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MBA 13" 256 GB i7 - facts and figures - now with HyperThreading and TurboBoost
- Thread starter theSeb
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To give a comparison, here are the XBench drive test results for the Toshiba 256GB SSD in a "Ultimate" 2.13GHz 2010 MacBook Air:
I still haven't determined if it's the updated chipset and hardware that makes the new SSD interface faster, or if the Samsung Blade SSD is actually a faster drive than the 256GB Toshiba one.
Are you willing to install a piece an application to see if Turbo Boosting is actually possible?
http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
In a menu, you can see what the current running frequencies of the cores are.
http://www.bresink.com/osx/TemperatureMonitor.html
In a menu, you can see what the current running frequencies of the cores are.
Yes, they make quite a noise at 6000+ RPM, but nothing that I wouldn't expect from a laptop
Were the fans the same volume level as the last gen 13" air? If you ever had a chance to hear the last air under load that is.
Also did you buy yours in the apple store? I am so worried I will get a 13" ultimate 1.8 and then get stuck with a toshiba. Not the end of the world but still would much prefer the toshiba.
Also did you buy yours in the apple store? I am so worried I will get a 13" ultimate 1.8 and then get stuck with a toshiba. Not the end of the world but still would much prefer the toshiba.
theSeb . . . you are very cool. 
Thank you--this is the first "confirmation" I have seen beyond people assuming/speculating from benchmarks/accepting what Apple *does not* have on their web page, or what the Mac Genius responses have apparently been.
What app/process were you running to cause stress.
Thank you--this is the first "confirmation" I have seen beyond people assuming/speculating from benchmarks/accepting what Apple *does not* have on their web page, or what the Mac Genius responses have apparently been.What app/process were you running to cause stress.
Unfortunately I didn't own the previous generation MBA so I cannot compare the volume levels.
I bought it from the Apple Store in Regent Street, London.
I'm setting up my i7 1.8 now. With education discount the processor upgrade was $80 - and I keep machines 4-5 years.. so it seemed worth it since they had it in stock. I changed my mind at the last minute, so now I have to refuse the base model I had ordered online!
Geekbench just showed around the same score as the i5's tested. I wish there was a proper benchmark for macs.
That said, when I get cs5 installed, I will run digilloyd's benches for any photographers out there.
Geekbench just showed around the same score as the i5's tested. I wish there was a proper benchmark for macs.
That said, when I get cs5 installed, I will run digilloyd's benches for any photographers out there.
Also, I should point out two things.
First, I am not sure how this app works exactly. It could be that the software is simply interrogating the Intel chip identifier, and not actually measuring the current frequency. Are there windows/panes which you can see varying clock speeds as load changes?
Second, this is the i7 model. The i5 model may be different in this respect (i.e., what Apple is supporting).
But at the very least, an application running in the OS detects that this cpu can Turbo Boost.
Baby steps . . .
First, I am not sure how this app works exactly. It could be that the software is simply interrogating the Intel chip identifier, and not actually measuring the current frequency. Are there windows/panes which you can see varying clock speeds as load changes?
Second, this is the i7 model. The i5 model may be different in this respect (i.e., what Apple is supporting).
But at the very least, an application running in the OS detects that this cpu can Turbo Boost.
Baby steps . . .
You're quite correct. Currently I cannot find any window in the app that shows me the exact frequency of the CPU. The screenshot is from the "Show System Info" window.
Edit: I was running Handbrake
Oh, well. Thanks for looking. I think you are the first (that I have seen on these or the Apple discussion boards) to at least verify something a little more. I searched the web pretty thoroughly, and I have not--yet--seem a way in the OS itself to show this kind of detail. With some of the cpu benchmarks coming back (comparison to previous generations), Hypertheading and Turbo Boosting were were making sense . . . but I saw nothing absolute.
Maybe one can get this kind of info out of the EFI, if not the kernel of the OS itself. I'll look around . . . I know the EFI is highly customized, but if the Darwin/BSD underpinnings are still in their in the kernel, this kind of thing should be visible . . . somewhere . . .
That means that while running Handbrake, your CPU temp is about 201.2° Fahrenheit -- that is pretty hot.
Nearly identical to the temps that a Core 2 Duo MBP reaches under the same load. As long as it's under 100 C, there is no issue.
Anandtech normally gives us this info in his reviews, but he has mentioned that he cannot do it via OSX. He does it via Windows in bootcamp.
Seb, it looks like your machine is running a different version of OS X 10.7.
The retail build is 11A511 with a Darwin kernel version of 11.0.0.
Your screenshots show a different version. Are you running a developer release? Perhaps the version of Lion installed on the new MBAs is truly a different build (not uncommon, but surprising given they both came out on the same day).
The retail build is 11A511 with a Darwin kernel version of 11.0.0.
Your screenshots show a different version. Are you running a developer release? Perhaps the version of Lion installed on the new MBAs is truly a different build (not uncommon, but surprising given they both came out on the same day).