Final decision: mba 13 i5 vs i7 (battery, fan)

I have the i7 and I easily manage 7-8 hours battery life with safari and iTunes running. Also I never hear the fans unless I do something more intensive like playing games and etc, so i think you'll have nothing to worry about

You should just buy the i7 from Apple and if you get no luck with it, just exchange it

I had the i7 for about 10 days after having an i5, and I noticed the fan came on more, but I really didn't do much that would have highlighted a difference in battery life.

I returned the i7 for the i5, the slight increase in performance wasn't worth the extra heat in my mind, but that's just me and I'm pretty anal about fan noise. Its not that it was running all the time... it just would come on more frequently and sooner than for the i5. I don't regret returning it. I wanted the fastest I could get... but it just wasn't worth the extra heat (for me).

You can't go wrong either way, its a GREAT computer!

Go with your gut feeling.

I chose the 11" version which happened to have the i5. I've not heard the fans kick in yet but to be fair all I've done is surf and download some apps and programmes to tweak my MBA how I want it.

fa.ce said:

Thanks both but i continue to read different stories about fan cooler
For some i7 users they turn on frequently indipendent of the app in use for others only on intensive app (flash, virtualization, etc).
Where's the truth?
For battery seems there's no difference between i7 vs i5.

Click to expand...

I had the i5 and exchanged it for the i7. The only time I hear my fan is when using HandBrake.

I never bothered with the i5 so I can't comment on extra noise or heat - I just wanted the fasted one possible and the price increase was so modest that it was a no brainer for me.