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MBP outperformed by older MBA??

OperatorJ81

OperatorJ81

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 22, 2015
75
40
Hey guys,
I have 2 MacBooks - a 2014 13" MBA 1.7GhZ / 8GB / 500GB SSD and a 2015 13" rMBP 3.2GHz / 16GB / 500G SSD. They are running identical software loads (OS and apps) - both "restored" from the same Time Machine backup. The weird thing is - the MBP feels quite a bit slower than the MBA, even though it has quite a bit more power. Any thoughts as to what is causing this? I expected far better performance from a higher horsepower machine, and just don't seem to be getting it. TIA,

Jason
 
OperatorJ81 said:
Hey guys,
I have 2 MacBooks - a 2014 13" MBA 1.7GhZ / 8GB / 500GB SSD and a 2015 13" rMBP 3.2GHz / 16GB / 500G SSD. They are running identical software loads (OS and apps) - both "restored" from the same Time Machine backup. The weird thing is - the MBP feels quite a bit slower than the MBA, even though it has quite a bit more power. Any thoughts as to what is causing this? I expected far better performance from a higher horsepower machine, and just don't seem to be getting it. TIA,

Jason
Click to expand...

It's the retina display. Non-retina Macs can be noticeably more "snappy" than retina Macs, especially if the retina Mac is using a scaled resolution.
 
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OperatorJ81 said:
Hey guys,
I have 2 MacBooks - a 2014 13" MBA 1.7GhZ / 8GB / 500GB SSD and a 2015 13" rMBP 3.2GHz / 16GB / 500G SSD. They are running identical software loads (OS and apps) - both "restored" from the same Time Machine backup. The weird thing is - the MBP feels quite a bit slower than the MBA, even though it has quite a bit more power. Any thoughts as to what is causing this? I expected far better performance from a higher horsepower machine, and just don't seem to be getting it. TIA,

Jason
Click to expand...
Is it "feeling" slower, or is it actually slower at the task at hand? "Feeling" doesn't mean anything with a computer unless you have actual examples to show.
 
TechZeke said:
It's the retina display. Non-retina Macs can be noticeably more "snappy" than retina Macs, especially if the retina Mac is using a scaled resolution.
Click to expand...

Ah... I am using scaled display on the rMBP, obviously not on the MBA though. But that much? Example - Quickbooks 2016 opens in an average of 3 seconds on the MBA, but an average of 7 on the MBP - with a high of 22!
 
It should not take that long to open an app on an MBP with an SSD. How much free space do you have on the MBP? If you are running out of free space, that will slow things down.

Otherwise, I suggest you open Disk Utility, highlight Macintosh HD in the left panel and click on First Aid.
 
JohnDS said:
It should not take that long to open an app on an MBP with an SSD. How much free space do you have on the MBP? If you are running out of free space, that will slow things down.

Otherwise, I suggest you open Disk Utility, highlight Macintosh HD in the left panel and click on First Aid.
Click to expand...

I've done the first aid, no problems found. I have 161GB free of the 500GB capacity
 
Samuelsan2001 said:
Excellent,yeah it sounded like a serious hardware issue to me.
Click to expand...

After 14 years of using Macs exclusively, this is the first time I've had to take a Mac in for repair. Have to say that I am quite impressed. In and out in 3 days flat. And I don't have to restore all my work or personal data - which will save me about 4-5 hours. Gotta love efficient and effective technical support!
 
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