Please help me decide on a MacBook Air spec for my intended use...

[student_trap]

Thing is, yes the i7 uses a little more battery when under load, but the i7 gets tasks done faster than the i5, so IMO it's a wash.

Test results have shown that the i5 and i7 use ~ the same battery juice when under light to no load.

Can you provide a link to these tests, I've looked at a number of reviews and not seen any that reach this specific conclusion?

 

[stchman]

Can you provide a link to these tests, I've looked at a number of reviews and not seen any that reach this specific conclusion?

I don't know how good his tests are, but here you go.

http://michael.olivero.com/post/201...i5-vs-i7-Heat-Fan-Battery-Speed-analysis.aspx

From what the OP said, he's going to have this MBA for his business, HD video, web editing, streaming, etc., so getting a faster processor will same him time.

 

[Jobsian]

Its interesting what you say about the i5. What tasks do you use your air for?

Lighter stuff than what you seem to want to use it for, 90% browsing, word processing, hd youtube, VLC, occasional video encodes.

I can't remember which site's benchmarks made me slightly regret getting the i7, maybe it was the (delayed) Anandtech ones. There's not a huge difference really. As Stchman suggests, the i7 may be a good choice for you.

I also leave it unplugged as much as possible, zeroing the battery at least daily.