Macbook 1.3GHz Core M vs Macbook Air 2.2GHz i7

[StevenB7]

I am trying to decide between a Macbook 1.3GHz Dual-Core Intel Core M Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz and a 13" Macbook Air 2.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz both with 256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage and 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM.

I would go with the Air if it had a Retina display but the lack is really giving me pause.

The geekbrench numbers on the 1.1 and 1.2 Core M don't make the i7 sound that much faster. Can anyone help be get my head around how large the speed difference would be?

I know the 13" Air has a 2x faster Flash Drive than prior models. Has anyone tested the speed of the flash drive on the Macbook to see if it's comparable in read and write speed?

Thanks!

 

[ccsasuke]

I am trying to decide between a Macbook 1.3GHz Dual-Core Intel Core M Turbo Boost up to 2.9GHz and a 13" Macbook Air 2.2GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz both with 256GB PCIe-based Flash Storage and 8GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM.

I would go with the Air if it had a Retina display but the lack is really giving me pause.

The geekbrench numbers on the 1.1 and 1.2 Core M don't make the i7 sound that much faster. Can anyone help be get my head around how large the speed difference would be?

I know the 13" Air has a 2x faster Flash Drive than prior models. Has anyone tested the speed of the flash drive on the Macbook to see if it's comparable in read and write speed?

Thanks!

i7-5650U should be considerably faster than 5Y71. (10%-20% in short benchmarks, even more when under continuous load.)
rMB did not get the PCIe x4 (aka 2x faster) SSD (at least inferred from read/write speeds) per earlier reviews from Engadget and Ars.

I'm still buying rMB though, since i)the performance really makes difference in a very limited, in any, number of real-world scenarios. In other words, most of the things that can be done on a MBA could probably work Okay on a rMB. (rMBP may make a difference though.) ii)rMB has a better (or at least newer) design (light, thin, retina screen, etc.)

 

[garyleecn]

depends on what you will use it for.
if you just use it for browsing or typing words/excels, you won't feel any difference (except the screen )
if you will do some photo/video editing on a regular basis, air will definitely be faster, even they have the same cpu, the fan on air will keep its cpu running on higher frequency for a much longer period time. but, in this case, i believe your better choice maybe pros.


as for disk speed. i personally have a 128 2013rmbp, and bought a 1tb ssd for that. the speed for those two ssds are 200w/500r and 1000w/1000r, but i don't feel any difference, at all. well, except the capacity of course.