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spinner75

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 25, 2011
3
0
Hey all. I have a 2008 Macbook unibody with a 2.0 GHZ processor. I want something more current so i'm looking at a MBA. This will be my primary computer and I mainly want it for music recording/production through Logic and Reason as well as daily internet, photo's and converting the odd movie. My budget basically allows for the 11 inch with an upgraded i7 processor or the standard 13 inch with the i5 processor. Where do you all figure my money is best spent?
 
The performance between the two will be very similar (the Core i7 performs about 8-10% better than the 1.7GHz i5). The 11" is more portable, but the 13" has a higher resolution screen (1440x900), so if screen space is important, I'd go for the 13". There is slightly more "bang for the buck" with the 13" because it has better battery life, the SD card slot, and higher resolution screen, but the 11" is also a good choice.
 
I'm not sure, but I was reading this article and it said that the i7 will give you about a 25% speed increase over the i5 on the 11" MacBook Air. The 13" only gives you 10% speed increase if you choose the i7 over the i5. I'm not sure how accurate this is though, and I'm also trying to decide whether I should get the i5 or the i7 11" MacBook.

http://maccrazy.com/macbook-air-2011-i5-vs-i7-is-the-upgrade-worth-it
 
I'm not sure, but I was reading this article and it said that the i7 will give you about a 25% speed increase over the i5 on the 11" MacBook Air. The 13" only gives you 10% speed increase if you choose the i7 over the i5. I'm not sure how accurate this is though, and I'm also trying to decide whether I should get the i5 or the i7 11" MacBook.

http://maccrazy.com/macbook-air-2011-i5-vs-i7-is-the-upgrade-worth-it

The 11" uses a slower i5. Although the base speed is only 100MHz slower, the 11" i5 has a slower Turbo Boost. That's why there's a 20-25% difference in the 11" and only 8-10% in the 13".
 
Yeah i'm sure that either will still run faster than my 2.0GhZ Core 2 Duo! I love the idea of the portability of the 11 but as my primary machine it may be a little taxing on the eyes.
 
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