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tonynz

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 24, 2008
78
0
Hi there,

I understand that the new Macbook has a M chip, but on the other hand, it's also a few years newer.

Anyone know which one will be faster if they were up against each other with the same amount of RAM and SSD?

Thanks
 

sinoka56

macrumors 6502
Jun 13, 2013
307
554
even if the processor on the macbook is "faster", it will throttle a lot more times than the mba 11/13 since it has no fan.

IDK if you would like the keyboard of the macbook.

the ssd of the new macbook still hasn't been benchmarked, but ssd is ssd. if you already use an ssd, having a faster ssd will not be very noticeable.
 

Howard2k

macrumors 601
Mar 10, 2016
4,673
4,301
I am considering the same dilemma. I imagine we'll have benchmarks tomorrow and know for sure, but I'm speculating that the Air 13" will be faster. We know that the RAM is slower though - so I'm hesitant to call it a slam dunk.

According to Geekbench in CPU performance for 64 bit single core the 13" Air gets 3228, 1.3Ghz Macbook is 2637. So with 10% performance boost, that's 2900, still slower. The 1.1GHz was 2299, so with 10% improvement that's 2528.

I don't see how the new Macbook will be as fast as the current MBA 13". Not even the top of the line Macbook.

That's just CPU, but even faster memory won't close that gap I don't think. GPU? I have no idea.

I should add, I'm still tempted to get the Macbook vs the MBA. I'd like the speed ad flexibility of the MBA but I think I'd miss the horsepower. I'm half hoping that I'm totally wrong and the new Macbook somehow is faster than the MBA 13". Then that'll be much easier for me to make that decision. :)
 

Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,241
4,064
New Jersey Pine Barrens
Putting the rest aside, the 2012 MBA doesn't have very good battery life, the improvement in run time came in 2013. The 2012 MBA also doesn't have 802.11ac wifi, so there will be a big speed difference there too. And the 2012 MBA has a much slower SSD. Again, they made a major improvement there in 2013.

Personally I would not be interested in a 2012 MBA, but the 2013 is still a nice machine - no plans to upgrade my 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA and definitely not interested in the MacBook.
 

appledefenceforce

macrumors 6502
Oct 5, 2015
394
576
even if the processor on the macbook is "faster", it will throttle a lot more times than the mba 11/13 since it has no fan.

IDK if you would like the keyboard of the macbook.

the ssd of the new macbook still hasn't been benchmarked, but ssd is ssd. if you already use an ssd, having a faster ssd will not be very noticeable.

I'm no expert but from what I read this is incorrect.
 
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Isamilis

macrumors 68000
Apr 3, 2012
1,859
803
Putting the rest aside, the 2012 MBA doesn't have very good battery life, the improvement in run time came in 2013. The 2012 MBA also doesn't have 802.11ac wifi, so there will be a big speed difference there too. And the 2012 MBA has a much slower SSD. Again, they made a major improvement there in 2013.

Personally I would not be interested in a 2012 MBA, but the 2013 is still a nice machine - no plans to upgrade my 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA and definitely not interested in the MacBook.

2012 MBA has the same battery dimension with 2013 version. You could plug 2013 version into 2012 perfectly. I did it, and it runs great.
 
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Boyd01

Moderator
Staff member
Feb 21, 2012
7,241
4,064
New Jersey Pine Barrens
That's fine for someone who already has a 2012 model. But why would you go through that expense and trouble when buying a machine when there should be plenty of newer ones available? I updated from a 2011 to a 2013 MBA, and the additional battery life is great. However, I also really appreciate the 802.11ac wifi, it's much, much faster than the older models. Probably not much of an issue if you are just using wifi to connect to the internet, but I copy lots of large files on the LAN, and the speed difference is dramatic.
 

Significant1

macrumors 68000
Dec 20, 2014
1,619
748
2012 MBA has the same battery dimension with 2013 version. You could plug 2013 version into 2012 perfectly. I did it, and it runs great.
It will not gain you much. It is primarily the processor, not the batteri, which causes 2013 to have better batteri-life than 2012.
 
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Isamilis

macrumors 68000
Apr 3, 2012
1,859
803
The OP has only option, either 2012 Air or Macbook. If the OP has to choose 2012 version, then he can still have better option to replace the battery with higher capacity than the original and can add 1.5 hrs than the original.
 

ignatius345

macrumors 603
Aug 20, 2015
6,050
9,456
IDK if you would like the keyboard of the macbook.

Seriously. I'm on day 4 of my new Macbook and still finding the keyboard pretty disconcerting to type on. My last Mac (and the one I'm quite honestly considering going back to) is a 2014 Macbook Air 11". It's a little heavier, has a worse screen, but battery life seems better and it definitely has a more usable keyboard.

What it all comes down to is: do I love this nice retina display more than I hate the bad keyboard and lack of usable USB ports...
 
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recoil80

macrumors 68040
Jul 16, 2014
3,117
2,755
Putting the rest aside, the 2012 MBA doesn't have very good battery life, the improvement in run time came in 2013. The 2012 MBA also doesn't have 802.11ac wifi, so there will be a big speed difference there too. And the 2012 MBA has a much slower SSD. Again, they made a major improvement there in 2013.

Personally I would not be interested in a 2012 MBA, but the 2013 is still a nice machine - no plans to upgrade my 2013 11" i7/8gb/512gb MBA and definitely not interested in the MacBook.

I own the mid 2012 MBA 11''
Battery life is poor compared to the MB or to the 2013 Air and SSD speed is not great. Of course is an SSD, nothing compared to the HDD I have on the iMac, but once you get used to an SSD you can notice a speed improvement.
I have the i7 so as far as concern the CPU the Macbook would be a step backward.

I agree on the fact that Air 2013 is still a nice machine, but I'd only buy a Mac with a retina screen nowadays.
 

stockscalper

macrumors 6502a
Aug 1, 2003
917
235
Area 51
My 2010 MBA is faster than my wife's new MacBook with the M chip. For emailing and web surfing the MacBook is fine, if you can get used to the dinky keyboard. But I do a lot of Photoshop and lightroom and my Air just pulls away from the MB for that purpose.
 
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