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Early Benchmarks Reveal New MacBook Air Rivaling High-End 2010 MacBook Pro
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Really, because the only CPUs they could possibly be (there are only four dual-core Sandy Bridge ULV i7s, and the MBA is clocked the same as three of them).
And according to Intel's spec sheets all of i7 ULV CPUs have Turbo Boost.
http://ark.intel.com/products/54618/Intel-Core-i7-2637M-Processor-(4M-Cache-1_60-GHz)
http://ark.intel.com/products/54615/Intel-Core-i7-2657M-Processor-(4M-Cache-1_60-GHz)
http://ark.intel.com/products/54617/Intel-Core-i7-2677M-Processor-(4M-Cache-1_70-GHz)
Nope - Professional Graphic Artist here with 25 years experience wise @$$, worked for 3 Fortune 100 companies. They all provide us with large glossy monitors, although we did tweak the over head lighting.
From your link: "Intel Turbo Boost Technology performance varies depending on hardware, software, and overall system configuration. Check with your PC manufacturer on whether your system delivers Intel Turbo Boost Technology"
Craigslist -
I've actually sold two computers this month -
I sold my wife's mid-2008 20" iMac for $725, and put that money towards the new 2011 21.5" iMac...
Then of course I sold my Air yesterday too...
It's really all in the details when selling it... price it a little higher, because people will always haggle... and of course honesty works too...
Okay, but it does also say that in the Intel Turbo Boost Document, if the OS requests highest performance (P0) which OS X Lion does because of other Turbo Boost CPUs it will invoke Turbo Boost, you'd assume it will be fine.
Hopefully Apple aren't that much of an ******* to disable the P0 requests for the MBA, although...
Hi
If you consider 2011 MBP's, numbers are quite different.
The benchmarks of I7 13 inchers are here, and they range from 5000 to 7500, depending on clock speed and, surprisingly, luck of the owner.
I7 15 inchers are here, and except for outliers they go from 7500 to 11500.
There is still a reason to go bulky.
If you consider 2011 MBP's, numbers are quite different.
The benchmarks of I7 13 inchers are here, and they range from 5000 to 7500, depending on clock speed and, surprisingly, luck of the owner.
I7 15 inchers are here, and except for outliers they go from 7500 to 11500.
There is still a reason to go bulky.
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Okay, but it does also say that in the Intel Turbo Boost Document, if the OS requests highest performance (P0) which OS X Lion does because of other Turbo Boost CPUs it will invoke Turbo Boost, you'd assume it will be fine.
Hopefully Apple aren't that much of an ******* to disable the P0 requests for the MBA, although...
I dont think its software disabled, that would be too easy to hack. They probably disabled it in the logic board. Hyperthreading is also missing from the processor (although supported by the CPU and OS). Again, something that could have been disabled in hardware.
I dont think they did it to be rude, they are probably afraid of heat issues or pulling too much power. Its also possible they tested it with/without turbo boost and the marginal improvement did not warrant supporting it. It also leaves room for the next upgrade cycle and keeps the air from competing with the pro.
I must be missing something
Of course it would bench 2.5x faster CPU with that beautiful i7, but that's maximum load right?
The question to me is how does the Intel HD 3000 with its 12 pipelines stack up to the 32 on the 320m? The http://www.notebookcheck.net/ pages showed the FPS to be at least 30% lower when running on high to very high settings with the HD 3000.
If you don't use it for gameplay but instead for encoding video I think you will find however that the Sandy Bridge has far superior HD video and processing/encoding speed.
Of course it would bench 2.5x faster CPU with that beautiful i7, but that's maximum load right?
The question to me is how does the Intel HD 3000 with its 12 pipelines stack up to the 32 on the 320m? The http://www.notebookcheck.net/ pages showed the FPS to be at least 30% lower when running on high to very high settings with the HD 3000.
If you don't use it for gameplay but instead for encoding video I think you will find however that the Sandy Bridge has far superior HD video and processing/encoding speed.
i highly doubt turbo boost was disabled in the MBA, it just the omission in the MBA tech specs ...
If the turbo boost not there, you would not get this much performance improvement.
clock per clock 2010 and 2011 MBA are very similar
and turbo boost is disabled the 13" MBA will be even slower (even though the newer ones are new generation and new architecture)
just wait for apple to update their website soon ...
if turbo boost disabled, it would be noticed by anandtech and other tech site, it just not mentioned on the apple site.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4512/the-2011-macbook-air-specs-and-details
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I am looking forward to getting a 13" MBA now. I've been on the fence a while between an MBA and a 13 MBP as a secondary computer. The geek in me wants the 15" Ultimate MBP, but I don't really need all that power for a secondary/travel laptop
The clinchers:
Backlit KB - I do work in low light often, so I was swinging towards the Pro, but now the MBA has it once again.
Performance - CPU performance seems very good so far compared to the MBP.
The Bad:
Graphics - I'm not really a fan of integrated graphics, but I don't really NEED it on my portable. It would be nice, but I won't be gaming on it and it should be sufficient for light photo editing. With little need for 3D acceleration, the HD3000 should be fine for me.
Memory - 4GB limit. Again, nothing I really NEED on this, but I'm of the "more is better" club.
Also a question: How is the built in audio on the MBA? I assume it is the same as the previous model. I do use headsets, but sometimes I just like to have some music in the BG while I work.
I'm just waiting for an iFixit or other teardown to verify if the SSD is soldered or not, to choose the 128 and upgrade later or just go for the 256.
Looking forward to 3rd party Thunderbolt docking stations
The clinchers:
Backlit KB - I do work in low light often, so I was swinging towards the Pro, but now the MBA has it once again.
Performance - CPU performance seems very good so far compared to the MBP.
The Bad:
Graphics - I'm not really a fan of integrated graphics, but I don't really NEED it on my portable. It would be nice, but I won't be gaming on it and it should be sufficient for light photo editing. With little need for 3D acceleration, the HD3000 should be fine for me.
Memory - 4GB limit. Again, nothing I really NEED on this, but I'm of the "more is better" club.
Also a question: How is the built in audio on the MBA? I assume it is the same as the previous model. I do use headsets, but sometimes I just like to have some music in the BG while I work.
I'm just waiting for an iFixit or other teardown to verify if the SSD is soldered or not, to choose the 128 and upgrade later or just go for the 256.
Looking forward to 3rd party Thunderbolt docking stations
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MBA ranks around my 2006 Pro tower. Would love to try it out and see how it compares. With Thunderbolt, these small Macs are now excellent values. Can't wait to see all Geekbench benchmarks soon.
Macworld editor-in-chief Jason Snell has a unit and posted a review. He was told by Apple that the new MacBook Airs have both Turbo Boost and Hyperthreading.
You can find him answering people's questions on his twitter account twitter.com/jsnell
I'm not a twitter user myself so I'm not sure how to link to the specific comments where he addresses those concerns.
Plus it sounds like Hogswatch and Hogwart's, both of which are excellent British inventions.
And you get half of the performance if you compare it to the recent MBP 17"
Geekbench score (32-bit free edition): 10133
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/440917
Geekbench score (32-bit free edition): 10133
http://browse.geekbench.ca/geekbench2/view/440917
Glossy takes time to get used to it but other than that its pretty much same thing.The only problem could be if you are manipulating with very bottom end of light spectrum and ambient lights reflect of glossy coating.
Anyway if you want correct colors
Cinema Display is not the best choice. I would suggest Sony PVM. We have only one so far, we use it for color monitoring in a dual setup together with CD. Works like a charm and differrence in gamut, picture quality (motion), blacks and overall contrast compared to ordinary displays is amazing. Its worth every cent.
No optical drive? God I hope not. How the hell are you supposed to use Boot Camp? At least on my '08 MBP, the EFI doesn't allow for booting from a USB drive. Meaning you wouldn't be able to install Windows (no, not even with drive sharing).
I am a very happy user of a mid-2009 MBA. No way I am going to switch to the new model.
The only real improvement for my needs is the better res. and 4 GB ram. It took Apple TWO YEARS (including the messing up with non-backlit keyboard). They have also managed to
- downgrade the graphics (from Nvidia to integrated Intel)
- downgrading the processor clock speed to 1.7ghz (mine is a 2.13 C2D) [ok guys I know clock speed is not everything and that i7 is much better than C2D... but still...]
- downgrade the on-chip L2 cache (from 6 MB to 3 MB) [ source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Air ]
- keep the SSD storage virtually the same (mine is 128 gb SSD...) or upgrade for a premium
Battery is better as well as TB etc etc. But I am happy with my current machine.
The 'improvements' may be OK, I agree. But guys ... I am speaking about 2 YEARS... which in 2011, with re. to technology, sounds like ages.
Until real-world usages benchmarks come out, I will not be persuaded that it is worth spend extra $$$ to upgrade my wonderfully working machine
The only real improvement for my needs is the better res. and 4 GB ram. It took Apple TWO YEARS (including the messing up with non-backlit keyboard). They have also managed to
- downgrade the graphics (from Nvidia to integrated Intel)
- downgrading the processor clock speed to 1.7ghz (mine is a 2.13 C2D) [ok guys I know clock speed is not everything and that i7 is much better than C2D... but still...]
- downgrade the on-chip L2 cache (from 6 MB to 3 MB) [ source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacBook_Air ]
- keep the SSD storage virtually the same (mine is 128 gb SSD...) or upgrade for a premium
Battery is better as well as TB etc etc. But I am happy with my current machine.
The 'improvements' may be OK, I agree. But guys ... I am speaking about 2 YEARS... which in 2011, with re. to technology, sounds like ages.
Until real-world usages benchmarks come out, I will not be persuaded that it is worth spend extra $$$ to upgrade my wonderfully working machine
Sounds tempting, right? An external display/docking station for desktop-style use, 2nd-gen Core speed, SSD speed, plus the most portable laptop everall in one?
But youre flat-out crazy if youd consider an Air for serious work: Ive done that (Photoshop, Flash, OpenOffice) for 3 years on my Air, and it means that ALL MY WORK is right there, ready to grab with one hand and run out the door! No synching needed, nothing to think about. I just have all my projects with me SO much more of the time than I used to with my 15 bulkmonster. And yet I can do everything I need right on the Air.
That means Im never away from work
Do yourself a favor: if you do pro work, get the bulkiest laptop you can, or a giant tower, and tell your clients youll "deal with it" when you get back to the office
Dont get addicted to the Air like me. Save yourself.
^ PR Man sold me on 13" MBA! End of this month it's upgrade time x2 wifey gets birthday present I do too, daughter "may' get macbook or it gets sold along with 2009 Mac Mini and the mini gets 2011 spec'd with SSD and connects to the new LED LCD TV
Completely defeats the purpose. Thin only "counts" if it's a small footprint.
The WHOLE THING has to be small.
Perception is a VERY powerful concept.
WOAH!!!
Bluetooth 4.0 wireless technology The only Mac to have this thus far?!!