Early Benchmarks Reveal New MacBook Air Rivaling High-End 2010 MacBook Pro

[akhbhaat]

Impressive...
MBP 13 i5 (2011): 5917
MBA 13 i5 (2011): 5860

Not apples to apples. The number you cited for the MBP is taken from a 32 bit test whereas the MBA (from Laptop Mag's test) was running a 64 bit test.

It should actually be:
MBP 13 i5 (2011): 6448
MBA 13 i5 (2011): 5860

So there's still a ~10% difference, at least in this synthetic benchmark. And it's also worth noting that the ULV SB processors have a very aggressive turboboost setting which probably wouldn't be sustainable in extended real world circumstances (heat, etc).

These results are still impressive, but I'd wait for real world tests before jumping to conclusions.

Note: the 11" MBA running the 1.6 GHz i5 scored just 5060. The main reason? A paltry 2.3 GHz boost vs. the 1.7 GHz model's 2.7 GHz peak.

 

[lilo777]

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

Frequency alone does not tell the whole story. Previous CPUs were decade old architecture (for some reason Apple was too slow to get rid of them).

 

[Aspen]

Resolution

If the 13" MBA has the same resolution as the 15" MBP, do I understand correctly that if one is looking at a web page, that both computers would show the exact same amount of lettering/words (same amount of the web page)?

If so, do you find that the 13" MBA words are too small? I guess you could increase the font size but wouldn't that defeat the point? Also, increasing font size does make the occasional web page not display correctly.

 

[shouldbeworking]

he must have updated his review

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.

http://www.macworld.com/article/161200/2011/07/apple_announces_macbook_air_core_i5.html

It looks like he took out the part about turbo boost...maybe someone corrected him?

It would be really great if Apple did in fact pack 2.6Ghz processors into these little airs, but unfortunately I dont believe they did. Their website has been up all day showing 1.6-1.8ghz processors with no mention of extra features that people are just assuming them to have. If the air did have turbo, i would order one in a minute, I just cant seem to confirm it with anyone.

 

[manu chao]

Previous CPUs were decade old architecture (for some reason Apple was too slow to get rid of them).

Intel prevented Nvidia from producing chipsets for anything post Core 2 Duo and Apple relied on Nvidia's integrated graphic solution. Apple three choices last year:
1) Move to iX processors but also to lower-performing Intel IGP
2) Move to iX processors but via a discret graphic card add volume, heat and energy consumption to their slimmest laptop
3) Stick with Core 2 Duo and Nvidia's slightly updated integrated graphic solution (and chipset)

We all know they chose (3). In 2011, they chose (1) because Intel's IGP got better and the difference between Sandy Bridge and Core 2 Duo became just too large.

 

[Stridder44]

Have you not heard of Parallels or VMWare yet?

Have you not heard of gaming? Because that's what I use the Windows partitions for (and it works really well). And when it comes to gaming, virtual machines suck. Besides, why pay $70 to run something worse, when I can pay nothing and run it at native speeds?

 

[borisvian]

a Dual i7 is half the performance of a Quad i7? Can anyone confirm this?

i'm sorry what do you want me to confirm? i just run geekbench when i saw this article.

 

[shouldbeworking]

it looks like you can check it yourself

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

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MjMzOTQwMDA

You can call them or chat right there, there will be a number and a link like this:

Call 1-800-MY-APPLE or chat online.

I saw on the apple support forum someone called and verified it at the source. They do NOT support hyperthreading or turbo boost because "macbook air is supposed to be an entry level notebook". sounds pretty lame

 

[ronin510]

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

Clock speed really isn't everything. It's all in your head. You see 1.7Ghz vs 2.13Ghz and want the "faster" clock speed, but what is it really? You can put it in terms of wall-clock time and say the time it takes for an instruction in the CPU to complete.

In non-technical terms, think of it as a foot race. All you see is a guy who can run 5 MPH vs a guy that can run 6.5 MPH. The problem is, the 6.5MPH runner is running a race that's 20 miles long while the 5 MPH is running a race that is 10 miles long. Now I ask, who finishes first?

Now take that analogy and compare the C2D's 65-45 nanometer fabrication size compared to the new i5's 32 nanometer (smaller size) fabrication size. Start to finish line the i5 has a shorter way.

The 1.7Ghz i5 also has Turbo Boost. It can operate at 2.7Ghz (faster than your C2D's 2.13Ghz) when it really needs processing power.

 

[Cheffy Dave]

The MBA is the new "style" for what has up it's sleeve

 

[Lukeyy19]

Where it says "2011 13-inch MBA 1.6GHz Core i5" on the graph, that's supposed to be the 11-inch, not 13-inch like it says right?

whoever made the graph should probably proof-read...

 

[ronin510]

http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/shop_mac/family/macbook_air?mco=MjMzOTQwMDA

You can call them or chat right there, there will be a number and a link like this:

Call 1-800-MY-APPLE or chat online.

I saw on the apple support forum someone called and verified it at the source. They do NOT support hyperthreading or turbo boost because "macbook air is supposed to be an entry level notebook". sounds pretty lame

I just tried the Apple online chat and the person was useless. He couldn't confirm or deny whether Turbo Boost was on there, just that the information available online is what is available to him.

The Anandtech article lists Turbo Boost speeds for the Air's, though:

Max SC Turbo	2.3GHz	2.7GHz	2.9GHz
Max DC Turbo	2.0GHz	2.4GHz	2.6GHz (?)

Max SC Turbo = Max Single Core Turbo
Max DC Turbo = Max Dual Core Turbo

It wouldn't make sense for Intel to create/release these ultra-low power i5 and i7 chips (with Turbo Boost) the past month and Apple not to use them. There aren't any other ultra-low power chips currently listed on Intel's site.

 

[Samsumac]

Anand says that all MB Air i5's support hyperthreading and turbo boost.

You can find this in his tweeter discussions... This seems to be something quite major to have slipped by reviewers so far. Apple support and "geniuses" read from a prepared script that is not necessarily exact in the information it provides.

 

[taeclee99]

I wasn't planning on getting this new revision but these geekbench numbers are making me reconsider. Time to put my 13 in ultimate mba 2010 on eBay!

 

[DribbleCastle]

The biggest limiting factor is the same one that kept me from buying the previous generation (when I bought the MBP last fall). 4GB of max ram. For my usage, 4GB was too slow, which led me to quickly upgrade to 8GB.

Same issues here. I need the RAM to run multiple VM's smoothly. Even if these little MBA's beat my 2010 MBP it still can't do everything I need it to with 4GB RAM. Its a shame, I really love the form factor and weight because I typically only use the 15" MBP at home with a 22" monitor. The 15" to 13" screen change wouldn't bother me a bit.

The new Mac Minis look like great machines. Don't really need one until my current one decides to die. Which I hope isn't soon.

 

[shouldbeworking]

Clock speed really isn't everything. It's all in your head. You see 1.7Ghz vs 2.13Ghz and want the "faster" clock speed, but what is it really? You can put it in terms of wall-clock time and say the time it takes for an instruction in the CPU to complete.

In non-technical terms, think of it as a foot race. All you see is a guy who can run 5 MPH vs a guy that can run 6.5 MPH. The problem is, the 6.5MPH runner is running a race that's 20 miles long while the 5 MPH is running a race that is 10 miles long. Now I ask, who finishes first?

Now take that analogy and compare the C2D's 65-45 nanometer fabrication size compared to the new i5's 32 nanometer (smaller size) fabrication size. Start to finish line the i5 has a shorter way.

The 1.7Ghz i5 also has Turbo Boost. It can operate at 2.7Ghz (faster than your C2D's 2.13Ghz) when it really needs processing power.

Clock speed admittedly is not everything. But you made an incorrect statement regarding fabrication size. The smaller fabrication size is what allows them to speed up the clock. By making the transistor smaller, it takes less time to change states, and thus can be effectively clocked at a higher frequency. The information does not travel across transistors however; the transistors are the information, the CPU clock sets how fast the information changes, the system bus determines how fast the information moves. The way they improve the architecture without increasing the frequency of the the CPU is by either adding specialized hardware or increasing the speed of the bus.

The specialized hardware would include most notably different types of memory controllers and GPUs, but can also be for accelerating tasks related to encryption or wireless, or by adding extra cores and starting threads early (hyperthreading).

Where you are wrong again, is that the MBA does not support turbo boost or hyperthreading. See the above post, or call apple yourself (1-800-MY-APPLE) and ask. yes, at first they give you a sales person who says something lame. ask to speak to a tech and they will tell you that it is not supported.

 

[Scarrus]

BuTZ ThEY AR UndR PoWEReD anD HaZ ApLE Tax

This

 

[mattlol]

Not entirely surprising, considering how aggressive the Turbo Boost is.

Everyone should keep in mind that Ivy Bridge is next year. This is when we should see a quad-core MacBook Air (and Mac Mini), and 8-core iMacs. Additionally, there will also be the move to 22nm fabrication processes in addition to 3D transistors, which should be comparable to a fabrication shrink itself.

If you think this year was a big boost, wait until you see what Intel has in store for next year.

you mean next years line of computers will be faster than this ones?

no... WAY!!!

 

[Minority_taxi]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I really only use my 11" MBA for web browsing. I have a desktop PC as my workhorse.

Still, seeing these improvements makes me very jealous.

Thinkin bout turning a MBA into a workstation, thoughts?

Was going to use it in closed clamshell mode, leave it on standby all the time. Think it'll handle HD video editing well with 4GB ram? Thoughts?

Cc

 

[Minority_taxi]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

Maybe I am crazy, but Ive just realised that I want new 11inch MBA and Thunderbolt Display. Am I crazy? I need feedback. I want it mostly for Aperture and Photoshop. Cinema display has firewire so I can connect my external drives. Seems perfect. Doesnt it?

Ditto! But want dual displays in closed clamshell mode. Is this possible? Doubt the MBA could handle two even with TB.

 

[shouldbeworking]

If im wrong, good for apple, b/c I will buy one

Anand says that all MB Air i5's support hyperthreading and turbo boost.

You can find this in his tweeter discussions... This seems to be something quite major to have slipped by reviewers so far. Apple support and "geniuses" read from a prepared script that is not necessarily exact in the information it provides.

I will be glad to purchase a shiny new MBA if it has turbo... dont care about the extra threads but I would need at least turbo to justify this over the new MBP. However, only thing I saw that indicates turbo is a table that anandtech clearly cut and paste out of an intel catalog showing CPU capability (which doesnt mean apple implemented it).

The new mac mini and air were released at the same time and the mini ($500) clearly shows turbo boost, why not the air($1000)? why does tech support claim the air doesnt have turbo(i called and asked until she connected me to someone who actually said they KNEW it is disabled)? why would they not market a 1ghz jump in speed? and those extra two threads btw. I may be wrong (im hopeful i am) but i really think i am unfortunately correct.

Where I agree: I will wait for some teardown, screenshot, or just go to the apple store and poke till i find out (i believe you need windows to see turbo boost but the hyperthreading should show up as 4 available cores).

 

[Shanpdx]

17watts TDP is the max

and intel design specification says it can turbo boost and stay within 17watts.

unless Apple says otherwise, the CPUs has Turbo Boost.

the 2010 MBA 13" had 25 watts TDP CPUs, the newer one has 17 watts TDP.

I am 100% sure it just the typo in the website.

there is no way without the turbo boost the newer 2011 MBA CPUs beat the hell of 2010 MBA CPUs.

wait till the site updated.

 

[John.B]

I'm dying to see a teardown of the new MBA to see if they flash storage is soldered or socketed. C'mon, ifixit!

 

[Epic Xbox Revie]

I can slowly see the iPhone and iMac of 2007 coming together... iPhone moving to iPad... iMac moving to MBP and then MBA... and with LION the MBA is even closer to the iPad.. Pretty exciting to see what Apple has in store in the next couple years!! Hopefully I resist the urge to jump onto one of these devices while I am in college and that this MBP will satisfy me. I know I'll end up buying the next phone, hopefully not the next laptops, at least until I am done with school.

 

[Minority_taxi]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I can slowly see the iPhone and iMac of 2007 coming together... iPhone moving to iPad... iMac moving to MBP and then MBA... and with LION the MBA is even closer to the iPad.. Pretty exciting to see what Apple has in store in the next couple years!! Hopefully I resist the urge to jump onto one of these devices while I am in college and that this MBP will satisfy me. I know I'll end up buying the next phone, hopefully not the next laptops, at least until I am done with school.

Just need 3G hey in the MBA!?