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How much better will the Sandy Bridge MacBook Air be CPU wise?

Jessica Lares

Jessica Lares

macrumors G3
Original poster
Oct 31, 2009
9,612
1,062
Near Dallas, Texas, USA
I'm getting ready to buy my next MacBook in a month or so, and want an opinion on the upcoming MBAs that are out supposedly next week. I would be getting the top of the line model with the 8GB RAM maxed (if rumors are true).

How would this compare to a 13" MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM too?

I'm going to have to run things like Maya, CS5, Logic/ProTools on it, and I know that the current MBA models aren't so great about it. Are the new processors going to make any BIG difference to how it performs rendering/etc, or is it just going to add a lot of heat? I have the money for either one.

I don't care if it takes a few extra minutes to render something. It would bug me if it was like a hour of more of extra waiting though.

Should I just stick to my original plan of getting the Pro?
 
I would consider getting a Pro if I were you.

However, we still don't know how many cores or what clockspeed the CPUs of the upcoming MBAs will have.
 
Jessica Lares said:
I'm going to have to run things like Maya, CS5, Logic/ProTools on it, and I know that the current MBA models aren't so great about it.
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Let's get things straight buddy. My MBA can do whatever my +$10000 DAW Studio MacPro can do, but mobile. Sure, you can't expect to be multitasking HD Youtube or Netflix with it, but as a Mobile Workstation, the MBA (2010) will work and chug away anything you throw at it, with style.

Maya would be a nogo with Intel HD3000's. So either way, your not going to get very good results on either machine. *Waiting when the Macbook Pro 13" will be redesigned to cut the SuperDrive and house a proper Graphics Card*
 
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Jessica Lares said:
Another thing... How much better is the MacBook Pro's screen with the black bezel? Did it help to solve the warp problems the old models had?
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The MacBook Air has a far better screen than the glossy MacBook Pro with far less glare. Not sure about the warp problems you're describing
 
The post you are talking about is about navel gazing the screen alignment when it's not exactly right assembled from the start on delivery. It has nothing to do with the screens quality. For reference my 2010 15" HR MBP is perfect and has been correctly assembled.
 
I would go with the MBP with 4 gigs of RAM and upgrade it yourself to 8. Because you're going to be doing some editing/rendering, you're going to need as much processing power as you can get.
 
Throttling

You need to remember that no matter what Cpu they use it will be subject to throttling (slowing down) due to the small form factor. As the temps rise the Os will slow it down to protect the hardware and keep the system stable.
 
You might be better off with a pro.

I would love to see what a 15 inch pro would look like with a redesign and no dvd burner. I don't need a dvd burner and I am sick of lugging one around with me.
 
Alright, then the MBP will have to do. I'm hoping the black bezels they have around the screen will stop the problem my late 2006 had. I kept mine in a bag and the screen got dented on the right side. It was a $100 one I bought at the Apple Store too. Apparently that's the problem with putting it in a bag in the first place though. So, I think I'm going to get a sleeve this time around.

I HAVE to have a DVD burner. So, it was going to either buy the MBP or MBA + Burner.

I just don't have a clue when it comes to CPU speed to be honest. I'm using my ten year old G5 right now, and my dad uses an iMac G4. They both load up in a minute while the MBP takes about five and does everything really slowly. Even our G3 iBook is a lot snappier.

I'm really glad that everything is at the bottom now though! It makes a HUGE difference.
 
Bye Bye Baby said:
You might be better off with a pro.

I would love to see what a 15 inch pro would look like with a redesign and no dvd burner. I don't need a dvd burner and I am sick of lugging one around with me.
Click to expand...

You can remove the superdrive on your MBP. I did and my MBP is noticeably lighter. Having an antiglare LCD without the glass make MBP lighter too.
 
torbjoern said:
I would consider getting a Pro if I were you.

However, we still don't know how many cores or what clockspeed the CPUs of the upcoming MBAs will have.
Click to expand...

More to the point we don't know what kind of bandwidth the imbedded chipset will be able to handle (from CPU to RAM, while RAM to SSD will be a great increase). I too would love the Logic Pro Express 9 + MBA setup.


Bye Bye Baby said:
You might be better off with a pro.

I would love to see what a 15 inch pro would look like with a redesign and no dvd burner. I don't need a dvd burner and I am sick of lugging one around with me.
Click to expand...

^ I sincerely believe that if the uptake of OS X 10.7 Lion is close or equal to Snow Leopard was for the first 3mth, that would be a clear indication that Bandwidth and storage speed requirements have matched with Apple's expectation of their core consumer/prosumer base, leading to such an extraordinary design. If your hopes, and mine (beliefs) to this affect are correct - then the 13MBP would merge with the Air ... 15" gets similar redesign with 3 USB ports, SD, Thunderbolt and possibly a return of the express card slot (?). The 17" would most likely keep the DVDBurner as most users still use it as a complete desktop replacement and seldomly travel heavily with it.

This would mean Apple quickly being the largest contractor/purchaser of SSD type storage for ALL their product lineup.
 
Young Spade said:
Removing that and installing an optibay + SSD voids the warranty. Does just removing the CD drive void it as well?
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Don't know. If I have to go to apple store for repairs, I will put the superdrive back and even reset the pram for good measure. Apple will not know it was removed.
 
Jessica Lares said:
I'm hoping the black bezels they have around the screen will stop the problem my late 2006 had.
Click to expand...

My early 2008 MBP had that problem from day one. It did not seem right. Even the bottomcase was warped a bit... The uMBP is a different construction. Very solid, you'll like it.
 
sahnjuro said:
Don't know. If I have to go to apple store for repairs, I will put the superdrive back and even reset the pram for good measure. Apple will not know it was removed.
Click to expand...

Ah ok. Thanks for sharing; if anyone else can chime in and give the same answer, I'll take the machine apart and remove the CD drive day 1. Not saying I doubt you, but that's a pretty big risk to take.
 
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