Is there any big difference between the MBA 11 inch (2011) version with i5 1,6ghz and the i7 1,8ghz to warrant 150 bucks? Benchmarks?
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Difference in new MBA 11": i5 1,6ghz vs i7 1,8ghz
- Thread starter Danneman101
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I expect you'll see a significant difference in raw processor speed that will only translate for users who do processor intensive work. For your average user it's probably not worth the money. Less battery life and extra heat could also be an issue but I haven't seen a head to head. No head to head benchmarks out yet. I'm hoping we'll see something soon from Anandtech.
Real life difference in -
Processing power
Battery life
Heat/Fan noise
is something many of us are waiting for ... there's so many threads on it .... hopefully we'll see some comparisons soon.
Not many people have access to an i5 and i7 11" MBA to test with though.
Processing power
Battery life
Heat/Fan noise
is something many of us are waiting for ... there's so many threads on it .... hopefully we'll see some comparisons soon.
Not many people have access to an i5 and i7 11" MBA to test with though.
The i7 turbo boost up to 2.9 GHz in single-core operations or 2.6GHz in dual-core operations, while the i5 tops out at 2.3GHz single-core or 2.1GHz in dual-core operations. Thus in processor-intensive applications, there is likely to be a noticeable difference. For browsing, e-mail, and Pages/Word, there isn't likely to be that much difference.
There is much less difference between the 1.7GHz i5 and 1.8GHz i7 than there is the 1.6GHz i5 and 1.8GHz i7 because the turbo boost is closer. That said, at $1349 for an 11" i7 and $1299 for a 13" i5, the 11" is very tempting.
That is a considerable difference, and for my intended use definitely worth the extra money. Thanks for the concrete answer
That is a considerable difference, and for my intended use definitely worth the extra money. Thanks for the concrete answer
Yes, I thought about it for a while, but then decided to go whole hog. I use virtual machines for Windows, so for an extra $150 why not go with the best available?
According to Ben Brooks and Shawn Blanc B&B Podcast, there's hardly noticeable performance difference between i5 and i7 and you get worse battery life with i7 to boot.
Those notes relate to the 1.7GHz i5 vs. 1.8GHz i7, though. The Turbo Boost is much closer. There will be a bit more of a gap between the 1.6GHz i5 and 1.8GHz i7, though again how noticeable will depend on what's running.
Which Config for MBA11?
Went to the Apple store today and really liked the MBA11 over the 13. The OS makes the screen 'just big enough'.
Using it for work, lots of Office Mac and either VGA to existing monitor or getting an Apple Cinema Display. As far as recommended specs, I was thinking 4GB and i5 1.7. Should I go with the i7 because of the external monitor? Will playing 480P web videos introduce lots of lag?
Like to hear your thoughts.
Went to the Apple store today and really liked the MBA11 over the 13. The OS makes the screen 'just big enough'.
Using it for work, lots of Office Mac and either VGA to existing monitor or getting an Apple Cinema Display. As far as recommended specs, I was thinking 4GB and i5 1.7. Should I go with the i7 because of the external monitor? Will playing 480P web videos introduce lots of lag?
Like to hear your thoughts.
For your usage, including playing videos, you will likely experience no difference between the i5 and i7. Most users would never know if they had an i5 or i7 from system use alone. The only practical reason to get an i7 is if you're doing a lot of processor intensive work such as video/audio encoding or running virtual machines. Or if you just want an i7 and have extra money to spend, but that's not really a practical reason.
Also, I'm not sure if you meant "Apple Cinema Display" specifically, but a new "Apple Thunderbolt Display" will make a much nicer companion to the Thunderbolt equipped MacBook Airs and Pros: http://www.apple.com/displays/ "The Ultimate Docking Station"
Yes I meant the Apple Thunderbolt Display. I was going to use an existing 21 inch Lenovo monitor with DVI connection, but do you think I should replace it with the Apple TB Display? I could always get that for when I'm working from home.
The i5 will be able to handle 480p. The difference in boosted GPU speed between the i5 and i7 in the 11" is only 50MHz.
If you can afford the ~$1000 Apple Thunderbolt display then go for it. It's a very nice display and the "docking" functionality is icing on the cake. If I had the money right now, that's the display I would buy without a second thought.
So it won't matter powering the large monitors? I guess I would have to use it in clamshell mode.
i7 worse battery life even when running normal non-intensive apps? It's only $150 more but that I wouldn't want to sacrifice a lot of battery life if the i5 is fine for my work usage.
Probably not much. Are you looking to do anything processor-intensive? In my case, I use Windows 7 within Parallels Desktop, so I figured having as much processor as possible would help, particularly since the Air is limited to 4GB RAM. That said, I'm sure the i5 would have been adequate, since even the Core 2 Duo was OK for occasional use. It's hard to go wrong with either model of the new Air. Apple did a nice job with them. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a Core i7 make it into the 11" so I decided to go for it. I figured they would restrict it to the 13" model (much like the old version restricted the faster Core 2 Duos to the 13" model).
as a apple shareholder...please go buy the most $$$ one...also load up on all the extra's....
as a macrumor member...i5 should be more then enough for average mba user
AppleInsider published their review with some benchmarks. As I expected, there's a bit of a gap between the 1.6GHz Core i5 and 1.8GHz Core i7. Between the 1.7GHz Core i5 and 1.8GHz Core i7, the gap isn't so much.
http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._11_inch_and_13_inch_macbook_airs.html&page=3
http://www.appleinsider.com/article..._11_inch_and_13_inch_macbook_airs.html&page=3
