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2010 13" MBA Ultimate or 2011 13" Base
- Thread starter anirudh
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Well.. the fans will stay in silent mode, around 2000 rpm, until the cpu temp gets to 80degrees celsius and then they'll start kicking in at around 3000-4000rpm depending on cpu load, but at 95 degrees which mine hits when I open almost any (graphics based) game, the fan hits 6500 and the sound, o the sound, it's like a jet-engine, a very small, very cheap jet-engine. Don't get me wrong I really, really like my 2011 ultimate, but the fan is loud under heavy workload. I mostly use my computer for gaming, while i'm pretending to do something extremely serious and the 2011 air has made this absolutely impossible :roll eyes:
Now, you say you got apple care until 2013, then I suppose the 2010 is used? If it is, I'd definitely go 11, since the average lifespan of an intel processor isn't much above 3-4 years, but if it isn't.. well, then it's just 200 bucks, double ssd and slighty better graphics..
Well.. the fans will stay in silent mode, around 2000 rpm, until the cpu temp gets to 80degrees celsius and then they'll start kicking in at around 3000-4000rpm depending on cpu load, but at 95 degrees which mine hits when I open almost any (graphics based) game, the fan hits 6500 and the sound, o the sound, it's like a jet-engine, a very small, very cheap jet-engine. Don't get me wrong I really, really like my 2011 ultimate, but the fan is loud under heavy workload. I mostly use my computer for gaming, while i'm pretending to do something extremely serious and the 2011 air has made this absolutely impossible :roll eyes:
Now, you say you got apple care until 2013, then I suppose the 2010 is used? If it is, I'd definitely go 11, since the average lifespan of an intel processor isn't much above 3-4 years, but if it isn't.. well, then it's just 200 bucks, double ssd and slighty better graphics..
Hmm...I just got Off of a game on my MBA and while I was playing I looked at the temp...it peaked at 95C at 2000rpm then the fans sped up (not loud) to 6500 then slowly back down to 4500rpm at 85C
Really? Well, i've only played Trine and Limbo in mac OS and both games makes the fan spin 6500 at all time and rather loud, well.. i suppose it's a matter of opinion. I know the white macbook unibody is just as loud under heavy workload and louder when idle, but the 2010 macbook pro is almost silent when playing any game.. they just seem so quiet in the store, you know? I suppose that's why i was rather disappointed.
Yea I understand. I played a game from the Mac app store for about 30 min before the fan went back down to 4500. I played the same game at another house just a few min ago and the fans did actually go full speed and stay there...so I guess my house is just cold (65-68F) and the one I was just in was about 76F. If where you are is hot that's probably why. Even then, I don't really think the fan is like a jet engine at all. I was surprised a how quiet it is actually.
Now, you say you got apple care until 2013, then I suppose the 2010 is used? If it is, I'd definitely go 11, since the average lifespan of an intel processor isn't much above 3-4 years, but if it isn't.. well, then it's just 200 bucks, double ssd and slighty better graphics..
hmmm, i am not sure i understand this. you mean the performance of the processor drops after 3-4 years (can that even happen)? would it make a difference if its used? and just to be clear the 2010 with the apple care costs me LESS than a 2011
Never occured to you that the store has quite a bit of ambient noise?
I'd also like to know what you mean by useful life span of intel processors. I have CPU's that are well older than your projected life span.
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Is it likely that the new Ivy Bridge line due out in 2012 will be quieter/run cooler??
Is it likely that the new Ivy Bridge line due out in 2012 will be quieter/run cooler??
as far as the current info goes, i am pretty sure it would. from what i gather, the fans kick in when mostly when the SB i5 and i7 are turbo boosting while doing graphic intensive computations. since the intel gpu sucks a** the processor compensated for it (or at least tries to). since the IB has better gpu they should run cooler and thus quieter. i might be worng however.
Well, I meant average lifespan. I think it's something i've read, but unfortunately i really can't remember where. But i think it's with 100% usage, 24-7. Maybe the actual average lifespan is longer. But, that been said, every laptop I've ever owned has died from cpu/motherboard/(unrepairable) gpu failure within 3 years. I think this is my fifth, but I really do use my laptop a lot! Maybe I've just been ridiculously unlucky. The first thing most likely to fail is the battery and fan and then the hard drive even though the ssd probably have a bit lower failure rate than regular hdd. And I think the new batteries in the airs are quite reliable too. I'm pretty sure a couple of my laptops failed because the ventilation got too dusty resulting in decreased rpm's causing the cpu to overheat. Now i always monitor fan speeds and temps. And luckily the ventilation of macbooks is in the back rather than the bottom, maybe that'll help keep some dirt out, i don't know.
I wouldn't buy a used laptop simply because the failure rate increases over age. And after the transition to intel, macs aren't much more reliable than pc's. There's a reason why apple care is incredibly expensive even though it doesn't cover accidental damage and damage caused by usage. Apple knows that it isn't what it used to be. In Denmark you can get a three year insurance for your laptop in every hardware store that covers everything for half the price of apple care. Besides that, you never know how the previous owner has been treating it.
So i'd stick with the 2011 base if the 2010 ultimate is used. If it's not used, I'd definitely go with the cheaper 2010 ultimate!
I think you read some misinformation there. An Intel CPU is probably the single most reliable piece of hardware in your computer. I have NEVER had an Intel CPU fail on me. I even have a few P4's around that are still working fine, and those run HOT. I've had a few AMD CPU's fail on me but most of those were my own fault for overclocking/overvolting too high.
And a GPU or board failure on a laptop isn't the same thing as a CPU failure. I doubt you experienced any legitimate CPU failures or any CPU failure at all unless it was a manufacturing defect that caused the heat-sink to come detached from the CPU.
And a GPU or board failure on a laptop isn't the same thing as a CPU failure. I doubt you experienced any legitimate CPU failures or any CPU failure at all unless it was a manufacturing defect that caused the heat-sink to come detached from the CPU.
Yes, i probably read some misinformation, it's very possible. But that wasn't really my point. It was rather that I wouldn't buy a used laptop if I had the choice between a new one and a used one. And since you're also basing your statements entirely on personal experience, i'm finding it rather hard to see how you can doubt mine... I said that my laptops crashed due to either motherboard/gpu/cpu related issues. Of the four laptops two of them i believe has crashed due to cpu related matters. The first was a Noname Notebook from SHG (danish company) and the second a MSI wind. When i brought the first one to a (very capable) repairman, he tested it and told me that the CPU had failed and he told me the thing about the fans, that they could fail and cause the cpu to overheat. I know the overheating isn't as much of an issue in newer processors. But almost the exact same thing happened to my first gen MSI wind with the intel atom cpu. And one of my friends has been experiencing the same thing with an msi 17¨. It starts shutting down out of the blue when it get to hot using it in bed or on the lap or even just on a table cloth. And then one time it just won't start again. it's start but won't boot and doesn't beep.. My friend took his msi to some repair shop and I believe he got the same diagnose. But i don't know. I really am no expert. What would these symptoms indicate to you?
I actually just found this page.. http://www.squidoo.com/failed-cpu-burn-out some comments state that cpu failures are rather rare but the symptoms described seems rather alike. The link also mentions the dirt fan thing..
Its not just my own personal experience. I can assure you that the vast majority of peoples Intel CPU's will last longer than 3 years. I've worked on hundreds of computer that aren't mine that are older than 3 years and sport an Intel processor. The info you provided is quite simply wrong. There's no two ways about it.
Blue screens can be caused by a LOT of things, and it's almost never the fault of the processor
Blue screens can be caused by a LOT of things, and it's almost never the fault of the processor
well, by that argument, wouldnt the 2011 fail faster seeing how they run hotter than their 2010 counterparts? also, since the fan work overtime, the rate of failure would be much higher with the 2011s, right?
since, the 2010 has applecare until 2013, assuming the worst happens, i would still be covered, yes? and i certainly dont plan on keeping a laptop for 2 whole years!!
since, the 2010 has applecare until 2013, assuming the worst happens, i would still be covered, yes? and i certainly dont plan on keeping a laptop for 2 whole years!!
You are confusing the MTBF for an industry component versus the *functional* lifetime of a consumer electronics product. Processors will likely out live you, and your children, in use. If the rest of the components in a product were made to the specifications of modern processors, the capacitors alone would cost $25 a piece.
Not necessarily. Different manufacturing processes and materials used will have varying thermal thresholds.
Bravo, man. Once again you succeed in replying without actually responding to anything I said. I'm really happy that you never seen an intel cpu crash.. But according to Attech Computers I have. There's no two ways about it, what kind of thing is that to write?.. I only asked you a question based on what I've heard. Would it kill you to read the entire post before you reply?
For the creator of this thread: no, the 2011 will probably outlast the 2010 since the cpu isn't the first thing that'll crash in a computer and since the sandy bridge architecture is designed for operating at higher cpu temps. I just had a lot of computers crash before they should, so I wouldn't buy used computers. That's all i'm saying. The thing I read somewhere on the internet about cpu lifespan of 3-4 years is probably incorrect. I did some googling and i can't find the page, but this guy seems to share the delusion http://serverfault.com/questions/64956/what-is-the-average-lifespan-of-a-cpu
Take care and good luck
.For further information I refer you to 2IS.
EDIT: And if you plan on buying a new computer before the apple care runs out, then i suppose i have no arguments left against the 2010.. go for it, man!
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Processors last longer than 3 years, period. Can it die within 3, sure anything is possible. Is that the average life span? Not even remotely close. Even your own example shows that it was a fan failure the caused the CPU to overheat. How you equate that to the processor only lasting that long is beyond me.
If you crash your car in 3 years do you go around telling people not to buy a 2 year old car because they only last for 3?
If you crash your car in 3 years do you go around telling people not to buy a 2 year old car because they only last for 3?
I believe the poster was alluding to the potential that apps that may be released over the next 2-3 years may tax the C2D to the point the OP would wish he bought the i5 model.
However, if this happened I believe the OP would just buy a new Mac since resell on the 2010 will still be decent in 2013.
Cheers,
I'm all for spending the least amount on tech, to get the desired results. I'd never pay more for a speed bump and would be the first to recommend getting last year's model if the only difference was speed of the processor, but that just isn't the case with the mba from 2010 to 2011.
If you can wait, which I wouldn't recommend doing if you need a new computer now, the (potentially) new mba with new Intel processor will be yet another worthwhile upgrade from today's offering and will further date the c2d chips in the 2010 model.
If you can wait, which I wouldn't recommend doing if you need a new computer now, the (potentially) new mba with new Intel processor will be yet another worthwhile upgrade from today's offering and will further date the c2d chips in the 2010 model.
Except he wasn't beucase he was using himself and his friend as an example about blue screens and overheating processors (do to fan failure).
I know I'm getting in late on this discussion, but I'd go for the 2011 model for 2 reasons.
1) The Core2Duo chip (SL9600) is almost 3 years old at this point (released in Q1 of 2009). And it may or may not make an apparent difference in day to day use, it's something to consider when laying down this much money. If you plan on keeping the computer for more than a couple of years, I think the i5/i7 is a better purchase.
2) The CPU & RAM can't be upgraded or expanded later in any way. What you have today is what you will have on the day you get rid of the computer. External hard drives are cheap, and thunderbolt might play a bigger role later on than you expect it to now.
1) The Core2Duo chip (SL9600) is almost 3 years old at this point (released in Q1 of 2009). And it may or may not make an apparent difference in day to day use, it's something to consider when laying down this much money. If you plan on keeping the computer for more than a couple of years, I think the i5/i7 is a better purchase.
2) The CPU & RAM can't be upgraded or expanded later in any way. What you have today is what you will have on the day you get rid of the computer. External hard drives are cheap, and thunderbolt might play a bigger role later on than you expect it to now.