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Anandtech i5 vs i7 authoritative report due tomorrow
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Nice. Maybe that will decrease the number of new threads created solely for asking "What should i choose, i5 vs i7" etc.
Maybe Anand will do a similar for 4GB vs 8GB...well, maybe not, but one can hope
A report isn't really needed on the RAM. Either you need the 8GB or not. But I think everyone should be going with 8 these days.
The i5/i7 differences have been well discussed on here, but will still be nice to see Anandtech run it down.
Yeah...The RAM comment was more of the sarcastic kind than any other
I reckon even with the Anand review the discussions will never end, but some admin might make it a sticky, to possibly minimize threads atleast.
Just found the rundown done by MacWorld on the 2013 models here quite interesting, but will for sure be waiting for and checking out Anandtechs findings.
Phew! I've been checking their original review like twice a day hoping for an update. Thanks for the tip!
In case anyone didn't see it...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7113/2013-macbook-air-core-i5-4250u-vs-core-i7-4650u
http://www.anandtech.com/show/7113/2013-macbook-air-core-i5-4250u-vs-core-i7-4650u
Thanks. Good read as usual. Confirms my opinion that really the only reason to buy the 2013 MBA is for the vastly extended battery life. Waiting for the Haswell 13" rMBP; hopefully performance will not be relegated a secondary position.
If you're going for the base model; if you go i7, you can still some performance improvements. Ad of course, there's greater portability.
Nice. Maybe that will decrease the number of new threads created solely for asking "What should i choose, i5 vs i7" etc.
Maybe Anand will do a similar for 4GB vs 8GB...well, maybe not, but one can hope
You're an optimist.
And you underestimate the number of people who want others to do their work for them.Well i don't think the i5 vs i7 confusion exists anymore...
If you are a video-encoding/3D rendering/X-coder/Developer Dude = I-7 (-1 hour battery at max usage compared to i-5)
If you are a Business/Adobe CS6/MS Word/Mac Apps/Parallels Dude = I-5 (+1 hour battery at max usage compared to i-7)
If you are a video-encoding/3D rendering/X-coder/Developer Dude = I-7 (-1 hour battery at max usage compared to i-5)
If you are a Business/Adobe CS6/MS Word/Mac Apps/Parallels Dude = I-5 (+1 hour battery at max usage compared to i-7)
I'd make a different conclusion.
If you are a light user while mobile (I am)... then it really doesn't matter very much at all. The battery life on the i5 and the i7 will last about the same... so it doesn't matter which one you have.
If you do heavy work (ex: video transcoding)... then the i7 will help. I would guess that most people would have their MBA plugged in... so battery life doesn't matter. In my case, I would do that type of work on my iMac anyway. For me, it doesn't matter.
Likewise, If you are going to do any gaming... then you likely want the reported 25% increase in performance of the i7. I don't really game. It doesn't matter for me.
However... in my case, I bought the i7. Next year, I will be buying the next generation MBA... and this one will go to one of my daughters who do some gaming. It will make a difference to them.
I buy myself a new MBA every year... and hand my 1 year old machine to a family member. Each MBA used for about 5 years (family of 5). In 2014 when I buy my 6th new MBA... the 2009 model C will finally be retired.
Good solid long life from each computer... and I get a new one with a fresh battery and latest features every year... plus this behavior allows me to rationalize my addiction.
/Jim
I'd make a different conclusion.
If you are a light user while mobile (I am)... then it really doesn't matter very much at all. The battery life on the i5 and the i7 will last about the same... so it doesn't matter which one you have.
If you do heavy work (ex: video transcoding)... then the i7 will help. I would guess that most people would have their MBA plugged in... so battery life doesn't matter. In my case, I would do that type of work on my iMac anyway. For me, it doesn't matter.
Likewise, If you are going to do any gaming... then you likely want the reported 25% increase in performance of the i7. I don't really game. It doesn't matter for me.
However... in my case, I bought the i7. Next year, I will be buying the next generation MBA... and this one will go to one of my daughters who do some gaming. It will make a difference to them.
I buy myself a new MBA every year... and hand my 1 year old machine to a family member. Each MBA used for about 5 years (family of 5). In 2014 when I buy my 6th new MBA... the 2009 model C will finally be retired.
Good solid long life from each computer... and I get a new one with a fresh battery and latest features every year... plus this behavior allows me to rationalize my addiction.
/Jim
Jim it makes perfect sense in the way you do it, do you have i7 13' or 11'? what SDD and RAM?
I have gone back and forth on configurations:
2009: 13" (the only choice)
2010: 11"
2011: 11"
2012: 13"
2013: 13"
I always buy the maximum sized SSD and RAM. All but one computer (2011) was the top bin CPU.
SSDs (and to some extent HDDs) perform better when not full. My current MBA is using a bit over 200GB... but when I travel (very frequently) I like to import my pictures into my Aperture library nightly. It is not unusual to approach 100GB of photos on a trip. If I didn't have a 512GB SSD... then I would be forced to carry a secondary drive. Even worse... I would not have my trip photos available to work on inside of Aperture without plugging in an external drive. Having a large enough SSD avoids all of those problems.
/Jim
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Ok I see that you have 13/8/512 a sweet machine now I wonder why you went from 11 to 13, not too comfortable with the screen? I think 11 is extremely portable
Quite frankly... I was torn again this year. I love the small size of the 11" for exactly the reason you state. It is a lot more comfortable to handle during use... when you are sitting on the couch, laying in bed... moving it back and forth.
For nearly all of my personal work... the 11" is fine. For some of my corporate work, the 11" is a bit too small of a screen. Spreadsheets, presentations, web meetings, or even reading very dense emails... the extra screen space is preferable.
Finally... I was seduced by the 12 hours (vs 9) of battery life. Out of the box... either would "outlast" me on a typical day... but if you derate them (especially this time next year when the 2013 model is getting older)... I am confident that the 13" will still outlast me. This means that I do not have to worry about plugging it in during the day at all... and carry a charger around from meeting to meeting. This machine will be a usage model change for me. For the type of work I do while mobile... the i5 and i7 will have battery life parity.
In the end... as you saw... I went with the 13. Either would have worked, each has its advantages.
I've previously owned two 15" MBPs. There is no way in hell that I'll ever go back to a MBP. For my usage, the MBA is by far the premium machine that Apple makes.
/Jim
This was roughly the impression I got from the article also. It did help me decide in favor of the I5. Good enough for med school.
I got the impression that if the I5 was not powerful enough, the I7, would quickly become under-powered and the MBA may be the wrong laptop.
Of course there is a grey area where the I7 would be enough to be appreciated and no further improvement would be necessary.
Tough decision and lots of research with what your intended use is, to figure out what would be best for you.
They do the most thorough review and comparison of anyone out there. I would say they both are awesome you just have to choose what you need.