Reviewers can only review what they have. He also didn't exactly "trash" the Toshiba drive. He just pointed out what his benchmarks told him, and said for everyday use it is fine.
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The anandtech macbook air review is up!
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Reviewers can only review what they have. He also didn't exactly "trash" the Toshiba drive. He just pointed out what his benchmarks told him, and said for everyday use it is fine.
No, he trashed the Toshiba 😀
Frankly, I think the Toshiba thing is a screwup. You have to match specs pretty much, and this is pretty far off. Somebody may get some heat in Apple. But this whole SSD thing is evolving, and mistakes are inevitable.
If I had gotten the Toshiba, i may have been nervous about it, but probably wouldn't have tried to return it as with my luck, I would DEFINITELY gotten another Toshiba
And also, i'm too lazy. 😀
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No one trashed the Toshiba when the Airs first shipped with them last October. The Samsungs then started trickling in, beginning with the 128GB drives, in January or February. I think someone on the MacRumors boards here actually pointed it out, and then it spread virally for a little bit. It kind of died down until the Rev E came out, when suddenly everyone from Engadget to Apple Insider started writing stories as if this were a big scandal.
Neither the Toshiba nor the Samsung have the performance of SandForce drives. That said, neither of them have the bugs or reliability issues people have reported with the SandForce drives. Apple is prioritizing reliability and willing to accept average speeds. The Samsung is "more average" perhaps, but neither are as fast as what Sony is putting into the Vaio Z (with RAID 0) or even what you can get from OWC. It's like arguing about getting a Toyota Camry at the rental desk when the person in front of you got a Honda Accord.
Well, frankly...I don't like Hondas. They have weird lumbar support that is made for deformed people (or maybe i'm deformed, i don't know)
But I digress 😉
So far I have had no heat issues whatsoever. I've "stressed" it using Handbrake in Lion and Windows 7. In everyday usage, it has normally been very quiet. I do notice the corner underneath the CPU does get a little warm during CPU-intensive tasks, but it isn't unusually hot.
That said, there's no harm in a Rev D owner like you waiting for the Rev F. The Ivy Bridge version will run faster and cooler, and have better 3D graphics and native USB 3.0 support (since it will be in the chipset). And there ought to be more Thunderbolt devices by then.
I'm going to see if I can hold out with my Rev E until Rev G or Rev H. Haswell ought to be interesting since Intel has committed to bringing the TDPs of its desktop chips down to mobile levels (according to the AnandTech review). Rev B to Rev D was a nice upgrade. Rev D to Rev E even nicer.
I haven't seen too many people complaining on the heat in the i5 over the i7. Seems to be a hot topic for the i7 in terms of heat.
I have an 11" i7 that I was going to return cuz I thought it was getting a bit too warm. Then I read the review, and realized that the i7 in the 11 is more of an upgrade than I thought, so i'm going to test it some more in regards to the possible heat issue.
They get warmer, i'm pretty certain about that. Thing is, i haven't had any discomfort from heat related issues in quite a while which any device, so this would be very noticeable if it were indeed an issue.
Note: I downloaded that Intel turbo boost widget (free download-google it) for Windows on bootcamp, and it's boosting to 2.9GHZ. It seems to idle way low, at around 800MHZ. and then it has another idle at of course 1.8GHZ. But that's a pretty big boost all the way up to 2.9GHZ from 800MHZ
note2: Now, I wouldn't be using Windows at all if Lion hadn't wrecked a few of my apps. Even flash doesn't work now (have any of you noticed this? )
Adobe: "We are closely working with Apple (yeah sure) to resolve this issue with Lion"
They get warmer, i'm pretty certain about that. Thing is, i haven't had any discomfort from heat related issues in quite a while which any device, so this would be very noticeable if it were indeed an issue.
Note: I downloaded that Intel turbo boost widget (free download-google it) for Windows on bootcamp, and it's boosting to 2.9GHZ. It seems to idle way low, at around 800MHZ. and then it has another idle at of course 1.8GHZ. But that's a pretty big boost all the way up to 2.9GHZ from 800MHZ
note2: Now, I wouldn't be using Windows at all if Lion hadn't wrecked a few of my apps. Even flash doesn't work now (have any of you noticed this? )
Adobe: "We are closely working with Apple (yeah sure) to resolve this issue with Lion"
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gwsat
macrumors 68000
I have a 17 inch Santa Rosa MBP that got too hot to hold comfortably on my lap. It was so bad I routinely put a coffee table book between my lap and the MBP. When I replaced the MBP with a 2010 MBA it was like being let out of jail, no more coffee table book, no more heat issues. To me if a laptop computer generates that much heat, it is a malfunction. Sorry if you disagree. That said, I have no idea whether the i7 MBA gets as hot as my old MBP did but if it does, I feel sorry for those who bought one.
CPUs get hot when you work them hard. That's just how these things work. I bought one and it works great, even under load when it gets hot.
I've only been reading this forum for a week and half the people who post on here whine more than the automotive and photography forums I'm on combined (and those guys are BAD). What's with making issues out of non-issues? First Mac is my new MBA. Don't tell me Mac users are all a bunch of paranoid hypochondriacs.
I've only been reading this forum for a week and half the people who post on here whine more than the automotive and photography forums I'm on combined (and those guys are BAD). What's with making issues out of non-issues? First Mac is my new MBA. Don't tell me Mac users are all a bunch of paranoid hypochondriacs.
I doubt that there's any problem other than some discomfort ( if any).
If you need the power you are not even going to notice any heat.
clever analogy follows: If you don't need the toast, than you may wonder why you bought a toaster.
For some, the crispier the better. 🙂
If you need the power you are not even going to notice any heat.
clever analogy follows: If you don't need the toast, than you may wonder why you bought a toaster.
For some, the crispier the better. 🙂
xraydoc
Contributor
I have an 11" i7. It's maybe slightly warm at the bottom during heavy CPU usage, but otherwise I don't see what all the hubbub is about. I've yet to hear the fans spin up or have it feel anywhere close to be the slightest bit uncomfortably hot.
Beanoir
macrumors 6502a
nobody wants a hot laptop, i have to agree with gwsat (and I don't normally do that!)
A well designed product that is designed to sit on your lap should be comfortable. A hot laptop in my experience is not comfortable.
The processor may be working fine at high temps, but the malfunction is in the design of the product not the processor per se.
When upgrading my Mini, I spend so much time ensuring that the heatsink is sat correct and the right thermal paste is used to ensure temps are as low as possible.
A well designed product that is designed to sit on your lap should be comfortable. A hot laptop in my experience is not comfortable.
The processor may be working fine at high temps, but the malfunction is in the design of the product not the processor per se.
When upgrading my Mini, I spend so much time ensuring that the heatsink is sat correct and the right thermal paste is used to ensure temps are as low as possible.
Re: Heat
I completely understand that folks look to reviews of products before purchasing to ensure they are getting what they want. However, I often wonder how many times readers are influenced by a review vs. what their reaction would be if they encountered something firsthand.
In other words, would you have noticed a "heat issue" if someone hadn't told you?
Everyone has different tolerance levels for temperatures. Is it possible that the reviewer has a lower tolerance for heat than you? Just something to think about.
For the record, I'm not trying to excuse or explain away a potential issue. I have an MBA and haven't noticed it being overly hot, but that is probably because I'm not trying to run a CPU-intensive game at full-tilt to see how hot I can get the unit to throw a number in a review. "Varies by usage" is a very important phrase when considering reviews.
I completely understand that folks look to reviews of products before purchasing to ensure they are getting what they want. However, I often wonder how many times readers are influenced by a review vs. what their reaction would be if they encountered something firsthand.
In other words, would you have noticed a "heat issue" if someone hadn't told you?
Everyone has different tolerance levels for temperatures. Is it possible that the reviewer has a lower tolerance for heat than you? Just something to think about.
For the record, I'm not trying to excuse or explain away a potential issue. I have an MBA and haven't noticed it being overly hot, but that is probably because I'm not trying to run a CPU-intensive game at full-tilt to see how hot I can get the unit to throw a number in a review. "Varies by usage" is a very important phrase when considering reviews.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4528/the-2011-macbook-air-11-13inch-review/10
i7 is 25-30% faster than i5, is this the only comparison you're actually interested in? 🙂
Fully, 100% agree. No one gets his battery life numbers. But what they are good for is a relative comparison. So if the battery life is better, then compared to what you are used to, you should still see a slight improvement.
tallyho
macrumors 6502a
Um, I know reading comprehension is hard, but there are no comparisons of battery life and operating temps between the different 11" Airs because he didn't have an 11" i7 (he did some tests on a "friend's" i7 but does not report temperature/battery life differences).
Hulu is of zero interest to me, clearly, as I don't live in the USA. I was hoping for objective reports on battery life and temperature/fan noise to help me with the i5/i7 choice for an 11" Air. I can't really be more clear. Hope that helps you 🙂
No, as I said, I'm interested in the battery life / fan noise implications of the i5/i7 choice on the 11" Air.
Don't get me wrong, Anandtech provides a great service to the community with detailed reviews. However, the OP claimed that this is a
Given the number of threads questioning heat / noise issues with the different 11" Airs, based on anecdotal or impressionistic evidence, I was hoping for some more objective information. Anandtech's review clearly doesn't compare these models of the Air in every which way. It's hardly a difficult point to grasp, is it?
When I saw this thread I went "Woo! finally an awesome review that actually review the Air." I mean, most reviews out there (if not all) of the 2011 Air are rather flaky.
So I clicked the link and looked at the various header titles of every portion of the review Andandtech had, and I went "alright! this is it! they have touched on all the important subjects for the most part". Well, once I started reading, I felt as though their review is only a tad bit better than some of the other reviews.
They were missing so much in their review it isn't even funny. There were small things, like in the temperature portion they simply reviewed the heat of the bottom-portion of the Air (which doesn't matter unless if it's on your lap, in which case it will get hotter... and they didn't take this into account). They didn't measure the processor temperatures at all. With the battery life test, they obviously screwed something up... I bet they left the Air on an automatic loop and came back when it was shut off, without realizing that the Air's screen shuts down after a certain amount of time. There's no way they got about 6 hours and 30 minutes on an 11-inch... no way! Anything over 5 hours is a blessing. 5 hours and 30 minutes is like... godly battery life. But 6 hours and 30 minutes? I think they really screwed up with their review.
There were many more flaws that I saw in the review... but ya... I just didn't like it. It tries to be in-depth, and it fails because they didn't seem to manage to really accurately portray a lot of what they were detailing.
Imagine if I were to be looking to purchase the Air (if I hadn't bought it yet): I would be expecting well over 6 hours of battery life for basic web browsing, and easily 5 hours of battery life for relatively intense web browsing. I'd be rather pissed with my purchase, basing it on this review. And again... I'm using the battery life example as my crutch for criticizing the review, but there are lots of smaller or almost equally as disappointing parts about the review.
So I clicked the link and looked at the various header titles of every portion of the review Andandtech had, and I went "alright! this is it! they have touched on all the important subjects for the most part". Well, once I started reading, I felt as though their review is only a tad bit better than some of the other reviews.
They were missing so much in their review it isn't even funny. There were small things, like in the temperature portion they simply reviewed the heat of the bottom-portion of the Air (which doesn't matter unless if it's on your lap, in which case it will get hotter... and they didn't take this into account). They didn't measure the processor temperatures at all. With the battery life test, they obviously screwed something up... I bet they left the Air on an automatic loop and came back when it was shut off, without realizing that the Air's screen shuts down after a certain amount of time. There's no way they got about 6 hours and 30 minutes on an 11-inch... no way! Anything over 5 hours is a blessing. 5 hours and 30 minutes is like... godly battery life. But 6 hours and 30 minutes? I think they really screwed up with their review.
There were many more flaws that I saw in the review... but ya... I just didn't like it. It tries to be in-depth, and it fails because they didn't seem to manage to really accurately portray a lot of what they were detailing.
Imagine if I were to be looking to purchase the Air (if I hadn't bought it yet): I would be expecting well over 6 hours of battery life for basic web browsing, and easily 5 hours of battery life for relatively intense web browsing. I'd be rather pissed with my purchase, basing it on this review. And again... I'm using the battery life example as my crutch for criticizing the review, but there are lots of smaller or almost equally as disappointing parts about the review.
Hellhammer
Moderator emeritus
It's not like Anand is doing reviews for the first time... The screen can be set not to go to sleep and Anand specifically states that the webpage changes every 20 seconds, making it impossible for the machine to dim or turn off the display.
An automated test doen't translate to real life. It's unlikely that you will be changing the page every 20 seconds and never touching any Flash. All your small actions reduce the battery life. If you decide to change the song in iTunes, that will take more battery life than letting the same song play in the background. You decide to open a document or look some photos, again more battery life is used than refreshing the same web page every 20 seconds.
Anand's tests are good for comparing different models but not for indication of real world battery life. Real world usage is often, if not always, much closer to the Flash battery life test.
Cynicalone
macrumors 68040
Battery test's are always a little off for me.
I rarely leave the brightness turned way down on my laptop. And that alone usually cost me a half hour or more on the battery. I also tend to leave a lot of apps open and running in the background. Combine these two together and I never get anywhere near the numbers Apple says you can get.
Perhaps if I wasn't old and blind I could crank the display down to 60%. 😱🙂
I rarely leave the brightness turned way down on my laptop. And that alone usually cost me a half hour or more on the battery. I also tend to leave a lot of apps open and running in the background. Combine these two together and I never get anywhere near the numbers Apple says you can get.
Perhaps if I wasn't old and blind I could crank the display down to 60%. 😱🙂
The battery complaints are nonsense. Hes been reviewing for years, he knows what hes doing. He uses a automated loop through webpages (cache cleared first) cycling every 20 seconds. He says this quite clearly.
The idle battery life on the new macbook air is so much worse than the last generation. Interesting. So if you're on a plane (using no wifi) and typing your report, or reading some pdfs, the new air is much worse?
My test was simple. I had screen brightness at 5 bars, I had keyboard lights off, I had nothing running in the background, and I had flash blocker off. I simply was typing and viewing the internet, and that's it. Forum browsing. I lost approximately 20% battery life per hour. One hour (the first) I went from 100% down to 80%. The next hour I went from 80% to 62% (improved from 20%). It all evened out to approximately 5 hours.
I don't see how in the hell he could get the amount he's claiming. And again, he says he used an automated loop: but did he ensure the screen didn't go to 0% brightness during this loop. Hope he made sure of that. It's just odd... his claims are far higher than Apple's claims, and the majority of people here on these forums are even looking at Apple's claims as a higher-end hope-to-reach-it ideal amount.