So my MacBook Air is about to Die...

"Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert" (joshuagilbert)
12/01/2014 at 11:46 • Filed to: Applelopnik

It's getting slower. And slower. My dad told me it has about 4% read-write capacity left in its SSD. I always knew this thing was a lemon. But then again, I've used this laptop for almost two hours a day for the last two years.

Two years. My Black plastic MacBook lasted way longer.

Apple, the seamless-unibody thing is cool. But the techies and geeks need some sort of Pro-model with more interchangeable parts other than the memory sticks.

I'm sure there is a way to change the harddrive, but it's not worth it. I can at least sell it because it's a good laptop. I need to upgrade.

I need a Pro.

And, no, I'm not changing to a PC- my entire musical, networking, and photography setups are Apple-dependent. I'm too used to it.

Does anybody have a "15 Pro or "13 Pro with the CD drive from '13? Does anybody still own a "17 Pro? Is Apple screwing with you via updates?

DISCUSSION (39)

Sweet Trav > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 11:48

This is the key reason why I refuse to buy apple products.

sellphones2493 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 11:55

I bought my 13" Pro in September 2010 and we're still going strong (knock on wood). However, I'm on my 3rd battery - all covered by Apple, even when the warranty ran out, and my 4th Charger.

This one's been a lot healthier than my old white Macbook, and this one probably does 2+ hours of use a day.

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 11:55

Hackintosh?

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > sellphones2493
12/01/2014 at 11:58

Hopefully new corporate leadership will allow Apple to sanction the manufacture of third party chargers for their computers.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > sellphones2493
12/01/2014 at 11:58

Intel i5 or i7?

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
12/01/2014 at 11:59

I tried Hackintosh....ONCE.

Gamecat235 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 11:59

My wife has a 13" pro (2.5 GHz, i5) from 2012. Not sure what the major differences between the 2012 and 2013 models are, but updates to OS and various wonkyness have led her to curse the thing. My father, on the other hand, has a 2013 17" pro and absolutely loves it.

In either case, max out the RAM. You'll need it.

(I'm still running a 2009 iMac with 10.6.8 - you can take Snow Leopard from it's cold dead hands, but not a second prior).

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Gamecat235
12/01/2014 at 12:04

I think the "13 Airs are absolutely absurd. They are wonky. I think the fact that the original '12 and '13 already had RAM recalls proves that the "tech-shrinking" of the day was still in testing phase. My sister has an "11 Air and it has never broken, not even once. I think it was a bad idea to get rid of the midrange MacBooks. They need to make the "13 non-Air MacBooks again and work out the kinks in the Intel GPU-CPU combo that's making mine so flaky.

My dad had a "17 too, but my mother spilt hot chai all over the poor thing. He has a "15 now. I think I'm going to try and buy a "17.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Gamecat235
12/01/2014 at 12:05

Mine is the 2.5 as well.

twochevrons > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:05

That sound suspiciously short for an SSD lifespan, unless you're really hammering it. I'm pretty sure that Apple's SSDs are replaceable, but you need their special magic Pentalobe screwdriver to do so, and the replacement parts aren't cheap either.

Until last year, I used a Late '07 15" MacBook Pro (the last one before they went to the unibody). I've since gone to a 15" Retina MBP, but even so, my old one still gets updates with no issues. Sure, it's kind of slow, the battery is history, and it doesn't get cool features like Handoff, but it's still happily running the latest OS. I'm pretty sure that support for the 'fat' MacBook Pros will continue for a good few years yet – aside from the display, the hardware is mostly the same.

MarquetteLa > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:06

Have you been upgrading the OS? My 2011 MacBook Pro was running Snow Leopard for its entire life until about a year ago when I made the decision to upgrade up to Mavericks. Worst decision I've ever made. On Snow Leopard, the computer was buttery smooth and fast. On Mavericks, it feels like a fucking boat anchor. Night and day difference. If you're running Mavericks or Mountain Lion, look into reverting back to 10.6.

CB > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:06

I had an old Blackbook. Other than wireless no longer working, it saved my sorry ass a few months ago when my school laptop died.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > twochevrons
12/01/2014 at 12:06

They're so lovable. Fat is the new sleek.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > MarquetteLa
12/01/2014 at 12:07

Good idea!

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > CB
12/01/2014 at 12:08

Mine continued a half-life as a desk computer until Best Buy refused to give me a new harddrive for it. My parents wanted me to cash it in for my current "13 before the service plan ran out.

sellphones2493 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:09

It was actually my fault, somewhat. The first charger stopped working after two years, so I went to Best Buy and spent like $90 on a new one.

The second one lasted me until August, until it frilled, so I bought a used/reconditioned one on eBay.

That one lasted a month then stopped working. So I got a used one that's been good so far.

sellphones2493 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:09

How do I find that out?

Gamecat235 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:12

It seems like the 17's, even with nearly identical specs, perform better. Not sure why (I have some guesses, with what I know about some manufacturing procedures from other tech companies, but no direct knowledge).

My brother has a 2011 Air as well, and the thing still runs like a champ, he does his light coding work on it, and has since it was new (he has a ThinkPad for his more rigorous sessions).

I have a lot of complaints about the management of the laptop market segment. They seemed to over simplify what their user's needs were, and just put them into bins.

My wife's can be slow to wake, get into kernel issues, and even after some major rebuilding, still suffers. Also, their software testing (OS's specifically) blows.

twochevrons > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:13

My old 15" was a complete tank. It travelled the world with me, had beer spilled on it, got dropped, stepped on, frozen and overheated. The only time it let me down was due to the infamous Nvidia GPU plague, but even so, I twisted Apple's arm into fixing it out of warranty (yay for strong consumer laws!).

By the time I retired it, the case was warped and dented, the screen was going a bit weird, and a few keycaps were missing, but it still worked just fine. I don't have the heart to get rid of it, so it is now leading a sedentary life as my home media server.

Having said all that, though, the 15" Retina is amazing. Sure, I'm annoyed at Apple about its lack of upgradability or repairability, but it is a seriously impressive piece of kit nonetheless.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > sellphones2493
12/01/2014 at 12:13

click the apple on the top left..."about this Mac"

Make sure you're using the right wattage. 45W chargers will burn up quickly despite their "compatibility."

Gamecat235 > MarquetteLa
12/01/2014 at 12:13

#10.6.8ForLife!

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:15

I have no experience with it whatsoever. I'd imagine there's some tweaking involved. And a lot of swearing.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:15

Lies! I meant 1.8 i5 with 4GB of ram..

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Bryan doesn't drive a 1M
12/01/2014 at 12:17

OOOOh you bet your ass. My dad is 25+ year veteran of the programming and Mac world. He worked for the IT department for the Secret Service. He tried Hackintosh once. And was like "F-That.," after a couple months. He has a gaming pc that he stores in the basement. And his MacBook Pro, which he uses 70% the time. He's going back to college!

Chairman Kaga > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:18

I've had my 15" Retina Pro for a year or so and it's been flawlessly reliable. Wicked fast. Great machine.

My favorite laptop is still my old 2007 black MacBook, which now lives on the home office desk and is only used sporadically. The optical drive is dead and the battery went ages ago, but it's still reasonably quick with Snow Leopard and plays Empire At War and Age of Empires 3.

Rico > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:23

Take it to the Apple store and see what the out of warranty charge is, it probably isn't that bad. My friend has a black macbook from when it first came out and that thing is still chugging away on it's original battery.

sellphones2493 > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:28

Processor: 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Memory: 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3

spanfucker retire bitch > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:30

SSDs only run out of write-capacity, their read capacity is theoretically infinite as it doesn't wear out the SSD to read from it. The idea being, that even after it's dead you can still recover data from it.

Still, for an only 2 year old SSD, that's pretty shit. I wonder if that was before they started using Samsung controllers or if they were still using SandForce back then?

Mattbob > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:31

why not just replace the hard drive?

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > spanfucker retire bitch
12/01/2014 at 12:34

That's a good point! Maybe that's what the problem is.

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Mattbob
12/01/2014 at 12:37

because it's scary and expensive. Hahaha.

But then again....

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > Mattbob
12/01/2014 at 12:37

Also, I need a special screwdriver.

Funktheduck > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 12:56

I got my MB air in August of 2012. I got the base 13 but upgraded the ram. It's my only computer since my PC died. It's been awesome for me. Didn't do the mavericks or Yosemite updates bc I heard too many issues. A friend got the same one around the same time but he runs Yosemite and has only complained about hand off issues. My gf has a 17" MBP she got around late 2011 or early 2012. Ever since she got an iPad she only uses it for work or graphic design stuff. Works great except the 6 key broke

Mattbob > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 14:35

what kind of screwdriver? Torx, security torx? Torx are super common, I have a set in my desk right in front of me.

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/01/2014 at 16:44

I use an Air for work (work provided) and it's fine, but I try to be careful about my drive space and load. I have an '06 black MB and it's on it's last legs. So I'm transferring everything over to my fiance's 13" MBPro while I save up for just the right 15".

Admittedly, the 15" will be better, but the 13" handles a kinda heavy load really well. I'd say go for a new/newer 13" or if you can find a good price for a 15". I'd stay around early 2013 to current if possible.

SmoresTM Has No Chill (O==[][]==O) > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/03/2014 at 23:37

I've had my 13" Retina Pro since whenever they came out and the only problem I've had with it is a few dead pixels on the screen (which they replaced for free). I love this thing. It looks good and is really quick. I have 110GB of crap on this computer and it still runs better than my old Dell (which only lasted a year and a half. 2011-2012, after which I got the Pro) did brand new.

TDogg > Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert
12/13/2014 at 17:15

Is it just the SSD that's the issue? You might be able to get by with just imaging the drive to a new one if your CPU and everything else is still up to snuff.

EDIT: Just saw that MacBooks have a unibody design, preventing that apparently? *smh*

Denver Is Stuck In The 90s > sellphones2493
12/13/2014 at 17:16

You have the same machine that I do, except I bought mine in April 2010 and I upgraded my ram to 8gb. 5 years old, still runs like new

Joshua "Dr. Science" Gilbert > TDogg
12/13/2014 at 17:17

It's not completely un-penetrable but still dumb.