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MacBook Air 'Ultimate' Configurations Benchmarked
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Thanks bro! I agree...I saw the 11" MBA and it was way to small for the screen...i will use my Ipad 64Gb for traveling...but I really like the MBAs for what they are... I wish I could get a quad i7 or i5 in the 21 inch iMac.....
My heart says (buy) now, my brain says (should have bought) yesterday, my spouse says no
Why did they put the MagSafe port on one side and the mini display port on the other side?? Is the Cinema display cord long enough to reach both sides? I know you can use the macbook air's battery or the the supplied power adapter, but come on! its not really a problem for me....yet. I plan on getting a macbook air, and then buying a cinema display. Oh wel... maybe next update will fix this tiny problem.
No, you are not at vastly different price points:
13" MBA, 4 GB, 2.13 GHz, 256 GB SSD: $1700
13" MBP, 4 GB, 2.4 GHz, 256 GB SSD: $2000 (or $1800 with third-party SSD which gives you a free 250 GB drive on top)
Or with 128 GB SSD:
MBA: $1400
MBP: $1550 ($1500 with third-party SSD)
The Air is cheaper but not vastly (and you get a faster processor with the MBP, longer battery life, FW800, the option of adding a HDD on top of your SSD and the option to go to 8 GB).
Yes, the Air is the cheapest way to get a SSD in a new Mac laptop. But buy a used MBP and put a SSD in it and you likely come out cheaper with the same performance, graphics are faster on the new Air but processor faster on a used MBP.
The Air is about size and weight and but only if you compromise on RAM and processor speed also about 'cheap' SSD.
Still wish Intel would get the stick out of their ass and let Nvidia build chipsets for the core-i family. It's the only real reason the 13-inch Macbook "Pro" (and that term is used loosely) is still stuck in C2D land.
Would have been interesting to see how the ULV Arrandale parts performed in the 11 incher. The ULV Arrandales have higher TDP though, but the 11-incher apparently runs quite cool. Either way, hope this is the last we see of Penryn.
Would have been interesting to see how the ULV Arrandale parts performed in the 11 incher. The ULV Arrandales have higher TDP though, but the 11-incher apparently runs quite cool. Either way, hope this is the last we see of Penryn.
I think the real question is what can the end user do to get his/her current laptop to run at its real performance and not the watered down performance.
Would you mind posting up benchmark results? I have a 13' MBP from 2009 and im still undecided between the MBA or keep mine and add an SSD...
The whole notion of giving one notebook a cheaper third party SSD upgrade option while not giving the other one the third party SSD option (even when there's already been confirmed third party options in the works for it) when talking about fair comparisons is a bit contradictory, wouldn't you say?
My heart says (buy) now, my brain says (should have bought) yesterday, my spouse says no
My heart says 11 inch, My brain says 13, no 11, no 13, no 11, My wife says buy me one too!
I don't know what store you're looking at, but on the Canadian site:
13 MBP, 2.4 GHz, 8 GB RAM, 256 SSD = $2510.00
13 MBA, 2.13 GHz, 4 GB RAM, 256 SSD = $1849.00
Pretty vast to me.
If portability is a factor, go with the Air. I dropped from a MBP to a MBA and can't imagine going back to something larger for portability.
Then again nothing I do on the go is terribly intensive. I'm not editing audio/video, and my serious number crunching is done on cluster or my dedicated machines. But as a couch surfer, movie watcher, emailer....the Air wins hands down in my experience.
I just sold my late '09 MBA about a month or so ago in anticipation of a refresh. And I'll probably go smaller, for the 11 incher and dump my iPad. For me there is zero reason to have an iPad when there's an 11 inch MBA available.
I'll save you the trip. The stores don't carry the 4GB models so if you want a maxxed MBA, you'll have to order it online.Just what I needed. Well these max'd config tests starting to show up and the fact I found a quick buyer for my 4,1 MBP. No more going back and forth the 13" max'd it is for me. For what it's worth it will be my only Mac laptop - actually will be my ONLY Mac - until next iMacs drop. Now to find one around my neck of the woods in store.
I doubt replacing the 128 GB SSD in the 13" MBA with a third-party SSD module would reduce the price much compared to Apple's options as you still somehow have to pay for both a 128 GB SSD and a 256 GB SSD, whereas for a MBP you only pay for a 250 GB HDD and a 256 GB SSD.
Put another way, for the Air, going from a 128 GB to a 256 GB SSD costs you $300 (from Apple), going from a 250 GB HDD to a 256 GB SSD on a MBP costs you $800. You can beat the $800 with a third-party SSD, I doubt you can beat the $300 with a third-party SSD module, it is still the same amount of flash memory.
If you could order the 13" MBA with a 250 GB HDD instead of the 128 GB SSD and pay $350 less (as it is the case with the MBP), you would have a point but you cannot. You can get a MBP from Apple without paying Apple's prices for SSDs, you cannot do the same with the Air.
ahhh...yup. he seems to have corrected it in the original post.
even so...i don't think you can compare the two. they're for two different purposes...one is ultra-portable, the other is just portable.
and considering that a month ago a MBA would be more expensive than a more spec'd out pro, i'd say Apple finally got it right with the new Airs in that the prices actually reflect what you get...if you want more power, you pay more for it.
Sorry that was a typo, I meant 4 GB for all models (it's corrected now).
Yes, that is my last sentence in my OP now. The Air is about portability first and only about cheap SSD if you compromise in other areas (RAM, processor).
And I agree as well, Apple got it right now with the pricing.
