1.7GHz vs 2.0GHz

[mrbrycel]

How noticeable is the a difference between the two? I'm trying to decide whether or not its worth an upgrade. I'm mainly a desktop user, and edit video on a Mac Pro, but am looking to get an 11" MacBook Air as a portable device for doing necessary computer tasks I can't do on my iphone. I won't be doing any real editing on it, but I would like to put FCP on it for the rare occasion I want to quickly edit some 1080p h264 footage.

[mactoday]

Originally Posted by mrbrycel

How noticeable is the a difference between the two? I'm trying to decide whether or not its worth an upgrade. I'm mainly a desktop user, and edit video on a Mac Pro, but am looking to get an 11" MacBook Air as a portable device for doing necessary computer tasks I can't do on my iphone. I won't be doing any real editing on it, but I would like to put FCP on it for the rare occasion I want to quickly edit some 1080p h264 footage.

LOL
You won't be able to quickly render anything in FCP on the MacBook Air 1.7 or 2Ghz because there is only 2 cores with HT. There is not such a big difference in speed between 1.7 and 2Ghz MacBook Air.

[AppleAlfred]

Originally Posted by mrbrycel

How noticeable is the a difference between the two? I'm trying to decide whether or not its worth an upgrade. I'm mainly a desktop user, and edit video on a Mac Pro, but am looking to get an 11" MacBook Air as a portable device for doing necessary computer tasks I can't do on my iphone. I won't be doing any real editing on it, but I would like to put FCP on it for the rare occasion I want to quickly edit some 1080p h264 footage.

Hardly any difference, I've tried both and benchmark scores do vary but in my actual use I honestly wouldn't have known which is which.

[yanksrock100]

The difference is minuscule. I would suggest to save your money.

[mrbrycel]

Awesome, thanks for all the replies! What about RAM? 4GB of RAM seems like more than enough for what a MacBook Air would generally be used for, so it seems as if 8GB would be overkill, right?

[ka-spot]

Originally Posted by mrbrycel

Awesome, thanks for all the replies! What about RAM? 4GB of RAM seems like more than enough for what a MacBook Air would generally be used for, so it seems as if 8GB would be overkill, right?

If You decide in near future to run virtual machine You'll be better with 8GB of RAM Just spend a $100 before You need the RAM or $1000+ after (for the new model)

[AppleAlfred]

Originally Posted by mrbrycel

Awesome, thanks for all the replies! What about RAM? 4GB of RAM seems like more than enough for what a MacBook Air would generally be used for, so it seems as if 8GB would be overkill, right?

I would absolutely recommend the RAM upgrade. Much better to spend the extra 10% or whatever it is to add not only additional performance now but to also give you peace of mind regarding the useful life of your purchase. For me it was a no brainer, even though I'll rarely use 8 GB in day to day use for the next year or so, who knows what future system requirements to be right?

[Acorn]

the cpu isnt worth the update and i dont regret having the 1.8 ghz on my 13 inch. I do think the 8 gb ram upgrade for 100 usd is totally worth it. The few people i know that have gotten the 4 gb of ram on their air regretted it later.

[Wokis]

Originally Posted by mactoday

LOL
You won't be able to quickly render anything in FCP on the MacBook Air 1.7 or 2Ghz because there is only 2 cores with HT. There is not such a big difference in speed between 1.7 and 2Ghz MacBook Air.

Two very good cores. Depends on what one's definition of quick is but it will probably have more than tolerable render speeds for basic editing in full hd.