New Hardware Experience

[X5-452]

I'm thinking of pulling the trigger and getting the Ultimate 13" i7 MacBook Air. This is a big deal for me since I'm still running an original Rev A Core Duo MacBook with a 2.0 Yonah processor. I've had my machine since they first hit the market and after 5 years it's still running great. For the most part. I'm hoping that I can get at least 5 years of use out of the MBA.

Now, my main question is this: Will I notice a speed difference?? I know that seems like a dumb question - "Yes you'll see a speed increase, asshat" is what you're thinking. But, this is what I use my MacBook for:

Internet
iTunes
Twitter / Facebook
iCal
Misc. media downloads via Torrent files

I *sometimes* use Word and Excel when I take work home with me, but most of the time (roughly 90%) I just stay late at work so I'm not bothered by work at home.

I don't use iPhoto but have been thinking about it. I'm too entrenched in the Finder / Folder structure of photo organization to appreciate iPhoto for what it is.

I don't watch movies / TV shows on my Mac. I either put them on a flash drive and plug them into my HDTV, or I use "Shared Libraries" and watch them on my iPad.

I don't do a lot... My Mac is mainly the media hub for my life. As such, the reason it's lasted so long is because I don't do anything intensive with it. With that said, will someone like me notice a difference?? I don't really think my machine is slow to begin with. Maybe I'm used to it. Maybe it's still fine. I'm not sure. The internals are starting to spazz out on me which is why I'm looking for an upgrade -- but will I see any of the benefit of it for my needs?

 

[fuzzielitlpanda]

the move to ssd alone will show a very obvious speed difference. short answer: yes it will do everything you listed in a noticeably faster way and should last the next 5 years.

 

[KPOM]

Probably the biggest difference you'll notice is that it restarts very quickly. This is from the SSD. Otherwise, you'll find that videos load more quickly and are less jittery since the HD 3000 is far better than the Intel graphics are in the Rev A MacBook. Any photo editor, whether it's iPhoto, Picasa, or anything else, would operate quicker because the Core i7 processor is much better at it.