Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)i am currently writing this review after several weeks of use. i spent about 3 weeks researching different laptops before i got this one. it was no easy task. i hope this review will help you decide.
i have the 1.6GHz, 4GB Ram, & 128GB Flash Storage. (not sure if this review will be placed for this specific spec or for all MacBook Air 11".)LAPTOP USE:
mainly for work. checking email and managing contacts. viewing documents.
i am also an amateur photographer so i will be doing some light photo work.
huge gamer. see below for more details.DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION:
there's not much to say regarding this. it's built like no other machine i've ever used. it's rock solid. i have read some reviews stating that they were concerned with the joint where the screen meets the keyboard area but it should not be of any concern. it feels great in your hands. i can find no flaws with the laptop itself. make sure you go to an Apple Store and play with it to see for yourself.OS:
i am currently running both OS X 10.6.5 & Windows 7 Ultimate 64. it came installed with OS X 10.6.4. make sure you update this before you install anything.
Apple states that you can only install Windows 7 through Boot Camp using a DVD player. after some research before i bought the laptop, i found this to not be true.
by using an open-source program called rEFIt, you can install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive. you can also install Linux, if you wish. by using this program you can dual boot or even TRIPLE BOOT on your MacBook Air.
if you would like to install Windows 7 using a USB flash drive, you can use a program by Microsoft called "Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool" to accomplish this. make sure your USB flash drive is at least 4GB for installation. YOU ALSO NEED A COPY OF WINDOWS THAT YOU PLAN ON INSTALLING HANDY.INSTALLING WINDOWS WITH A USB FLASH DRIVE...
** UPDATE ADDED **
** before you go and install Windows 7 on your shiny new MacBook make sure you've updated your OS X to 10.6.5 first! i was so excited to get Win7 on my MBA that i installed it first before upgrading. i had installed EVERYTHING. all my PC programs and had it set up perfectly. bad mistake. when i upgraded the patch it wiped my NTFS (Windows 7) partition and everything there. ugh. save yourself that headache and PLEASE UPDATE OS X to 10.6.5 FIRST!!!
i have recently increased my Mac partition to allow for more room for my Mac needs. it is now at 48GB for Mac and 70GB for Windows. your needs may vary so give yourself ample space for both partitions. if at a later time you need to increase/decrease your partition sizes, you can do so easily by doing a FULL BACKUP WITH A SYSTEM IMAGE using Windows BACKUP or any other Backup program. remove your Windows partition ONLY AFTER doing the backup. go into Boot Camp Asst and create a new partition. connect your choice of Windows 7 installation, either USB OR DVD. do a RESTORE with the backup of the system image and backup files you made. VOILA... you have everything the way it is again. ***
make sure you first go into OS X. click on Boot Camp, which you can find using the Finder feature or go into your Utilities folder. get to the second page. download the Windows support software for your Mac. you're going to need it later after you've installed Windows. save this on your other PC. hopefully you have a PC to run that Windows 7 USB/DVD Tool. just go through the steps it tells you and you should be done. now place the "WindowsSupport" folder you dl'ed through Boot Camp onto your flash drive. you should have 3.65GB used. i used Windows 7 Ultimate 64 so your size may be less.
now you should already have installed rEFIt. if not, you should do so now. follow the instructions on their site. this gets installed through OS X, just in case you're wondering. after installation, make sure you reboot your MB Air at least twice. don't ask me why. it just takes at least twice before it gets fully working.
as you're about to do your second reboot, plug in the flash drive you have Windows 7 installed. as your MBA loads up, you should get a screen with a few icons, which you may have noticed after your first reboot. just select your USB drive and VOILA! you should now be starting your Windows 7 installation. once you're done make sure you install the Boot Camp drivers in the "WindowsSupport" folder. Boot Camp 3.2 is out so make sure you update to that ONLY AFTER you've installed 3.1 first. you will not be allowed to install 3.2 without 3.1 installed.WINDOWS 7 GENERAL USAGE:
Windows 7 Ultimate 64 runs smoothly on the MBA. i was very surprised. it boots up almost as quickly as my 3.4GHz desktop which has a SSD drive. considering the MBA only has 1.6GHz this thing can only be labled as a BEAST. i like to tinker with my computer a lot so i've removed many startup services and programs that i don't need and just eat up valuable resources. i will not go into details about it now but if you are curious just ask and i will comment back with some good info for you.
i have installed Lightroom 3.3 and Photoshop CS5 and they run very nicely. it will definitely not give you the same experience as a 3.4GHz desktop but considering the size of this laptop, you should be pleased.
Hulu & Youtube runs quite nicely. definitely not as smooth as my desktop but then again look at the size of this laptop.
i personally have not installed Windows Office 2010 because i've opted to go with the free Libre Office program. it is still in beta stages but runs quite nicely without any major hiccups. i also have Firefox and Thunderbird installed. they both run well.WINDOWS 7 GAMING USAGE:
i currently play Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Black Ops. i installed both on the MBA. i was quite shocked that it ran pretty well. of course, you will most likely have to run at lowest settings but if you need to get your fix for blood and you're away from home then you can! let's be realistic though. you really don't want to be playing games on a 11' screen. to be honest, i had such a hard time seeing enemies that were far away in BFBC2.MAC USAGE:
this is my first Mac. i was very hesitant booting up the MBA the first time. it's like that first day at high school... as a freshman. you thought you knew it all but now you're in a totally new environment. fear strikes in.
don't fret. you're about to embark on a wonderful new adventure!
i am beginning to love the Mac OS X. it's so stable and runs as smooth as a babies bootie on this laptop.
i have Aperture 3, Final Cut Express 4, Lightroom 3.3, Photoshop CS5, Firefox, and Thunderbird installed on the Mac OS X. they all run very well. Final Cut Express will not be the same as a desktop experience most definitely but you can do some light work on your MBA. i also suggest you install a program called Onyx to remove any garbage files. also get Growl. a very nifty program for Mac's.
** UPDATE ADDED **
** a commenter had asked about doing a fresh install of the Mac OS X. i know what he meant immediately. most laptops come with some sort of BLOATWARE (garbage programs that slow your system down). Mac's are not plagued by this issue so you do not have to worry. since the storage on your MBA will be limited compared to other systems, every bit of free space is valuable. OS X contains files for use with X11, which is a X Window System implementation for running X11-based applications on Mac OS X. Based on the de facto-standard for X11, the open source XFree86 project, X11 for Mac OS X is compatible, fast and fully integrated with Mac OS X. It includes the full X11R6.6 technology including a window server, libraries and basic utilities such as xterm. if you have no idea what i just wrote, then you won't need this. :) i'm not sure if it's installed by default but since i had to do a fresh reinstall due to the OS X 10.6.5 Update patch wiping my Windows partition. there are also over 1GB worth of language support files within OS X and other Mac programs. you may want to do a fresh install due to these reasons but if X11 is not a concern of yours and only removing the language files then there is an easy solution. check below for more details under the "RECOMMENDED MAC OS X PROGRAMS". **
RECOMMENDED MAC OS X PROGRAMS:
after a few more weeks of use, i have been using OS X a lot more than i had first thought i would. due to these reasons, i have been researching for more OS X programs. here are my results. i will add more as i come across them.
1. CleanMyMac: this program is A MUST HAVE. it does so much i can't even begin to tell you everything it does. basically, it cleans out all your garbage files, unnecessary junk, and language support that you won't need. i gained over 2GB worth of storage space from this program. THAT'S A LOT! considering i just got my MacBook so it wouldn't have any accumulated that many temp files. it goes to show you how many other files there are you don't need.
2. Onyx 2.2.1: this is another MUST HAVE. it is a multifunction utility for Mac OS X. It allows you to verify the Startup Disk and the structure of its System files, to run miscellaneous tasks of system maintenance, to configure the hidden parameters of the Finder, Dock and of some of Apple's own applications, to delete caches, to remove a certain number of files and folders that may become cumbersome and more.
3. KisMAC: it is an open-source and free sniffer/scanner application for Mac OS X. i've used this for when i'm out and need to get more WiFi info than is given through OS X. many of you...Read more›
Click Here to see more reviews about: Apple 11.6" MacBook Air 1.6GHz, 4GB RAM, 128GB Flash Storage, NVIDIA GeForce 320M (Z0JK-1.6-4GB)
This Apple computer has been upgraded over the base Apple model by Apple in their factory. As a result, it comes with the standard Apple computer warranty. The base Apple computer model this upgraded model was built upon was MC506LL/A The Apple upgrades specific to this model are: Processor is increased from 1.4GHz to 1.6GHzRAM is increased from 2GB to 4GB
0 comments:
Post a Comment