Impressions - 2010 Vs 2012 Ultimate 11" models: 2012 *noticeably* hotter but faster

[Jobsian]

Ok I felt I couldn't wait any longer for the Anandtech benchmarks :D

This is a comparison of the 2010 11" (1.6GHz Core 2 Duo) and the 2012 11" (2.0GHz Core i7), both Ultimate specs.


I didn't have the 2011 model so I can't compare but I had the 2010 one and the bad news for me is the 2010 1.6GHz Core 2 Duo is quieter and definitely cooler given similar workloads (eg internet browser tabs including youtube HD vids) than the Ultimate which is the 2.0GHz. This is already very evident.

The good news is that, as immediately and definitely noticeable the heat is, the Core i7 in the 2012 model eats alive 1080p youtube and even 4k to an extent. On 2010, there was regular skipping when playing 1080p youtube, on this one? None. 4k even runs much, much more smoothly, with occasional skipping (again, 4k resolution).

Will post more impressions as/if they come.

[RocketRed]

Do post most impressions, please!

I have a maxed out 13'' coming tomorrow. I was thinking about returning it and getting the i5 instead due to heat problems.. but I wanted the fastest MBA :p

I'm also going to be running VMware Fusion (Windows 7 Home 64-bit) to access apps that aren't on mac.

I think an i7 would be a better choice for me...

How bad is the heat on the i7?

[Jobsian]

Do post most impressions, please!Having used MBAs almost daily for the past few years, it seems easy for me to pick up small differences quickly, so I can guarantee that :)

[travis64]

hows the start up time with the 2.0?
can you post a video of comparing them?
thanks

[glen e]

Why are you guys concerned about heat?

Do they get unreliable?

Or hard to hold?

I would think someone who is running big dog programs that get them hot would be getting a new upgrade bi annually, so reliability would not be an issue if that's the concern?

[Jobsian]

Ok, here's some more I'm already noticing:

Idle is slightly warmer on 2012 but nowhere near as warm as when I was opening multiple youtube tabs (as I tend to do). The temperature is fine on idle. So far that is, I'll post updates if I get any high temp/fan spinning on minimum load.

Noticeably snappier generally, be it app-opening, page loading, etc - it feels like my MBA has been given a new lease of life. Not major, but wonderfully more noticeable.

----------

hows the start up time with the 2.0?I haven't timed them but the 2012 boot-up is definitely faster than my snappy 2010. I guess the faster SSDs they're using is really paying off.

Btw my SSD is a Samsung. Though don't worry about the Toshiba/Samsung issue, the difference appears less prominent this time than last. I believe Hellhammer from here is working on some more rigorous testing for Anandtech though.

----------

Why are you guys concerned about heat?

Do they get unreliable?

Or hard to hold?

I would think someone who is running big dog programs that get them hot would be getting a new upgrade bi annually, so reliability would not be an issue if that's the concern?
I can't talk for anyone else but for me personally it's a comfort and performance thing. I literally have this laptop on my lap a lot of the time. Also, in the past when my laptops got hot, the ensuing throttling tended to worsen performance eg video playback.

Some others have mentioned that CPUs running hotter idle tend to be less reliable in the long run but I'm personally not aware of the extent of this.

[glen e]

----------

[/COLOR]
I can't talk for anyone else but for me personally it's a comfort and performance thing. I literally have this laptop on my lap a lot of the time. Also, in the past when my laptops got hot, the ensuing throttling tended to worsen performance eg video playback.

Some others have mentioned that CPUs running hotter idle tend to be less reliable in the long run but I'm personally not aware of the extent of this.


Thanks - was wondering if it was the feel thing...mine sits on the floor or desk so it could be red hot and no diff to me....

[Jobsian]

Ok I'm really enjoying the 8GB RAM, makes a huge difference and not needing swap files.

The only thing I'm not comfortable with at the moment is getting used to Lion, coming from Snow Leopard. Definitely not used to Mission Control so far. Where are my minimised windows? Not in MC and they've removed them from Expose which is a bit odd.

----------

Ah, I've found it in Expose, it's just smaller :)

Anyway, so far this i7 is nice. I have 31 Youtube vids loaded right now and it's handling well. Will be putting the battery through its paces next. Loving this :D

[Jobsian]

Aaaand it's gone again. Hm, somehow Snow Leopard seems slicker and more user-friendly. Perhaps I just need to get used to this.

----------

Also, it would be nice if instead of going to the dock or Activity Monitor I could easily see running processes to kill them so they aren't hogging RAM.

[snapper64]

Ok I'm really enjoying the 8GB RAM, makes a huge difference and not needing swap files.

The only thing I'm not comfortable with at the moment is getting used to Lion, coming from Snow Leopard. Definitely not used to Mission Control so far. Where are my minimised windows? Not in MC and they've removed them from Expose which is a bit odd.

----------

Ah, I've found it in Expose, it's just smaller :)

Anyway, so far this i7 is nice. I have 31 Youtube vids loaded right now and it's handling well. Will be putting the battery through its paces next. Loving this :DThat sounds great. I can't wait for mine to arrive now :D

[Jobsian]

That sounds great. I can't wait for mine to arrive now :D
Honestly, you will love it. To be honest the 2010 model was superb and was supremely functional for how I was using it. This is a small step in noticeable speed for everyday tasks and as such it's made a wonderful notebook and experience even more so.

The 11" Air is, for me, the most sensational ultraportable notebook that has ever been crafted.

[Jobsian]

Ok battery - seems better than my 2010 model so far but it's early days.

On light browsing I was being shown over 5 hours and this is with 31 youtube videos loaded in the background (not playing), so power management seems to be better.

But hold on one second and listen to this: I'm currently watching a youtube vid on 1080p on full brightness and it's giving me 2:30 which is great!

So far so good and not as disappointing as I was when I heard about the 2011 battery. However this is just anecdotal and need to see the real figures from Anandtech.

[BluePhilG]

Liking this thread...

I have a 2010 "ultimate", skipped the 2011 due to lack of USB3, and am expecting my 2012 11" i7/8G/512G to arrive this week.

I always wanted the MBA to be my main machine, and use it 95% of the time, but lack of storage, high speed connectivity, and extra oomph for those occasional bits of video work meant I would go back to my i7 Sony Vaio.

Very excited that finally, an 11" MBA will become my sole machine this week, with all 200G of my photos and 100G music with me all the time with no external devices necessary.

So like many, I suspect, I am very interested in your views on the diff between 2010 & 2012 :)

Cant wait... :D

[KPOM]

You won't be disappointed. The 2010 was great. The 2011 was a big step up in everything except the GPU. The 2012 has a better CPU and GPU than the 2010, and it has USB 3.0 to boot. As for the heat, I have the i7 and it's fine.

[mattopotamus]

hows the start up time with the 2.0?
can you post a video of comparing them?
thanks

start up is ~10 seconds

[RocksterX]

I had the original MBA, the 2010 and now the 2012.

They all have run hot to the touch, but my 2012 fan hardly kicks in at all under a load.

Huge gains over the 2010 for me with instant response to interactions.

[ooans]

On 2010, there was regular skipping when playing 1080p youtube


I have the cheapest/slowest 2010 11" MBA and it plays 1080p youtube fine. However, it has not always been so.

The day I got it that was one of the things I tested immediately. I remember being happy that it was able to play 1080p youtube without problems. This changed after some Flash updates, and for a long time I remember not being able to play 1080p youtube videos. But then another new Flash update fixed it for me again, and then AGAIN the next one broke it. For some time I used an older version of Flash just because of the 1080p capabilities.

Luckily the newest version doesn't have these problems, at least for me. :)


I would so like to get the new 2012 MBA! However currently I simply cannot afford it. Maybe 2013. At least 2010 has one advantage (the coolness/quietness) ;)

[rygamble]

I have the cheapest/slowest 2010 11" MBA and it plays 1080p youtube fine. However, it has not always been so.

The day I got it that was one of the things I tested immediately. I remember being happy that it was able to play 1080p youtube without problems. This changed after some Flash updates, and for a long time I remember not being able to play 1080p youtube videos. But then another new Flash update fixed it for me again, and then AGAIN the next one broke it. For some time I used an older version of Flash just because of the 1080p capabilities.

Luckily the newest version doesn't have these problems, at least for me. :)


I would so like to get the new 2012 MBA! However currently I simply cannot afford it. Maybe 2013. At least 2010 has one advantage (the coolness/quietness) ;)

Have you read about the new asymmetrical fans in the 2012 Air?

[astrorider]

Also, it would be nice if instead of going to the dock or Activity Monitor I could easily see running processes to kill them so they aren't hogging RAM.

Cmd-tab once (keep holding cmd, and tab to the app you want) and then cmd-Q any app you want to quit.

[ooans]

Have you read about the new asymmetrical fans in the 2012 Air?

I thought only the Retina MBP has those fans... the air as well?

[rygamble]

I thought only the Retina MBP has those fans... the air as well?

Yup! Check out the iFixit teardown.

[Jobsian]

Cmd-tab once (keep holding cmd, and tab to the app you want) and then cmd-Q any app you want to quit.
You are a life-saver, thank you. May I ask if you're aware of how to quickly see minimized programs from mission control/expose without having to go to the dock? Eg you minimize the web browser and do something else on the desktop then want to quickly return to your browser, which was a simple swipe into expose in Snow Leopard, but now it seems I am forced to unhide my dock and the click the browser icon. I find it bizarre that this element of functionality has been removed.

----------

Guys again anecdotally my battery seems to be handling heavy loads very well, I'd guess it's even better than the 2010 model when I'm stressing it. Again I have to reiterate that it's definitely warmer, but not uncomfortably so. The only time it's gotten uncomfortably hot is when I was loading up 31 YouTube tabs (all 720p or 1080p). However it did it and played them back with no skipping. The fans also became noticeably loud. But it did the job with no performance loss while I was in other programs. I'm now suspecting it was activating the turbo boost.

This 2.0 GHz core-i7 processor is an animal. I would even go so far as to call it a violent mule.

[astrorider]

You are a life-saver, thank you. May I ask if you're aware of how to quickly see minimized programs from mission control/expose without having to go to the dock? Eg you minimize the web browser and do something else on the desktop then want to quickly return to your browser, which was a simple swipe into expose in Snow Leopard, but now it seems I am forced to unhide my dock and the click the browser icon. I find it bizarre that this element of functionality has been removed.[COLOR="#808080"]

Well, app exposé (I have it mapped to 4-finger swipe down) will show you minimized windows, so in your scenario I could cmd-tab over to safari and 4-finger swipe down to select the minimized browser window. Selecting from the dock may be easier in this case. I generally use a combination of 4-5 desktops with certain applications set to specific desktops, a couple like the Finder and iChat/Messages set to all desktops, cmd-tab for switching between applications/desktops, and cmd-~ for switching between open windows within an application--I don't generally minimize windows though.

[mattopotamus]

You are a life-saver, thank you. May I ask if you're aware of how to quickly see minimized programs from mission control/expose without having to go to the dock? Eg you minimize the web browser and do something else on the desktop then want to quickly return to your browser, which was a simple swipe into expose in Snow Leopard, but now it seems I am forced to unhide my dock and the click the browser icon. I find it bizarre that this element of functionality has been removed.

----------

Guys again anecdotally my battery seems to be handling heavy loads very well, I'd guess it's even better than the 2010 model when I'm stressing it. Again I have to reiterate that it's definitely warmer, but not uncomfortably so. The only time it's gotten uncomfortably hot is when I was loading up 31 YouTube tabs (all 720p or 1080p). However it did it and played them back with no skipping. The fans also became noticeably loud. But it did the job with no performance loss while I was in other programs. I'm now suspecting it was activating the turbo boost.

This 2.0 GHz core-i7 processor is an animal. I would even go so far as to call it a violent mule.

hit alt-tab and before you let go of alt hit option..it will maximize what ever app you are on in the alt-tab screen

[astrorider]

hit alt-tab and before you let go of alt hit option..it will maximize what ever app you are on in the alt-tab screen

Hey, that's pretty cool! I had to use cmd though, not alt. Alt is the same as option on my keyboard.

[mattopotamus]

Hey, that's pretty cool! I had to use cmd though, not alt. Alt is the same as option on my keyboard.

i actually use command to haha...i guess it was the windows in me that made me think of atl

[Jobsian]

Well, app exposé (I have it mapped to 4-finger swipe down) will show you minimized windows, so in your scenario I could cmd-tab over to safari and 4-finger swipe down to select the minimized browser window. Selecting from the dock may be easier in this case. I generally use a combination of 4-5 desktops with certain applications set to specific desktops, a couple like the Finder and iChat/Messages set to all desktops, cmd-tab for switching between applications/desktops, and cmd-~ for switching between open windows within an application--I don't generally minimize windows though.Just what I wanted, thanks :D

hit alt-tab and before you let go of alt hit option..it will maximize what ever app you are on in the alt-tab screenThis sounds like an even shorter cut but I can't understand it, even with the alt/cmd clarification. Before I let go of cmd I hit alt? I can't seem to get it to work.

[vcuares]

I've got the base 13 and it is playing youtube 4K videos without skipping and it's not too hot either. I'm comparing it to my rev B MBA.

Perhaps the new video card really helps.

[mattopotamus]

Just what I wanted, thanks :D

This sounds like an even shorter cut but I can't understand it, even with the alt/cmd clarification. Before I let go of cmd I hit alt? I can't seem to get it to work.

hold cmd and hit tab like you would on windows to change between tabs, but instead of just letting go on the app you want to open, keep holding the cmd button and push option, then let go of cmd while still holding option it will open that tab. If you need more clarification, i can post a video to youtube when i get home :)

[Senseotech]

I've got the base 13 and it is playing youtube 4K videos without skipping and it's not too hot either. I'm comparing it to my rev B MBA.

Perhaps the new video card really helps.

You hit it right on the head, the HD4000 is meant to handle up to 4k video just fine.

[Jobsian]

hold cmd and hit tab like you would on windows to change between tabs, but instead of just letting go on the app you want to open, keep holding the cmd button and push option, then let go of cmd while still holding option it will open that tab. If you need more clarification, i can post a video to youtube when i get home :)
Thank you so much (also for the youtube offer!), finally got it :D

[mattopotamus]

Thank you so much (also for the youtube offer!), finally got it :D

you would definitely think it would be something more intuitive

[Jobsian]

you would definitely think it would be something more intuitiveYep, coming from Snow Leopard, Lion isn't as smooth an experience as I'd have liked but it's early days and ML is due soon.

----------

Wow, guys I've been caning the battery on this thing all day and to my surprise it didn't give out at the same time my 2010 MBA normally would have! My non-scientific battery test is very encouraging so far :D

[jksu]

Wirelessly posted

ran geek bench on my 2010 1.6 c2d/4/128 vs the 2012 i7/8/256. impressive score (double) can't remember exact figures off the top of my head.

but disturbing is the 2012's fan kicked on towards the end of the geek bench test.

will use it over the next week and observe heat/fan with regular use. im hoping it was the intense cpu draw on geekbench that kicked on the fan. i wont mind a bit of fan for peeformance but i'm hoping it stays silent like the 2010 for typical use. also look forward to >4hr battery life

if the fan stays an issue I may return for an i5...

[Jobsian]

Wirelessly posted

ran geek bench on my 2010 1.6 c2d/4/128 vs the 2012 i7/8/256. impressive score (double) can't remember exact figures off the top of my head.

but disturbing is the 2012's fan kicked on towards the end of the geek bench test.

will use it over the next week and observe heat/fan with regular use. im hoping it was the intense cpu draw on geekbench that kicked on the fan. i wont mind a bit of fan for peeformance but i'm hoping it stays silent like the 2010 for typical use. also look forward to >4hr battery life

if the fan stays an issue I may return for an i5...
Since my earlier experiment of absolutely caning the CPU with multiple HD videos simultaneously, I've had no fan activity and no hot bursts (only mildly warmer).