Time to upgrade from my 2006 MB White

[Cydone]

Im still running on my loyal and stable may 2006 Macbook 13" white. It has been the best computer ive ever had, when it comes to survivability, and it also was the computer that converted me from windows/PC.

So many times have I wanted to upgrade, but never really came around to it, since the MB kept on running, and in fact still does.

But its getting annoying, and a bit too slow, and I think I have done well, holding onto the same computer for 6 straight years, so the time has come.

Seeing the new Airs and retina laptops im beginning to wonder what route to take. Surely id love the retina, but its probably overkill. I do alittle image and video rendering, and do some design in photoshop, oh and the occasional gaming session is also welcome. But thats about it.

The numbers:

Stats now:
MB White Early 2006, 13" 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDram, L2 cache 2mb, 300HDD

Stats upgrade:
MB Air Early 2012, 13", 2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz , 8gb 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 256GB Flash Storage

Three questions:

How much would I experience the upgrade from my MB 2006 to a MB Air 2012?
It seems the upgrade in CPU speed is very little going from 1.83 to only 2.0. But its a new and better technology?

Would I be better off trying to get a Quad core laptop? Or would I be good for the next couple of years with that MB Air?

Thanks
Cyd

 

[dreamsINdigital]

It seems the upgrade in CPU speed is very little going from 1.83 to only 2.0. But its a new and better technology?

It's not correct to just compare raw GHz numbers. Going from a Core Duo to an i7 is a MASSIVE jump!

 

[mototriu]

Im still running on my loyal and stable may 2006 Macbook 13" white. It has been the best computer ive ever had, when it comes to survivability, and it also was the computer that converted me from windows/PC.

So many times have I wanted to upgrade, but never really came around to it, since the MB kept on running, and in fact still does.

But its getting annoying, and a bit too slow, and I think I have done well, holding onto the same computer for 6 straight years, so the time has come.

Seeing the new Airs and retina laptops im beginning to wonder what route to take. Surely id love the retina, but its probably overkill. I do alittle image and video rendering, and do some design in photoshop, oh and the occasional gaming session is also welcome. But thats about it.

The numbers:

Stats now:
MB White Early 2006, 13" 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo, 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDram, L2 cache 2mb, 300HDD

Stats upgrade:
MB Air Early 2012, 13", 2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz , 8gb 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM, 256GB Flash Storage

Three questions:

How much would I experience the upgrade from my MB 2006 to a MB Air 2012?
It seems the upgrade in CPU speed is very little going from 1.83 to only 2.0. But its a new and better technology?

Would I be better off trying to get a Quad core laptop? Or would I be good for the next couple of years with that MB Air?

Thanks
Cyd

Question 1:The experience would change drastically with both the Retina Macbook Pro and the Macbook Air.The SSD would make loading apps quick and the processor would see a huge jump in performance also.

Question 2:YES!The i7 is much more efficient than the core 2 duo in the way it handles tasks.Not to mention you'll have more threads,more cores,turbo boost etc,as a result you would see a huge performance jump on the processor side of things.

Question 3:Both the Macbook Air and the Retina Macbook Pro would easily handle your needs.It's just your choice whether it's worth it to spend a extra $500 for the faster processor,the retina screen,the better graphics card and more screen realistate.

Personally if I was you I would buy the Retina Macbook Pro.Especially if you plan to keep it for 5-6 years.It's definatley worth the extra money and is sure to be future proof.But that's just my opinion.

 

[gnasher729]

How much would I experience the upgrade from my MB 2006 to a MB Air 2012?
It seems the upgrade in CPU speed is very little going from 1.83 to only 2.0. But its a new and better technology?

About the processor speed: With the Core Duo, the speed was fixed at 1.83 GHz. The MBA has "2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz". On newer processors, the speed is variable, depending on the temperature, and the MBA is never slower than 2.0 GHz, but for short times, or when only one core is used, it can run at up to 3.2 GHz.

According to http://www.cpubenchmark.net, your Core Duo has benchmark results of 833 points, while an 1.8 GHz i7 (the previous MBA model) is rated as 3,190 points. That's about four times faster. You get more RAM, that helps. You have an SSD drive instead of hard drive, that helps again.

On the other hand, if you are going to spend a lot on an MBA, then you might have a look at the Retina MBP which is not that much more than an MBA with all the extras, but in a different class performance wise and screen wise.

 

[Mikey-Mike]

Well, I went from a "BlackBook" with an SSD that I had installed to a 2010 MBA and the MBA is so much faster and better in every respect that it is astonishing.

You have to remember it's not just the speed of the chip but also the bus speed and memory speeds are better etc.

It's just a much better and improved product in every respect.

I can run FCPX with an external HD and as far as I'm concerned it runs without a hiccup.

 

[k3roro]

Can we have some pictures of the 2006 MB White XD

 

[vinylslammin]

I'm in the same boat!

trusty 2006 macbook, but the screen quality is driving me nuts. It's basically unreadable in daylight/office light conditions.

It's still fast for internet though! dozens of tabs without issue. I've replaced the upper case, fan, dvd drive, harddrive, logic board. what a great machine


I'll probably go for the cheapest macbook air. Still undecided about 4 vs 8gb ram. only 90$ more but I bought the cheapest mac I could find in 2006 and that didn't hurt me one bit either.

 

[aaronvan]

I'm loving my MBA. I don't think I can ever go back to a normal-form laptop again.

I'd try the MBA. I think you may just fall in love with it.

 

[davenz]

Same situation for me. I have a white macbook from 2007. I have been looking at buying a new one, but I have never got around to it and when i think about it mine still goes well enough for what I need. The only thing i use it for is excel. Most other stuff is done on my ipad.

I will probably buy a mba to replace it within the next year though.

 

[Diversion]

If you want to keep a machine for another 6 years.. grab a 15" quadcore.. no doubt about it. The 2012 Air while currently a smoking fast machine even using a ULV chip - will not keep up in 6 years.. go with a standard CPU (35+ watters will keep up longer in the long haul).

The Air is a great machine for medium workloads or less.. Because of this, i find the top tier Air models a waste of money unless you're made of money, and if you're made of money, you're not keeping a computer for 6 years. Get my drift?

Go big or go home if you want LONG TERM performance.. go Air if you want something fantastic for 1-2 years.

 

[Cydone]

Thanks for your replies, many good thoughts there.

although I have been more inclined to go for the air as my next long haul comp, after these replies, i will be looking at the new retina, and see if there is money for it.

Still love the airs though