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11" processer speeds explained??

W

wfielder84246

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 17, 2008
60
0
UK
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 :confused:
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...

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. :p

DannyBres said:
anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?
Click to expand...

Huh? I don't understand your question at all.
 
DannyBres said:
anyone know what core 2 duo model this 2.4GHz is?
Click to expand...

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


iParis said:
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. :p
Click to expand...

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.
 
J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...

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
 
J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...

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).
 
Hellhammer said:
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
Click to expand...

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.
 
Hellhammer said:
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
Click to expand...

+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.

J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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 :D

OP - Sorry for taking your thread off topic!
 
J400uk said:
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 :D
Click to expand...

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.
 
J400uk said:
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.
Click to expand...
PassMark kills kittens and makes baby Jesus cry.

We need some SuperPi and Cinebench action here.
 
 
iParis said:
+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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
 
wfielder84246 said:
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.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
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