Performance comparison (MBA versus MBP)

animal farm

Hi all,



I hope this request is not naïve, or otherwise revealing of my technological ignorance!



I have a Late 2008 15" MacBook Pro with a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4GB of 1067 MHz memory. (I also opted for a SSD, which has been fantastic.)



I'm considering buying an 11" MacBook Air with a 1.8GHz Dual-core Core i7 and 4GB of 1333MHz memory.



How would the performance of this new machine compare to my current MBP? The main thing that's hard for me to gauge is the difference in speed between the new processor and my current Core 2 Duo. Obviously 2.8 is a higher number than 1.8, but I realize that the technology changes and advances in lots of ways that escape me, so I'd be grateful for your expertise. (The same goes for the different speeds on the RAM.) Separately, would the fact that the Air has a 1.8GHz processor and the Pro has a 2.8GHz mean that the Air would run cooler? My MBP gets so, so hot...



I really appreciate your help!

kingofsomewherehot

Yes, the new Air will be noticeably/significantly faster (more powerful) than the old MBP.



The i7 can handle more instructions per clock cycle than the C2D, so even at the slower clock, it's processing more data in a given amount of time. Yes, it does run cooler... it still has a warm spot on the chassis where the CPU/heat sink is, but overall, the CPU runs cooler (uses less power) than the C2D.



The 11" screen is WAY smaller than the 15" screen... but that's really (IMO) the only down side in your comparison. (Personally, I'd opt for the 13" Air, but you might be quite happy with the 11".)

animal farm

Quote:

Originally Posted by KingOfSomewhereHot


Yes, the new Air will be noticeably/significantly faster (more powerful) than the old MBP.



The i7 can handle more instructions per clock cycle than the C2D, so even at the slower clock, it's processing more data in a given amount of time. Yes, it does run cooler... it still has a warm spot on the chassis where the CPU/heat sink is, but overall, the CPU runs cooler (uses less power) than the C2D.



The 11" screen is WAY smaller than the 15" screen... but that's really (IMO) the only down side in your comparison. (Personally, I'd opt for the 13" Air, but you might be quite happy with the 11".)

Thank you for your insights!

pb

These benchmarks may also give you an idea about the performance of various Macbook models.

toughbook

In everyday surfing the web, email, and other light tasks you won't really see a difference. I have models of all different CPU's and unless I really give them an intensive task I can't tell a difference. The SSD will make a bigger difference to the user in my opinion.