13-inch MBA: i5 1.8 or i7 2.0 ??

[macchiato2009]

i'll go for 8 Gb and 256 Gb because 8 Gb is now mandatory to work smoothly and also i used to own a 128 Gb SSD when it was much more expensive and i was really short on storage even if the file system was optimized

i am going to run intensive tasks so that i can have a better idea of how hot it could be with the i7

 

[ZBoater]

to answer your question, i have cash, but i don't want the best machine if it means some discomfort in terms of noise/heat/battery

I understand the dilema. Problem is "discomfort" is somewhat subjective. Some folks can't stand the noise of the fans. Others (like me) are either hard of hearing or just don't care. Same for the "heat". I've read some threads of people saying they can't even touch their MBA. The time I had mine it got warm, but never too hot that it would cause me "discomfort". And no, I don't work for the circus doing fire acrobatic tricks.

I believe the heat/battery/fan issues have been somewhat overplayed on this board. Having only owned i7s I can't really do a comparison. But I've never had an issue with heat/battery/fans. I find it very hard to believe Apple would design a laptop model with two processor choices with such a different user experience in terms of these things. Could their be lemons out there? Sure. But to suggest that selecting the i7 over the i5 will somehow cause a significant and noticeable difference in heat/fan/battery? I just don't see it. YMMV.

Good luck with your choice. Either way you'll have the coolest laptop around.

 

[Blackened Apple]

There's a reason 11" Airs come standard with a slower CPU than 13" ones... Clock frequency is inherently associated with heat, the higher the frequency, the hotter it will get. The 11" has a slower CPU because it can't dissipate as much heat, due to its smaller surface area. Thus why you had many reports last year of 11" with i7s being traded in for i5s because they were too hot. On the 13" the jump was much less significant, and you won't find that many reports of it being overly hot.

But of course, the i7 is going to get slightly hotter, and will get around the same or slightly lower battery life than the i5, on the 13". Add that to the 100$ price premium, and you've got your cons.

The pro is just the following: You'll complete some of your tasks (those whose limiting factor is the CPU) about 10-15% faster.

Do the math, pondering whichever one of these matter most to you, and decide whether to upgrade or not.

 

[nikot]

Just purchased a MBA i5 w/256gb and thought I'd chime in. This is my first macbook air, and it's replacing a 2010 15" 2.4ghz i5 macbook pro and a custom built gaming rig from 09' with then almost top of the line components.

I did not get the RAM upgrade or the processor upgrade because I did not find a need for either. In this machine I was either going to have both upgrades or none, and I realized that I am never going to use the extra juice the upgrades would give me so why bother paying an extra 180+tax?

I am currently in my junior year at USF and am running a start up company that myself, my brother, and a friend have founded. Normally I would bring my MBP to school and to the office and have the desktop at home for music and movies. Being that I no longer game on the PC (strictly xbox these days, when I do get to play), I am opting to get rid of the desktop. All the music and movies I want can be stored on the MBA and external USB 3.0 drives. There are also no audio/visual problems because the MBA can power a 1080p TV and surround sound system no problem.

Would I like to have the top of the line model? Yes, but to me the extra 200 or so dollars in my pocket is worth it, and if the next MBA has significant upgrades I'll probably sell the one I have and get the next one. I decided on the MBA because going from home/school/office/client offices, switching from brief case to backup, having textbooks or whatever else I may have on me, I've found that portability and form factor are very important to me.

When my needs change again I'm sure I'll find a setup that suits them. Hope this helps anyone in a similar situation.

 

[DribbleCastle]

Had some time with both

I had an i5 with 4GB ram for a couple of weeks (thanks Amazon) before I ordered and received my 8GB/i7 model direct from Apple.

Both are very fast and a big improvement from my 2010 MacBook Pro. I was surprised that even when most of the 4GB memory (i5) was in use it still was very fast. I think I saw the beach ball one time in 3 weeks. The SSD really helps out when paging files come into play.

I purchased the 8GB model because I sometimes run multiple VM's for development reasons. I decided to go with the i7 just because I was already spending a decent amount and I was getting a discount from an Apple employee on my purchase. Another reason why I decided on the i7 model is I think it will garner a higher resale value in a few years. For the most part I will never use the extra processing power but I like to know that I have it if needed.

I used the two MBA's side by side for a few hours to see if I could notice the speed. The i7 was faster. It rebooted and launched apps like iPhoto a second or two faster. However, its not a groundbreaking difference. Unless your doing processor intensive work (ie mass import/export, conversion of audio or video) I think most can live without.

Haven't noticed any heat or battery issues between the two. I would say they are very similar without giving you any hard numbers.

Hope these thoughts help.

 

[Highlander-]

i will spend time in an apple store tomorriw in order to compare both if they have it displayed

As far as I've seen (at 3 locations in Canada), the Apple stores only have the base models on display for the all the Macbook models, including the Air.

 

[nebrot]

what about juice and heat?

will the i7 get much more power from the battery than the i5? if so what would be the difference?

and about heat or noise... will it be warmer? will the fans run faster and louder in order to cool down the i7?

thanks again

I got the 2011 i7 and am happy with it. Today the 2011 i7 seems to be about the same level than the 2012 i5 (except graphics). There has been a lot of discussion about 2011 i7 battery and heat. For me there have not been any issues. With 10.7.1 the fan went up quickly, but it was changed in the OS and today it seldom goes up, which means the CPU runs cool. My 2011 battery lasts for more or less 6 hours, which is ok. The 2012 i5 might last you a few minutes longer and get little less "warm" compared to the i7, but it is really hard to compare except someone here as both i5 & i7 and runs the same software and tasks. Due to the fact that my 2011 i7 has performance enough for me, I will skip the 2012 and see what the next refresh brings. That could be something you might consider.

 

[Ptdr]

I find it very hard to believe Apple would design a laptop model with two processor choices with such a different user experience in terms of these things. Could their be lemons out there? Sure.

Good luck with your choice. Either way you'll have the coolest laptop around.

Well Apple use samsung vs toshiba ssd or samsung vs LG screens, in both cases we have different users experiences...
Apple is the best at the moment but isn't perfect.

----------

I had an i5 with 4GB ram for a couple of weeks (thanks Amazon) before I ordered and received my 8GB/i7 model direct from Apple.

Both are very fast and a big improvement from my 2010 MacBook Pro. I was surprised that even when most of the 4GB memory (i5) was in use it still was very fast. I think I saw the beach ball one time in 3 weeks. The SSD really helps out when paging files come into play.

I purchased the 8GB model because I sometimes run multiple VM's for development reasons. I decided to go with the i7 just because I was already spending a decent amount and I was getting a discount from an Apple employee on my purchase. Another reason why I decided on the i7 model is I think it will garner a higher resale value in a few years. For the most part I will never use the extra processing power but I like to know that I have it if needed.

I used the two MBA's side by side for a few hours to see if I could notice the speed. The i7 was faster. It rebooted and launched apps like iPhoto a second or two faster. However, its not a groundbreaking difference. Unless your doing processor intensive work (ie mass import/export, conversion of audio or video) I think most can live without.

Haven't noticed any heat or battery issues between the two. I would say they are very similar without giving you any hard numbers.

Hope these thoughts help.

Thanks!

 

[ZBoater]

Well Apple use samsung vs toshiba ssd or samsung vs LG screens, in both cases we have different users experiences...
Apple is the best at the moment but isn't perfect.

I don't consider the differences in display or SSD speed between component brands significant enough. Minor variations are to be expected due to differences in parts. But one model too hot to hold, or a difference in battery life that can be measured in anything but minutes is a whole different ballgame.

 

[Acorn]

I opted for the 128 gb ssd so there was no option to upgrade cpu just memory. I have been very happy with the performance of my i5. Not that id want you to waste money, but if your already paying for the 256 gb ssd then upgrading both the memory and the cpu to me would be the smarter thing to do. for resale value if anything.

 

[macchiato2009]

i finally ordered i5 1.8, 8 gb, 256

best compromise

 

[joewillmott]

Why can I not find the i7 MBA on the Apple website? They're all i5 for me?

My bad, just noticed you have to configure the highest one. Lame. Woulda loved an i7 in the base 13" with upgraded RAM.

 

[Mikkel.kg]

Is it reasonable to assume that it is only when under stress that the i7 might produce more heat and use more battery?

Will there be any difference between the i5 and i7 when they're running less taxing programs such as MS word and Chrome/Safari?

 

[nebrot]

Is it reasonable to assume that it is only when under stress that the i7 might produce more heat and use more battery?

Will there be any difference between the i5 and i7 when they're running less taxing programs such as MS word and Chrome/Safari?

I would say so, yes. If it is not pushed to the limit, I doubt the difference will be much, very little probably. I´m seldom doing hard stuff, my 2011 i7 never got hot and the battery takes me about 6 hrs. each time. I only purchased the i7 because the i5 was solt out, otherwise I would have gone with the i5 as I´m doing light stuff anyways, however, that said I was never unhappy with the i7 at any time in terms of battery or heat or noise or whatever.