2020 Macbook Air 10th Gen i5 vs 2020 Macbook 8th Gen i5

[4619593]

All; I just sold my 2015 Macbook Pro and am in the market for a new macbook. I am either looking to buy the new Macbook Air 2020 1.1Ghz i5 or the Macbook Pro (1.4GHz Quad-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, Touch Bar and Touch ID). I use it for general surfing, MS Office etc. I am trying to future proof as much as possible but looking for thoughts on both. Each would have 8gb RAM and 256Gb SSD.

Thanks
LG

 

[deeddawg]

Either MBA or MBP would do what you say fine and should be good for another five year interval. Kinda boils down to what you think about touchbar vs function keys and how you feel about the wedge shape of the Air vs the higher front edge of the MBP.

IMHO "future proofing" is bullpucky hawked by sales folks to get people to spend more than they need to spend.

Spec the system that fits your known needs, with a bit of headroom for growth within the expected time of ownership. If your needs change so much that the above is inadequate you'll typically have other reasons to replace the computer anyway.

 

[shamash]

Keep in mind that the Macbook Pro's i5 is 8th generation, and the Macbook Air's i5 is 10th generation. This is why I went with the Macbook Air. Literally ordered 20 minutes ago.

Beware: Delivery July 1st-8th. I'd order ASAP.

 

[4619593]

Yes the processor is the one that is keeping me in the limbo phase.

 

[blaugrana69]

Yes the processor is the one that is keeping me in the limbo phase.

Different series of chip though. Think the MBA is the cheaper “Y” series. MBP is U. Someone else might be able to confirm.

 

[4619593]

Different series of chip though. Think the MBA is the cheaper “Y” series. MBP is U. Someone else might be able to confirm.

Thanks. The Intel chip in the MBP is the 8th gen 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz i believe vs the 10th Gen throttled 1.1Ghz i5 in the MBA 2020.

 

[deeddawg]

Thanks. The Intel chip in the MBP is the 8th gen 1.4GHz quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz i believe vs the 10th Gen throttled 1.1Ghz i5 in the MBA 2020.

Don't forget that the amount of processing per clock tick increases with each CPU gen. Can't directly compare GHz across generations of CPUs.

Still - if your concern is about sustained substantial CPU loading, as your concern about throttling suggests, then you've not told folks here everything about your expected usage. That kinda wastes people's time in responding to your question -- we can't guess the stuff you don't mention.

While the tasks you listed fit well into the brief-bursty-cpu utilization that the MBA excels at doing, your apparent need for sustained CPU loading says you shouldn't even be looking at the MBA.

Given the new info you're sharing, go buy the MBP.
[automerge]1592273175[/automerge]

Different series of chip though. Think the MBA is the cheaper “Y” series. MBP is U. Someone else might be able to confirm.

Not sure if the Y series is necessarily cheaper - but it is a lower TDP chip -- TDP being total dissipated power or something similar.

Net of this is that the MBA overall generates less heat - and thus tends to be cooler on the lap - albeit at the cost of being focused on brief bursty cpu utilization - such as most general light usage scenarios. The MBP with the U series had a higher TDP, and thus more cooling - yet still tends to heat up the bottom case more - which is a factor for lap usage. My 2018 MBP15 can get uncomfortably hot on my lap - whereas my i5 MBA remains perfectly comfortable.

 

[jgorman]

All; I just sold my 2015 Macbook Pro and am in the market for a new macbook. I am either looking to buy the new Macbook Air 2020 1.1Ghz i5 or the Macbook Pro (1.4GHz Quad-Core Processor with Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz, Touch Bar and Touch ID). I use it for general surfing, MS Office etc. I am trying to future proof as much as possible but looking for thoughts on both. Each would have 8gb RAM and 256Gb SSD.

Thanks
LG

I recommend you get the MacBook Pro. It has a nice balance of speed, cool operation and low fan noise.

 

[kazune_karin]

but if you want no touch bar, and/or gold colour, then MacBook Air is the ONLY choice.
That's the sole reason for me not to go to for Pro.
The screen sRGB will still be more than enough for almost all everyday task unless you are a on-to-go graphics editor.