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8 Core. No fan, no need.

24/512/67W Fast Charger is where my money went. The 10 Core upgrade is truly a waste of money on this device and may even negatively impact the laptop to some degree.
that's what I was thinking.. Thank you !
 
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The question is, how long will Apple support M1? Another 5 years? Maybe...

We don’t know the answer to that. I suspect M1+ will be supported for some time. Everyone with intel based Mac’s might be fully out of luck in the next year or two max though. They are cutting out ALOT of intel devices with the release of Ventura
 
If you don’t game or do video editing, 8 cores. If you do either, you will likely upgrade the RAM and SSD, which means the base MBP14 might be a better value product anyway.
 
The question is, how long will Apple support M1? Another 5 years? Maybe...

The recent iPads, since the first iPad Airs from November 2013, have nearly 8 years of support. And the first iPad Pros from 2015 are going on 7 years and still supported.

I expect at least 7 years of support from late 2020 (really more like 2021). So 2028, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect 2030 out of these Macs.

Despite M1 Macs being new, it's not really like a first generation product.
 
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What are the benefits of the 10 core GPU then?
Faster graphics and GPU compute. Sure it'll throttle but so will the 8 core GPU version. The only question is will the 10 core GPU throttle so much that the extra two cores are useless. That seems unlikely given that Apple designed the M2 MacBook Air chassis around the design of this chip. The 8 core is the binned version. That isn't the SoC they designed for.
 
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Yeah, been confused why folk are saying the 10 core will throttle/overheat so may as well get the 8. Surely the 8 core would throttle and hence overheat sooner on more laborious tasks.

I thought it may be an excuse for some people to feel better about getting the cheaper option? But I don't like to presume the actions of others when I don't know them or their needs.
 
Yeah, been confused why folk are saying the 10 core will throttle/overheat so may as well get the 8. Surely the 8 core would throttle and hence overheat sooner on more laborious tasks.

I thought it may be an excuse for some people to feel better about getting the cheaper option? But I don't like to presume the actions of others when I don't know them or their needs.
I guess people think that 10 cores will be hotter than 8??
I don't get it either. If you can split a load 10 ways, it will use less energy per core than splitting it 8 ways... thus the 8 core will start heating sooner than the 10.

I guess if you have both chips fully maxxed, the 10 would be hotter, but at that point, I would imagine both would throttle and a throttled 10 core will be faster than a throttled 8 core.
 
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Bummed that we still have no comparison between the 8 GPU and the 10 GPU model.
I'm still considering if the additional 100 bucks are worth it or not, I wouldn't hurt me, but I don't wanna throw out money for a single digit percent increase.
 
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Sweet spot would be 8-core, 512 Gb SSD, 16gb of RAM, 1979 euros.
Going for the 10-core, with 512Gb SSD as standard and opting for 16Gb puts the price awfully close to that of the
14-inch MB Pro (standard with 512 SSD and 16Gb RAM), still M1 but a more performance than the M2 Air (M2 lies somewhere between the M1 and M1 Pro performance-wise). Plus you get a better display...
 
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From what I can gather thus far, performance difference in a sustained workload is so minuscule that it’s not worth it. Gaming falls into that category, unfortunately.

For a bursty workload, say in davinci resolve you make your grade and the software is set to save it to render cache, I’d still imagine the 10c will have a bit of an advantage because the chip gets time to cool off each time you review your changes. Final render not considered.

Still waiting on some youtuber, probably max tech, to make a thermal pad mod video. Of course even if that brings success it really isn’t for everyone.
 
10 Core GPU is a huge leap in computing power. Always buy more Mac than you need for future-proofing purposes.

I assume you're being sarcastic...
If not, if you really need performance, you shouldn't even be looking at the Air...

As for me, I think I'll just go for the M2 Air, 8-core, 16gb and 512 SSD. I'm coming from a 2015 MB Pro (i7, 16Gb, 512 SSD, Radeon graphics) and to this day, I have never felt I needed more performance for my daily workflow (although it would be nice to have something new and shiny ;) ).
The thing is that I cannot afford my current MB Pro to die on me in the next 1,5 years since I still need it to run a specific 32-bit piece of sofware for the company I work for (I boot from High Sierra on an external SSD). So my plan is to just use it for work (and handle it with velvet gloves) and get something new and shiny for all my other stuff.

Also need a new iPhone as my 8 Plus is starting to show its age at times. Think I'll go for the regular iPhone 13, great battery life and more than enough for my needs. My only worry is that 4 GB of RAM : already have 3 Gb of RAM in my 8 Plus now, my girlfriend has 4Gb in her 11 Pro (so that's a 2019 spec). I shouldn't look at a phone's memory in the same way as a computer, I guess, bit still... Don't need all the other features of the 13 Pro, though, and don't want to wait for the 14 (I somehow doubt Apple will give the regular 14 6Gb of RAM)...

Edit : this might be interesting...
 
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If you don’t game or do video editing, 8 cores. If you do either, you will likely upgrade the RAM and SSD, which means the base MBP14 might be a better value product anyway.

lee-corso-not-so-fast.gif


I use my M1 Air to edit video, so its all relative.
 
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Just wondering if the 10 GPU on the M2 MBA is worth it.. I do not do any video editing .. Will you see any difference in the display under regular use ( Netflix, Youtube ) Etc .. Or is the 10 Core more for editing etc ? TIA
The 8 core should be fine for what you are using it for. Note that the 8-Core gets Metal scores of around 26,000 while the 10-core gets 30,500. Both are faster than the M1 Air and run circles around the Intel MacBook Airs.
 
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Yeah, been confused why folk are saying the 10 core will throttle/overheat so may as well get the 8. Surely the 8 core would throttle and hence overheat sooner on more laborious tasks.

I thought it may be an excuse for some people to feel better about getting the cheaper option? But I don't like to presume the actions of others when I don't know them or their needs.

It has nothing to do with being cheap. It has to do about making sense.

I would highly suggest to go for the 13" M2 MBP rather than the 13" M2 MBA if you want the 10-core GPU option.

But ofcourse, feel free to buy the most powerful GPU for the M2 while having no fan :p
 
Yeah, been confused why folk are saying the 10 core will throttle/overheat so may as well get the 8. Surely the 8 core would throttle and hence overheat sooner on more laborious tasks.

I thought it may be an excuse for some people to feel better about getting the cheaper option? But I don't like to presume the actions of others when I don't know them or their needs.
It’s a sample of 1 app, but there is a YouTube review comparing FPS on the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark. The 10-core throttles faster and ultimately the 8-core slightly outperforms it. On shorter tasks the 10-core is faster.
 
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