MBA 2020 i7 compared to MBP i5 2016

[skous]

Hi all
I own a MBP TB i5 (2 cores - 2.9Ghz) with 8GB RAM and have to say for what I do the machine works really ok, though it starting to show its age as I notice some things get slower (too much office, mail and cals own all the time, around 30 tabs in Safari or Chrome, gchat/Skype/slack open etc all the time), and occasionally done docker stuff.(With docker it gets reeeeeeealy slow)

I was looking at the new MBA2020 with the i7 1.2Ghz - 4 cores) and 16GB RAM configuration but don't know what sort of improvement it would be in terms of performance over my current machine. I'be read also that the heat issues in MBA may limit its performance and make it hot. I am also a bit puzzled about the low click speed but I think it is only so in "idle" tasks.
I will wait to see if a new MBP comes upin the next couple weeks but probably that would be quite more expensive.

So do you think is worth the upgrade? Would it be capable of running faster than my current configuration in a smooth manner or will I hear the fans all day long?
How much performance gain would I possibly witness?2x? Less?

 

[skous]

forgot to say that I use also 1 external screen regularly

 

[magbarn]

What year is your MBP? If it's the older dual core ones, you're going to be doing a sidegrade. The quad core speed is only noticeable for bursty loads, and if you're going to be pushing it for prolonged periods of time it will run closer to your old MBP. If you're really budget constrained, the i3 model with 16gb of RAM might be an upgrade for you as it sounds like your slowdown is from heavy ram usage.

Quoted from notebook check.net's 2020 MBA i5 review

"System Performance
There is no good system benchmark for macOS, so we still test the MacBook Air with the PCMark products from Furturemark running on Windows 10. The results are a bit surprising: The 2020 model with the Core i5 is on average not faster than the i5 model from 2019 – despite 2 additional cores, new 10nm process, and new architecture. There is still a difference to the MacBook Pro 13 and the Windows competition is much faster. Here we can clearly see the limitation of the cooling system and that Apple (intentionally) limits the performance of its entry-level series."

 

[KPOM]

What year is your MBP? If it's the older dual core ones, you're going to be doing a sidegrade. The quad core speed is only noticeable for bursty loads, and if you're going to be pushing it for prolonged periods of time it will run closer to your old MBP. If you're really budget constrained, the i3 model with 16gb of RAM might be an upgrade for you as it sounds like your slowdown is from heavy ram usage.

Quoted from notebook check.net's 2020 MBA i5 review

"System Performance
There is no good system benchmark for macOS, so we still test the MacBook Air with the PCMark products from Furturemark running on Windows 10. The results are a bit surprising: The 2020 model with the Core i5 is on average not faster than the i5 model from 2019 – despite 2 additional cores, new 10nm process, and new architecture. There is still a difference to the MacBook Pro 13 and the Windows competition is much faster. Here we can clearly see the limitation of the cooling system and that Apple (intentionally) limits the performance of its entry-level series."

PC Mark is less than ideal, as it is geared toward single core performance. Plus, Apple’s Windows 10 drivers are predictably sub-par for the MacBook Air.

 

[magbarn]

PC Mark is less than ideal, as it is geared toward single core performance. Plus, Apple’s Windows 10 drivers are predictably sub-par for the MacBook Air.

It's still the only way at this time to easily differentiate machines as the MBP 13 2 port model is still a bit faster than the 2020 MBA for running office apps. For the OP who already has a MBP, it's better to wait and see what the 2020 MBP brings to the table rather than do a buy/return like many of us who expected better performance...
Wouldn't the sub par drivers hurt both the MBA/MBP equally providing they're using standard Intel drivers...
In my experience poor bootcamp performance is more in the realm of power usage as Macs have horrible power management in Windows vs MacOS

 

[hector]

I got a 2020 i7/16/512 Air as an upgrade for my trusty 2013 rMBP dual core i5/16/256, which I was really excited about, having held out for a while so they could sort out the keyboards.

Having had the Air for 13 days, I begrudgingly initiated the returns process today - it's no faster (iMovie editing seems slower/almost unusable) and the fans are on frequently.

Pretty gutted - I'm going to wait for them to update the MBP, but not looking forward to having to have a Touch Bar.

 

[magbarn]

I got a 2020 i7/16/512 Air as an upgrade for my trusty 2013 rMBP dual core i5/16/256, which I was really excited about, having held out for a while so they could sort out the keyboards.

Having had the Air for 13 days, I begrudgingly initiated the returns process today - it's no faster (iMovie editing seems slower/almost unusable) and the fans are on frequently.

Pretty gutted - I'm going to wait for them to update the MBP, but not looking forward to having to have a Touch Bar.

Same boat as you. I'm going to initiate the return process next week.

 

[christcc2]

Reading all of the responses on here, doing research and looking at reviews, that is what led me to replace my 2012 Air i7/8/256 with a refurb MBP 13" 1.7 i7/16/512.

 

[skous]

Great been a lot of help!
After posting it here and reading A LOT in this part of the forum, I decided to skip it and wait for a MBP upgrade.
Possibly even for the 14" if this comes later than the 13"

 

[KPOM]

Great been a lot of help!
After posting it here and reading A LOT in this part of the forum, I decided to skip it and wait for a MBP upgrade.
Possibly even for the 14" if this comes later than the 13"

If the rumors are true, perhaps it will come in May! It should be a great machine. My mom has the 2019 13" Pro and it is really nice (though I like the keyboard on the 2020 Air a lot better). Once the base Pro gets the new keyboard, it should be perfect for you.
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It's still the only way at this time to easily differentiate machines as the MBP 13 2 port model is still a bit faster than the 2020 MBA for running office apps. For the OP who already has a MBP, it's better to wait and see what the 2020 MBP brings to the table rather than do a buy/return like many of us who expected better performance...
Wouldn't the sub par drivers hurt both the MBA/MBP equally providing they're using standard Intel drivers...
In my experience poor bootcamp performance is more in the realm of power usage as Macs have horrible power management in Windows vs MacOS

GeekBench is notably slower in Windows 10 than macOS. My i7 easily scores 1200/3200 in macOS, but barely registers 925/2500 in Windows 10. I think it has something to do with the Turbo Boost.