2010 MBA vs 2011 MBA an initial comparison

[iNeko]

I got my "dual Samsung" i7/4gb/256gb 11" Air yesterday (as an upgrade from a 2010 1.4/2gb/128gb with a Toshiba SSD) and after spending around 16 hours yesterday (2pm-6am) wiping it and reinstalling Mac OS "fresh" As well as using wifi migration assistant (it was a rough time, my internet connection wasn't playing nicely) I left it once it was all working and went to sleep.

Now I'm awake, I'd like to give my thoughts between the two models of Air and if it was worth it.

Yes. The 2011 looks the same as the 2010, but that's all. The rest, just

Above and beyond what I expected. Extremely pleased

 

[bigeasy_uk]

As well as using wifi migration assistant (it was a rough time, my internet connection wasn't playing nicely)

BT Homehub 2 by any chance? Mine used to go off all the time if there was a high throughput (copying files, fast torrent or just general downloads).

I've got the basic 64/2gb model, was going to go for the 128/4gb model but I was offered one for £650 new so couldn't turn it down I find this much faster than my macbook pro unibody 15" with 4gb ram, so one with your spec must just fly!

 

[iNeko]

Mine's a BeBox (a Thomson TG585v7), the most useless POS ever made. It was downloading Lion that was the struggle (I had to restart it about 20 times), Migration Assistant took ages because it had to transfer 40gb over wifi (used the Airport Express for that though)

The i7 gets a little bit warm when downloading through Steam (by warm I mean 80˚C+ ), as Steam is rubbish and has 93% processor usage for some reason (coded by monkeys, I guess) Other than that, it goes like a rocket. Absolutely destroys my late '08 Pro (15" 2.53ghz/6gb). Seeing 4 cores in iStat Menus is utterly bizarre though! Hehe

It even runs games better than the 2010 Air a truly wonderful piece of tech

 

[riveting]

What is your impression about the speed, battery life, experience, just the two looks the same?

 

[iNeko]

Hey Riveting, I was trying to be funny I'm more than happy to give more details though!

Battery life seems about the same I get about 4 hours ish, but I can drain them both in an hour (filed under "Steam is rubbish" complaints) I can also get a bit longer if I'm just using Adium and Pages with the occasional Safari visit

As for speed, well, I don't know if it's the 4gb of ram, faster SSD or purely the i7, but everything is much faster. I mean magnitudes faster. Borderlands GOTY is a good example. On the 2010, I could play it on medium settings and get a playable framerate, on the 2011, everything on high/ticked (except shadows, which are off) and it plays flawlessly! Minecraft is also about twice as fast, even using the buggy 1.9 prerelease (which causes the i7 to scream with 200% (of 400%) usage)

I can have Safari open with a few tabs and flick to Pages, which on the 2010 would pause for a split second, but on the 2011 it's not bothered. I think that's down to ram though.

The only complaint I have with it, is heat (it worries me). The 2010 would reach 60˚C when in game or doing a lot of intensive things. Whereas, the 2011 will easily climb to 95˚C+ although it doesn't feel that hot. To the touch, I'd say they get about the same (but as I said, it's worrying)

On the whole, it feels faster than my late '08 Macbook Pro, which felt faster than the 2010 Air. I know they're not very scientific tests, but I would struggle with a 2010 Air after using a 2011 for a few days

 

[BENJMNS]

Hey Riveting, I was trying to be funny I'm more than happy to give more details though!

Battery life seems about the same I get about 4 hours ish, but I can drain them both in an hour (filed under "Steam is rubbish" complaints) I can also get a bit longer if I'm just using Adium and Pages with the occasional Safari visit

As for speed, well, I don't know if it's the 4gb of ram, faster SSD or purely the i7, but everything is much faster. I mean magnitudes faster. Borderlands GOTY is a good example. On the 2010, I could play it on medium settings and get a playable framerate, on the 2011, everything on high/ticked (except shadows, which are off) and it plays flawlessly! Minecraft is also about twice as fast, even using the buggy 1.9 prerelease (which causes the i7 to scream with 200% (of 400%) usage)

I can have Safari open with a few tabs and flick to Pages, which on the 2010 would pause for a split second, but on the 2011 it's not bothered. I think that's down to ram though.

The only complaint I have with it, is heat (it worries me). The 2010 would reach 60˚C when in game or doing a lot of intensive things. Whereas, the 2011 will easily climb to 95˚C+ although it doesn't feel that hot. To the touch, I'd say they get about the same (but as I said, it's worrying)

On the whole, it feels faster than my late '08 Macbook Pro, which felt faster than the 2010 Air. I know they're not very scientific tests, but I would struggle with a 2010 Air after using a 2011 for a few days

so much for all those naysayers whining about the graphics switch up..... not too crazy about the added heat though. i like my book to run cool where i'd trade some power for less sweaty thighs.

 

[iNeko]

some games, sadly won't even start (like Two Worlds II ) but with others, it's either on par with or exceeding, but as I said, this is virtually double my old one, so it's not much to go on I'm super happy with it (even with the heat!) I missed the backlit keyboard so much!