08-10-2011, 12:02 PM

First let me apologize for adding yet another which ____ should I buy thread to the dozens already here. Just looking for thoughts to clarify my decision.

I plan on buying my wife a MBA soon. I've already decided to go big or go home, so will go with the 13 in 256GB SSD model. I would pay the additional $100 Apple is asking for upgrade from i5 to i7 without a second thought, except it actually works out to be about $230 extra because the upgrade forces me to buy direct from Apple rather than my preference, from Amazon.

The discount in buying from Amazon is only $5, but no sales tax saves another $120+. Add to that Amazon will ship UPS (meaning they will deliver without anyone having to be here to sign) vs FEDEX on every Mac I've bought from Apple (which means if you don't get to the doorbell quick, they drive away and try again the next day).

Geekbench shows the i7 as being ~10% faster than the i5. So, though I would like the i7, I am leaning toward going with the i5.

Thoughts or comments anyone?

08-10-2011, 12:07 PM

What will you be doing that you are contemplating a ~10% difference in processing speed?

08-10-2011, 12:14 PM

Originally Posted by Razormac

Geekbench shows the i7 as being ~10% faster than the i5. So, though I would like the i7, I am leaning toward going with the i5.

Yeah...I was checking Geekbench benchmarks before I replied...and like you said...the 1.8ghz "i7" is about 10% faster than the 1.7ghz "i5" (technically I get closer to 8.5%).

Mac Benchmarks

Usually the price for the cpu upgrade on Mac laptops is pretty pricey...but in this case I'm sort of leaning towards paying the extra $100 for an extra 8.5% in performance. If it was like $200...I would say skip it...but $100 is tempting.

Sorry to make things confusing!

- Nick

08-10-2011, 12:19 PM

I looked at exactly the same thing. Extra $200+ because of the sales tax difference. Went with the i7 only because, well, guess I always want the best I can get of whatever I'm buying if I can afford it and justify the additional cost to myself.

I don't think there's any way you're going to see anything near a 10% improvement between the 1.7 and 1.8. I haven't even figured out what makes one an i5 and the other an i7. Pretty sure the feature set when I looked them up was identical.

Buying or recommending for someone else, i5 it is... unless they also just "want" to have the best one and can afford it.

(Of course, if you get the i5 and put up your scores in the benchmark threads, we'll have some head to head comparison. And mine will be faster. )

08-10-2011, 12:21 PM

you cannot upgrade processor, or ram for that matter. always get the best you can afford. software requirements for what you want to do now may fit the lower-priced and slower hardware now, but what about a year from now if you start upgrading that software? will that latest software still run fast enough, or at all, next year?

08-10-2011, 12:27 PM

Just another quick thought. If resale ever becomes necessary...maybe the 1.8ghz i7 cpu would "add value"...or if nothing else, help it stand out from other MBA's of the same vintage with the 1.7ghz i5 (making for a quicker & easier resale).

Who knows.

- Nick

08-10-2011, 12:30 PM

I have to agree with that. Considering the "Air" is what you bought is what you have to live with, it's probably a good idea to buy the best you can afford at the time. As Flash SSD drives come down in price you can always do an upgrade there. However, the CPU and memory are forever....

08-10-2011, 12:30 PM

Originally Posted by pigoo3

Just another quick thought. If resale ever becomes necessary...maybe the 1.8ghz i7 cpu would "add value"...or if nothing else, help it stand out from other MBA's of the same vintage with the 1.7ghz i5 (making for a quicker & easier resale).

Who knows.

- Nick

That's how I convinced myself it would be worth it. Didn't take much convincing though.

08-10-2011, 01:11 PM

THANKS A LOT GUYS!

I had pretty much talked myself out of the i7, but I can't really argue with your points (what I had been telling myself before).

Bottomline: Nothing worse than spending $1600 and spending the next 3 to 8 years wishing you had spent $1700.

I'll probably go with the i7 (if for no other reason than not allowing Bob to one up me on the Geekbench).

EDIT: I really do appreciate the input BTW.
Thanks

08-10-2011, 02:35 PM

That's ok, Brian is running past both of us like we were standing still with that MBP 2.3 i7. Wonder if he can get his MBP to boot in 14-15 seconds?

08-10-2011, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

That's ok, Brian is running past both of us like we were standing still with that MBP 2.3 i7. Wonder if he can get his MBP to boot in 14-15 seconds?

If I get my wish, his days are numbered!

The other side of this story is I have decided (based on a number of things) that we no longer need two laptops.
1) Wife and I use the iPads for 75%+ of things we previously did on laptops (her MacBook and my MBP)
2) I recently bought an ATV2 and relocated the Mac Mini to make a scanning station for my wife. At the same time I bought a 27 inch Monitor, so have been using the Mini for Photo work instead of my MBP (really love having that big screen!!). The Mini works great, though I get far more spinning beach balls than I had hoped.

Originally I had planned to replace my MBP sometime next year. Now, we will be sharing the MBA, and since I don't need to replace the MBP I am looking seriously at getting a MacPro (especially if they do an upgrade/refresh).

08-10-2011, 03:42 PM

Like all good engineers faced with a decision, I decided to produce a Spreadsheet with the alternatives (OK maybe I just like spreadsheets).

I went back to Amazon to check the price for plugging in my spreadsheet and found that the i5 w/256 SSD was backordered, but the price was also $45 less than before. That ran the total difference between the i5 from Amazon and the i7 from Apple to $285.
At that point, I didn't even blink. I immediately ordered it and mentally assigned the savings to my future purchase of a MacPro.

Probably be a few weeks before it ships, but that's fine and Amazon is great for standing behind their prices.

08-10-2011, 03:44 PM

With a difference of almost $300, pretty sure that would have swayed me also.

08-10-2011, 03:48 PM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

With a difference of almost $300, pretty sure that would have been swayed me also.

If you spot me 600 pts I'll post a Geekbench score for competition when I get the new machine. . ..

08-10-2011, 04:57 PM

MBA 11.5", 256 gig SDD, 1.8 Ghz i7.

Love mine, go for it.