What about.. Air 1.8 and Macbook?

[Schiff]

First post! I've got a normal, white macbook.... first generation (1.83 ghz) and I'm thinking of changing it. I use it mainly with text files (doc and pdf) and fun....
Anyway I really don't like the idea of switching to a 1.6 computer , so I was thinking of selling my macbook and getting the 1.8 Air. With normal HD....
Do you think the performance is the same in this case? From time to time I've to use also other programs that require more power... and my macbook is just sufficient. It's okay but I don't want to regress....
Thank you

 

[NC MacGuy]

First post! I've got a normal, white macbook.... first generation (1.83 ghz) and I'm thinking of changing it. I use it mainly with text files (doc and pdf) and fun....
Anyway I really don't like the idea of switching to a 1.6 computer , so I was thinking of selling my macbook and getting the 1.8 Air. With normal HD....
Do you think the performance is the same in this case? From time to time I've to use also other programs that require more power... and my macbook is just sufficient. It's okay but I don't want to regress....
Thank you

It's a 1.6 C2D. You have a 1.83 CD. The 1.6 C2D is faster than your 1.83 CD by quite a bit. IMO, you'd be better off getting an ext. Superdrive & USB-Enet dongle instead of a 200MHz proc. speed increase.

 

[ncavs10]

First post! I've got a normal, white macbook.... first generation (1.83 ghz) and I'm thinking of changing it. I use it mainly with text files (doc and pdf) and fun....
Anyway I really don't like the idea of switching to a 1.6 computer , so I was thinking of selling my macbook and getting the 1.8 Air. With normal HD....
Do you think the performance is the same in this case? From time to time I've to use also other programs that require more power... and my macbook is just sufficient. It's okay but I don't want to regress....
Thank you

im in the same boat, i currently have a CD black macbook and i want to get the macbook air but im skeptical that it wont be enough speed. but ive been reassured with the same comment. CD vs C2D is a pretty big difference.

 

[Schiff]

Is it possible to compare them? I'm not a fan of benchmarks.... and actually I don't understand them much, but I'd like to get the real difference between the two cpu....

 

[netdog]

I've had both and the MBA is quite a bit faster in processing. The hard drive in the MBA is a bit of a drag sometimes when loading apps etc, but is otherwise no problem at all.

If you want the Air, get it. In terms of real world subjective experience, I don't think that you will notice any real difference in terms of speed between the two.

 

[NC MacGuy]

Is it possible to compare them? I'm not a fan of benchmarks.... and actually I don't understand them much, but I'd like to get the real difference between the two cpu....

In everything except graphic or disk intensive operations, my 1.6 Air is every bit as fast and in some things faster than my 2GHz CD MBP.

 

[ncavs10]

In everything except graphic or disk intensive operations, my 1.6 Air is every bit as fast and in some things faster than my 2GHz CD MBP.

i guess the C2D really makes the difference from the old CD huh?

 

[NC MacGuy]

i guess the C2D really makes the difference from the old CD huh?

Absolutely! If you go to Anandtech's site, he directly compares an Air 1.6 to 2GHz CD MBP. The Air performed better in some tasks, the same in others and a little worse for graphics and HDD tasks as expected.

Quite impressive. I have the same model of MBP and before reading his comparison thought my MBP had problems because it seemed lagging in comparison to the Air.

 

[Schiff]

Absolutely! If you go to Anandtech's site, he directly compares an Air 1.6 to 2GHz CD MBP. The Air performed better in some tasks, the same in others and a little worse for graphics and HDD tasks as expected.

Quite impressive. I have the same model of MBP and before reading his comparison thought my MBP had problems because it seemed lagging in comparison to the Air.

would you link the article, please?

 

[ayeying]

Please note that higher GHz does NOT equal to better performance especially if the chip is NEWER.

Same reason why our C2D, having only maybe 2.0GHz can outperform a Pentium 4 running at 3.6 or 3.8GHz.

 

[Schiff]

CD vs C2D is a pretty big difference.

Sorry but I notice just now that my white macbook is Intel Core 2 Duo! I didn't even know.... so once again I can't decide....

 

[bcaslis]

Sorry but I notice just now that my white macbook is Intel Core 2 Duo! I didn't even know.... so once again I can't decide....

Well then, expect the MBA to be a bit slower. In most cases I doubt you could even notice it.

However, if performance is really that critical to you, you need either the 1.8 SSD model or don't get it. I don't care what the "benchmarks" say, the SSD model feels much more responsive than the HD model. But if performance is really your metric, stay with what you have or get a Pro.

 

[ceehjayem]

would you link the article, please?

Yes please post the article. I can't find it on the website. Thanks in advance.

 

[bcaslis]

Yes please post the article. I can't find it on the website. Thanks in advance.

Here you go:

http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226&p=18