NVIDIA MacBook Air Benchmarks

[MacRumors]

Macworld provides benchmarks for the new NVIDIA-based MacBook Air that was introduced in October.

Macworld found that benchmarks improved up to 39%, when comparing the new 1.86GHz MacBook Air (SSD) to the first generation 1.8GHz MacBook Air (HDD).

The new high-end Air posted a 39 percent higher Speedmark 5 score than that old CTO Air. It was also 28 percent faster in our Photoshop tests and 22 percent faster in our Cinema 4D testing. Compressor, iMovie and iTunes were faster on the new system, but not by as big of a margin. Again, the biggest gains for the new Air were in our game frame rate tests. The new Air was able to display 24.8 frames per second in our Quake 4 tests, as opposed to the older CTO Air’s 3.9 fps - that’s more than a 6x improvement.

Unfortunately, many of these test results are likely skewed by the use of the SSD hard drive in the new MacBook Air, so it's difficult to isolate what is contributing to the improvement in scores.

Article Link: NVIDIA MacBook Air Benchmarks

[ltldrummerboy]

It's crazy to think that the new Air is a better gaming machine than my year-old MacBook.

Edit: I love technology.

[Kilamite]

Not a fair comparison at all..

[DMann]

An improvement in performance is always a welcome improvement in performance.

[BWhaler]

I owned the first generation Air and loved it. I bought the second generation, but canceled the order and went with the MacBook.

The reason I did this was because the MacBook seemed like a good compromise between power and portability. Yes, I do long for the almost invisible nature of the Air, but I am happy so far. The only bummer on the MacBook--and it's a big one--is the poor screen.

The reason I left the Air was not its limits--memory, capacity, heat, GPU--because those were all addressed in the update.

For me, it was the screen wobble. About 2 months ago, my screen developed a wobble, something mentioned on Apple's boards and across the web. Since this is not something Apple will repair, I decided to stay away from the Air.

I think Apple is starting to get serious about quality. After years of sliding quality, the MobileMe launch and 2.0 iPhone OS seemed to wake the company up a bit. (To say nothing of Leopard's bugginess.)

Apple lost a $1,000 from me because of a screen hinge. I hope to buy v3 of the Air in the future, but I need quality first.

[Philflow]

Originally Posted by ltldrummerboy

It's crazy to think that the new Air is a better gaming machine than my year-old MacBook.

But it is. Nvidia 9400 blows away Intel X3100.

Look at the Quake 4 scores: http://www.macworld.com/article/1366...tml?lsrc=top_3

[nagromme]

My dream come true: an Air that can run idTech 4 games! (Lower the detail and I bet it would surpass 30--which meets my standard for casual fun on the road.)

[Freyqq]

Originally Posted by nagromme

My dream come true: an Air that can run idTech 4 games! (Lower the detail and I bet it would surpass 30--which meets my standard for casual fun on the road.)

25 fps on a 3 y/o game that wasn't even top of its game when it was released graphically..at who knows what settings...

casual gaming indeed, but i wouldn't expect anything beyond that

and wow..what an unscientific test. Rather than comparing the two top of the line models, they compare the top air of today with the bottom air of last gen. Of course it will be faster...but i think it would have been a more useful test to compare comparable models.

[twoodcc]

well it seems like a pretty nice improvement. glad to see the Air getting better.

[iansilv]

You know what- I completely agree. This is the kind of stuff that kills a purchase for me. Good to know about the hinge.

Originally Posted by BWhaler

I owned the first generation Air and loved it. I bought the second generation, but canceled the order and went with the MacBook.

The reason I did this was because the MacBook seemed like a good compromise between power and portability. Yes, I do long for the almost invisible nature of the Air, but I am happy so far. The only bummer on the MacBook--and it's a big one--is the poor screen.

The reason I left the Air was not its limits--memory, capacity, heat, GPU--because those were all addressed in the update.

For me, it was the screen wobble. About 2 months ago, my screen developed a wobble, something mentioned on Apple's boards and across the web. Since this is not something Apple will repair, I decided to stay away from the Air.

I think Apple is starting to get serious about quality. After years of sliding quality, the MobileMe launch and 2.0 iPhone OS seemed to wake the company up a bit. (To say nothing of Leopard's bugginess.)

Apple lost a $1,000 from me because of a screen hinge. I hope to buy v3 of the Air in the future, but I need quality first.

[Shasterball]

Sadly, the Air still seems underpowered... I just can't convince myself to get one...

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by Shasterball

Sadly, the Air still seems underpowered... I just can't convince myself to get one...

Ultra portables usually are.

[BoyBach]

Originally Posted by DMann

An improvement in performance is always a welcome improvement in performance.

Quoted for its truthiness!

[deriko100]

Originally Posted by BenRoethig

Ultra portables usually are.

Yea like the Dell mini 9. Only a 16gb hard drive.

[BenRoethig]

Originally Posted by deriko100

Yea like the Dell mini 9. Only a 16gb hard drive.

That's a netbook, completely different market.

[fendol]

Originally Posted by Freyqq

25 fps on a 3 y/o game that wasn't even top of its game when it was released graphically..at who knows what settings...

casual gaming indeed, but i wouldn't expect anything beyond that

and wow..what an unscientific test. Rather than comparing the two top of the line models, they compare the top air of today with the bottom air of last gen. Of course it will be faster...but i think it would have been a more useful test to compare comparable models.

Technology has certainly evolved...

As for the way they do the tests, sheez I totally agree, what is this, a paid test or what...

Better to just stick with things that can be compared and measured in a fair and progressive scale