thing I'm wondering is if the 140 price bump to the i7 is worth it? What are the diffferences between the 2 processors speed wise? I'm mail going to be using this for streaming HD video and similar multimedia tasks.
I recently had the 2.8Ghz 24inch imac with 2Gb memore and 320Gb hard drive with the ati graphics but had a display problem so returned it but my current pc is so slow i need a new computer now so i'm looking at the 24inch 2.66Ghz model but what sped difference will i see in sped from 2.8-2.66 and will the nvidia graphics be better, worse or the same as the recent ATI graphics and is the memore a bigger improvement with now 4Gb ddr3
I'm trying to decide whether to buy the express or the extreme.
I will only be using it for web surfing with my macbook pro.
But in the near future I might buy a wifi skype phone (which is g).
If I'm using the express, that means my macbook pro connection will change from n to g (because it is not simultaneous as in the extreme) when the wifi phone connects.
Will shifting from n to g change drastically my internet speeds in my macbook pro?
If my download speed is 300 Kb/s and my upload is 30 Kb/s with "n"; how much will that change when shifting to "g"?
I'm looking to replace my current external drive with a newer, larger drive. My current drive is connected via Firewire and houses my iTunes library, plus movie files, documents, etc. I'm trying to decide between a portable drive (the Western Digital Passport, for example), and another desktop drive (like say, this one [URL:..]Questions I have:
- Is there any reason to be concerned about longevity when using a portable drive? - Does a desktop drive typically perform better than a desktop drive? - Is there a noticeable speed difference between USB 2.0 and Firewire?
i have a 1.5 Mbps AT&T DSL connection, and multiple speed tests show a download speed of 1.2 Mbps (and 200 Kbps upload). when i download files, such as software updates from Apple, various podcasts, and even Silverlight from Microshaft, the speed is always between 140 - 160 Kbps. i contacted AT&T, and the rep said it was because of buffering by the servers i was receiving the files from.
Does anyone know if apple let's the 17" Gpu run faster since it probably has better cooling than a 15"? I remember Mr. Jobs saying that when they put the 9400m into the MacBook Air they had to slow it down due to cooling issues with the Airs smaller case ( something like 4x faster than the previous intel gma vs. 5x in the 13")
Made me wonder if the same is true in reverse when they have better cooler and more space to play with. Any links or MHz speed on this would be awesome.
For almost the last year I have been using an Airport Extreme on 2.4b/g and and Airport express in my room to extend my wireless network. I also have a usb hdd configured to back up my macbook using time machine. Well I have a new roommate moving in and he has his own extreme and two expresses.
I have some questions on what would be the best way to consolidate our networking devices. I considered us selling our extremes and getting the new time capsule so both of our macs can use 5ghz while my girlfriends dell uses the 2.4.
Is there a noticeable speed difference between time capsule backup vs hard drive to extreme connected via usb?
I am looking at buying a refurb and I am confused by the description on the apple store page.
The description on the page says:
Quote:
Graphics : NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT graphics processor; and NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor with 256MB of DDR3 SDRAM shared with main memory Graphics Memory : 512MB GDDR3
this means it is the 512mb graphics option right ? the first part where "they say 9400 with 256 shared" is refering to the secondary 9400 chipset right ?
I hope this isnt a dumb question.... I currently have a 13 macbook 10/2008 and been thinking about getting a 15. At the apple refurb store they have a 15in mbp for $1349 or new 13in $1119. I love how portable my 13in is but i also like the thought and look of the 15in. Ive read things about the 15in being bulky and not as portable as the 13in. I dont feel like there is that big a difference. Which is the better deal?
How to identify if it's a refurb or new?i'm going to buy a mb alum 2.4ghz from someone I met and he claims it's new, i just want to be sure if it is.maybe the box? or the warranty says it's a refurb? I don't know please tell me.
I ordered a refurb'd 24" ACD and it arrived today. All I can say is WOW! I have it right next to my 24" Dell 2407WFP-HC. The Dell XPS PC is running an NVIDIA 8600 GT with 4GB on the motherboard. Ok, back to the ACD, the unit is spectacular and looks to be 'brand spanking new'. Side-by-side comparison would be subjective and worthless. My eye favors the ACD. I consider this a bargain at $699, not chump change but it works great with my Rev C MBA. I am using the MBA with an Apple wireless keyboard and a Microsoft 5000 Bluetooth mouse.
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core i5 15.4-inch LED-backlit glossy widescreen display (1440 x 900 pixel) 4GB (2 x 2GB) of 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM 320GB Serial ATA @ 5400 rpm 8x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW) NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M graphics processor with 256MB of GDDR3 memory $1529
Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo 17-inch high-resolution LED-backlit antiglare widescreen display 4GB memory 500GB hard drive 8x SuperDrive (DVD?R DL/DVD?RW/CD-RW) ExpressCard/34 slot Built-in 8-hour battery NVIDIA GeForce 9400M + 9600M GT with 512MB Illuminated keyboard $1799
Which would be the better choice? Is the price difference justifiable?
I am a photographer so I do a lot of tethered shooting through capture one and a lot of photo editing in Photoshop. I have an eizo 24" external display I can hook up to but I feel the 17" with its high resolution and anti glare would be useful for location shoots so my question: Is the higher price and old technology worth it for the bigger antiglare screen and bigger harddrive for what I am using it for?
I've decided to go with an SSD refurb and am torn between the 1.6 and 1.8 SSD model. The 1.8 is an extra $100, but it's $100 which may be over my budget and I'm not sure if I'll really notice a difference. The reason I want the 1.8 is because I'm coming from a 2.0 MB and 1.8 doesn't seem as bad as downgrading to a 1.6.
I'm dying to get one, but I want to make sure I get the one I want. And price is of course an issue. I was curious if anyone has seen any aluminum Macbooks on the refurb site yet?
I currently have a 2.4ghz imac and a hp mini netbook. I'm looking at the Macbook Air units as a eventual replacement for my netbook but I can't decide between the apple 1.8ghz refurb SSD model or the 2.13ghz new SSD model.
I've had my new refurb MBA (2.13/128SSD) for 2 days. I really love it!!! The battery charged up pretty fast the first day. This evening is the first time that I'm using the MBA for any length of time on battery power and it's going well. I've had it on for over 2 hours and it shows 2:45 battery time left.
