Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Which set up suits my requirements?

L

lalanda

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 23, 2010
10
0
I'm moving from a 2010 MBP to a new MBA and I was wondering what processor I require for my particular needs.

I generally have Chrome running with a large number of open tabs, plus Word or Final Draft, and a video/flash video playing at the same time.

No video/music editing.

Would I need the i5 or the i7? Would I notice the difference between them (other than battery life and thermal)?

Thanks.
 
You'll probably not notice any difference between the i5 and the i7, so I'd go with the i5 and save yourself some $$
 
lalanda said:
I'm moving from a 2010 MBP to a new MBA and I was wondering what processor I require for my particular needs.

I generally have Chrome running with a large number of open tabs, plus Word or Final Draft, and a video/flash video playing at the same time.

No video/music editing.

Would I need the i5 or the i7? Would I notice the difference between them (other than battery life and thermal)?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Go with the i5. i7 is a waste of money and you won't notice it, like, ever.
 
i5 is plenty for basically everything.

Hell, even the i3 which they dont offer is fine for basic use
 
Lakailb87 said:
20-25%? Source? Everything I read is maybe 5% plus a hit on battery life.
Click to expand...

Oops. Sorry. I misquoted the Anandtech review. Its actually 27%.

"Oh man, the Core i7 upgraded seriously fixes everything. We get near perfect scaling here, showing a massive 27% increase in performance over the default Core i5 1.3GHz setup."

"If you need more performance however, the 1.7GHz Core i7 upgrade (4650U) delivers. In most situations you get more than a 20% increase in performance,..."

So yes, it matters whether you get an i7 or not.
 
ZBoater said:
Oops. Sorry. I misquoted the Anandtech review. Its actually 27%.

"Oh man, the Core i7 upgraded seriously fixes everything. We get near perfect scaling here, showing a massive 27% increase in performance over the default Core i5 1.3GHz setup."

"If you need more performance however, the 1.7GHz Core i7 upgrade (4650U) delivers. In most situations you get more than a 20% increase in performance,..."

So yes, it matters whether you get an i7 or not.
Click to expand...

But you could put your kid through his first year in college with the money you'd save.:rolleyes:

:D
 
Why are people buying a Macbook Air for performance. It baffles me.

Yes it is your money and you are free to do as you please. But you're taking a 15-20% hit on batery according to Anand.

That defeats the whole purpose if the Air. Yes while 20% performance boost means you'll go from 10 seconds to export 720p to 8 seconds... but with 20% hit on battery life means you'll be losing a couple of hours!

The op here clearly doesn't need any extra performance. He wants to browse and watch youtube while using basic functions that even 8 year olds laptops can handle with ease.

The i5/4gb is plenty enough. Where I'm from it costs 300usd to upgrade to i7/8gb. If you're thinking 'games', buy a ps4 instead with that money. MBA is NOT a gaming device.

If you need to edit videos/design for work, get something with dedicated graphics. Even a 2011 15" MBP destroys the 2013 MBA in performance, especially where gpu is key. Over 100% improvement over the Air in many cases. Now THAT is noticeable.

But at end of the day, buy something that makes you feel good. If you can wait, wait a couple months for the Retina Haswell to be released. The 13" Retina will be much faster than the MBA, and if it gets a 100usd price drop like the Air then there would be just minimal price difference for a notebook that is about the same size, offers a fsr superior screen, and a faster build.

If you use it for daily tasks though, especially traveling a lot, MBA is a clesr cut winner. And i7 nor 8gb are essential for daily functions like using office and answering emails... and browsing. Though, an increase of RAM will payback in a couple of years.

Imo i5/4 is the best build, and hence it's Apple's default spec. I5/8gb is giid fir future proofing if you plan on using it for a while. And i7/8gb is good if you need light graphics work AND cannot wait till September for a Retina Haswell.

Cheers.
 
Add me to the club for i5 processor and 8GB of RAM. Your described usage seems like it would benefit from more RAM rather than the i7 processor.

ZBoater said:
But you will benefit from both if you can afford it.

Do you NEED an i7? No. Who needs 20-25% better performance? Nobody. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yes, there are situations where upgrading to the i7 processor is beneficial, but I don't think the OP needs it.
 
Thanks, guys, for the discussion.

I can appreciate both views, but it seems those recommending the i5 understand my particular needs. I'm getting an MBA for the general portability for browsing and word processing on the go. It won't be my sole computer.

And the consensus seems that for this the i5 will be the best fit.

Battery life and heat are a consideration.
 
ZBoater said:
But you will benefit from both if you can afford it.

Do you NEED an i7? No. Who needs 20-25% better performance? Nobody. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Not a lot of people need 20=25% more performance than an i5, hence why you recommending it to everyone on this forum, especially students, is silly.

Who needs 15-20% better battery life? Everyone.
 
mattferg said:
Not a lot of people need 20=25% more performance than an i5, hence why you recommending it to everyone on this forum, especially students, is silly.

Who needs 15-20% better battery life? Everyone.
Click to expand...

Really? You spend that much time on your laptop away from a power plug?

Ok.

You are right. Not everyone needs the fastest computer they can buy.

Enjoy your i5. I'll enjoy my 25% and be silly. :rolleyes:
 
ZBoater said:
Really? You spend that much time on your laptop away from a power plug?

Ok.

You are right. Not everyone needs the fastest computer they can buy.

Enjoy your i5. I'll enjoy my 25% and be silly. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Oh no! He will encode a movie 15 seconds faster than me.. what will I do with all the time I lost.. oh wait I have an iMac for complex tasks, the MBA is designed to be a portable long lasting device and yes someone of us are away from an outlet. Do you know how nice it is to get a full days work without bringing a charger or lasting an entire plane trip across the US? Or better yet students who can last the whole day on one charge.
 
ZBoater said:
Really? You spend that much time on your laptop away from a power plug?

Ok.

You are right. Not everyone needs the fastest computer they can buy.

Enjoy your i5. I'll enjoy my 25% and be silly. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That's just hilarious. You're basically negating the 2013 Macbook Air's single competitive advantage.

The whole promotional campaign was featured around the enormous battery life boost, and you're here trying to be smart questioning why someone who bought an Air why he would need so much battery life on an Air...

You basically bought a low-performance laptop with a 3 year old screen to put on your desk, but for the same cost you could get a a modern quad-core processor with dGPU that would beat your Air by 150-200% in performance.

Hell, even a 2011 Macbook Pro 15" would more than double your i7's performance.
And a 2009 Mac Pro? 500% faster than your current air.

Bragging about performance on a Macbook Air while mocking the battery lifespan as unnecessary... seriously?
 
AXs said:
That's just hilarious. You're basically negating the 2013 Macbook Air's single competitive advantage.

The whole promotional campaign was featured around the enormous battery life boost, and you're here trying to be smart questioning why someone who bought an Air why he would need so much battery life on an Air...

You basically bought a low-performance laptop with a 3 year old screen to put on your desk, but for the same cost you could get a a modern quad-core processor with dGPU that would beat your Air by 150-200% in performance.

Hell, even a 2011 Macbook Pro 15" would more than double your i7's performance.
And a 2009 Mac Pro? 500% faster than your current air.

Bragging about performance on a Macbook Air while mocking the battery lifespan as unnecessary... seriously?
Click to expand...

i'm not disagreeing with you at all, just trying to understand the argument - obviously the i7 will require more battery to run and ostensibly generate more heat - but is the consensus that this is noticeable in real-world use?

maybe i haven't been paying attention recently but i thought this had been "disproven" or at least demonstrated to not really be an issue?

not saying this negates the wisdom of the i5, as i think you know my position there, i'm just trying to understand the facts:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back