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Upgrade to Air 2013 from Macbook 2010?

MuaMua

MuaMua

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 13, 2017
24
0
Hi!

I have Macbook 2010 320m, 4gb, C2D, 128ssd, good battery. Im happy with performance - im using it for internet, youtube, skype, sometimes CS GO. I saw that it cant play 1080p60fps yt movies.

My friend have to sell Air 11 from 2013 i5, 4gb, 128ssd, hd5000 for 300£.

I wanna ask you if it is a good upgrade? How about 320m vs Hd5000 in games? I wanna use Air as my main PC with monitor - do i need some cooling stand? It is very loud?
 
The Air is a very quiet machine, and the single Thunderbolt 1 port is still a step up from the Mid 2010 MacBook, or the Mid 2010 MacBook Pro. As the internal SSD is the same size in both machines, the area I would normally be concerned about with making an Air a primary machine is side-stepped.
 
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But is it worth to pay 200£ for upgrade?

SSD is same but faster, RAM same.

HD5000 is better than 320m in games etc?

That ULV i5 is better than P8600?

It will be OK for primary machine? Do I need some cooling pad and will it help to decrease temp?
 
Last edited:
MuaMua said:
But is it worth to pay 200£ for upgrade?

SSD is same but faster, RAM same.

HD5000 is better than 320m in games etc?

That ULV i5 is better than P8600?

It will be OK for primary machine? Do I need some cooling pad and will it help to decrease temp?
Click to expand...

A lot of things are workload dependant, but I'd say, yes. It'll be a noticeable upgrade.
Extra storage can be had as external drives, where the Air delivers better ports for external drives, if that becomes an issue.

4GB is arguably a bit on the low side, especially going into the future, but it should hold up somewhat alright - RAM will also run at a faster frequency, so saying it's entirely the same isn't correct.
Yes. The HD 5000 is better.

Yes. The processor is quite a lot better actually.

And you won't need to worry about the temperature or get anything for it. The computer can cool itself.
 
USB3.0 is nice, new bluetooth with Handoff also.

I read that in games Air goes at 6000RPM and i think it can be very loud :/ is that true? I was thinking about some cooling pad for better temp and no so much throttling cuz i also read about that.

So you think 150£ extra is a good deal if I spend 150£ for that air?

HD5000 doesnt have problems with FullHD 60fps movies? What about 4K?
 
Yeah - there's USB 3 and Bluetooth - Thunderbolt too. Though admittedly I personally find handoff to be relatively useless 90% of the time, if not more.

5700.6000, yes. That's standard though. My MacBook Pro does the same, and I don't think it's that bad in terms of loudness. I don't think you'll experience throttling with real world scenarios. Hell, I barely think you'll see it in stress tests, if the previous owner hadn't purposefully been keeping his/her computer on the floor of a barber shop so all the hair would go into it. Cooling pads don't do that much anyway.

150£ extra? The Air and then what else?

The HD5000 should play 1080p60 perfectly fine. 4k too for that matter. You know, not 4k gaming, but a 4k video feed should work fine.
 
Now I have White Macbook 2010, so I think I will sell it for 150£ - so if I want to buy The Air I will need to spend these 150£ from selling Macbook 2010 and another 150£. Is it a good deal for me?

Under load my Macbook 2010 goes to 3500-4000RPM max and it is OK - 6000RPM is like a hair dryer (very loud) - maybe at Air it is not as noticable?

I know that cooling pad doesn't do much but maybe it will be a good idea for home usage?
 
Ah - right. I think it's worth it, yes. It's quite cheap I'd say.

Hmmm Well, maybe we have different perceptions regarding what loud is. I haven't heard a 2010, so it's hard to compare directly, but what I can say, is that the type of fan matters as much as how fast it is rotating, and rotation speed alone doesn't determine the noise level. You said it's your friend's laptop, right? Maybe you can hear the fans run at max before buying it?

Personally I wouldn't bother with things like cooling pads and that, but hey, if you'd like it, it isn't like it's going to hurt or anything.
 
Loudness is not the most important thing for me if performance can be a lot better.

So you think 300£ for that Air is OK?

How about performance of 13" Pro i5 from 2012 compared to this Air because it's similar price?
 
Not Retina - Pro 9.2 with i5-3210M, HD4000, 4GB - how it looks compared to that Air from 2013? I think it is the only PRO at the same price that can be compared to that Air (i dont wanna 15" Pro).

For cheapest Retina model you have to pay 600Pounds I think.
 
MuaMua said:
Not Retina - Pro 9.2 with i5-3210M, HD4000, 4GB - how it looks compared to that Air from 2013? I think it is the only PRO at the same price that can be compared to that Air (i dont wanna 15" Pro).
Click to expand...

Right - Faster CPU (by a fair margin), but slower GPU actually. Though the increased thermal headroom probably evens out the GPU performance so it's roughly the same. Air is a better deal for you I think
 
Okey then. So I think I will buy that Air with Magic Mouse for 330Pounds. I will compare both together and decide which one I wil use :)
 
MuaMua said:
USB3.0 is nice, new bluetooth with Handoff also.

I read that in games Air goes at 6000RPM and i think it can be very loud :/ is that true? I was thinking about some cooling pad for better temp and no so much throttling cuz i also read about that.

So you think 150£ extra is a good deal if I spend 150£ for that air?

HD5000 doesnt have problems with FullHD 60fps movies? What about 4K?
Click to expand...

You can actually get the new Wi-Fi AC, Bluetooth and hands off functionality for as little as 10 pounds: https://github.com/dokterdok/Continuity-Acti…

I got it on my own 2010 MBA.

While the 2013 MBA is nice, I think if I were to upgrade my Mac for a few years more I would have 8 GB as base memory and get a 2015 model for 500 pounds. Also 11" is really too small for someone accustomed to 13".
 
hi again! i bought that Air 11" but after a week I sell it becouse was to small.

now i have 600Pounds for the notebook. Which MacBook 13" or 15" will be the best bargain for this price?
 
MuaMua said:
USB3.0 is nice, new bluetooth with Handoff also.

I read that in games Air goes at 6000RPM and i think it can be very loud :/ is that true? I was thinking about some cooling pad for better temp and no so much throttling cuz i also read about that.

So you think 150£ extra is a good deal if I spend 150£ for that air?

HD5000 doesnt have problems with FullHD 60fps movies? What about 4K?
Click to expand...

RPM is for Hard Drives. MacBook Air 2013 has a SSD, no moving parts.
 
Yes, I was talking about fan speed.

I have selled that Air 11" 2013 becouse was to small for me and I'm looking for something new for about 600Pounds.

What is the best 13-15" Macbook for that price 600Pounds?

I have 2 offers:
1) Macbook Air 13" 2016 8GB RAM/256SSD with half year Apple warranty - 580Pounds
2) Macbook Retina 13" 2014 8GB RAM/128SSD good condition with box, recipe etc. - 580Pounds

Air and Retina have enough battery life for me (4-5h daily web browsing is my max) and good weight for portable. What about performance for that two models? What is better deal?
 
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