The i5 1.7 GHz is a jewel

[Roman2K~]

Since I received my base 13" MBA yesterday, I have fallen in love with its little i5 1.7 GHz processor. It's running like a charm: lightning fast and power efficient.

I switched from a late 2010 13" equipped with a C2D 2.13 GHz, and did not expect such a difference. I'm very impressed. To think that, initially, I only wanted to try it out for 14 days, now I know the 2010 has to go.

Like the 2010, apps start snappily. Unlike the 2010, the CPU handles running them like it's nothing:

• In Chrome, I have yet to see pages stutter while scrolling (CPU never spikes above 10%*, even in endless Google Reader pages).
• I'm not afraid to run Activity Monitor while on battery anymore. It used to reach 5% just for refreshing a list of processes. Now, it rarely touches 2%.
• For a given 720p movie, VLC used to use 30-35% CPU. Now, 11-12%. That's about 3 times as efficient at software H.264 decoding.
• Playing a 1080p movie (variable 10-20 mbps bitrate), VLC plays it smooth as can be using 15-17% CPU.
• On YouTube, I can finally watch videos for hours on end with ridiculously low CPU usage in HTML5-mode (with YouTube5 on Safari [hardware decoding], *not* Chrome [software]). I can now focus on the videos rather than the little battery icon.
• Plugging in a TV did not seem to make a difference on battery drain. The HD 3000 seems very energy efficient at handling multiple video outputs.

Plus the other advantages of the mid-2011 MBA: backlit keyboard, "springier" keys & even faster SSD. The former two were unexpectedly excellent surprises .

* CPU usage percentages in this post are expressed on a scale of 0 .. 100%, not 0 .. thread-count * 100% (like 200% on the C2D and 400% on the i5).

 

[parapup]

Man you just made me to drop $1599 out my pocket . Kidding aside this is very useful information.

I had very similar concerns plus problems with 2GB RAM when I returned my 2010 model in 3 days. Sounds like there is no doubting the 2011 13".

 

[Roman2K~]

@parapup
Haha! Thanks. These 1.6K would be put to good use .

 

[daleski75]

I came from a 2010 MBA 2.13 and the difference is like night and day.

 

[Roman2K~]

For a given 720p movie, VLC used to use 30-35% CPU. Now, 11-12%. That's about 3 times as efficient at software H.264 decoding.

I investigated that yesterday as I wanted to find out what effect this tripled efficiency had on battery life.

On both the 2010 and 2011 models with Lion and the same apps opened (Chrome with 1 tab, Mail, Safari with 1 tab, iTunes paused), I played the same 720p movie in VLC, waited 3 minutes for the battery life estimate (in the menu bar) to stablize. From the displayed duration, I determined what would be the battery life at 100% while playing this movie (with a dumb rule of three).

Late 2010: 3h21m
Mid 2011: 3h58m

I expected the 2011 to last a lot longer compared to the 2010, given how easier it is for its CPU to decode this same H.264 video. I don't know how to explain this number.

 

[marzxbarz]

I had the same feeling when I sold my 2010 13" MBA Ultimate and decided to give the 2011 13" MBA base model a try. There is no way that I am going to return this machine. It is extremely snappier compared to last year's Air.. everything seems to load without any stuttering. As much as I didn't care too much for the lack of a backlit keyboard, now that I have it back, it is just icing on the cake. Also, watching flash videos are not enough to make the fans spin like crazy (the previous gen did).. it is almost always silent!

The only caveat I have with the 2011 MBA is the heat. It runs noticeably warmer than my 2010 Air used to. If I left the 2010 Air on to idle, it would be cold to the touch. Doing the same with the 2011, the Air is warm no matter what. It is a bit of a bother, but not enough for me to want to send it back

 

[Roman2K~]

There is no way that I am going to return this machine. It is extremely snappier compared to last year's Air.. everything seems to load without any stuttering. As much as I didn't care too much for the lack of a backlit keyboard, now that I have it back, it is just icing on the cake. Also, watching flash videos are not enough to make the fans spin like crazy (the previous gen did).. it is almost always silent!

Agreed, all around. Now I have to find somebody to buy the old one .

The only caveat I have with the 2011 MBA is the heat. It runs noticeably warmer than my 2010 Air used to. If I left the 2010 Air on to idle, it would be cold to the touch. Doing the same with the 2011, the Air is warm no matter what. It is a bit of a bother, but not enough for me to want to send it back

Also agreed. It does feel generally hotter than the previous generation, despite only slightly higher CPU core temperatures.

And in this generation MBA, the heat is not just located above the keyboard. It spreads through the top-left keys to the center, though not as warm as the top-left area.

Unless the thermal paste settles in over the next few days, I'll have to find a pentabole screwdriver and apply some MX-4.

 

[OSMac]

The 2010 13 was cooler but the fans seemed to run more often ?

 

[Roman2K~]

The 2010 13 was cooler but the fans seemed to run more often ?

The CPU ran a little cooler. The case was also cooler to the touch at a given core temperature. But since the CPU had to work harder for the same jobs, the fans sped up about as often as the 2011 MBA.

 

[P0stalTek]

I found the OP very useful! It let's me feel even more like I got a heck of a value with my base 13.3" 2011.

My 2011 runs pretty darn cool. The fans never spin unless I load up a graphical game (Eve comes to mind), and while the left side does radiate a very slight amount of heat over time, coming from a PC laptop, this is a DREAM! I can't imagine how cool the 2010 must have been for this to be considered warm

 

[No-Me]

Anyone in here switched from a late 2010 11" to a 13" i7?

I'm doubting if I want the extra speed, and also doubting if I should use the 13" as main machine en also sell my 15"

:/

 

[Roman2K~]

I found the OP very useful! It let's me feel even more like I got a heck of a value with my base 13.3" 2011.

The 13" is definitely a great value. I would even say it's the best value out of the whole range.

Anyone in here switched from a late 2010 11" to a 13" i7?

I'm doubting if I want the extra speed, and also doubting if I should use the 13" as main machine en also sell my 15"

With the 2010 13", I came from a 15" MBP (early 2011). I don't regret the switch in the least:

• The bigger screen was nice, but the 13" MBA offers the same resolution with a higher pixel density: sharper text, crisper videos.
• Most importantly: no more glass over the display panel!
• No more dealing with graphics switching.
• The battery did last longer but I had to watch out for the discrete GPU kicking in for no reason (real PITA).
• And I don't miss the 2 extra cores.

The 13" is the neatest package of all MacBooks:

• [Air] simple, light, elegant
• [Air 13"] comfortable size, high DPI
• [Air 13" base] value
• [Air 13" base, mid 2011] powerful

If I was you, I would sell both the 11" MBA and 15" MBP and get a nice 2011 base 13" MBA .

 

[Gemütlichkeit]

Moved from early 2008 mbp to the 13" air

love it

 

[Jaro65]

I got the new 13" MBA ultimate about a week ago as a replacement for the 2010 13" MBA ultimate model. Frankly, I wasn't certain what to expect and I'm still sort of deciding what to do, especially now realizing that I'll be taking at least an $800 hit in the resale value on the 2010 model. One thing that was annoying me a bit with the 2010 model was the audible fan spin when on Skype video calls. This appears to be much better on the 2011 model. So yes...the new CPU is indeed quite nice as its higher processing power is relatively easy to observe.

 

[KPOM]

I got the new 13" MBA ultimate about a week ago as a replacement for the 2010 13" MBA ultimate model. Frankly, I wasn't certain what to expect and I'm still sort of deciding what to do, especially now realizing that I'll be taking at least an $800 hit in the resale value on the 2010 model. One thing that was annoying me a bit with the 2010 model was the audible fan spin when on Skype video calls. This appears to be much better on the 2011 model. So yes...the new CPU is indeed quite nice as its higher processing power is relatively easy to observe.

Apple's selling the refurbished 2010 Ultimate 13s for $1399, so I'd guess you could probably get $1200 for it. Also, if you drop down to the Core i5 13" you can save another $100. AnandTech's tests show only an 8% difference between the 1.7GHz Core i5 and 1.8GHz Core i7 (vs. a 25% difference between the 1.6GHz Core i5 and 1.8GHz Core i7). That might get you a little closer.

 

[rust1234]

[*]For a given 720p movie, VLC used to use 30-35% CPU. Now, 11-12%. That's about 3 times as efficient at software H.264 decoding.

Did you have the opportunity to see how it handles 1080p movies? This is something my current C2D (Win7) can't handle very well and a reason why I am considering the MBA.

 

[Roman2K~]

Did you have the opportunity to see how it handles 1080p movies? This is something my current C2D (Win7) can't handle very well and a reason why I am considering the MBA.

I will try this tonight and report back.

I find surprising that your C2D can't decode 1080p videos properly. Mine can, easily (with VLC on OS X). You must have one very old C2D or the bitrate of your videos is very high.

 

[holterzoff]

2010 2.13 and games

Hi,
i don't want to spit in your soup, but the 2010 macbook air runs games and other 3d-graphics tasks considerably better. That' s the downside of the new graphics onboard.
http://www.macworld.com/article/161362/2011/07/macbookairbenchmarks.html
I had the opportunity to confirm this.
So for me, who likes a game now and then the old macbook air is preferable.
Cheers
regards

 

[Roman2K~]

i don't want to spit in your soup,

No problem, spit away .

but the 2010 macbook air runs games and other 3d-graphics tasks considerably better. That' s the downside of the new graphics onboard.
http://www.macworld.com/article/161362/2011/07/macbookairbenchmarks.html
I had the opportunity to confirm this.

Thanks for the link. The 2010 is quite a bit faster in CoD4 indeed (39 vs 25 fps).

 

[Salty Pirate]

This is most excellent news. Now if macmall could just ship one........

 

[Apple Expert]

Since I received my base 13" MBA yesterday, I have fallen in love with its little i5 1.7 GHz processor. It's running like a charm: lightning fast and power efficient.

I switched from a late 2010 13" equipped with a C2D 2.13 GHz, and did not expect such a difference. I'm very impressed. To think that, initially, I only wanted to try it out for 14 days, now I know the 2010 has to go.

Like the 2010, apps start snappily. Unlike the 2010, the CPU handles running them like it's nothing:

• In Chrome, I have yet to see pages stutter while scrolling (CPU never spikes above 10%*, even in endless Google Reader pages).
• I'm not afraid to run Activity Monitor while on battery anymore. It used to reach 5% just for refreshing a list of processes. Now, it rarely touches 2%.
• For a given 720p movie, VLC used to use 30-35% CPU. Now, 11-12%. That's about 3 times as efficient at software H.264 decoding.
• On YouTube, I can finally watch videos for hours on end with ridiculously low CPU usage in HTML5-mode (with YouTube5 on Safari [hardware decoding], *not* Chrome [software]). I can now focus on the videos rather than the little battery icon.
• Plugging in a TV did not seem to make a difference on battery drain. The HD 3000 seems very energy efficient at handling multiple video outputs.

Plus the other advantages of the mid-2011 MBA: backlit keyboard, "springier" keys & even faster SSD. The former two were unexpectedly excellent surprises .

* CPU usage percentages in this post are expressed on a scale of 0 .. 100%, not 0 .. thread-count * 100% (like 200% on the C2D and 400% on the i5).

Was curious why you went i5 over i7?

 

[Roman2K~]

Was curious why you went i5 over i7?

The upgrade is only available for the 256 GB model (I don't need that much space). If it was available for the 128 GB, I'm not even sure I would have chosen the i7 since the i5 has all the same features, just .1 GHz lower base clock, .2 GHz lower max Turbo Boost clock. Plus, I like round numbers (OCD): 1.7 GHz (base) .. 2.7 GHz (Turbo) => 1.0 GHz .

 

[KPOM]

The upgrade is only available for the 256 GB model (I don't need that much space). If it was available for the 128 GB, I'm not even sure I would have chosen the i7 since the i5 has all the same features, just .1 GHz lower base clock, .2 GHz lower max Turbo Boost clock. Plus, I like round numbers (OCD): 1.7 GHz (base) .. 2.7 GHz (Turbo) => 1.0 GHz .

Yes, the availability of the i7 on the 128GB 11" is one positive about it. Had I went with the 13" model, I probably would have chosen the i5 for the same reasons. The i7 is a bigger step up from the 1.6GHz i5.

 

[Apple Expert]

The upgrade is only available for the 256 GB model (I don't need that much space). If it was available for the 128 GB, I'm not even sure I would have chosen the i7 since the i5 has all the same features, just .1 GHz lower base clock, .2 GHz lower max Turbo Boost clock. Plus, I like round numbers (OCD): 1.7 GHz (base) .. 2.7 GHz (Turbo) => 1.0 GHz .

Thanks for the feedback. I have the i7 and my wife has the i5. I do notice mine does run warmer than hers. Any where from 5-10C degrees warmer. When it's idle they are about the same. Just sucks to see hers running in the 40'sC while I'm constantly in 50'sC doing the same task. I'm leaning toward exchanging for the i5. The small speed increase might not be worth it for the warmer CPU. Andatech did their review and claiming about 8% faster for warmer CPU. Not sure I want that. I've done test on both. While te i7 is faster it'd mainly faster when your doing heavy task suck as importing lots of photos or video editing. But even then it's not light speed faster. Decisions decisions.

 

[Stein357]

I'm going to be purchasing a 13" i5. The slight bump up in speed is just not necessary for what I do in exhange for more heat, not to mention being considerably more expensive as I don't need 256GB of space.