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Upgrading from 2010 to 2011

D

deuk1219

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 8, 2010
109
3
Atlanta, GA
Hello, I brought my 2010 13” MBA to Korea for Summer Vacation, and my family members here in Korea are telling me to give my MBA to them and leave it here in Korea before I go back to the States. So I got permissions, and if I do give them my MBA, I will be getting the new 2011 i5 MBA when I get back to the states for free!
So now, a couple of questions!

1. Has anyone upgraded from the 2010 model? Was there a significant performance difference? And how does the Intel graphics perform (3d) compared to the 320?
2. Has anyone regretted their upgrade?
3. Where did you buy it from? (Apple Online Store, Retail, MacMall, etc.)
4. I already have a 2010 i5 iMac back in the states, so when I get back to the states, should I get the 13” 2011 MBA, or the 15” 2011 MBP?

Thank you! :apple:
 
Yea.. I have a 2010 11" ultimate & i just upgraded to the 11" i5.. .
Honestly, it really depends on what you're doing but generally you really won't see an increase of speed when running through typical tasks such as web browsing, word processing, booting up / down and restarting.. .

Video encoding & rendering is twice as fast.
 
BTW, i picked mine up at Best Buy - they took a trade on a 2006 MBP i had and i got a nice deal on it overall..

- gl
 
I agree with the previous post. You won't notice much difference just doing browsing or running Office for Mac apps. If you're using any CPU-heavy applications, the difference will be much more obvious. The graphics capabilities are more or less the same.
 
I had a 2010 11.6 Ultimate. I just upgraded to the 11.6 i5, 128 and overall it doesn't feel that much different. A few apps seem a bit faster but, seriously, I mostly wanted the backlit keyboard back. I missed it a lot.

If you have a buyer and/or purpose for the 2010 model and you've got the cash for the new model, I'd say do it.

Good luck...
 
deuk1219 said:
1. Has anyone upgraded from the 2010 model? Was there a significant performance difference? And how does the Intel graphics perform (3d) compared to the 320? I went from a 2010 13" Ultimate to a 11" i7, and while most basic stuff won't show any difference, at least now if I did want to do anything CPU intensive, I don't have to wait until I get to my iMac to do it.
2. Has anyone regretted their upgrade? Nope, love the 11" compared to the 13". I always wanted the 11", but thought last year's model was a bit too underpowered, so I was glad that this year brought pretty powerful stuff.
3. Where did you buy it from? (Apple Online Store, Retail, MacMall, etc.) Apple Education Store
4. I already have a 2010 i5 iMac back in the states, so when I get back to the states, should I get the 13” 2011 MBA, or the 15” 2011 MBP? I chose the MBA for the portability (used to have 15" 2010 MBP), and it's made a huge difference carrying around along with everything else I need for school.
Click to expand...

My responses in Bold.
 
FAsnakes said:
BTW, i picked mine up at Best Buy - they took a trade on a 2006 MBP i had and i got a nice deal on it overall..

- gl
Click to expand...

what did you get for it? what were the tech specs also? i got $450 for my 06' MBP 2.16 C2D, 120 HDD, 2 ram on craigslist.
 
Eggtastic said:
what did you get for it? what were the tech specs also? i got $450 for my 06' MBP 2.16 C2D, 120 HDD, 2 ram on craigslist.
Click to expand...

They gave me $635 on the trade.. Got an estimate here:
http://www.bestbuytradein.com/bb

Printed it out > took it in & they handed my a gift card which i used towards the purchase of the i5 MBA..
It was like $400 + tax out of pocket on the i5 128SSD / 4G RAM -- also got a $100 iTunes gift card for free!
 
deuk1219 said:
Hello, I brought my 2010 13” MBA to Korea for Summer Vacation, and my family members here in Korea are telling me to give my MBA to them and leave it here in Korea before I go back to the States. So I got permissions, and if I do give them my MBA, I will be getting the new 2011 i5 MBA when I get back to the states for free!
So now, a couple of questions!

1. Has anyone upgraded from the 2010 model? Was there a significant performance difference? And how does the Intel graphics perform (3d) compared to the 320?
2. Has anyone regretted their upgrade?
3. Where did you buy it from? (Apple Online Store, Retail, MacMall, etc.)
4. I already have a 2010 i5 iMac back in the states, so when I get back to the states, should I get the 13” 2011 MBA, or the 15” 2011 MBP?

Thank you! :apple:
Click to expand...

Nice. If your family in Korea is picking up the tab, then there is really no risk to you, and I'd go for it. I went from the 11" 2010 to the 11" 2011 i7, but the i5 should be pretty close.

I noticed a considerable increase in encoding videos and AAC files, and in processing my photos in Aperture 3. Web browsing is the same (as expected), and using Windows 7 in Parallels Desktop is noticeably faster. It's nearly as usable for me in Parallels as Windows 7 was for me in Boot Camp on my 2010. I have no regrets whatsoever. I don't game, so I can't judge the gaming graphics, but the HD 3000 seems perfectly adequate for YouTube videos and iTunes. This one is a keeper for me, and I'll probably keep it at least 2 years, maybe 3 before upgrading.

I purchased mine from the Apple Store (retail), but by the time you get back, MacMall and the other online retailers ought to have all the models in stock, so you'll be able to get better pricing. MacMall is selling them for about $75 less (give or take a few dollars) than what Apple is selling for them.

The 2011 MacBook Pro 15" will likely be a bit faster than your iMac since it has a quad-core i5 processor vs. the 3.6GHz dual-core i5 in your iMac. The i5 MacBook Air would be a bit slower since although it has the new Sandy Bridge architecture, it runs at less than half the clock speed and is also dual core. Graphics would be better on your iMac than the MacBook Air by virtue of the discrete GPU. Plus, the iMac has FireWire built in while the Air doesn't. The latter has a Thunderbolt port, however, so more connectivity may be coming soon.

If you want the portability you currently enjoy, go with the i5 MacBook Air. It will be a significant improvement compared to your Core 2 Duo MacBook Air.
 
I upgraded from my 11" maxed out C2D to a maxed out 13"... and I haven't looked back for a second, even just for the backlit keyboard it would be worth it. go for it
 
FAsnakes said:
They gave me $635 on the trade.. Got an estimate here:
http://www.bestbuytradein.com/bb

Printed it out > took it in & they handed my a gift card which i used towards the purchase of the i5 MBA..
It was like $400 + tax out of pocket on the i5 128SSD / 4G RAM -- also got a $100 iTunes gift card for free!
Click to expand...

I got $193 estimate for 2010 11" MBA 1.4GHz 4GB 128GB. Maybe I can buy a Dell netbook with this money. LOL.
 
I only got an estimate of $252 for my late 2010 11inch Ulitmate which I have had since May. Hardly a good deal in my opinion!
 
kwajkat said:
I only got an estimate of $252 for my late 2010 11inch Ulitmate which I have had since May. Hardly a good deal in my opinion!
Click to expand...

The Best Buy trade-in site looks at paper specs only and doesn't distinguish between SSDs and HDs. It's a good site for unloading old MacBooks, but not newer MacBook Airs. You are better off on eBay or Craigslist.
 
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