MacBook Air 13. I5 or i7?

[mattferg]

Precisely. So no extra heat, power loss, blah blah. But for when I need the power, I have it, where in the i5 I am stuck. See the point?

No, not really all that important. That broad generalization is completely inaccurate. Calling the i7 a niche option is like calling the v8 a niche engine. If you are happy with your i5, good for you. But for those of us who prefer a more powerful and capable processor, we prefer the i7. Thank you for your concern though.

I have one very simple reply to that.

What do YOU need the extra power that the i7 gives you for? Since you seem to prefer a more powerful and capable processor in exchange for battery life, what are you doing that needs the power?

Can't be gaming as all the benchmarks show it gives a minute FPS increase as the GPU is the bottleneck. The i7 is starting to seem more and more like a V12...

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I noticed a difference when using the MBA on an external monitor. In this case, I got some really annoying lags inside the OS X GUI (e. g. switching space). The i7 is snappier - noticeable not psychological. And I tested it on two monitors (one with HDMI, one with VGA). Maybe it is because I have a lot of Apps open or because I had an i5 model with some hardware problem. Don't know.

So - a simple solution: buy the i5, have a look to it, use it for the tasks you normally use them and also plug the system to you external monitor (if you use one). If you happy with it, than keep it. If not, go for the i7. Thats the whole story.

cu
SchodMC

Definitely psychological, as the external monitor thing would be a GPU load and the CPU clock speed would have minimal to no effect on this. HD 5000 is more than enough to have no lag on an external monitor. Again, I've tried all this, and in day to day tasks there's no difference whatsoever between the i5 and i7.

 

[ZBoater]

What do YOU need the extra power that the i7 gives you for? Since you seem to prefer a more powerful and capable processor in exchange for battery life, what are you doing that needs the power?

Well, that would be my business. I didn't know one needed a reason to want the fastest and most powerful model of a computer one could afford. And you are basing your comment on a false premise. For my usage pattern, I am not exchanging battery life. I am just paying to have the upgraded capability of the i7 over the i5. If I choose to encode a movie or play Civ5, I typically do not do that on battery anyway. Those would drain an i5 just as well as an i7 anyway, I mean, if an i5 could play Civ5 that is....

 

[Ronnoco]

i'd rather have the more powerful and faster processor for when i need it than save $150.

+1

 

[alexandermont]

I've just ordered a 8 GB RAM 13 inch with an i7. This thread gives me a bit of doubt.

Stuff I'll be doing that could require the i7:

* Some video creation and editing
* Programming (just learning at the moment)

I don't really care about battery life, not a constraint for me. However, I HATE having the fan run.

Is this significantly more likely with the i7, in light and in heavy use cases?

 

[sam84]

looks like i am in trouble to purchase

as i am flying from canada to india this friday night, i decided to purchase mba with 8gb memory finally. but when i called apple, they said they have only 4gb (i tried many stores with no success). time required to order online and get delivered is 1 week.so i have no option to go for 8gb in mba. in india there is no option to customize mac.
now i have two options.
1) mba i5 with 4gb/ 256 gb
2) mbp with ratina 128 gb , 256 is expensive

i was thinking if i5 mba with 4gb will be fine with photoshop,dreamweaver and other programming.
any suggestions plz..
thanks

 

[SchodMC]

Definitely psychological, as the external monitor thing would be a GPU load and the CPU clock speed would have minimal to no effect on this. HD 5000 is more than enough to have no lag on an external monitor. Again, I've tried all this, and in day to day tasks there's no difference whatsoever between the i5 and i7.

Believe me - I can see the difference of a smooth animation and an animation that lags. But nice that you can define whether it is a fact or only "psychological" what I will see. Thanks for that.

I just ordered the i5 and thought, the machine will be enough. The monitor-thing was something that leads me to order the i7. And I see the difference. I don't know why there is a difference, but as I told it could also be a problem of the i5 I had.

But what is your problem? I went for the i7 not only because of that - let call it "psychological" - monitor problem / mistake, but also because the MBA is my one and only machine (beside a PS3 for gaming, but that's not the point here). And so for me the MBA is an ultra portable desktop replacement. Having a little bit more power is no failure. Beside this when I'm at work, I connect my iPhone and iPad with the MBA (for charging reasons), and also plug in an external USB drive, etc. So the i7 is not the problem for battery life here. And when I go to work outside the office (e. g. somewhere where I also could take a cup of coffee), the battery life will be enough to do the job. And I still have enough battery life left to sit on my couch after the work is done and browse the internet, do a little bit just-for-fun-Xcode coding, etc.

Could the i5 do the same job? Yes, of course! Is the i7 necessary - maybe no, but it's also no overkill. It's not to have a powerful machine like an 4 core rMBA or an Mac Pro. It's only to have a ultra portable, nice machine with an extra kick of power that come in handy if doing some photo / video / gaming / any other cpu-itensive things. Is that wrong? I thing no. Why can't you accept this as well as the fact that all the i7 users (with the similar argumentation) tell it to others just to say "Hey - i5 will be fine, i7 will be finer and nothing you will regret".

You're fine with the i5, we are fine with the i7. Couldn't we just agree with that? Beside this I think, that the battery life of the i7 will be good enough for at least 90% of the MBA owners. Nothing I can prove, just a theory.

cu
SchodMC

 

[AXs]

if it was dual core i5 to quad core i7, I would certainly say i7.

But you're not going to see much difference, especially with the Air's build. either i5 or i7 - it is still FAR from a good performance computer.

A 2011 15" Pro is still twice or thrice as fast as the latest ultimate Air.

imo - if you're in graphics designing, or editing, processing - Definitely go for a laptop with dedicated graphics. In Apple's case - Macbook Pro 15".

But now if one can't afford the 15" Pro, I could see why they would opt for the i7/8.

 

[AXs]

So I'd rather have the more POWERFUL and FASTER processor for when I need it than save $150.

Yes, that's why I have a $2000 custom PC and a $2500 Ethos Notebook... so I have the more powerful and faster processors when I need it

 

[sam84]

Yes, that's why I have a $2000 custom PC and a $2500 Ethos Notebook... so I have the more powerful and faster processors when I need it

what should i buy then?
usage
photoshop,dreamweaver,notepad++, internet,jquery,java script.

 

[ZBoater]

Yes, that's why I have a $2000 custom PC and a $2500 Ethos Notebook... so I have the more powerful and faster processors when I need it

I can appreciate that, but I think we are discussing this topic in the context of the MBA, and specifically between the i5 and i7 and the $150 difference between the 2. The MBA is certainly not the be all end all of computers.

 

[SchodMC]

if it was dual core i5 to quad core i7, I would certainly say i7.

But you're not going to see much difference, especially with the Air's build. either i5 or i7 - it is still FAR from a good performance computer.

A 2011 15" Pro is still twice or thrice as fast as the latest ultimate Air.

imo - if you're in graphics designing, or editing, processing - Definitely go for a laptop with dedicated graphics. In Apple's case - Macbook Pro 15".

But now if one can't afford the 15" Pro, I could see why they would opt for the i7/8.

Your right - the MBA is FAR from a good performance computer. Well, the distance is greater for the i5 than for the i7 - not only because of more MHz but also because of internal differences (e. g. like the bigger internal cache) that for itself will bring an improvement. However, a super fast computer is not what I want if i buy a MBA. And the MBA on the other hand is no unusable slow computer (this includes the i5). It is a awesome computer with a not yes seen speed for this kind of mobile systems (including - or better - especially the I/O speed of the internal SSD).

IHMO the i7 MBA is a good compromise for an ultra-portable and enough power to manage some desktop-replacment jobs in an acceptable time / speed. Nice to see that there is at least someone who could see the reason, why an i7 has the right to exists. (Sorry if the last sentence sounds strange - it's because I don't know the english saying for this situations. ).

cu
SchodMC

 

[AXs]

I can appreciate that, but I think we are discussing this topic in the context of the MBA, and specifically between the i5 and i7 and the $150 difference between the 2. The MBA is certainly not the be all end all of computers.

With all due respect, $150 is big money for some people. I wasn't born rich, so I had to work for what I have, and I worked hard. So when i see you say - "oh haha just $150"... no, $150 is money my friend.

So for you "just 150" - is like for me, just $1500... because I make enough now.

But it doesnt change the fact that even $1 is so valuable buddy, I hope you will realize that one day. Good luck.

 

[mattferg]

Well, that would be my business. I didn't know one needed a reason to want the fastest and most powerful model of a computer one could afford. And you are basing your comment on a false premise. For my usage pattern, I am not exchanging battery life. I am just paying to have the upgraded capability of the i7 over the i5. If I choose to encode a movie or play Civ5, I typically do not do that on battery anyway. Those would drain an i5 just as well as an i7 anyway, I mean, if an i5 could play Civ5 that is....

Thanks for finally proving my point

 

[Primus84]

With all due respect, $150 is big money for some people. I wasn't born rich, so I had to work for what I have, and I worked hard. So when i see you say - "oh haha just $150"... no, $150 is money my friend.

So for you "just 150" - is like for me, just $1500... because I make enough now.

But it doesnt change the fact that even $1 is so valuable buddy, I hope you will realize that one day. Good luck.

His money, his values. Your money, your values.

Quit preaching!

 

[mattferg]

Believe me - I can see the difference of a smooth animation and an animation that lags. But nice that you can define whether it is a fact or only "psychological" what I will see. Thanks for that.

I just ordered the i5 and thought, the machine will be enough. The monitor-thing was something that leads me to order the i7. And I see the difference. I don't know why there is a difference, but as I told it could also be a problem of the i5 I had.

But what is your problem? I went for the i7 not only because of that - let call it "psychological" - monitor problem / mistake. Could the i5 do the same job? Yes, of course! Is the i7 necessary - maybe no, but it's also no overkill. "Hey - i5 will be fine, i7 will be finer and nothing you will regret".

I'm sorry but to argue that an i5 is incapable of loading a non laggy animation vs a mildly faster i7 just proves that you don't get it.

The i7 isn't any faster in regular every day scenarios. There is no speedier performance, no less laggy animations, it just doesn't exist. Hence why the i7 won't be finer, for most people it just isn't worth the money because they will never see nor use the performance.

As for the fellow who ordered it for programming/editing, HE is the user who should be buying the i7, not the everyday joe who's being told to "go for it because you might as well" because, for him, he shouldn't buy the i7, and it isn't 'finer'. It IS overkill.

 

[w00d]

When's the last time you were using a laptop, and thought to yourself: I'd be just as happy if this machine were slower.

This has never happened to me.

I tried the 2013 i5 side by side with the 2013 i7 and there is a noticeable difference.

I have the 2013 i7 MBA and wish it were faster.

 

[Mike in Kansas]

So for you "just 150" - is like for me, just $1500... because I make enough now.

Just so we all understand - what you are saying is that $150 to ZBoater is just like $1,500 to you, which is a trivial amount. Is that what you're saying?

If so, wow. Just wow. Someone has self esteem issues if they need to be arrogant enough to brag about how little impact $1,500 has on their personal financial situation. Of course, this IS the Internet so I guess we can all be what we want to be on here...

 

[Tarrou8]

To each their own. Both the i5 and i7 are terrific on the new Haswell Airs. When the (subpar) display finally gets updated in the (hopefully) very near future, this already great ultraportable will once again dominate the field as it should.

 

[ZBoater]

With all due respect, $150 is big money for some people. I wasn't born rich, so I had to work for what I have, and I worked hard. So when i see you say - "oh haha just $150"... no, $150 is money my friend.

So for you "just 150" - is like for me, just $1500... because I make enough now.

But it doesnt change the fact that even $1 is so valuable buddy, I hope you will realize that one day. Good luck.

i wasnt born rich either, but $150 was less than 10% of the laptop price, almost as much as taxes, and I value top performance over $150.

With all due respect of course.

----------

Thanks for finally proving my point

Ummmmm, ok?

 

[AXs]

i wasnt born rich either, but $150 was less than 10% of the laptop price, almost as much as taxes, and I value top performance over $150.

With all due respect of course.

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Ummmmm, ok?

Yea that's completely fine dude. But you've been boasting about how it's "just $150" and "some people have deeper wallets" and so on... and again 10% is a lot of money.
10% of$15,000 bucks would be $1,500 - so what if I told you, why not pay $16,500 instead of $15,000 sapphire ring. It is ONLY 10%.

Same thing if you're buying a house - 10% of a million bucks is "only" $100,000

Like I said - "only" is subjective. The way you are rubbing it in to everyone that it is only "$150" and using emoticons to increase your argument strength... it's "only" $1500 bucks for me - same money I spent last night taking a customer out for dinner and drinks... the same way $15,000 would be "only" for a tycoon and $150,000 is something Kanye West would spend on one trip to the mall.

Please understand relativity. good day.

 

[DisplacedMic]

With all due respect, $150 is big money for some people. I wasn't born rich, so I had to work for what I have, and I worked hard. So when i see you say - "oh haha just $150"... no, $150 is money my friend.

So for you "just 150" - is like for me, just $1500... because I make enough now.

But it doesnt change the fact that even $1 is so valuable buddy, I hope you will realize that one day. Good luck.

Yea that's completely fine dude. But you've been boasting about how it's "just $150" and "some people have deeper wallets" and so on... and again 10% is a lot of money.
10% of$15,000 bucks would be $1,500 - so what if I told you, why not pay $16,500 instead of $15,000 sapphire ring. It is ONLY 10%.

Same thing if you're buying a house - 10% of a million bucks is "only" $100,000

Like I said - "only" is subjective. The way you are rubbing it in to everyone that it is only "$150" and using emoticons to increase your argument strength... it's "only" $1500 bucks for me - same money I spent last night taking a customer out for dinner and drinks... the same way $15,000 would be "only" for a tycoon and $150,000 is something Kanye West would spend on one trip to the mall.

Please understand relativity. good day.

yikes, i didn't get the sense that he was making light of the money or "rubbing it in to everyone" at all.

all he said was that he values the performance increase at or above the $150 cost.

if you'd rather have your quarter than that glass of lemonade, don't buy the lemonade.


i really don't understand why these threads need to turn nasty.

 

[fark]

If so, wow. Just wow. Someone has self esteem issues if they need to be arrogant enough to brag about how little impact $1,500 has on their personal financial situation. Of course, this IS the Internet so I guess we can all be what we want to be on here...

Self esteem issues is right. Bragging to strangers on the Internet about how much you (AXs) make????? Sad.

 

[SchodMC]

I'm sorry but to argue that an i5 is incapable of loading a non laggy animation vs a mildly faster i7 just proves that you don't get it.

The i7 isn't any faster in regular every day scenarios. There is no speedier performance, no less laggy animations, it just doesn't exist. Hence why the i7 won't be finer, for most people it just isn't worth the money because they will never see nor use the performance.

As for the fellow who ordered it for programming/editing, HE is the user who should be buying the i7, not the everyday joe who's being told to "go for it because you might as well" because, for him, he shouldn't buy the i7, and it isn't 'finer'. It IS overkill.

Ok, NOW I get the point - sorry for being laggy for myself. ;-) Well, it seems to me that my argumentation was not differentiated (was that the right word?) enough.

Generally I think that there is a noticeable difference between the i5 vs the i7. But it really could be that for a lot of "only-email-and-internet" users it won't be worth to spend $150 more for the i7. Even if the system will be plugged to an external monitor, the i5 will be fine, no question.

If someone uses his MBA for more - e. g. light photo / video editing, programming (as I do), maybe gaming - the i5 will be fine, but for this scenario the i7 is the finer option. So for people doing this, the i7 upgrade would be worth the money.

So if someone has $150 left to invest (because of need the more power, or because the MBA will be the one-and-only system), I think it's nothing that will be regretted later. If someone won't spend the money or don't have it, the i5 will also be fine. Never said that the i7 is a "must have" upgrade and the i5 is a no-go machine. Also the i7 upgrade is no "always-useless" thing. The argument with the laggy GUI shouldn't be used as "you always must go for i7" argument. It is only to argue that the difference is noticeable (at least not only for me) and the i7 upgrade could be worth to think about.

If you understand it otherwise, than I'm sorry. It's not that easy for me to say in english what I want to. Thinking and writing in a non-native language is a little bit complicated.

cu
SchodMC

 

[Cythth]

It's only a $150 difference, so get the i7 in my opinion. $150 is cheap in the respect that it buys you a year or two more down the road before having to replace it. If cost is an issue, you can always buy refurbished. There are some MBA's there.

 

[Primus84]

It's only a $150 difference, so get the i7 in my opinion. $150 is cheap in the respect that it buys you a year or two more down the road before having to replace it. If cost is an issue, you can always buy refurbished. There are some MBA's there.

Agreed, my i7 Haswell benchmarks almost the same score as my 2 year old iMac, it's a phenomenal machine.