...man this thing is fast!!! Truly unbeatable at the price point.
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Just received my 2020 i5/16gb/256 Air
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I'm glad you're enjoying your MBA! I also ordered the 10th gen MBP 13, but ended up canceling the order before it shipped. For my usage there hasn't been a task the MBA (i5/8/512) hasn't flown through, and post heat sink mod(s), it now runs cool and silent. With the base 16" MBP on sale for $2099 I strongly considered going that route for the bigger screen and better speakers but with a desktop PC at home I simply don't need the added power.
With ARM MacBooks coming next year (which I don’t want), I have been looking closer at MBP vs MBA. I don’t want a touch bar, and I want a computer that will last for a few years. I do mainly office work and logging in remotely via Citrix, the MBA model you describe is probably all I need.
I have to say that coming from a 2018 MBP 13 /w touch bar for work that having real keys is soooo much better. I realise that my MBA will perform less efficiently than the MBP under load but again, I don't do photoshop, rendering or compression. I'm very impressed by the instant burst of the i5, I wasn't expecting such a responsive machine!
Just an update to say that I installed and launched Win10 on VirtualBox vm on an external ssd and, again, it is snappy and flawless. The fans did kick in, for a short while but performance was just stellar, I'm truly a happy camper!
My i5 MBA is silent almost all the time - only hear the fan at times I'd expect to hear it from pushing the CPU with a heavy load in Lightroom processing a batch of photos.
Similarly it runs cool. Just checked bottom of the case is 85F, palm rests are 78F, metal above F6 key 89F.
I've not done any modifications.
Just got mine with the exact same spec. So far not sure what all the fuss is about regarding heat and fans. New computer, busy indexing, downloading my iCloud, indexing Photos for search too, updating, installing apps, while I'm going about my work, with tons of stuff open. The type of stuff on a new computer that sometimes put on the fans.
Silent.
Also, I'm coming from the 2019 1.4 Pro, which is the same as the 2020 Pro, except keyboard. There's no comparison. I think the base Pro is the worst computer I've had from Apple in 20 years. My base Pro runs pretty hot all the time, even when nothing is open, sluggish, and the fans come on at the slightest provocation.
2020 MBA with the i5 and RAM upgrade is a keeper. Completely cool to touch when typing. Completely cool on my legs.
IMO, much better than the base Pro, and the weight difference is noticeable. Even compared to the £1799 'Proper Pro'. Graphics are the same, RAM is the same, SSD is the same, Single Core performance pretty much the same. Unless you're a regular multi-core user then the Air is going to be more than good enough for a large of amount of computer users.
Silent.
Also, I'm coming from the 2019 1.4 Pro, which is the same as the 2020 Pro, except keyboard. There's no comparison. I think the base Pro is the worst computer I've had from Apple in 20 years. My base Pro runs pretty hot all the time, even when nothing is open, sluggish, and the fans come on at the slightest provocation.
2020 MBA with the i5 and RAM upgrade is a keeper. Completely cool to touch when typing. Completely cool on my legs.
IMO, much better than the base Pro, and the weight difference is noticeable. Even compared to the £1799 'Proper Pro'. Graphics are the same, RAM is the same, SSD is the same, Single Core performance pretty much the same. Unless you're a regular multi-core user then the Air is going to be more than good enough for a large of amount of computer users.
Shouldn't be any effect. At least I can't fathom what mechanism might cause such an effect. How are you thinking that'd work?
If I had to guess I'd suggest that those choosing the upgraded RAM may tend to be more experienced/knowledgeable users, and thus know to expect an indexing load during the first couple days, know what actions reasonably cause sustained CPU loading (and thus don't see it as an issue when it occurs, because it's expected), and/or know what to look for when there's a rogue process hogging CPU.
The latter actually happened to me with my i5 MBA the first day. Fan was going crazy, system was definitely warm -- found that the daemon syncing to my Synology NAS had gone whacko and was using all the CPU it could get. I reset the sync setup and it went back to normal. Had the same happened to someone with a different background I can see how they might blame the MBA - when in fact the issue was third party software needing to be reset.
May I ask you why you do not recommend an ARM based macbook? Since I am not a technician I would like to understand a bit more: to wait for the new arm or get the actual mba...
Thanks
well, for one, lesser probability of having to continually swap between real and virtual ram. I can imagine that virtual ram (flash) generates more heat and maybe forces the cpu to work harder.
No. Highly improbable that any of these systems are thrashing. Users would be complaining about substantial slowness as well if they were thrashing hard enough to generate enough heat from the SSD to matter.
Plus you you have to be pushing hard to exceed the stock 8GB of RAM sufficiently to cause any substantial swapping. As in running multiple virtual machines.
Except very a specific sub-set of users, 8GB vs 16GB isn't going to be a factor in whether systems run cool.
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As I recall, the last time Apple switched CPUs (PowerPC to Intel) things were a little rocky with regards to apps and stuff getting updated.
I'd personally give it an iteration or two before I bought an ARM based macbook.
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Thanks for the impressions. My 2011 11" MBA with 4GB RAM is in desperate need of an upgrade. Fans go crazy just by having a few MacRumors tabs open in Safari (I think it's the ads). Fans also go crazy when I'm watching YT videos. Slack in browser is slow.
I'm wondering if I should hold out for the Arm models or upgrade now and wait for the Arm stuff to improve. I had my PowerBook 12" for 7 years before upgrading to this MBA, which is nearly 9 years old now. I'm worried that if I get an Intel one now, that it won't last as long because Apple is moving to Arm. Yes, there will be universal apps, but for how long? Can I expect Universal apps to keep coming after 5 years?
I'm wondering if I should hold out for the Arm models or upgrade now and wait for the Arm stuff to improve. I had my PowerBook 12" for 7 years before upgrading to this MBA, which is nearly 9 years old now. I'm worried that if I get an Intel one now, that it won't last as long because Apple is moving to Arm. Yes, there will be universal apps, but for how long? Can I expect Universal apps to keep coming after 5 years?
my 2011 MBA just ended and all my fault - pen on keyboard + closed it, not a happy screen, 9 great years!
MBA's are awesome
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had a 2011 MBA as well + just upgraded to 2020 MBA - do not think anyone has a clue on timeframe and what model will even be first - also, as with all new Apple products there will surely be a few kinks to work out
I'm wondering what you're using to test the temperature at different parts of the laptop?
I had an i5/8gb/512gb air & it was close to 99C when i tested it using intel power gadget. Was afraid it running too hot.
Returned it for the 10th gen pro but i'm thinking if i should get the i5/16gb/512gb air instead as it is significantly cheaper
That’s exactly what I started with, a 10th gen MBP and swapped it with the i5/16/256 MBA, couldn’t be happier and also saved a significant amount.
Do you notice any difference in speed and heat? also what did you use to check the temperature of the cpu at different spots of the laptop?