How underpowered is the rMB compared to the 11" 8GB MBA (2015)?

[Bromio]

Hi everybody,

The question is basically that in the title: How underpowered is the rMB compared to the 11" 8GB MBA (2015)? I'm not interested in benchmarks scores, but in real daily performance.

Note that my main necessity is ultra portability. I'd use my future laptop for writing (Word/Pages) and creating/delivering presentations (PowerPoint/Keynote). For power-demanding tasks I would connect to a remote desktop.

Thanks!

 

[Meister]

For your usage it shouldn't make any difference.
If you don't want the retina screen, then the base 11" mba will save you a lot of $$$ and perform exactly like the new macbook.

 

[newellj]

The short answer is that it isn't underpowered at all by comparison.

I owned one of those for 13 days earlier this year. I had really hoped it would work for me - I should have known better because I'd owned and sold two MBAs before that. Frankly, I hate the crappy TN panel. It just does not work for me. I'm not saying it won't work for anyone else - it obviously does, since Apple sells a lot of MBAs. Anyway, to your question:

Using the 2015 MBA and the rMB for the same tasks (Word, Excel, Acrobat Pro, Citrix remote sessions, Safari with lots of tabs open, etc.), I did not notice any issues with either. Both are snappy with no performance issues. Obviously, since I did not have them at the same time, I didn't try to do any A:B comparisons, but you said you weren't looking for benchmarks in any case.

The display is a big plus for the rMB. The color accuracy and viewing angles are far better, and the change in aspect ratio gives you about an extra half inch of vertical screen space when working on documents or spreadsheets, which is nice.

I think the ports issue is vastly overblown, but if you are convinced that it would be a problem for you, you obviously want to go with the MBA.

 

[mattopotamus]

with the task you mentioned, you are going to have no problem at all using the rMB.

 

[Bromio]

For your usage it shouldn't make any difference.
If you don't want the retina screen, then the base 11" mba will save you a lot of $$$ and perform exactly like the new macbook.

Thank you. I asked this question because remote sessions windows doesn't fit in the low resolution MBA screen, showing those uncomfortable vertical scroll bars. However, if the rMB were too much underpowered, I could bear the MBA low resolution.

I think I will go for the rMB.

Thanks again!

 

[newellj]

Thank you. I asked this question because remote sessions windows doesn't fit in the low resolution MBA screen, showing those uncomfortable vertical scroll bars. However, if the rMB were too much underpowered, I could bear the MBA low resolution.

I think I will go for the rMB.

Thanks again!

What are you using for remote Windows sessions? I ask because I use Citirx and VMWare for remote access to my firm's servers.

 

[Bromio]

The short answer is that it isn't underpowered at all by comparison.

I owned one of those for 13 days earlier this year. I had really hoped it would work for me - I should have known better because I'd owned and sold two MBAs before that. Frankly, I hate the crappy TN panel. It just does not work for me. I'm not saying it won't work for anyone else - it obviously does, since Apple sells a lot of MBAs. Anyway, to your question:

Using the 2015 MBA and the rMB for the same tasks (Word, Excel, Acrobat Pro, Citrix remote sessions, Safari with lots of tabs open, etc.), I did not notice any issues with either. Both are snappy with no performance issues. Obviously, since I did not have them at the same time, I didn't try to do any A:B comparisons, but you said you weren't looking for benchmarks in any case.

The display is a big plus for the rMB. The color accuracy and viewing angles are far better, and the change in aspect ratio gives you about an extra half inch of vertical screen space when working on documents or spreadsheets, which is nice.

I think the ports issue is vastly overblown, but if you are convinced that it would be a problem for you, you obviously want to go with the MBA.

Thank you.

As I'm going to write a lot and make a lot of figures for my presentations and documents, good display is utterly important.

With respect to the ports issue, I think it would be a problem just for those days when I had to deliver a presentation and needed both the charger, the VGA output and an USB pointer. Anyway, in those situations I will have to carry many other devices, so I think taking the adapter will be OK. In addition, nearly every ultrabook needs at least one VGA/HDMI adapter.

I think I will go for the rMB.

Thanks!

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What are you using for remote Windows sessions? I ask because I use Citirx and VMWare for remote access to my firm's servers.

I use CoRD and Microsoft Remote Desktop. My firm's server is Windows-based. Both applications produce that undesirable vertical scrolls in MBAs.

 

[enduser99]

All I can say is, the rMB "feels" underpowered compared to a mid-2012 13" 1.8GHz MBA. So, I would expect it to feel even more underpowered compared to a 2015 MBA model.

 

[Bromio]

All I can say is, the rMB "feels" underpowered compared to a mid-2012 13" 1.8GHz MBA. So, I would expect it to feel even more underpowered compared to a 2015 MBA model.

How do you define "feel"? Lag? For what usages?

 

[enduser99]

Hard to quantify exactly. The time between trackpad inputs and screen outputs seemed to disrupt my workflow, I was waiting, and became agitated, as compared to my 2012 MBA. I use Outlook v15. Word & Excel 2011. Lots of Chrome tabs open at once. No fancy 3D. No games. No CAD. Typing inputs did not respond fast enough at all times. Windows too too long to open. Menus took too long to respond. Felt like a netbook or VNC remote at times.

 

[UBS28]

Is the rMB faster than an iPad Air 2, considering the iPad Air 2 is faster than older MBA?