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How Good Is The MacBook Air Processor (For Intense Web Browsing?)

R

rekhyt

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jun 20, 2008
1,127
78
Part of the old MR guard.
I'm planning on purchasing the MacBook Air sometime later in April and will be switching from a Macbook Pro (Late 2008 unibody: C2D 2.4 ghz, 4GB RAM) to the maximum configuration for the MacBook Air 13" (1.86 ghz or 2.13 ghz, 4GB RAM).

How much would I miss though, and would my needs be too intensive/demanding for the MBA?

Parallel running: (Usual config)
  • Chrome
  • Safari
  • Skype
  • iTunes
  • Evernote
  • Speed Download

Chrome: 10 tabs+ usually. May get up to 25+ sometimes, with all the above apps open.

Adobe Illustrator CS5: Designing with the app with all the above apps open.

Would it work?
 
namtaB said:
LOL its a Core 2 Duo, not a Pentium III. You'll be fine.
Click to expand...

+1

I don't really understand why people are worried that normal programs will run. Short of extremely-graphically intensive applications or CPU-only intensive applications, the MBA runs them like any other computer. Faster too with the SSD.
 
impulse462 said:
+1

I don't really understand why people are worried that normal programs will run. Short of extremely-graphically intensive applications or CPU-only intensive applications, the MBA runs them like any other computer. Faster too with the SSD.
Click to expand...

Because it has "Air" in the name people assume it's an airhead. As you said it will handle any normal computing task and only be slower in CPU intensive applications.
 
I have a second generation Air and it is way faster than my only slightly older MBP. Particularly if the you get the SSD, you will shocked how quick the MBA. You'll be very pleased.
 
LOL, there's no "intense web browsing!" unless you need a firewire port or doing a lot of video editing, a MBA is more than enough.
 
Some badly written flash / javascript app might hang, but it will probably hang on the i5 too. You can't outrun an infinite loop :p

Basically, you are asking if you need a Ferrari to drive through New York city. You don't. A push-bike is faster.
 
No problem, I can't believe how much faster the MBA is compared to my P4 Windows machine
 
namtaB said:
LOL its a Core 2 Duo, not a Pentium III. You'll be fine.
Click to expand...

impulse462 said:
+1

I don't really understand why people are worried that normal programs will run. Short of extremely-graphically intensive applications or CPU-only intensive applications, the MBA runs them like any other computer. Faster too with the SSD.
Click to expand...

Slightly worried about the performance of the Intel C2D Processor (2.4 ghz) - my MacBook Pro's processor got hammered while exporting an Audacity file mp3 audio recording. Couldn't do anything - Word was literally dead.
 
rekhyt said:
Slightly worried about the performance of the Intel C2D Processor (2.4 ghz) - my MacBook Pro's processor got hammered while exporting an Audacity file mp3 audio recording. Couldn't do anything - Word was literally dead.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I mean I understand, I didn't mean that comment directed towards only you. It's a valid concern considering that these computers are relatively expensive.

Just the fact that as said before its not a Pentium III ;)
 
rekhyt said:
Slightly worried about the performance of the Intel C2D Processor (2.4 ghz) - my MacBook Pro's processor got hammered while exporting an Audacity file mp3 audio recording. Couldn't do anything - Word was literally dead.
Click to expand...
When I peg my Air's processor at 100% (doing something like ripping a movie in Handbrake), the rest of the system seems responsive enough.
 
Put it this way: the MacBook Air is far more powerful than the iPad, and the iPad is great for web browsing and email. The MacBook Air is more than powerful enough for web browsing, email, as well as Microsoft Office, iPhoto and many other general tasks.
 
SidBala said:
lol!
Click to expand...

gglockner said:
Put it this way: the MacBook Air is far more powerful than the iPad, and the iPad is great for web browsing and email. The MacBook Air is more than powerful enough for web browsing, email, as well as Microsoft Office, iPhoto and many other general tasks.
Click to expand...

  1. Wasn't talking about the iPad - was deciding between MBA 11"/13" and a MBP.
  2. I know a friend who is planning on getting the base 11" MacBook Air. He does 'intense web browsing' as well, going up to 50 tabs in Chrome on a white MacBook before crashing.

Would it be suicide to have such little processing power in this situation? (Especially when one is using the MacBook Air as the sole computer.)

aristobrat said:
When I peg my Air's processor at 100% (doing something like ripping a movie in Handbrake), the rest of the system seems responsive enough.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't the fan rev up to 6K and the heat of the MacBook Air 85 C°+? (And how would you rip a movie using Handbrake without a superdrive?)

impulse462 said:
Yeah, I mean I understand, I didn't mean that comment directed towards only you. It's a valid concern considering that these computers are relatively expensive.

Just the fact that as said before its not a Pentium III ;)
Click to expand...

Thanks. :) I was just concerned about the processing power of the MacBook Air, especially because I was struggling with processing power on my previous MacBook (Late 2007 : 2.16 ghz).
 
rekhyt said:
Thanks. :) I was just concerned about the processing power of the MacBook Air, especially because I was struggling with processing power on my previous MacBook (Late 2007 : 2.16 ghz).
Click to expand...

Apple redesigned the architecture of the Air to remove the bottle neck previous generations of Airs and MBP's experienced. You'll be amazed at how much this little jewel can do.
 
Im imagining "intense web browsing" to be like a cheesy 80s movie with muscly men browsing the web "intensely" and high 5ing each other with the final countdown playing in the background.
 
I'm also planing to buy this MBA 13" 1.86Ghz, 4GB RAM.

My take on "intence web browsing":
I actually was at the apple store today to try it out. I fired up safari with 5+ tabs and went on youtube, loaded a 1080p clip. While it was playing i opened a new tab with engadget.com and started scrolling down. And there it was... lag.

Thats a typical browsing senario for me and I really can't stand lag when scrolling. It wasn't awful, it was more like sirup. Noticeable tho.

I'l admit that the testing was done at the 11" 1.4Ghz coz the 13" didn't have flash installed.

My question is: Does that 400Mhz extra from 1.4 to 1.8 make that lag to go away?

You could argue that it is kinda stupid to load a 1080p clip and then start scrolling another page but I use an addon that automatically sets youtube videos to load at highest resolution possible to avoid reloading video when maximizing.
 
Assiduity said:
I'm also planing to buy this MBA 13" 1.86Ghz, 4GB RAM.

My take on "intence web browsing":
I actually was at the apple store today to try it out. I fired up safari with 5+ tabs and went on youtube, loaded a 1080p clip. While it was playing i opened a new tab with engadget.com and started scrolling down. And there it was... lag.

Thats a typical browsing senario for me and I really can't stand lag when scrolling. It wasn't awful, it was more like sirup. Noticeable tho.

I'l admit that the testing was done at the 11" 1.4Ghz coz the 13" didn't have flash installed.

My question is: Does that 400Mhz extra from 1.4 to 1.8 make that lag to go away?

You could argue that it is kinda stupid to load a 1080p clip and then start scrolling another page but I use an addon that automatically sets youtube videos to load at highest resolution possible to avoid reloading video when maximizing.
Click to expand...

probably the Apple Store's Internet connection ... was there a ton of Kids in there doing the exact same thing?

The Air should do all that with no lag :cool:
 
Assiduity said:
I'm also planing to buy this MBA 13" 1.86Ghz, 4GB RAM.

My take on "intence web browsing":
I actually was at the apple store today to try it out. I fired up safari with 5+ tabs and went on youtube, loaded a 1080p clip. While it was playing i opened a new tab with engadget.com and started scrolling down. And there it was... lag.

Thats a typical browsing senario for me and I really can't stand lag when scrolling. It wasn't awful, it was more like sirup. Noticeable tho.

I'l admit that the testing was done at the 11" 1.4Ghz coz the 13" didn't have flash installed.

My question is: Does that 400Mhz extra from 1.4 to 1.8 make that lag to go away?

You could argue that it is kinda stupid to load a 1080p clip and then start scrolling another page but I use an addon that automatically sets youtube videos to load at highest resolution possible to avoid reloading video when maximizing.
Click to expand...

Try typing randoms stuff on google with instant on. There is a bit of a lag there too
 
I'd awnser your question, but I've been on the web for a little while now and I need to take a break. This browsing is just too intense.
 
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