Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

[Garrick]

I've been looking at getting one used through eBay... I've never had a mac/apple anything except for my iPhone. Is it worth saving money and getting a used one? Or are they like windows-based laptops where the performance slows down to crap with the flinch of an eye? I've read macs are really simple to format if you do get it used and need to refresh. Just not sure about spending $900 on something used if their performance is going to suck.


Looking specifically at something that can run traktor pro 2 without a problem. I was looking at something with 8GB of RAM and the i5 or i7, 1.7+ GHz processor, but really I have no clue what I need. I have read the fans on the i7s are loud and they run pretty warm if you try to do too much with them.

Any thoughts?

[ger stokes]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

Air's aren't really that powerful, if you plan on using traktor then I'd be looking at a MacBook pro.
Thats what 90% of people use when djing.

[floridaorange]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

Get a pro. I recommend refurbished - via Apple. My macbook pro has been great for the past 5 years or so... replaced the HD with a SSD recently, back to gold. Love this thing. Had a white macbook before that.

[diegoff]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

Hi Garrik. I´m a MAC user, and IMO the macbook air is like an ipan, but way more expensive. It´s great for websearch, office kinda software and that stuff. Of course, it´s a beautiful computer, nice design, screen and keyboard (as everything MAC).
If you can, go for a macbook pro, even a used one. Mine is 6 years old, and it works great. I use multitrack audio playback, plugins, multitrack recording, ableton live full of audio samples, and it never let me down.
Best thing in mac is the OS, anyways (you can find good hardware in every brand). Once you get used to it, you find out that windows sucks.

[Garrick]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

thanks, guys. I kind of figured the recommendations might be to get a pro over air. the air is just so sleek and portable, but I've read they're only good for basic functions like y'all have stated.
it does appear that pros are actually somewhat cheaper than airs. I guess it shouldn't come as a shock that looks/portability trumps actual computer performance.

is 8GB RAM sufficient? I'd think it'd be more than enough,but thought about looking at 16GB models.

[Jenks]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

Air's aren't really that powerful, if you plan on using traktor then I'd be looking at a MacBook pro.
Thats what 90% of people use when djing.

My last laptop was a Pro, my current one is an Air maxed out on specs at the time (8 gig, 1.7 i7, 250SSD) I dj with both of them. From a dj performance standpoint, there is no difference. From a portability standpoint, the Air is obviously the winner (and it's faster than my old Pro because it's newer.) If you travel a lot like I do, you're going to love the Air. If it's going to be an integral part of your production studio, then a Pro might be what you need. The notion that Airs are "only good for basic functions" and "not good to dj with" is absolute silly talk.

[Garrick]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

I ended up getting this for $950, which I thought was pretty good. Mint condition...
Apple MacBook Pro 13" Retina A1425 i5 2.6GHz 8GB 256GB SSD, Early 2013 model

Surprisingly, this Pro is only just less than a pound heavier than the Airs and it is pretty slim too, so I figured why not.
Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll be happy with this. WAAAAY more happy than the shitty Dell I've been toting.

[Jenks]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

WAAAAY more happy than the shitty Dell I've been toting.

Absolutely! I occasionally have to use one of my employee's Dell laptops for work and it's painful.

[barski]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

That's a lot of money for a second hand laptop. I can buy a new laptop for 400.

[Garrick]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

It is expensive but Apple computers are not cheap to begin with. That's actually a good deal.

[barski]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

Good deal or not, I would never pay that much for a second hand laptop. But that's just me.

But just out of curiousity, isn't it possible to do what you want with a new (and cheap) windows laptop?
I'm just a bit surprised one would need an expensive mac for djing, I guess any new laptop you can buy today would be fast enough but maybe I'm wrong... I never use laptops.
But have fun with your new toy man.

[Garrick]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

hehe, thanks barski.

I actually have a relatively new windows-based laptop (3 years old) that I didn't intend to use for DJing. At the time I bought it, I still had functional CDJs and didn't need/want a laptop for DJing.... but the CDJs crapped out. I switched to a different platform that requires software like Traktor and it has been a PIA trying to get it to work properly. Installs not going smoothly, freezing, buttons not being mapped correctly and just in general, my laptop is slow. I barely use it for anything and its performance has just decreased... probably because of all the update pushes.

Soooooo... hence the move to a Mac. I completely agree with you that it is a hell of a lot of money, but my frustration level with windows in general has boiled over.

[floridaorange]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

fuck everything about windows laptops, and jenks is right, they are very painful to use. I have to use my wifes every now and then to show her how to do things on it for her work...

.... solid buy imo bro, it is well worth it too. I had 2 dell's before I moved to Mac back in 2008. 7 years later and my only regret is not having switched sooner.

[DIDI]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

It is expensive but Apple computers are not cheap to begin with. That's actually a good deal.

They are a good deal ! The great thing about Apples is that they last so long. I only buy second hand , I buy ones that have been upgraded, and sell and replace while they are still working well. I use a desktop. I get years out of them so the actual cost per year isn't a lot.

[diegoff]

Re: Used Macbook Air Worth the Money?

great choice!!!
you´ll love it. Apple works fine with external controllers and that kind of stuff, even without installing the drivers. My g/f has a brand new laptop, top of the line, i7 and everything you can think of, but it runs windows. I hate using it, windows sucks