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2010 2.13GHz core 2 duo vs 2011 1.7GHz i5

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dsharp7th

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 31, 2007
3
0
i know this resembles many questions on this forum but i can't quite find anyone comparing these two, so...

£789 would get me
2011 13" MBA 1.7GHz i5, 4GB/128GB
refurbished from apple

£838 would get me
2010 13 MBA 2.13GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB/256GB
new (i think) from jigsaw

i'm veering towards the extra storage with the 2010 model, hoping that the higher speed will cancel out the more modern processor, but am i wrong?

is it correct that the 2010s do better on battery life?

(i'm not going to let the backlit keyboard decide it, and i don't think i'll need thunderbolt)
 
K

kyjaotkb

macrumors 6502a
Nov 20, 2009
937
883
London, UK
take the 2011, for sure ! The i5 is way faster than the Core2Duo. And more future proof, too.

throw in this
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...X:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_4710wt_1096

(I did it, it works perfectly and they customer service is great - their screwdrivers are weak and I broke 2 of them, so they sent me 2 additional screwdrivers for free in no time)

Resell the 128GB stick after Apple Care expires, in one year.

I think you won't regret it at all.
 
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,872
Get the 2011. You can always expand the SSD later (there are 3rd party solutions), or use an external Thunderbolt hard drive. The Sandy Bridge processor is a significant improvement from the Core 2 Duo.
 
FuNGi

FuNGi

macrumors 65816
Feb 26, 2010
1,122
33
California
I vote 2010 for doubled storage. Aftermarket SSD blades are not cheap, the 320M is a decent graphics card, and the 2.13 Ghz processor is fine as long as you are a patient photo editor ;)
 
S

Stetrain

macrumors 68040
Feb 6, 2009
3,550
20
The 2011 models also have backlit keyboards and Thunderbolt, while the 2010 models don't. :)
 
Last edited:
K

KPOM

macrumors P6
Oct 23, 2010
18,031
7,872
FuNGi said:
I vote 2010 for doubled storage. Aftermarket SSD blades are not cheap, the 320M is a decent graphics card, and the 2.13 Ghz processor is fine as long as you are a patient photo editor ;)
Click to expand...

Aftermarket blades aren't cheap, but a Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter is $99. Add $50 for the cable, and $200 for a 256GB SSD, and for $350 more you have tripled the storage. In another year, that $200 might get you a 512GB SSD.
 
C

cherishzm

macrumors regular
Mar 13, 2011
158
4
KPOM said:
Aftermarket blades aren't cheap, but a Seagate GoFlex Thunderbolt adapter is $99. Add $50 for the cable, and $200 for a 256GB SSD, and for $350 more you have tripled the storage. In another year, that $200 might get you a 512GB SSD.
Click to expand...

But you wouldn't want to carry the external drive with you all the time. I would buy the 2011 and find a used 256GB OEM SSD out of 2010/2011 MBA's to upgrade the stock 128GB and sell it!
 
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dsharp7th

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 31, 2007
3
0
Thanks folks, the lack of consensus matched my indecision. Have gone for the 2011 as I would hate the thought of a dialog box in the future saying "this software requires an i5 or later processor" like so many said about G4 on my old indigo iMac. Got a bit of change to put towards network storage, so my next conundrum will be Time Capsule or mac friendly NAS...
 
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