Upcoming 10W CPUs. Would you sacrifice CPU clock speed for better battery life?

[pgiguere1]

Now that Intel will be releasing 10W CPUs, I'm wondering if it would make sense to put those in the MacBook Air.

They would have the same iGPU and same L3 cache as the 17W CPUs currently in use, but slightly lower clock speeds.

They would allow for a better battery life by significantly reducing the power draw from the CPU and heat dissipation, leaving space for a slightly bigger battery by using a smaller cooling system.

Here's the Ivy Bridge 10W lineup to get an idea of the specs:


The Haswell lineup has not been revealed yet.

So basically, what would you rather have:

A 2013 MacBook Air with a 2.0 GHz Haswell Core i5 (17W) and 5-7 hours battery life
or
a 2013 MacBook Air with a 1.7 GHz Haswell Core i5 (10W) and 8-10 hours battery life

supposing they were the same price?

Just curious.

[blueroom]

Yes, my old 2010 MBP C2D is still running everything I use just fine. Longer battery life is always welcome.

[53x12]

Definitely take the 2013 MacBook Air with a 1.7 GHz Haswell Core i5 (10W) and 8-10 hours battery life of those two options. Won't miss the slight drop in clock speed but would notice the benefit with longer battery life, running cooler and quieter. I like the sound of that.

[phoenixsan]

not being a mobile computer user and thinking the Air is not a "pro" machine, IMHO, I would go with the extended battery time