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11" MBA 2012 vs 2013 which one is quieter?

R

reddln

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
4
0
In my country, for a very brief period of time, I have the opportunity to buy 2012 MBA 11" for $300 less than the 2013 MBA 11" both brand new, unopened.
The *only* thing I care about is the fan noise, I want to make sure it stays at or below 2000 rpm as long as possible.

I currently have a MBA 11" (Mid-2011). Under 21C degrees (70F) room temperature it stays at 2000 rpm with Skype audio only and Firefox.

Normally I would buy the 2012 for 300 less, but if the new Haswell is more silent (with the lower TDP and all) then it's worth for me to pay 300 more.
I don't care about the storage, battery, ram etc. and I will buy an 11" for sure.
I will appreciate any insight about those two machines, thanks in advance.
 
A

Appledreamer

macrumors member
Jun 16, 2011
90
0
Belfast
reddln said:
In my country, for a very brief period of time, I have the opportunity to buy 2012 MBA 11" for $300 less than the 2013 MBA 11" both brand new, unopened.
The *only* thing I care about is the fan noise, I want to make sure it stays at or below 2000 rpm as long as possible.

I currently have a MBA 11" (Mid-2011). Under 21C degrees (70F) room temperature it stays at 2000 rpm with Skype audio only and Firefox.

Normally I would buy the 2012 for 300 less, but if the new Haswell is more silent (with the lower TDP and all) then it's worth for me to pay 300 more.
I don't care about the storage, battery, ram etc. and I will buy an 11" for sure.
I will appreciate any insight about those two machines, thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

my 2013 haswell Fan RPM is 1190. but as for 21 degrees, it normally is 28 or 32 as i am typing to you know, i have never ever saw it at 21, you must live somewhere cold? or have Aircon?
 
D

DisplacedMic

macrumors 65816
May 1, 2009
1,411
1
Appledreamer said:
my 2013 haswell Fan RPM is 1190. but as for 21 degrees, it normally is 28 or 32 as i am typing to you know, i have never ever saw it at 21, you must live somewhere cold? or have Aircon?
Click to expand...

ha, the irishman telling someone else he lives somewhere cold :p;)
 
R

reddln

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
4
0
Appledreamer said:
my 2013 haswell Fan RPM is 1190. but as for 21 degrees, it normally is 28 or 32 as i am typing to you know, i have never ever saw it at 21, you must live somewhere cold? or have Aircon?
Click to expand...

oh, 21 is for the winter, these days it's 25-30 degrees outside, and my fan is more like 2500-3000 rpm. your 1190 is great i've never seen that with 2011 model, thanks for the info..
 
N

NewbieCanada

macrumors 68030
Oct 9, 2007
2,574
37
reddln said:
oh, 21 is for the winter, these days it's 25-30 degrees outside, and my fan is more like 2500-3000 rpm. your 1190 is great i've never seen that with 2011 model, thanks for the info..
Click to expand...

2013s are super quiet and super cool.
 
M

Mrbobb

macrumors 603
Aug 27, 2012
5,009
209
reddln said:
Normally I would buy the 2012 for 300 less, but if the new Haswell is more silent (with the lower TDP and all) then it's worth for me to pay 300 more.
Click to expand...

By the numbers, everything else being equal, the Haswell *should* run *slightly* cooler = fan staying quieter. But I say don't expect miracles. If u push it, the fan will still come on strong.

Known so far:

2012 idle = 2,000 rpm
2013 idle = 1,200 rpm
 
polee

polee

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2008
689
458
Even when I watch youtube videos on my 11 mba 2013, it is quiet and there is not heat build-up unlike the earlier mbas.
 
M

mattferg

macrumors 6502
May 27, 2013
380
22
Just as noisy when the fan is running, just as quiet when it isn't. But the 2013 runs the fans less.
 
J

jonasdamn

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2013
549
1
I have bougth yesterday 13" 2013 and also didnt hear any sound, thought that something wrong lol because my previous laptop was like a tractor
 
R

reddln

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
4
0
J&JPolangin said:
...spec for spec on each processor the Haswell's should be the quieter machines...
Click to expand...

yeah, with the lower TDP, LPDDR3 etc. with the same chasis and fan and all...
i thought someone would say "keep your 300 bucks 2012 is just as silent" oh well...
thanks for all the input, 2013 it is..
 
FreeWoRLD83

FreeWoRLD83

macrumors 6502
Jan 6, 2013
311
417
I've been using 13 inch 2013 MBA for the past 3 weeks and I only heard the fan for 10 mins when editing 1080p video. Since then, I've never heard it again. Thought I had a faulty unit but confirmed everything is OK by running a fan speed check app, it was running around 1192 rpm. Since past 3 weeks, watched many youtube, edited many photos, installed and ran tons of apps and finally atm I am installing mavericks starting from beta 1. I am currently installing beta 4 and why I am telling you this; I still don't hear the goddamn fan :) this is an amazing product. I just can't believe it as a former windows notebook user.
 
M

MoMacFan

macrumors newbie
Nov 18, 2012
7
0
Same here:
Went from a 2011 13" MBA (i5/4GB/256G SSD) to a 2013 13" MBA (i7/8GB/512G SSD) and the new machine is so much more enjoyable for me. I use it at work and have to run a full Windows 7 with Parallels and it not only now lasts the whole working day on battery, but so far I have not been exposed to any noticeable fan noise - quite the contradiction to my 2011 model that regularly made a lot of noise (and I tried a lot to cut it down).
But sorry, I can not comment on how a 2012 MBA would compare...
 
Last edited:
R

reddln

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 5, 2010
4
0
I bought the 11" 2013. I don't know about 2012 but this is not even in the same league with the 2011, highly recommended. Thanks again for all the help..

Edit: MagSafe 2 is stupid though; L-shaped are much better..
 
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