Questions on 13 MBA performance

[BigCanoe]

Hi,

I have a C2D Macbook Pro 15 right now with 4GB RAM. I run it connected to a 20" external montior:

I use the computer for:

World of Warcraft
Email/Web
Netflix
XCode

My son is in need of a new computer, so I was thinking of giving him my MBP and getting a 13" MBA with 4GB RAM.

Would it be a pretty similar performance experience to my MBP in my normal tasks?

 

[KPOM]

Hi,

I have a C2D Macbook Pro 15 right now with 4GB RAM. I run it connected to a 20" external montior:

I use the computer for:

World of Warcraft
Email/Web
Netflix
XCode

My son is in need of a new computer, so I was thinking of giving him my MBP and getting a 13" MBA with 4GB RAM.

Would it be a pretty similar performance experience to my MBP in my normal tasks?

I'm guessing it will be pretty similar overall. The MacBook Pro has a faster processor (do you have the 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo?). Your model also has a discrete GPU, but you need to switch back and forth between integrated and discrete manually. If you use the discrete GPU, you will likely see a slight performance drop in WoW when you switch to the MacBook Air. However, for e-mail, web, etc. you may notice a performance boost from the SSD (unless your MBP already has an SSD).

Scroll to the bottom of this thread for some stats on the 9600M in your MBP vs the 320M in the MacBook Air.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/897369/

 

[BigCanoe]

I have the older Santa Rosa version, 2.4GHZ cpu and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 256MB

I forgot to mention that!

 

[KPOM]

I have the older Santa Rosa version, 2.4GHZ cpu and NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 256MB

I forgot to mention that!

Here are some other threads you might find interesting:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/897409/

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/?topicId=26560538744&sid=1

I'd guess that the difference between the 2.4GHz with 3MB L2 cache in your Santa Rosa and the 2.13GHz with 6MB L2 cache would be negligible (under 10%). Overall, you'll notice the SSD boost when booting or starting applications. In gaming, you might notice a few more dropped screens, but I'm guessing nothing major. You'll also notice how light the MacBook Air is.