MacBook Air 2012 core i5 or i7?

[JootecFromMars]

On the 13" the upgrade to i7 is only $90, but it's $135 to upgrade to i7 on the 11".

Your statement made me recheck the UK store as to the upgrade prices I'd previously noticed.

High End 13" Macbook Air:

UK - £1249 inc Tax
US - $1499 exc Tax
i7 upgrade -
UK - £120 inc Tax
US - $100 exc Tax

High End 11" Macbook Air:

UK - £929 inc Tax
US - $999 exc Tax
i7 upgrade -
UK - £130 inc Tax
US - $150 exc Tax

Currency Conversion Rate:
1.00 USD = 0.640513 GBP

I know we pay over the odds as it is in the UK but my calculations say we're paying 50% more to upgrade to an i7 in the UK. A higher markup than normal.

 

[mattpreston11]

A side note on those considering running in clamshell mode, I found on my 2010 that WI-FI was really poor when in clamshell mode.

I ended up using a USB to Ethernet adapter and some homeplugs for a better desktop connection.

 

[Jobsian]

Some points may be worth noting:

• I have yet to see controlled comparisons between the 2 processors on heat and battery. I'm trusting Anandtech are working on this in a mega review since they have been quiet on the new MBAs so far
• Anecdotally the i7 seems to run warm but I haven't personally read any reviews saying the i5 runs any cooler (so far)
• There are quite a few reports that theoretically (no more than that) there should be minimal difference in heat and power between the 2 processors
• There have been performance comparisons between the 2 processors in terms of benchmarks and the i7 numerically beats the i5 quite significantly. It's unclear and I suspect unlikely that this translates into everyday noticeable difference to the average user
• However, and I haven't seen this point yet made, despite only a 300MHz difference between the two CPUs, this is amplified to a difference of 600MHz when in Turbo, which I suspect may well be noticeable if you plan on stressing your CPU
• I went for the higher end I went for i7 because of the above point, ie when I'm doing something intensive I hope to do it that bit faster. Also that theoretically there should be minimal difference in heat and battery
• Again however, personally speaking I will regret not going for the i5 if the battery is more than marginally better when the controlled comparisons are published

I have to now add another note in light of Ars Techica's review of both the 11" i5 and i7, which has made me a little more glad to have gone for the i7 (coming from the 2010 C2D); check out the graphs (I can't post it as I'm on a phone):

http://arstechnica.com/apple/2012/06/review-the-2012-macbook-air-soars-with-ivy-bridge/

As she says, the 2011 i7 performs "similarly" to 2012 i5. Disappointingly there's no direct comparison of battery between the two 2012 models.