Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is the 8th GPU Core on the MacBook Air worth $50 to You?

  • Yes

    Votes: 25 48.1%
  • No

    Votes: 18 34.6%
  • Depends

    Votes: 9 17.3%

  • Total voters
    52

KPOM

macrumors P6
Original poster
Oct 23, 2010
18,255
8,208
The 8th GPU core is an extra $50. Given that the existing Intel MacBook Air had fairly mediocre integrated graphics, are you tempted to save the $50 and get the 7-core GPU? (FYI, you do that by starting with the $999 model and configuring with the RAM and SSD of your choice. The $1199 model has the 8-core GPU).
 

echodriver

macrumors member
Nov 10, 2020
30
52
Depends on the benchmarks. Given the $50 price difference and minimal emphasis (marketing) on the difference, I'm expecting minimal differences
 
  • Like
Reactions: ascender

aednichols

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2010
382
311
Seven is fine with me, still going to be insanely fast.

With the education discount the gap grows to $70.

For the 16 GB/1 TB config I ordered, $1509 vs. $1439.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jsoto

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,413
19,495
It's not just the 1 GPU core, it's more power to the chip. overall, probably 20-30% difference in CPU performance and more in GPU performance.

That said, I think that the the Air is the best choice for a home/office user right now.
 

aednichols

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2010
382
311
It's not just the 1 GPU core, it's more power to the chip. overall, probably 20-30% difference in CPU performance and more in GPU performance.

That said, I think that the the Air is the best choice for a home/office user right now.
How do you figure that? The CPU core count is identical at 8.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fomalhaut

acidfast7_redux

Suspended
Nov 10, 2020
567
521
uk
Yes, always. That's an extra core you can't snap in like modular RAM. Rule of thumb is always get the highest spec you can afford.
Nah. I always buy the lowest spec. It would cost £250 to upgrade. I'd rather by 5 new lower spec machines for my reserach group than only 4 upgraded machines.

And I find that upgrade dubious at best.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jsoto and alter_ohm

Deinocheirus

Suspended
Oct 5, 2020
380
565
Depends on what performance gains that eighth GPU core brings...?
There are a lot of people asking a lot of ridiculous questions today, since Apple didn't see fit to provide any real world comparison data on performance, other than charts that show "Better....much, much better"
 
  • Like
Reactions: Glmnet1

aednichols

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2010
382
311
Nah. I always buy the lowest spec. It would cost £250 to upgrade. I'd rather by 5 new lower spec machines for my reserach group than only 4 upgraded machines.

And I find that upgrade dubious at best.
Similarly, I'd rather upgrade more frequently – which brings massive bumps in performance – than stretch an old high-spec machine for a long time.
 

leman

macrumors Core
Oct 14, 2008
19,413
19,495
Where are you getting those details from?

My own guesses based on the way too much time I spend researching this stuff ;) Basic reasoning: Air is passively cooled and has around 5W or more less power available to it's SoC. That is enough to have slightly higher burst frequencies for the CPU, and more then enough to significantly increase the sustained performance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: the-tml

Steve28

macrumors regular
Jun 14, 2011
223
109
Active vs. passive cooling. The Air only has 9-10 watts of power available to the SoC, the MacBook Pro will have 15W or more.
I believe the question was "What does the extra GPU get you?" - the Air can be upgraded to double the storage and the 8-core GPU for $250. The OP concluded that the storage was worth $200 and the GPU was with $50. So the question is ... is the extra GPU worth $50
 
  • Like
Reactions: xander09 and SBlue1

icymountain

macrumors 6502a
Dec 12, 2006
532
598
The specifications are pretty terse, so the impact of this "upgrade" is unclear. If it is just a bit of GPU power, it is probably useless, but maybe this corresponds to more difference than this. For instance, is the clock frequency the same ?
The best solution is to wait for benchmarks...
 

acidfast7_redux

Suspended
Nov 10, 2020
567
521
uk
I believe the question was "What does the extra GPU get you?" - the Air can be upgraded to double the storage and the 8-core GPU for $250. The OP concluded that the storage was worth $200 and the GPU was with $50. So the question is ... is the extra GPU worth $50
wow, that's an interesting explanation, said with British accent and teeth missing/bent.
 

aednichols

macrumors 6502
Jun 9, 2010
382
311
I think I’m the idiot here actually. I only now realized that you guys are talking about the MBA upgrade only. Sorry. Too tired ?
Fair enough. Now that the Air has the P3 screen it is a no-brainer for me over the Pro, no Touch Bar is a feature.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.