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MBP i5 2.3Ghz or wait for MBA?

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Pyrophor2011

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 1, 2011
44
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The current MBA's are too underpowered for me but the MBP i5 is good enough. Is it likely that the new MBA's supposedly coming out this month would be anything near as good as the current MBP i5?

I know the rumor is that the MBA will be ULV and therefore a small upgrade from the current model. That situation would most likely still leave me needing more power.
 
I have the 13" MBP i5 2.3 GHz. But, I added a 128 GB SSD. It's an amazing machine. I've run parallelized MATLAB scripts that utilize all four virtual cores, and they run in less than half the time of an iMac 3.06 GHz C2D. The SSD makes a profound difference in the overall responsiveness.

If you can afford it, go MBP + SSD.
 
I'm wondering this myself man, the Air's got a real appeal about it.

I'm going to wait until AnandTech and Geekbench have got hold of the new models before making a decision. I love the 13 MBPs also, but the thought of carting it between towns for Uni compared to the weight of the MBA is making me think that I should wait a couple of weeks more.

That said, it wouldn't be a primary comp for me, so I don't know whether that's a consideration for you.
 
I ordered the MBP 13 base i5 at a nice discount from the Apple Store.

As long as I'm ok with the resolution that looked fine at the Apple Store, the MBP will be just right for me.

The rep was really cool and assured me I could send it back if it isn't right for me. Can't go wrong with that. :apple:
 
You're gonna have to pay $1,699.00 or $1,799.00(depending on if they offer 4GB RAM standard) to get a MBA comparable in specs to the current base MBP 13in for $1199. I think we'll be seeing the Intel® Core™ i7-2649M in the highest prices 13in MBA it has a clock speed of 2.3 GHz
 
If a 2.3 i5 is only good enough for you, not overkill, why would you consider a machine that is likely to have about 2/3 of the raw performance?
 
42streetsdown said:
You're gonna have to pay $1,699.00 or $1,799.00(depending on if they offer 4GB RAM standard) to get a MBA comparable in specs to the current base MBP 13in for $1199. I think we'll be seeing the Intel® Core™ i7-2649M in the highest prices 13in MBA it has a clock speed of 2.3 GHz
Click to expand...

Not to mention you would have to buy a $450-550 third party ssd to match the MBA.
 
Apple Expert said:
Add a ssd to the MBP. That will make it faster than the MBA.
Click to expand...

Lies! The MBA has been optimized for SSD technology so it will still be faster. I remember a website comparing the MBA vs 15" MBP with a sandforce SSD (which is way faster than Apple's SSD) and the MBA won across the board.

Now, I'm just being super nitpicky because it was something like 14.1s MBA to 15.3 MPB startup, 1.0s MBA to 1.5s MBP wake, etc... but still, the point is that MBA will always be faster because MBP is optimized for HDD and now SSD
 
Monkeychemist said:
Lies! The MBA has been optimized for SSD technology so it will still be faster. I remember a website comparing the MBA vs 15" MBP with a sandforce SSD (which is way faster than Apple's SSD) and the MBA won across the board.

Now, I'm just being super nitpicky because it was something like 14.1s MBA to 15.3 MPB startup, 1.0s MBA to 1.5s MBP wake, etc... but still, the point is that MBA will always be faster because MBP is optimized for HDD and now SSD
Click to expand...

Can you please provide your research that proves this?
 
Pyrophor2011 said:
The current MBA's are too underpowered for me but the MBP i5 is good enough. Is it likely that the new MBA's supposedly coming out this month would be anything near as good as the current MBP i5?
Click to expand...

No the CPU will be weaker. But are you sure you need so much CPU power?

Monkeychemist said:
Sure, here it is: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3991/apples-2010-macbook-air-11-13inch-reviewed/4
Click to expand...

With the Kingston V+ 100 in my MBP 2011 i5 I also get 14 seconds boots. So it's not really the MBA vs. MBP that's making the difference.
 
Monkeychemist said:
Sure, here it is: http://www.anandtech.com/show/3991/apples-2010-macbook-air-11-13inch-reviewed/4

...and just to be clear (since internet does not portray emotions) I was just being a smartass, I wasn't seriously being a jerk. In fact, I don't know too much about the technical aspects, I've just done a lot of research lately when trying to figure out what my ideal mac would be.
Click to expand...

No offense taken at all. But that's comparing a 2010 MBP vs 2010 MBA. I think most people are in the market for the current model of MBP. This video shows the two in direct competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp720fEnuRs
 
Apple Expert said:
No offense taken at all. But that's comparing a 2010 MBP vs 2010 MBA. I think most people are in the market for the current model of MBP. This video shows the two in direct competition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qp720fEnuRs
Click to expand...

cool video, though I wish they had compared the 13in MBA because the 11in is crippled by the slower CPU. It would have been a better comparison in my opinion.
 
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