it's a chipset limitation. the early Core chipsets were kinda crap, industry wide.

^this. That has been the explanation I've read on other sites.

I also have an old 24" white intel imac. I've upgraded the harddrive twice and am now at a 2 tb internal drive. The ram though definitely doesn't go higher than 3gb. I tried popping in 2x2gb sticks a few years back and it wouldn't read any higher than the 3GB.

I also have an old 24" white intel imac. I've upgraded the harddrive twice and am now at a 2 tb internal drive. The ram though definitely doesn't go higher than 3gb. I tried popping in 2x2gb sticks a few years back and it wouldn't read any higher than the 3GB.

Thanks, that's helpful about the RAM. Our 20" white Intel iMac has 3Gb RAM and a 500Gb 7200 rpm internal plus a 2Tb external - the iTunes Library takes up 1Tb of the external and the rest is for Time Machine (I clone the 2Tb drive once or twice a month and keep that drive off site). It's a late 2006 iMac that we bought in January 2007, and it's still serving us well although slowing down with a lot of server apps running - TwonkyServer, Stream to Me, DotTunes, WiiTransfer, WePrint, Printopia, iCanSource, Airphones, Airfoil, etc. I could probably eliminate a few of those.

Jam an ssd in there. It makes a big difference. I still notice that this puter is sluggish in some areas, but the ssd upgrade gives me at least another year before I "need" to upgrade.

......tick ...... tick ..... tick ....

I am very tempted to buy an 11" MBA (1.4Ghz, 4GB RAM, 64GB HD) for travel. The 15" is great but just not very portable. I would basically use this for web browsing, responding to emails, watching netflix, and LaTex. The Ipad is nice but sometimes I forget to keep my work computer on and then I cannot Tex, etc. Also, the Air would be smaller than a keyboard + Ipad. The question is whether I should wait to find out if it gets a faster Sandy Bridge processor in June (or whenever this is supposed to happen). I guess the battery life may go down with the new processors though. Any thoughts besides get both?

Also, anyone frustrated with the speed of the Air using some applications?

Edited April 16, 201115 yr by shellylh

I used to have a 1st generation Macbook air running at 1.8 ghz and it was insanely slow. Since the chasis is so tiny with no ventilation, the cpu used to always get throttled back whenever watching youtube videos..which basically meant that it couldn't play full screen videos without getting really choppy and the fan kicking in. We eventually sold the computer since it was so frustrating to use.

I'm hoping the new version fixed a lot of these issues with a more power friendly processor and faster SSD. Either way, the Core 2 Duo used in the current iteration is pretty slow any way you look at it... I'd just wait if I were you.

Shelly, I am in the same exact position as you. The iPad is great, but sometimes I need to be able to use full-blown apps with real multitasking, but I don't want to lug around a laptop. The Air would seem to fit the bill. If it had a touchscreen, I'd be sold.

Waiting for the new Air myself, for all the same reasons and the Thunderbolt!

I believe we will see the Air's updated to Sandy Bridge in June. The rumors I've read all seem to point to a June update. If you can wait, then at least give it until June. I am hoping to pick one up as well to use as my office computer and home use when I need something more than the iPad.

the current gen 11" air 4/128 is the best laptop I've ever owned. ivy bridge should have better battery life and worse graphics.

^^ THIS ^^ I haven't found anything it is exceptionally slow on, including a couple of ridiculously large spreadsheets and a few unnecessarily complex presentations.

Hmmm... decisions...

When I went in the Apple store, they had a faster processor option in the smallest MBP than in either of the other two sizes. When does the Air come out? I think I'd be happy with the smallest MBP, but if you can't wait the 6 months, then I'd make a decision based on current knowledge. (I'd of course recommend you check out macrumours.)

The smallest mbp has a lower res display than the mba, if that matters to you. It also doesn't have the better graphics chip. But it does have thunderbolt. Thing's a giant behemoth tho, compared to the air.

the current gen 11" air 4/128 is the best laptop I've ever owned. ivy bridge should have better battery life and worse graphics.

When you say worse graphics, does that apply to video playback? I will need my air to run Parallels in the office so I can use the office windows file management software and internet, email and watching video for home use. Any opinion on which would be better for my purpose, the current version or possible upgraded version?

When you say worse graphics, does that apply to video playback? I will need my air to run Parallels in the office so I can use the office windows file management software and internet, email and watching video for home use. Any opinion on which would be better for my purpose, the current version or possible upgraded version?

I'd bet the new one would be at least as capable.

Better battery life would be nice. Guessing a couple of extra hours?

I wouldn't make that guess, not having any details...

I suppose that is wise.

The way I see it, Shelly, is that if the new one is better in ways that matter to you, then go for it. If you end up thinking the model Dan has is better after seeing the new one, you should be able to get a recent vintage one new or slightly used for cheap after the release. Either way, waiting makes sense to me.

The new 13.3" 2.7 Ghz i7 Macbook Pro looks pretty appealing to me, for the faster speed, longer battery, and better portability than my 15" Pro. I love the idea of the Macbook Air, but I don't see it taking over as my desktop replacement portable like the 13.3" could be.

The new 13.3" 2.7 Ghz i7 Macbook Pro looks pretty appealing to me, for the faster speed, longer battery, and better portability than my 15" Pro. I love the idea of the Macbook Air, but I don't see it taking over as my desktop replacement portable like the 13.3" could be.

What do you do on your desktop that the macbook air couldn't replace it?

As an FYI:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/apr/20/iphone-tracking-prompts-privacy-fears

probably being done by mistake but still a pretty stupid mistake

What do you do on your desktop that the macbook air couldn't replace it?

I want more storage space and an optical drive built in, not external. We take it when we travel as our mobile multimedia center, and I prefer not to be stuck with an external HD and DVD hanging off the MacBook Air. I'm a computer data pack rat. My 15" has a 640Gb drive and there's only 69Gb free, so I'm thinking about a 750Gb drive upgrade. Without any iTunes and FLAC music I could fit everything on a 200Gb drive with a little left over room on the Air, but then I have to carry my 400Gb or 640Gb portable HD if I want to listen to music or watch movies.

Plus I might want to use Thuderbolt accessories in the future. An Air with thunderbolt would be more appealing because I find USB2 to be too slow for copying large files or movies - I'd be more willing to store things on external if I could swap files back and forth very quickly to keep what I want on the internal drive. Right now it can take an hour to copy 60-80Gb from external to internal or back.

Edited April 21, 201115 yr by HeadphoneAddict