11" processer speeds explained??

[wfielder84246]

Hi all,

Please forgive my naivety on this subject:

I am eyeing up the new MBA, possibly the 11" but the processor speeds are making it a tough call for me to decide.

I'm currently rocking a MacBook 1.1 13" 1.83ghz Intel core Duo with 2gb RAM.

The bottom range 11" MBA which I'm thinking of is 1.4ghz Intel core 2 Duo with 4 gb RAM.

Am I right in thinking that even though the MBA is .43ghz less (in numbers) in reality it's two processors, so, 2.8ghz when compared to my current laptop??

What I'm really asking I suppose is will I notice much difference in speeds?

Sorry if that wasn't clear

 

[darngooddesign]

It will feel much faster than your current laptop.

 

[Eidorian]

It's going to be a close match but it's going to be a hair slower on the CPU side. You at least get 64-bit and the SSD out of it.

 

[Hellhammer]

You at least get 64-bit and the SSD out of it.

+ 4GB of RAM, that'll be the biggest bump in performance IMO along with the SSD

 

[iParis]

Basically, in the end you will be happier with the new MacBook Air. If you're really worried about the processor speed you can get the higher end one with 1.6GHz and a 128GB flash for $300 more.

 

[J400uk]

Your MacBook has a 1.83Ghz Core Duo T2400 and the new MacBook Air 11" has a 1.4Ghz Core 2 Duo SU9400

According to this - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php the Core 2 Duo in the MBA is faster (listed as U9400), scoring 964 against 880 for your existing chip.

On top of that the SSD and Nvidia graphics will provide significant performance increases, so even in 'base spec' its still a nice upgrade over what you have!

To be honest upgrading them RAM to 4GB and the CPU to 1.6GHZ in the MBA is a total rip off and pointless for most users.

 

[DannyBres]

anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?

 

[iParis]

To be honest upgrading them RAM to 4GB and the CPU to 1.6GHZ in the MBA is a total rip off and pointless for most users.

Not as much as most people think. It's only $200 to upgrade the ram and upgrade the processor by 200MHz. If you really want to go through the trouble of upgrading the ram and processor yourself, go ahead.

anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?

Huh? I don't understand your question at all.

 

[J400uk]

anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?

Which MacBook and what year? Lots of different 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duos have been made...

Not as much as most people think. It's only $200 to upgrade the ram and upgrade the processor by 200MHz. If you really want to go through the trouble of upgrading the ram and processor yourself, go ahead.

Its a waste of money, and in the UK its more expensive than that costs something like £200. Simply not worth it IMO, processor bump will make a tiny difference, RAM only if your using demanding Apps. As with all Apple products the more you upgrade/ higher spec you go the worse value for money it gets.

 

[fyrefly]

anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?

What 2.4Ghz? The 13" MBP? It's a P8600

The 2.13 MBA is the SL9600 and 1.86Ghz is the SL9400 (both the same as the RevC airs, AFAIK).

The new 11" Airs use the SU processors - the SU9400 (1.4Ghs) and SU9600 (1.6Ghz).

More details here:
http://ark.intel.com/ProductCollection.aspx?familyID=26548&MarketSegment=MBL

 

[Hellhammer]

To be honest upgrading them RAM to 4GB and the CPU to 1.6GHZ in the MBA is a total rip off and pointless for most users.

RAM upgrade is great value, 4GB for 100 bucks. You can see the difference in everyday usage, it doesn't to be anything intensive. It's also not upgradeable so you really want to get the best you can when buying

Also, remember that the GPU is stealing at least 256MB of your precious RAM

 

[fyrefly]

Its a waste of money, and in the UK its more expensive than that costs something like £200. Simply not worth it IMO, processor bump will make a tiny difference, RAM only if your using demanding Apps. As with all Apple products the more you upgrade/ higher spec you go the worse value for money it gets.

IMHO the RAM upgrade is a *must*. As someone who has a 13" RevB 1.6Ghz C2D with 128GB SSD MBA, I hit the 2GB RAM ceiling daily. It's the only thing I'd change about my MBA right now.

Even BareFeats (admittedly a performance-minded Mac site) illustrates the point of having more than 2GB of RAM:

"The previous model of MacBook Air came in one memory configuration: 2GB. That was a non-starter for me. Why? When I boot up my MacBook Pro, with no user apps running, real memory in use is at 1.3GB. Launch Safari, Mail, Preview, and Textedit. Now I'm at 1.9GB. Launch iMovie, iPhoto, and ITunes. Now I'm at 2.3GB. I'm now "under water" and starting to do virtual memory paging."

On my MBA right now with iTunes, Word, Final draft, Safari open, I am at ~2.7GB RAM used.

And with 10.7 Lion coming in the Summer, you're gonna want that 4GB of RAM even more for things like LaunchPad, etc...

Mark my words - get the 4GB of RAM. You can't upgrade it later, and I bet you'll need it (unless you're only gonna keep the MBA for 6 months or so and then upgrade).

 

[J400uk]

RAM upgrade is great value, 4GB for 100 bucks. You can see the difference in everyday usage, it doesn't to be anything intensive. It's also not upgradeable so you really want to get the best you can when buying

I'm not in the USA, in the UK its £80 for the RAM upgrade, which is roughly $125.

Its a rip off IMO given the going rate for 2GB DDR3 here is £20 - £30. 2GB will have to suffice as I refuse to pay extortionate amounts of money for an upgrade I can live without.

 

[gloss]

On the other hand, virtual memory on an SSD has got to be way less of a performance drain than on a platter drive.

 

[iParis]

RAM upgrade is great value, 4GB for 100 bucks. You can see the difference in everyday usage, it doesn't to be anything intensive. It's also not upgradeable so you really want to get the best you can when buying

Also, remember that the GPU is stealing at least 256MB of your precious RAM

+4 internetz to you good sir.
I would gladly pay Apple $100 to upgrade my ram to 4GB and do it for me. I would not want to risk doing it myself and messing it up.

I'm not in the USA, in the UK its £80 for the RAM upgrade, which is roughly $125.

Its a rip off IMO given the going rate for 2GB DDR3 here is £20 - £30. 2GB will have to suffice as I refuse to pay extortionate amounts of money for an upgrade I can live without.

Well even if it may be a rip off in itself, the work put into actually upgrading it may be worth it. An upgrade like that used to cost like $300.

 

[wheezy]

I'm not in the USA, in the UK its £80 for the RAM upgrade, which is roughly $125.

Its a rip off IMO given the going rate for 2GB DDR3 here is £20 - £30. 2GB will have to suffice as I refuse to pay extortionate amounts of money for an upgrade I can live without.

I know computers get dated quickly, but wouldn't you want to hedge your machine against the future as much as possible? Sure, right now you think 2GB is plenty of RAM, but who's to say that in 6 months you may need an App that is much more RAM intensive? Suddenly that $125 you were too cheap to spend becomes something you wish you would have done; especially on a system you can't upgrade yourself. Also, on resell 4GB is much more attractive to a buyer than 2GB.

I agree that paying Apple for extra RAM on self-upgradeable systems is "extortionate", but on a MBA you really should reconsider. Paying an extra $40 premium for RAM really isn't that much at all.

 

[J400uk]

Yeah OK, well I'm sticking with 2GB anyway. I don't have unlimited funds to spend on computers, and I've got a quad-core i7 system with 6gb ram for when I need any sort of power

OP - Sorry for taking your thread off topic!

 

[wheezy]

Yeah OK, well I'm sticking with 2GB anyway. I don't have unlimited funds to spend on computers, and I've got a quad-core i7 system with 6gb ram for when I need any sort of power

HA! Okay, that makes more sense Your pretty future-proofed right there, so the MBA would just be for mobility. Sticking with 2GB isn't such a bad idea then.

 

[Eidorian]

Your MacBook has a 1.83Ghz Core Duo T2400 and the new MacBook Air 11" has a 1.4Ghz Core 2 Duo SU9400

According to this - http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php the Core 2 Duo in the MBA is faster (listed as U9400), scoring 964 against 880 for your existing chip.

On top of that the SSD and Nvidia graphics will provide significant performance increases, so even in 'base spec' its still a nice upgrade over what you have!

To be honest upgrading them RAM to 4GB and the CPU to 1.6GHZ in the MBA is a total rip off and pointless for most users.

PassMark kills kittens and makes baby Jesus cry.

We need some SuperPi and Cinebench action here.

 

[ccsicecoke]

PassMark kills kittens and makes baby Jesus cry.

We need some SuperPi and Cinebench action here.

Benchmark comparison:

Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz SU9400
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SU9400-Notebook-Processor.34477.0.html

Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz SU9600
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SU9600-Notebook-Processor.34475.0.html

Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz SL9400
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SL9400-Notebook-Processor.24812.0.html

Core 2 Duo 2.13GHz SL9600
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SL9600-Notebook-Processor.33810.0.html

 

[fyrefly]

+4 internetz to you good sir.
I would gladly pay Apple $100 to upgrade my ram to 4GB and do it for me. I would not want to risk doing it myself and messing it up.

The point with the RAM upgrade in the MBA is that *can't* do it yourself. The RAM will be BTO soldered to the MotherBoard of the MBA you order/buy from Apple.

If you get one with 2GB of RAM - you cannot upgrade it in the future.

 

[Eidorian]

Benchmark comparison:

Core 2 Duo 1.4GHz SU9400
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SU9400-Notebook-Processor.34477.0.html

Core 2 Duo 1.6GHz SU9600
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SU9600-Notebook-Processor.34475.0.html

Core 2 Duo 1.86GHz SL9400
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SL9400-Notebook-Processor.24812.0.html

Core 2 Duo 2.13GHz SL9600
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-Core-2-Duo-SL9600-Notebook-Processor.33810.0.html

The T2400 is just a hair faster with the extra ~400 MHz. Not that you're going to notice only that factor.

 

[DannyBres]

Which MacBook and what year? Lots of different 2.4Ghz Core 2 Duos have been made...

Apologies I meant to paste a link!

https://www.macrumors.com/2008/10/14/apple-announces-new-aluminum-macbooks/

what core2duo is this 2.4. I had one for 2 years and recently sold it so I just want to see hoe it should the 1.4 should perform on paper in comparison!

 

[makinao]

Does this link help?

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...-with-gimped-cpus.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

 

[aberrero]

Am I right in thinking that even though the MBA is .43ghz less (in numbers) in reality it's two processors, so, 2.8ghz when compared to my current laptop??

NO. Your laptop is a Core Duo, which means it already has dual core. Your current system is faster than the 1.4ghz, probably around the same speed as the 1.6ghz.

That said, the SSD will make the new air FEEL faster, but if you want to maintain the same level of performance, get the 13" version.