'11 i7 vs '12 i5?

[Deep_Thought]

I'm currently using a 2011 11" i7 but have the opportunity to swap for a 2012 i5 with 8GB - I know the 8GB will make the most difference but is the Ivybridge i5 much faster than the Sandy i7?

I've looked for comparisons but not much around yet..

 

[barredfreak]

From what I know, they should carry the same amount of power.

 

[KohPhiPhi]

If you can swap them at no (or little) cost, I would TOTALLY trade them. The CPU might not be that much different, but 8gb RAM plus faster SSD certainly will be make a difference.

 

[kylera]

If you JUST look at CPU, then yes.

However, the new Air features faster RAM speed as well as better SSD reads and writes, and with 8GB of RAM, lesser page in/out ratio.

 

[Deep_Thought]

Thanks everyone!

 

[mattpreston11]

And USB 3!

 

[KPOM]

This year's 1.7GHz i5 is roughly the same as last year's 1.8GHz i7 in terms of raw CPU power. The Sandy Bridge i7 has a slightly faster turbo boost (2.9GHz vs. 2.6GHz in the Ivy Bridge i5). Actually, the 1.8GHz i5 in the 13" matches up quite nicely against last year's i7.

That said, the Ivy Bridge i5 has a much better GPU, and although Apple isn't advertising it, the battery life is a bit better (much closer to what Apple advertises). On top of that, you get USB 3.0, faster RAM, and a faster SSD.