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Early Benchmarks on the New 13-Inch and 11-Inch MacBook Air
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Exactly. These benchmarks are pointless as a way to compare the performance of an Air to other models.
We really need to wait for better benchies before trying to draw conclusions.
Just what I was thinking. This is more a test of the Core 2 Duo then of the entirety of the machine. I tried one out in the store and in terms of launching applications and applications that read a lot of stuff off the hard disk it was much faster than my i7 MBP with a 5400 RPM drive. I could fix that by putting an SSD in my machine but I am waiting for intel's new line of SSD's.
Memory speed
For those like myself with an older machine the memory speed is a real improvement as much as CPU speed.
For those like myself with an older machine the memory speed is a real improvement as much as CPU speed.
Would the new 13" 2.13GHz Air w/ 4GB RAM be sufficient for one to use for XCode and developing iPhone/iPad apps?
These benchmarks provide interesting discussion, but they are a very poor tool to help your average-to-semi-saavy user choose a model based on performance.
The vast majority of computer usage is a mixed bag. The "feeling" of speed is derived from subjective things such as how long a web page loads, how fast apps launch, boot times, etc. The SSD drive is the single biggest improvement in most of these instances, probably more so than even a jump between CPU generations (i.e. Core 2 to Core i). Whether or not it takes 6 minutes or 6 minutes and 30 seconds to render something in iMovie is really irrelevant to most users, which is what these benchmarks will provide better comparison for than the 'real world' usage.
The vast majority of computer usage is a mixed bag. The "feeling" of speed is derived from subjective things such as how long a web page loads, how fast apps launch, boot times, etc. The SSD drive is the single biggest improvement in most of these instances, probably more so than even a jump between CPU generations (i.e. Core 2 to Core i). Whether or not it takes 6 minutes or 6 minutes and 30 seconds to render something in iMovie is really irrelevant to most users, which is what these benchmarks will provide better comparison for than the 'real world' usage.
My 2991 score MBP is maxxed at 3GB RAM 
It's feeling quite heavy and long in the tooth, but it has a DVD burner, FW800, FW400, 2USB ports and DVI out. It also has a 15" Matte screen...
I'd love something smaller to carry in my bag and then hook up to a monitor for serious work, but I don't actually know if I want to carry a computer around with me at all. My job doesn't require it; I just love the new computers!
It's feeling quite heavy and long in the tooth, but it has a DVD burner, FW800, FW400, 2USB ports and DVI out. It also has a 15" Matte screen...
I'd love something smaller to carry in my bag and then hook up to a monitor for serious work, but I don't actually know if I want to carry a computer around with me at all. My job doesn't require it; I just love the new computers!
No, they are not pointless. Sure, they may be of limited utility when looking at mundane task, like Word or Pages. But, they are quite informational to those that require CPU and memory performance.
Safari currently has some horrible memory leaks - its memory footprint balloons with very little provocation!
I agree that 4GB would come in handy at times, but I've been quite happy with my 2nd gen Air (with the SSD drive). For most tasks 2GB is plenty. While I generally only have 5-6 tabs open on Firefox, I have opened 20+ without issues... once the pages all finish loading anyway.
Geekbench #s on the new 1.4GHz MBA are about twice those for my 1.6GHZ Atom netbook, with much longer battery life and for just a few more ounces...I may be tempted to jump.
Although an inch or two more all the way around may be the deal-killer; any netbook replacement has to fit in my handlebar bag.
Although an inch or two more all the way around may be the deal-killer; any netbook replacement has to fit in my handlebar bag.
I think i'm sold on the MBA 11" upgraded to 4gb of ram. Checked it out at an apple store this weekend. Its a huge upgrade to my MSI Wind U100 with an Atom 1.6
I need an ultra portable and for me the 13" was a bit too big. When I want horsepower, I'll just use my quad-core desktop (sorry its win7) with dual 23"
I need an ultra portable and for me the 13" was a bit too big. When I want horsepower, I'll just use my quad-core desktop (sorry its win7) with dual 23"
1) The Flash storage in the MBA's is a joke
2) Real SSD's like the Sandforce models are dirt cheap and destroy the surplus Flash storage Apple charges a fortune for.
3) The 320m not to be confused with the GT320m is just slightly better than the 9400M and should not be confused with a high end GPU.
4) All these components are dated, Apple is charging a mint for old parts and should be ashamed.
5) My $500 AMD netbook (with 64GB SSD) scores higher on Geekbench than a decked out 11.6" MBA. that's just pathetic for the MBA and Apple.
6) Somebody needs to put W7 on these things and run some real benchmarks, Geekbench is a joke.
Anyone want to stop by their local Apple store, see if they have the 2.13 GHz Macbook Air model, and load up and run Geekbench on it?
Indeed. How much CPU power do we use for browsing or word processing? Not a whole lot. I have a 2008 MBP very similar to yours. My wife is currently using it and it runs OS X and Win 7 through VMware VM (mostly for Outlook and OneNote). I just ordered her a maxed out 11.6" MBA; I expect it to work well for her purpose.
External drive?
I put a SSD into my Late 2008 MBP and I feel like I got a brand new laptop. Makes an incredible difference and was ridiculously easy to do. Cost was around $260.00. Highly recommended.
External drives and NAS get tossed around but it's not convenient enough for me when I can have onboard storage.
Intel's next generation of SSDs are coming out soon anyways. Not that I use my Macbook for much anymore.
MBP score will change once it goes Core i3 OR
sandy bridge, if apple can put 128GB Flash on a $1199 machine (MBA) do not you think eventually it is going to be in the 13.3" MBP ($1199 and $1499)?
enjoy guys! (until the time 13.3" MBP is refreshed with Flash and New CPUs, say March 2011?)
Only my gut feeling Macbook will be left with Mechanical Hard drive
if it reaches 4GB RAM/500GB HDD and $799 I would not mind (you can always upgrade the off the shelf SSD Drive upgrade yourself)
sandy bridge, if apple can put 128GB Flash on a $1199 machine (MBA) do not you think eventually it is going to be in the 13.3" MBP ($1199 and $1499)?
enjoy guys! (until the time 13.3" MBP is refreshed with Flash and New CPUs, say March 2011?)
Only my gut feeling Macbook will be left with Mechanical Hard drive
if it reaches 4GB RAM/500GB HDD and $799 I would not mind (you can always upgrade the off the shelf SSD Drive upgrade yourself)
These are my scores on my Rev C Macbook Air (late 2008 NOT 2010) - 2.13 w/ SSD HDD:
32-bit benchmarks: http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/305319
64-bit benchmarks: http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/305274
For those too lazy to click or just want the numeric score, my 32-bit test garnered a 2865 Geekbench 2 and my 64-bit test grabbed a 3099 Geekbench 2 score. Feel free to refer to the above links, if you need the details.
I think you're kind of missing the point. The MBA is for people who don't need the fastest hardware in the world because all they are doing is word processing, web browsing, a little iPhoto etc. If you are doing a lot of video editing, gaming, heavy Photoshop usage etc then obviously a MBP or MBA + iMac combo is the way to go.
This is definitely not true for people who use laptops as desktop replacement or use them for serious work.