I think you'll notice difference when running single threaded tasks such as compilation, ripping, video encoding,...
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MacBook Air 13. I5 or i7?
- Thread starter Grmnracing
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I think you'll notice difference when running single threaded tasks such as compilation, ripping, video encoding,...
I wouldn't be worried about fan noise. Apple lowered the default fan speed for the new airs to 1200rpms from the already inaudible 2000rpms and this was likely because the new processors are so much cooler than ivy bridge (even my i7) that 2000rpms isn't necessary the vast majority of the time and would just waste battery life. I use smcfancontrol to monitor my cpu temps and adjust fan speed. Most of the time (unless I'm watching videos - especially netflix) I leave the fans at 1300rpms and don't have any temp issues. For youtube I might raise the fans to 2000rpms but this is still inaudible (remember that this was the base fan speed for 2012 MBAs which were silent unless under stress).
Good day to every one!
I read all thread and obviously this video might be helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWogWOr07LQ
I am about to buy my air 13 i5 8mb 128 ssd. Hope on your advise, guys.
As far as I've noticed i7 will be pretty useful for those who usually deals with Photoshop, various video editors and so on. But I am going to use air primary for web, video, music editors (cubase, logic), sometimes for gaming. I don't need extreme level of performance but is the difference between i5 and i7 really noticeable in gaming and music editors? Are there any obvious evidences that gaming will be much better on i7? Same question for music editing. If the difference is only about max 10 sec, then it is not an issue for me and I will go for i5.
I read all thread and obviously this video might be helpful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWogWOr07LQ
I am about to buy my air 13 i5 8mb 128 ssd. Hope on your advise, guys.
As far as I've noticed i7 will be pretty useful for those who usually deals with Photoshop, various video editors and so on. But I am going to use air primary for web, video, music editors (cubase, logic), sometimes for gaming. I don't need extreme level of performance but is the difference between i5 and i7 really noticeable in gaming and music editors? Are there any obvious evidences that gaming will be much better on i7? Same question for music editing. If the difference is only about max 10 sec, then it is not an issue for me and I will go for i5.
That video is comparing 2011 models, FYI.
If you can afford to get the i7, get that one. If you are so cost constrained that $150 is going to cause you problems, then you will be able to make do with the i5. No issues other than waiting a little longer for some things. My advice to anyone who asks is to buy as much computer as you can afford. No one ever complained about their computer having too much RAM or too much SSD or too fast a CPU.
If you can afford to get the i7, get that one. If you are so cost constrained that $150 is going to cause you problems, then you will be able to make do with the i5. No issues other than waiting a little longer for some things. My advice to anyone who asks is to buy as much computer as you can afford. No one ever complained about their computer having too much RAM or too much SSD or too fast a CPU.
That is a good summary. If I had to use the i5 instead of i7, it would not prevent me from doing whatever it is I do. Both CPUs are relatively slow. Dropping $150 to make the experience just a little better is worth it to me, but there have been times in my life where that money would have been better spent. The base level MBA is still an amazing machine all things considered.
I have a Windows 7 PC that I custom built with 16GB of RAM, i7 2600K CPU and a 256MB Samsung 840PRO SSD. I have the base 2013 Macbook Air and it feels amazing. Actually it feels equally fast as my desktop does. I suspect Mavericks will make it feel even better. Mostly internet browsing and mild work. I paid $850 for the base model, at the price it's really amazing. I almost went all the way... I'm glad I didn't because this is a 11" mobile device not a desktop replacement.
Indeed, you are right. Sorry, I missed this fact.
BTW IMO having 8mb for additional 100$ is completely justified. You get 2 x perfomance here and will not suffer from lack of memory in next 2-3 years for sure. But I can't say the same for CPU. For 150$ you will get only 15-20% speed improving in such programs like photoshop, video editors and etc. For me it is not critical to wait for 10 sec more during rendering. My main concern is what would be the best for gaming (and music editing - ~10 sec difference is not an issue here at all)? I assume it depends more on HD5000 but not CPU. Am I right? Please, don't tell me that air is not intended for gaming, I aware of it
It will be really seldom case for me to play, but I will really suffer if I know that i7 is much better here.It will feel "equally as fast" due to the SSD. Now, load an 8gb ram disk on your desktop and the desktop will be faster.
You won't notice a difference unless you load some heavy tasks or do some serious muiltasking. Actually you could sell your I7 2600K and get a I5 2500k + cash and be ahead.
I went from a 2500k to 3770k to a 3930k noticed no difference until I started using what I built it for.
But I am going to use air primary for web, video, music editors (cubase, logic), sometimes for gaming. I don't need extreme level of performance but is the difference between i5 and i7 really noticeable in gaming and music editors?
You will see a difference. I use Propellorhead reason and the extra power of the i7 allows more concurrent samples and less latency. I can see the CPU meter in Reason running at near max with the i7, if I had the i5 it would max out sooner and I would have to put up with poor latency.
Ask yourself how many times can you hear yourself saying "I should have got the i7, but it's too late".
Thanks for your contribution to my question. (BTW, I am going to use Logic or studio ONE for my purposes, it is much better optimized than Reason). Ok, there might be insignificant latency delay, but I usually prefer to use less vst instruments and plugins online, thereby I always convert all instruments to samples 24bit 44hz. From that point I doubt to see any significant difference between i5 and i7. I would say there rather can be some issues because of RAM lacking (especially when you use many audio samples), that's why I will go with 8mb RAM. i7 only can help you to make rendering faster. IMO
The thing is that it's a matter of perspective- how you look at it.
Where I'm from, an i7/8/256GB costs slightly more than a base Pro Retina 13".
It really negates the cost-effectiveness of a buying an Air model when you end spending more than you would for an Air, than you would with a Pro.
I think Pros would see a $100 price drop as well, which would be in line with all apple products price reduction seen in 2013.
Then it's a matter of what you would pick - A macbook Air which has a 3 year old design and screen, but best battery life in the world... or a Pro with a retina display, 1 year old design, Better graphics card, more ports including Hdmi...oh, and of course a more powerful series of cpu.
This only applies to Haswell comparisons though. I think if you HAVE to buy a laptop before Haswell Pros are released, and you need as much power as possible- Get the i7/8 Air. I would recommend it over the Ivy Bridge Pro.
However, if you can indeed wait and the size and weight difference isn't essential then with the same budget, a Retina Pro 13" is definitely going to give more...imo.
Where I'm from, an i7/8/256GB costs slightly more than a base Pro Retina 13".
It really negates the cost-effectiveness of a buying an Air model when you end spending more than you would for an Air, than you would with a Pro.
I think Pros would see a $100 price drop as well, which would be in line with all apple products price reduction seen in 2013.
Then it's a matter of what you would pick - A macbook Air which has a 3 year old design and screen, but best battery life in the world... or a Pro with a retina display, 1 year old design, Better graphics card, more ports including Hdmi...oh, and of course a more powerful series of cpu.
This only applies to Haswell comparisons though. I think if you HAVE to buy a laptop before Haswell Pros are released, and you need as much power as possible- Get the i7/8 Air. I would recommend it over the Ivy Bridge Pro.
However, if you can indeed wait and the size and weight difference isn't essential then with the same budget, a Retina Pro 13" is definitely going to give more...imo.
Retina pro 13 is pretty bad choice since there are many issues of interface lagging and so on. I have enough money for retina 15 as well, but I know how hardly money earn, therefore I won't spend it easily for unuseful for me features or technologies becoming obsolete like all macbook pro without haswell. That would be silly to buy new pro before official release scheduled supposedly in October. So the choice is evident - air 13. One year later you can sell it with minimum loss and upgrade yourself to new PRO or new Air.
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Did you even read my post?
And yes, opportunity cost applies to you the way it does everyone else.
@dude above: 'Portability'
Yeah of course... I'm not going to Edit my Canon RAW files on my Macbook Air. That's what I have my desktop for.
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Yeah of course... I'm going going to Edit my Canon RAW files on my Macbook Air. That's what I have my desktop for.
?? you just proved my point
Yes, I read it. It is just an addition to your opinion. We are on the same page up to a point.
I think for average user is rather enough air i5 8mb 128gb. There is no need to take i7 and 256gb (you can buy external, if you have not enough space, or replace it as soon as ssds will become cheaper). 8mb memory is a must because it is not replaceable. i7, judging by the tests and reviews, has not big difference (even more so it has only dual core, not four). Top air significantly cost more, and after 2 years when you will decide to sell it - you will lose more. These days buying top configuration of air or retina is quite silly, much better to buy basic air or wait for pro retina on haswell. IMO
nevertheless, if you need i7 performance and constantly deal with software requiring CPU performance - just buy it. BTW, I wonder if it's true:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/core-i7-macbook-air-2013
http://blog.laptopmag.com/core-i7-macbook-air-2013
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Well, it could be that I've heard "you can't tell a difference between high and low end processor options unless you're doing really intensive applications" so long and so often that I've come to regard it as dogma rather than fact.
Maybe the topped out version can be considered the MacBook Air Pro.
I think that's been disproven by now; you can download an app from Intel that monitors and displays your processor speed in real time. It shows that the processor shifts into turbo boost even when performing simple activity such as scrolling through a web page, opening a folder in Finder, doing things in Pages, etc. It's a myth that it only utilizes dynamic over-clocking when doing only processor intensive tasks; it pretty much does it all the time except when you are idling or just streaming music content. Any other time it quickly accelerates, accomplishes the task, then decelerates back down to base clock speed. It's amazing actually - it runs along barely consuming energy when you are idle, when you aren't moving on the screen, when you are static. As soon as you begin doing things with the cursor and opening apps, it quickly speeds up. I don't think many people appreciate just how powerful that can be.