2011 Macbook Pro vs Current Macbook Air

[SteveHookEm]

My son has a 2011 Macbook Pro with a 2.3ghz i5 processor. He needs a new computer as his has taken a beating in college. He is asking for a Macbook Air.

When I look at the specs for a new 13" Macbook Air, they seem to be worse than his 2011 Macbook Pro. The Air is i5 1.6ghz vs his 2.3ghz i5. Am I missing something? Is that older Macbook faster than the new? He does a lot of audio and video editing. I would go to a Pro but he specifically asked for the Air.

Thoughts?

 

[lclev]

The i5 in the 2011 MB Pro may have a 2.3GHz speed but it's performance score is a 5900. The 2015 MB Air with an i5 at 1.6GHz will have a performance score of 6826. Higher number is better.

Why? Because there have been improvements in the i5 since 2011. And I imagine the 2011 has a regular HDD. The MB Air will have an SSD which will make a HUGE difference in speed and performance.

I will suggest if you get the MB Air be sure to get 8GB of memory and at least a 256GB SSD.

If you would like to further compare models download Mactracker from the app store. It is free and has all kinds of excellent up to date info about macs.

Lisa

 

[bobtomay]

You cannot look at processor speed for comparing CPUs or GPUs unless looking at the same generation chip.

How do you know what generation any particular chip might be? You don't unless you're a geek and stay on top of all the current (and past) developments. Most of us common people don't have the time nor inclination to do that.

When you're ready to buy, everyone interested in comparing models of computers should become intimately familiar with Passmark's benchmarks - link.

 

[SteveHookEm]

Thanks for the info!

 

[chas_m]

You're correct that he'd be better off with the current MacBook Pros for audio and video editing, however. He probably wants the MBA because of the greatly-reduced weight.

 

[badshoehabit]

You're correct that he'd be better off with the current MacBook Pros for audio and video editing, however. He probably wants the MBA because of the greatly-reduced weight.

Speaking from personal experience, the new MBP feels soooooooo much lighter than the old one!

 

[Head_Unit]

My advice? Don't get him what he doesn't want! (But you didn't really need me to tell you that, right?)

The Air is just SOOOOO much lighter than a Pro (I use both), and SO much pleasanter to carry around as a result. The SSD does make things way faster.

For me, Macs are all about using them for a long time, so I would advise tricking it out totally. AND have some kind of good insurance (NOT Worth Ave Group).
- You can upgrade to a 2.2 GHz i7
- 8 GB RAM
- The SSD size, that's tougher. 128 GB is more than enough for any school work, and even pictures I'd say. What eats this is music and movies. If there is a lot of that, then you need to pop another $300 for the 512 GB. I ended up offloading all that to a USB-powered little drive.

 

[chas_m]

Not to contradict the good advice Head_Unit offered, but to save a bit of money you might split the difference a bit: get a modest-sized internal SSD, since it can't be upgraded later, say 256GB. Then spring for a Thunderbolt or at least USB 3.0 external portable (self-powered) HD of much larger size (1TB, 2TB) for storing the media libraries.

 

[ipadder474]

I have the older Mac Book Pro. and also have windows computers,there is no way i would try dealing with the Mac's nutty OS for my work with a computer.
It's not a processor or memory item,it's just as hard as Apple tries to make their systems work better then a windows system,it just don't work.
I bought the Mac to use with my iPads,this it does a good job of but is it worth the $1,400 i paid for it for anything else no way.

 

[W9awx]

From what everyone has told me while while I was looking at a new for me Mac, general web browsing, Air. Anything processor or labor intensive, Pro. Get the biggest hard drive you can afford. Get the most Ram you can afford.

 

[lclev]

Yeah, that is basically it! Make sure the hard drive is an SSD - although all new mac laptops come with SSD's now.

Lisa