The MacBook Air: Thoroughly Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on February 13, 2008 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Mac
Inside the Air
The MacBook Air uses a 65nm Merom based mobile Core 2 Duo CPU running at 1.6GHz. For an extra $300 you can upgrade the chip to a 1.8GHz part (note that Intel only charges Apple an extra $32 for the faster CPU). Despite the high markup we do recommend the faster CPU since its soldered onto the motherboard and you can’t upgrade it yourself after the fact.
The CPU used in the MacBook Air isn’t your run of the mill mobile Core 2, instead it uses a new small form factor packaging that Intel was originally going to debut at the end of this year. It seems as though Apple (and maybe other partners) put enough pressure on Intel to introduce the SFF chip/chipset packaging earlier than expected, enabling designs like the Air.
The CPU and chipset die aren’t any smaller, but the package that the die sits on is reduced by approximately 60%, enabling a smaller motherboard footprint.
The CPU runs at a lower voltage than stock mobile Core 2 processors, but at a higher voltage than the LV (Low Voltage) Core 2s. We hypothesized that the reason for a higher voltage than a LV chip was because of the more exotic packaging, requiring a higher core voltage to ensure proper power delivery to the chip.
The motherboard is quite compact, looking more like a board from a large smartphone rather than something you'd find in a Laptop. Most of that is because there is no expansion on the board, everything is soldered on.
Integrated Graphics
In order to limit motherboard footprint and power consumption, Apple stuck with Intel's GMA X3100 integrated graphics on the Air. The GMA X3100 is by no means a bad solution, especially if driver support is good (Apple does much of the driver development for OS X so it's difficult to compare) but it's far from fast. Luckily this is one of those situations where OS X not being a gaming platform works in Apple's favor.
The X3100 is fast enough for most OS-level operations, although functions like Exposé are choppier than on discrete graphics thanks to the lack of any local video memory (video memory is carved out of system memory).
Coverflow's animations work as smoothly as they do on the Mac desktops, it's mainly the memory intensive video operations that can get sluggish on the X3100. That being said, you need to have around 25 windows open before full screen Exposé really gets distractingly choppy.
Professional applications that have discrete graphics requirements obviously won't work on the GMA X3100, but we don't expect the Air to really be used as a professional workstation.
Video out on the MacBook Air is limited to 1920 x 1200 since it's only got a single-link DVI output. Enabling an external display is really simple - just plug it in and everything works.
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Anand Lal Shimpi - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
You are correct - it looks like the power draw is identical to any other USB optical drive. I don't see any indication of any hardware based authentication tied to the drive, although I haven't specifically tested it.Take care,
Anand
Brau - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
Wow. Thank you very much for looking into it. IF you do get a chance to test out the drive on another MBA, I'd sure like to know the result. I'm really hoping they haven't invoked any limitations similar to Remote Disk under the assertion that people could use it to share media content.Cheers,
Brau
Xenoterranos - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
Bravo Anand. I loved the review, and it reminded me of why I started reading Anandtech in the first place.I honestly couldn't care less about the Macbook Air, but the review was top notch.
mlambert890 - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
So Anand...Seriously.. the Mac koolaid is making you drunk.
Youd be "blown away" if Dell and Gateway took away the removable batteries from their existing thin and lights (they dont make ultraportables, and neither does Apple), made them thinner, and removed a bunch of ports and the optical drives?
Were you "blown away" by the Sony X505? Or how about any of the MANY PC based notebooks that are a LOT smaller and lighter than the MBA?
I guess not. They're not that nice white color with the Apple logo and arent held up by Jobs at the Mac expo.
Are PC guys really getting THIS desperately bored that now we're going to join the flocks swooning over any crap Apple chucks into the marketplace?
At least be honest man. If the MBA had a Dell or Gateway logo you would TEAR IT APART for lack of ports, too large of a footprint, weight that was mediocre since there is a BIG list of sub 3lb PC notebooks and.... NON REMOVABLE BATTERY.
mlambert890 - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
Not to be picky but, well, *PC* reviews are always picky. There is NO WAY the MBA is an "ultraportable"Its HUGE in terms of the dimensions that mean something - LxW. It is a THIN AND LIGHT.
Im typing this on a Fujitsu P1610. THAT is an ultra-portable - 9.1x6.5x2.2lbs
13x9 is massive. My Sony SZ had similar dimensions and I couldnt open it in a cramped coach seat on a plane.
People keep talking about how "the MBA is for special people - you dont get it". MANY of us *do* "get it". There are ALOT of travelers like myself who have been using notebooks in this space for YEARS.
Apple has given us yet another ~13x~9x~3lb notebook. The only difference is this one is THINK (useless) and has NO REMOVABLE BATTERY (big problem)
I keep seeing Mac lunatics ranting about how the battery *IS* removable because you can surgically remove it. Its funny because thats pretty directly counter to the argument of "only special people use this type of notebook" since those "special people" are executives and road warriors who NEED TO SWAP BATTERIES WHILE ON A PLANE and also need to open the thing on a plane.
Sorry to all the drooling Mac-o-philes, but the MBA is a miss.
Griswold - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
But but... its only 10 tiny screws of varying sizes that need to be removed to change the battery - anyone can do that on a plane!;)
Souka - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
13.3" screen and 3lbs...Why not a
faster laptop
heckuv a lot more durable (proven)
2.2lb (26% lighter!)
upto 4GB of ram
upto 200GB SATA HD, not old school PATA...
Wi-fi a/b/g/n + EVDO broadband (Verizon or AT&T...you can choose!)
you can CHOOSE what CPU, RAM, an HD you want....
fingerprint reader
hardware based security encryption (if you set it up and lose your laptop the data is %100 safe)
choice of 4 or 8 cell battery....carry an extra and change without taking 10 screws out...or upgrade at any time
can be purchasd in tablet-form...uber cool
Oh yeah...prices start at hundreds less than Macair
what am I talking about?? Lenovo X61...and other laptop makers are in the SUB 3lb market....
True...Lenovo's development is way more experienced at ultra-portables than Apple... and I do say the Apple is "pretty" and sleek... but if I had a kid in college, I'd spend the $$ on a Lenovo laptop as I know it'll take the abuse much better than the Macbook air and heckuv lot less likely to be stolen...
My $.02...
OccamsAftershave - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
And a X61 with a Penryn, 100GB HD and Ultrabase+DVD is $1600 vs. Air+DVD $1900.Only comparison negatives: with an 8 cell X61 is 3.3 lbs and resolution is XGA, not WXGA+.
(And the 4 cell weighs 2.7 lbs. not 2.2 lbs.)
lopri - Wednesday, February 13, 2008 - link
What happened to the special, customized, and powerful Core 2 Duo CPU that Intel designed just for Apple?
aliasfox - Thursday, February 14, 2008 - link
It may be 50% faster than the 1.2 GHz ULV processors in most other ultraportables, but that also means it's also about 50% slower than most mainstream high end CPUs (2.2 GHz and up).Slow hard drive doesn't help either.