MacBook Air 1G vs 2G

I'm being tempted by a $1399 Refurbished MacBook Air Gen. 1 with a 64GB SSD, 1.8GHz Proc and the usual. That is a full $1000 cheaper than the 1.86GHz 128GB SSD Rev. B MacBook Air that I was interested in, allowing the money to be spent on other things, like a colorware paint job .

The thing is, I'm worried about a few things. Naturally because its a refurb but also because of the numerous unsettling reports of overheating, stuttering and failures with the 1G.

I actually reside in Australia, but happen to be travelling to the US for a while in April. I'll be looking to sell my Acer 8930G and purchasing something much lighter, namely the MBA, and bringing it back to Aus.

I assume the warranty voids when brought out of the country (as with most companies, cept for Asus) so I would have to pay Apple a fee to repair it each time It had issues. This really puts me off the 1G.

My question is, how bad is it? Will the High-end MacBook Air 1G be reliable enough to use as a main computer? Or should I go for the latest version, with the 1066MHz CPU/RAM and 128GB SSD?

 

1)if you buy apple care,you ll have international 3yr warranty(it is ~120$ on ebay)
2)if you are buying it in April,I am sure that rev b air will show up @ outlet = it will be a lot cheaper.
3)apple's outlet has a good reputation(i bought 2 laptops and both were in new condition)
4)b. models are quite powerful,some even play games on them(scores ~2k in 3d mark),but i don't know how it will work as "main".what kind of tasks are you going to do?

 

watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6mpu1n_iE8

it is a video of crysis warhead playing on base unibody macbook.high end air should be a little weaker then this.

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvlO-L8GXL4

 

+1 Rep! I didn't know my little 9400M Macbook would be able to pull off anything even close to that! Man, I guess trying out left 4 dead on this thing might not be a crazy waste of time!

 

l4d would have no problems running on your 9400!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8dHOR9qjjo

 

The thing is, the X3100 will nowhere near the 9400M, and will be unable to play anything except for some very occasional WOW or CSS.

My main usage will just be web browsing, music and video playing. I realized my Ps3 does the job of gaming fine enough.

 

I would say that the biggest difference between both would be the graphics card. If you aren't going to do anything 3D-related, then the MBA 1G would be fine.

 

again,in April new one will be available from outlet!

 

Ok, thanks Xirurg. I think I'll wait +rep!

 

What do you mean by Apple's 'outlet'- you mean their refurbished computers available online?

Also, how do you know the newer one will be available in April?

Just curious, as I'm in a similar situation as the OP, torn between 1G and 2G Air.

 

The Apple Outlet is the refurbished "section" of their online store that sells refurbs. I've seen a few reports on Endgadget that they will be available in April, but I don't know about it's credibility.

 

Rev A IMO is not worth it. It has processor issues in terms of core shutdowns for simple tasks like "youtube". Rev B has fixed that issue so I'd lean towards that model

 

Yeah, I just searched Engadget and Google for the 2G MacBook Air becoming available refurbished, but I came up with nothing. The main problem is that I've got a buyer lined up for my computer now (which I need to sell to afford the MacBook Air), but I can't be without a computer too long, and if the April rumors are false rumors, then there might be no way of knowing when they'll be available refurbished (although I keep thinking that there must be some sort of loose timetable based on past history, as to how long it generally takes for new models to become available refurbished, but so far I haven't found anything).

 

Yeah, it was only a couple of days ago, but it must have been somewhere else... . Well I saw a timetable representing that the MBA Rev. B would be up for refurbished in April, but I have yet to find it. I'll get you that link. I know how you feel, but hopefully we can help you find a solution, one way or the other.

 

Awesome. Thanks a lot for the help!

Also, if anyone knows where you can get the 2G MacBook Air for around $1400 or less, that's about what I can swing. I've been looking through eBay and craigslist, but pretty much everything is 1G.

 

Great! I'll try and give eBay a look, and see if I can find one for you.