Should i buy used Macbook Air 1.1?

Greetings

So basically what the topic says.
I can get it really cheap with 128gb ssd.
However i am wondering:
1) will it be an upgrade to white macbook 2007 2.0 core 2 duo?
2) how does it handle legacy games for example?
3) what about screen quality? Said white macbook screen is extremely poor compared to my mbp 15, will it be better on air?
4) Should i expect problems from said air?

p.s. its first gen Air A1237 with 1.8 CPU.
Price is like $500 but i am not sure if it will be any use for me (planning to replace white macbook 2007)

 

Those are the old first generation MBAs that had very limited hardware.

1. Overall, it will be a slower experience though I don't know if you will be able to actually notice the difference. It will essentially come down to the graphics in that the white MacBook might be better.

2. Not very well. You are talking about (almost) 4 year old graphics technology that sucked back in the day. Unlike with the modern HD 3000 graphics, Intel's old GMA X1300 graphics were pretty abysmal. There is also where the problem is as the original MBA can output video only via a micro-DVI port. It doesn't have a mini displayport so converting to something modern (other than DVI or VGA) might be problematic.

3. I imagine it will be about the same since Apple was using 1280X800 panels in the first generation MBA.

4. That is the first generation MBA and, given its age, the battery could be toast. It also has very limited connectivity and the maximum SSD capacity that Apple used was 64GB (128GB SSD was used in the MBA 2,1) so, if that truly is a MBA 1,1, the user upgraded the SSD themselves.

Either way, unless your white MacBook is completely falling apart and you are in desperate need of a new system, I wouldn't buy it. You are getting into extremely outdated technology that would really be nothing more than an expensive netbook. Last generation MBA's are going for rather reasonable prices and one of those would be a much better replacement for your white MB.

 

probably not a good idea for $500.

short version answers:

1. No.
2. Not very well.
3. The screen isn't going to be very good, definitely worse than any macbook pro. Likely significantly worse than the macbook as well.
4. Yes, those MBAs were prone to a variety of problems. I would expect problems. Even if it wasn't prone to issues, I would be worried about the battery, given its age. That could be a significant cost to replace.

$650 can get you a 13" macbook pro from mid 2009 or so, still under 3 year warranty, ~6 months remaining. That sounds like a way better deal than the $500 original mba.

 

you are probably right.
Prices are about 40% higher here then in US though and you will have to pay custom tax if you order from ebay :s

 

I'll buy whatever Mac you want and ship it to you. PM me if you're interested.

 

how would you do that? everything that goes through mail will get taxed..

 

So you will get taxed on something even if it is sent as a gift? For example, you can make a private financial transaction between yourself and Mischief. They buy the model you want and ship it to you without any records of the financial transaction. Your government will open up your package, see that it is a computer, lookup the value online, and apply some type of tax to it? That doesn't make sense.

What if you were visiting another country, lost your phone, someone picked it up, and they were shipping it out to you? Would your government also assume that you purchased the phone, lookup its value, and tax you for that?

 

Anything that is above $200 value will be taxed gift or not.
It MIGHT get through if its small and looks used and cheap or if they wont feel like checking but in the case of barely used notebook chances are not in my favor.

I appreciate the offer but its no different from buying from ebay. I mean, when i buy from ebay its shipped exactly the same way -- i can ask seller to tag it as gift np, but its just not "safe".

They assume that if its not garbage i can resell it. I mean, something that is 650 on ebay is being sold for over 1000 here easily. If i can prove that i bought this phone here obviously it wont get taxed.

 

I'd steer away from any of the first gen MacBook Airs. If I recall, they were prone to hinge problems and were considered by Low End Mac to be considered "Road Apples". A Road Apple is basically a system that is crap. The original design of the MBA only had one USB port, no onboard Ethernet, and used micro DVI if I remember correctly. While the second version of the MBA introduced the GeForce 9400M graphics chip, it was still considered to be underpowered because of the Core 2 Duo processor that was in it. In the system you are looking at, the SSD could possibly help in the system's performance, but probably not by much since you would still be stuck with the Intel X3100 graphics chip. While better than the GMA 950, it's still quite weak. I'd imagine that combined with the weak processor of that system, quite a few things would just slow it to a crawl. I wouldn't get my hopes up when it would come to watching HD video or streaming YouTube video unless you are using HTML5. Honestly, you'd probably be better off looking for either a newer white MacBook or possibly saving for a little bit longer and getting the base model MacBook Air. There are also plenty of dealers who specialize in used and refurbished Macintosh systems. Mac of All Trades is one of the better ones in the United States. For a better list of used and refurbished Macintosh dealers, check Low End Mac at Low End Mac: Lasting Value.