How fast are these machines?

mbrydone said:

How fast are the airs, I need to get a new labtop for college and was pretty much focusing on the pros...i have a 1.83 cd, would a 1.6 c2d be all that faster??? in a way it seems very illogical

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For raw processing power, the C2D is about 10% faster than a CD at the same clock rate. That means the 1.6C2D is approximately the same as a 1.76CD, or pretty much the same as the 1.83CD. That's only part of the equation though: The HDD in the MBA is a 1.8 PATA device and slower than the HDD in a MBP (or Macbook). There is also no dedicated video card in the MBA which will slow things down over the MBP for things that make use of it.
The bottom line is pretty much any MacBook Pro will be faster than the 1.6Ghz MBA with HDD. Whether that speed difference actually affects you in the "real world" is another matter. I've got a 1.8 SSD and subjectively it feels at least as quick as my 2.16 CD MBP, although it probably isn't

I can say that my 1.6 C2D Air is way faster than my 2 CD MBP. And runs soooo much cooler. Real world app's.

I can run 2x Virtual Machines, iTunes, Quicktime, Adium, Mail, iCal, Adobe, and PS all at once w/ minimal lag when switching windows.. does that help?

mbrydone said:

How fast are the airs, I need to get a new labtop for college and was pretty much focusing on the pros...i have a 1.83 cd, would a 1.6 c2d be all that faster??? in a way it seems very illogical

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Check the review here for some benchmarks. A lot of times, the MBA finished tasks more quick than a CD 2.0 MBP.
http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226&p=18

ayeying said:

I can run 2x Virtual Machines, iTunes, Quicktime, Adium, Mail, iCal, Adobe, and PS all at once w/ minimal lag when switching windows.. does that help?

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Are you using the SSD or the 80GB?

I'm glad anandtech verified my findings. I thought my MBP was sick but guess not

NC MacGuy said:

I'm glad anandtech verified my findings. I thought my MBP was sick but guess not

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I'm with you on *that* -- I finally decided to sell my Rev A MBP last week and update to a new Penryn. Night and day difference. Wow.

I'm hoping to get an Air via work at some point this year-- looks like it will work out fine.

JT

JCT said:

I'm with you on *that* -- I finally decided to sell my Rev A MBP last week and update to a new Penryn. Night and day difference. Wow.

I'm hoping to get an Air via work at some point this year-- looks like it will work out fine.

JT

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I know I should replace mine too but it's like new except for that blasted little screen buzz until it gets warm! The 2GHz CD sure roasts me parts and the battery life is abysmal, but it is like new.... A good backup for my Air nonetheless.

aristobrat said:

Are you using the SSD or the 80GB?

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80GB. It says in my sig.

ayeying said:

80GB. It says in my sig.

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Thanks for the reply. I have sigs turned off, so I didn't see that.

Even though my 1.6 MBA scores lower than my 2.0 CD Macbook in benchmark tests (GeekBench, etc), I can tell you that it is faster in my everyday use.

My MBA replaced a 2.4 MBP and I haven't missed the MBP (yet).

aristobrat said:

Thanks for the reply. I have sigs turned off, so I didn't see that.

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Im too poor for the SSD model. lol

NC MacGuy said:

I can say that my 1.6 C2D Air is way faster than my 2 CD MBP. And runs soooo much cooler. Real world app's.

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I second this.
xBench confirmed my findings as well. The only place my MBA is slower is in the hard drive test and the graphics performance.

mine feels as fast as my MBP. But I dont use my MBA for anything too taxing. It is a real pleasure to sit on my couch and use it to surf!!!

I've got the 1.8 SSD and I think it flies. It runs better than my 2CD mbp. It also runs a lot cooler. I'm extremely happy with the performance.