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Resolved MBA 13" 1.7 i5 vs. 1.8 i7

dlimes13

dlimes13

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
May 3, 2011
744
13
Perrysburg, OH
So basically it looks like I am selling off my MBP and iPad to get a maxed out MBA + Thunderbolt Display. I am currently test driving a base 13 inch (will return to Best Buy) and I love it. No slow down from what I do. My question is, is the $100 difference worth it for the 1.8 i7 vs. the 1.7 i5? I am getting a 256GB SSD already, since I need the space. Just want to know your opinions on it. Heating issues, any noticeable performance gains, worth $100 to keep for 1-2 years. Btw, I am buying it on MacMall w/ the AppleInsider discount rather than Apple to save + save on tax.

13" 256 i5 1.7: $1503.49
13" 256 i7 1.8: $1614.08

Thanks for the responses!


I do plan to have this as my only computer, and if I need a bit more power for some stuff, I can get a high-end Mac Mini to plug into the Thunderbolt Display. Just want to know if the $110 is worth it.
 
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Which MacBook Pro do you have? The i5 vs i7 issue has been debated countless times on this forum, but the best analysis appears to be AnandTech's reviews. In the 13" model, there is only about an 8-10% performance difference between the i5 and i7, compared to about a 25% difference in the 11" model. The difference is that the i5 in the 13" model Turbo Boosts to a much higher speed than the i5 in the 11", and thus is nearly as fast as the i7.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4554/apples-11inch-macbook-air-core-i7-18ghz-review-update

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-13inch-review
 
this question has been covered quite thoroughly*; basically, if you have to ask, don't even bother with the i7 in the 13. the biggest difference is psychological.

you bought it from Best Buy with the intention of returning it? :(

* as for searching for these kinds of questions on the forum, is it me, or can you not search for stuff like "i5", "i7"? if so, obviously, this should be fixed. anybody?

----------

... keep in mind, for the zillionth time, that 10% faster will only show in CPU intensive tasks. the i7 will NOT make every task 10% faster. and even so, in many cases, the time difference is almost nothing. even if we're talking about a process that takes an hour (like some video encoding), we're talking about a 6 minute difference. now if you want to spend $110 to make yourself feel better, go ahead. you could also make yourself feel better by just keeping what you already bought.
 
Well for one, I can return this to get the exact same one for cheaper from MacMall or similar. Two, it's one thing to try it out in the store for a bit, I wanted to actually try it for a week to make sure I could handle it for my needs. I try to shop for the best price. I never buy from Apple or a place w/ tax. Nothing wrong with that.
 
dlimes13 said:
Well for one, I can return this to get the exact same one for cheaper from MacMall or similar. Two, it's one thing to try it out in the store for a bit, I wanted to actually try it for a week to make sure I could handle it for my needs. I try to shop for the best price. I never buy from Apple or a place w/ tax. Nothing wrong with that.
Click to expand...

we're all quite familiar with all these concepts. it's not murder, but it's not right. i am extremely careful to find the best prices on whatever i buy and i'm also extremely picky and like to be able to try things at home. there are computers i'm considering right now that don't exist in stores and i'd love to be able to get my hands on one from a place that accepts penalty free returns in case i don't like it. of course, the best prices are usually offered by those that don't accept returns; and that's not a coincidence. don't you think i'm tempted to buy from X, try it out and if i like it, return it and buy, configured to my liking, from Y, at a rock bottom price? don't you think everyone is tempted to do the same?

i'm not perfect either. everybody draws their own line somewhere. mine happens to be somewhere before this. however, if you come out and say it, don't be surprised or annoyed if you're called on it. there have been many threads on these kinds of returns as well. very little is new here.
 
nebulos said:
we're all quite familiar with all these concepts. it's not murder, but it's not right. i am extremely careful to find the best prices on whatever i buy and i'm also extremely picky and like to be able to try things at home. there are computers i'm considering right now that don't exist in stores and i'd love to be able to get my hands on one from a place that accepts penalty free returns in case i don't like it. of course, the best prices are usually offered by those that don't accept returns; and that's not a coincidence. don't you think i'm tempted to buy from X, try it out and if i like it, return it and buy, configured to my liking, from Y, at a rock bottom price? don't you think everyone is tempted to do the same?

i'm not perfect either. everybody draws their own line somewhere. mine happens to be somewhere before this. however, if you come out and say it, don't be surprised or annoyed if you're called on it. there have been many threads on these kinds of returns as well. very little is new here.
Click to expand...


People get too involved in other people's business ;p (wordy, I know). What does it matter to person X if person Y is buying things and returning them? If the policy is there, person X can use it as they wish. Person Y just needs to get some real friends and worry about 'real life' problems like voting in their district for example. I'm not saying this to you, but rather I'm saying this in general.

Everyone needs to get a life and not return it :cool:.
 
macbookpro45 said:
People get too involved in other people's business ;p (wordy, I know). What does it matter to person X if person Y is buying things and returning them?
Click to expand...

it matters when person X and many others abuse a policy and make the company stop offering it. Then person Y loses out since it's no longer available if he or she should have a legitimate need to use the policy.

Also, what is wrong with calling out unethical behavior when you see it? Afraid of hurting the person's feelings? If the person thinks his actions are just fine, then his feeling won't get hurt so no worries and no reason not to call it out. :D

By the way, from The Wall Street Journal on Sept 15th:
Bad day for Best Buy. Best Buy’s Q2 profit tumbled and so did its shares yesterday. Its big problem is online competition. Analysts worry Best Buy stores have become “showrooms” for merchandise that consumers wind up purchasing online, the WSJ says. And investors are getting worried that management isn’t responding fast enough to the growing crisis.
Click to expand...

Seems apropos.
 
macbookpro45 said:
People get too involved in other people's business ;p (wordy, I know). What does it matter to person X if person Y is buying things and returning them? If the policy is there, person X can use it as they wish. Person Y just needs to get some real friends and worry about 'real life' problems like voting in their district for example. I'm not saying this to you, but rather I'm saying this in general.

Everyone needs to get a life and not return it :cool:.
Click to expand...

the fact that we're posting here on a saturday night means we both need a life.

after i posted this, i thought about why this bothers me and why i bother writing about it. i think it's basically because i wish i could do this, it would really help me out. but i think it's wrong, so i don't do it. so i guess it bothers me when people do it, but what mostly bothers me is when people don't see why it's unfair of them to do it, and argue otherwise.

but wait, what's this? there are more important problems than consumer ethics? voting and such? holy turds, man. thanks for letting me know. i had no idea. i bet you're working on some serious business right now yourself! how could you even squeeze the time in to come lecture me on how not to lecture others?

my friend bench is rather thin indeed. thanks. i needed to hear that from you. oh wait, you weren't talking to me, just a general person Y. apologies.
 
You should mind your own business. He didn't ask for your morality judgements and neither did anyone else.
Back the OP, I bought the 1.8 because the additional cost is not significant to me, because I like having the top end, and because 8 to 10 % faster is nice. Also check the these stats at Bare Feats;

http://www.barefeats.com/mba11_04.html

nebulos said:
we're all quite familiar with all these concepts. it's not murder, but it's not right. i am extremely careful to find the best prices on whatever i buy and i'm also extremely picky and like to be able to try things at home. there are computers i'm considering right now that don't exist in stores and i'd love to be able to get my hands on one from a place that accepts penalty free returns in case i don't like it. of course, the best prices are usually offered by those that don't accept returns; and that's not a coincidence. don't you think i'm tempted to buy from X, try it out and if i like it, return it and buy, configured to my liking, from Y, at a rock bottom price? don't you think everyone is tempted to do the same?

i'm not perfect either. everybody draws their own line somewhere. mine happens to be somewhere before this. however, if you come out and say it, don't be surprised or annoyed if you're called on it. there have been many threads on these kinds of returns as well. very little is new here.
Click to expand...
 
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dlimes13 said:
So basically it looks like I am selling off my MBP and iPad to get a maxed out MBA + Thunderbolt Display. I am currently test driving a base 13 inch (will return to Best Buy) and I love it. No slow down from what I do. My question is, is the $100 difference worth it for the 1.8 i7 vs. the 1.7 i5? I am getting a 256GB SSD already, since I need the space. Just want to know your opinions on it. Heating issues, any noticeable performance gains, worth $100 to keep for 1-2 years. Btw, I am buying it on MacMall w/ the AppleInsider discount rather than Apple to save + save on tax.

13" 256 i5 1.7: $1503.49
13" 256 i7 1.8: $1614.08

Thanks for the responses!


I do plan to have this as my only computer, and if I need a bit more power for some stuff, I can get a high-end Mac Mini to plug into the Thunderbolt Display. Just want to know if the $110 is worth it.
Click to expand...

I went from an iPad and 13" MBA to a 11"MBA with a thunderbolt display. I maxed out the 11" because I want it to last 2-3 years and if possible even more. It works great for me. maximum portability (an iPad is a bit more portable, but lacks a keyboard which is a big deal for me) maximum screen size of 27" when I'm at the office and I've been reading with it in bed and that works even better than the iPad.
Sounds odd perhaps, but if I'm laying on my back, the mba rests on my chest and I just have to balance it, the screen hovers above me. Nice. When I'm on my belly, the laptop just sits like you expect from a laptop and it can stand on it's side without a problem as well.
When I'm on my back with the iPad, I can't rest it on my chest, I need to hold it. And while I can hold it for 30-40 minutes, my hands start aching and you'll have to change position. On your belly the iPad has to be lifted a bit to be easier readable and you have to balance it if you want to have it on it's side.
 
It's only worth it if you truly need it. The actual real world speed difference is not as great as the benchmarks lead one to believe. I know, I have one. I'm not being critical just passing on my first hand experience.
 
It's only worth it if the person spending the money thinks it is. Worth is a very relative concept. I think it's worth it because I place a premium on top performance, so I value every single MHz I can get and will pay for it. For $100, for ME, it was a no brainer. Now, had the difference been $1000, then no, for ME it wouldn't have been worth it. But maybe if I were a millionaire and $1000 was loose change in my pocket, and I valued top performance, then maybe it would've been worth it.

You get 8-10% performance improvement for less than 8-10% increase in cost. I think it's worth it. But that's just my opinion. :D
 
Shapethelola said:
You're totally right :) Don't know where I have read that, but another difference is that the i5 cannot do hyper threading, the i7 can.
Click to expand...

All the mobile processors in the Sandy Bridge line (i3, i5, and i7) offer hyper threading. The main differences now between the i5 and i7 are the extra cache and higher Turbo Boost speed.
 
Shapethelola said:
You're totally right :) Don't know where I have read that, but another difference is that the i5 cannot do hyper threading, the i7 can.
Click to expand...

you're thinking of Desktop Quad Core i5 CPUs which do not have hyper threading. All Sandy Bridge laptop and dual core desktop i5's have hyper threading.
 
U guys are again right, I am totally sorry for this information. Next time I will take a closer look at it :)

best regards
 
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