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I don't get why millions of people can't understand CPU logic...
- Thread starter Dammit Cubs
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I think so, but its not because of the CPU. They needed a big case and lots of cooling for the very very powerful video card.
The thing is, if I wanted one, I would have bought it. I prefer the MBA, but that doesn't mean that its OK for it to have such a slow CPU when faster ones are readily available. I can understand though why Apple went with the C2D here, but they really needed to update the MBP13.
Sony Z13.
13 inch, core i5 @ 2.53 ghz, 4 gb ( more gb is optional ofcourse ), 330m, 128 SSD. And it weighs pretty close to the much weaker 13" MBA.
If you're going to compare the MBA to high end ultra portables and not cheap ones, you'll see that there are ultraportables with much better specs at the same weight.
Yeah thats understandable its a difference in computing needs. The gains are there for all to see. I meant more the fact that people buy MBP after MBP because it has had a minor spec bump. This i cannot understand.
I understand that some of the people may consider the new MacBook Air is slow in terms of CPU, comparing with the i5/i7 ones. I got your points that you think that the CPU is outdated, or Apple is trying to gain more profit, or storage is not enough, etc. However, different products suit different people,
For me, I won't work on video editing or 3d rendering or something consume CPU so much, so I think this CPU is enough for me. I would rather they put this outdated CPU to the machine, because they can lower the overall price. I can't imagine how expensive it would be if you put an i5/i7 in this little machine.
I don't blame Apple wants to gain more profit. Every company would want to do so. Companies are not serving customer for nothing. And in my point of view, such a little thing needed a great effort on design. How much resource Apple put on this new MacBook Air we never know. How many professionals involved? How much time they researched? So could we just calculate how much profit they would get only in terms of the component embedded?
As I have an external hard drive for storage, I don't find the 64G is not enough. In fact, I am happy with the flash drive in Air because it covers, you might call, the weak part of the machine. Cheers for the professionals. In my opinion, the hard drive has been outdated for a long long long time but I don't know why most of the people won't realize. SATA hard drive was out since 2003 and Core2 is 3 years newer technology. And who knows 5400rpm was out since how many years ago?
When the first netbook was introduced by ASUS, I was impressed by the weight and size and tried to buy one to use one year after that, when I thought it would be mature enough at that time. I turned out sold my EEEPC 901 out after 3 months. I then monitor the netbook market and found that there are lots of models but most of them are in similar specification. And the only thing causes them to call it a netbook is, they get an Atom CPU. I wait and wait, hoping that the atom would be better later on. I have been disappointed to see the updates on atom is not much use.
However, I got really excited when I saw the update of the new MacBook Air after this long waiting. Honestly, I did not have any hope that new MacBook Air would be suitable for me since I thought, based on the previous versions, the MacBook Air line would be too expensive for me. Although I used to plan, calculate, budget before I spend, this is the very first time that I bought a product at the same day I saw it. The price is nearly a double to netbooks (and less than the sony netbook) but it gets:
1. a much much better CPU although it is outdated (I would rather have this than a new version of atom)
2. doubled ram (and I can upgrade to 4G)
3. flash drive instead of damn slow hard drive
4. bigger display with better resolution
5. embedded display chips
6. much thinner body
7. lighter in weight (most important to me)
8. good battery time
9. full size keyboard
What I want to say is, it won't matter if one of the component is outdated or slow. Let's comment the product as a whole. Specification is important, but the most important is what you need. I still can find that ThinkPad X61 is selling in similar price somewhere but who will complain it is outdated? You won't feel you are stupid to buy a sofa which the mechanism is not that update. And you may be pleased to pay more for a better design.
For me, I won't work on video editing or 3d rendering or something consume CPU so much, so I think this CPU is enough for me. I would rather they put this outdated CPU to the machine, because they can lower the overall price. I can't imagine how expensive it would be if you put an i5/i7 in this little machine.
I don't blame Apple wants to gain more profit. Every company would want to do so. Companies are not serving customer for nothing. And in my point of view, such a little thing needed a great effort on design. How much resource Apple put on this new MacBook Air we never know. How many professionals involved? How much time they researched? So could we just calculate how much profit they would get only in terms of the component embedded?
As I have an external hard drive for storage, I don't find the 64G is not enough. In fact, I am happy with the flash drive in Air because it covers, you might call, the weak part of the machine. Cheers for the professionals. In my opinion, the hard drive has been outdated for a long long long time but I don't know why most of the people won't realize. SATA hard drive was out since 2003 and Core2 is 3 years newer technology. And who knows 5400rpm was out since how many years ago?
When the first netbook was introduced by ASUS, I was impressed by the weight and size and tried to buy one to use one year after that, when I thought it would be mature enough at that time. I turned out sold my EEEPC 901 out after 3 months. I then monitor the netbook market and found that there are lots of models but most of them are in similar specification. And the only thing causes them to call it a netbook is, they get an Atom CPU. I wait and wait, hoping that the atom would be better later on. I have been disappointed to see the updates on atom is not much use.
However, I got really excited when I saw the update of the new MacBook Air after this long waiting. Honestly, I did not have any hope that new MacBook Air would be suitable for me since I thought, based on the previous versions, the MacBook Air line would be too expensive for me. Although I used to plan, calculate, budget before I spend, this is the very first time that I bought a product at the same day I saw it. The price is nearly a double to netbooks (and less than the sony netbook) but it gets:
1. a much much better CPU although it is outdated (I would rather have this than a new version of atom)
2. doubled ram (and I can upgrade to 4G)
3. flash drive instead of damn slow hard drive
4. bigger display with better resolution
5. embedded display chips
6. much thinner body
7. lighter in weight (most important to me)
8. good battery time
9. full size keyboard
What I want to say is, it won't matter if one of the component is outdated or slow. Let's comment the product as a whole. Specification is important, but the most important is what you need. I still can find that ThinkPad X61 is selling in similar price somewhere but who will complain it is outdated? You won't feel you are stupid to buy a sofa which the mechanism is not that update. And you may be pleased to pay more for a better design.
In the 13" bracket yes (OSX considerations aside the Z would get my vote over the 13"MBA), but not in the 11.6 segment which is what the 2 kilo M11x was being compared with
Actually, it does hold. I moved from a PC to a Mac, going back a generation in HW but to find a more responsive, snappier OS (Windows does not care DOES NOT CARE about being responsive).Where did I say the i7 MBP is a quad core?
Since you missed the point, Mac users do look at CPU power, else the i7 MBP wouldn't be selling.
It has nothing to do with being a "PC" user.
And Linux even runs on mobile phones, so the OS X argument of his doesn't even hold either.
It is natural for a Windows user to feel, oh yeah.. I need more memory or more CPU just to get the OS running.
I don't feel that way with a Mac. If I needed more power, it would exclusively be to do something else... not to run my computer on a basic level so I'm not frustrated using it.
I think there's a difference.
At $2,499, it also costs $700 more than the highest end MacBook Air. Sony has always impressed me, as they are the one PC manufacturer that spends as much time thinking about industrial design as Apple. Before the Air, I always liked the Vaio lineup, though I never pulled the trigger (cost was an issue).
The thing to remember is that Apple made a conscious decision to keep the price of the new models down. That's another reason why they didn't go with the Core i5.
Dell MX11: 4.39lb, 1.29" thick.
MBA11: 2.3lb, 0.68" thick.
Given the MX11 weight & thickness, might as well stick with a 13" MBP.
Its all about tradeoffs. MBA is aimed at thin & light weight. Thats the value proposition, not cpu performance.
Which other sub-3lb, sub-0.7" thickness SSD equipped 11 inch notebooks are out there to compare with?
Im upgrading from a 2008 MacBook 2.4GHz C2D.
The MBA gives me:
Lower Hz
Faster BUS speed
Twice the cache
faster RAM
better graphics
Higher screen res
lower storage size
Faster read/write
Better battery life.
Half the thickness
Half the weight
I can see more pro the cons
The MBA gives me:
Lower Hz
Faster BUS speed
Twice the cache
faster RAM
better graphics
Higher screen res
lower storage size
Faster read/write
Better battery life.
Half the thickness
Half the weight
I can see more pro the cons
Im upgrading from a 2008 MacBook 2.4GHz C2D.
The MBA gives me:
Lower Hz
Faster BUS speed
Twice the cache
faster RAM
better graphics
Higher screen res
lower storage size
Faster read/write
Better battery life.
Half the thickness
Half the weight
I can see more pro the cons
The MBA gives me:
Lower Hz
Faster BUS speed
Twice the cache
faster RAM
better graphics
Higher screen res
lower storage size
Faster read/write
Better battery life.
Half the thickness
Half the weight
I can see more pro the cons
The m11x isn't the best example, but there aren't many 11.6" laptops out there so it is all we have. The M11x is better for gaming than the MBP15. The fact that it can do that at 4 pounds is actually very impressive. It is a totally different beast from the MBA though.
Theres actually quite a few. Acer alone have had a whole screed of them at a decent price. Some slightly faster than the MBA some slightly slower and most of them with more RAM. However all of them tend to tip the scales around 3 pounds rather than 2.
Saving that last pound in weight whilst maintaining most of the battery life is where the money goes. When weight is at an absolute premium the price tends to go with it.
Ok, let's compare the M11X more in-depth then. Old model shmodel, the Core 2 Duo is still sold as the 999$ base option. Let's look at the specs first... oh wait, there is goes failing to be a COMPARABLE :
Height: 32.7mm (1.29 inches)
Preliminary Weight: Start at 1.99kg (4.39 lbs)7
I pointed out the M11X because it uses the same Core 2 Duo processor. Why is it ok for Dell to use it but if Apple does it's crap ? People are really inconsistent here.
Small form factor on a Dell M11X ? Yeah, right.
The Sony Vaio Z is more expensive than the MBA, so let's not even go there. That's the point really
Turbo mode turns off cores to reach its peak. So your 1.866 ghz is on one core only. With 2 cores activated, it will be lower than that. Again, why is it ok for Dell to use these low clock CPUs and it's GREAT! but when Apple does it it's crap ?
Makes no sense.
But more expensive. You get what you pay for. Seriously, people trying to argue the Air is outdated fail on the basis that other vendors sell the same components (the Penryn-3M Core 2 Duos are still currently sold by other vendors), or that you can get better specs (but they end up costing more like the Vaio Z or being fit in a hulking case) or the same form factor (either slower components or again higher price).
Apple(well Jobs) criticism of net books was that [Apple] doesn't know how to build a good netbook because of the price. A key part of the netbook card is a low price. Clearly the Air is not a 300-400 dollar computer.
I don't think Applemever had trouble make good small laptops(check the 12' PB and iBook)
I think the more important aspect of this is that the chip per se is just outdated. In fact so outdated that it will be gone in 2 months, i.e. not produced any more. I don't mind investing in a 1.8 or something chip but it should not be 2 years old at the time of purchase.
Otherwise agree, there are other aspects like bus speed, Cash size, SDD vs HDD...
Otherwise agree, there are other aspects like bus speed, Cash size, SDD vs HDD...
Celeron is on its last legs under Core 2. The Pentium line has already been replaced under Clarkdale.