New high-end MacBook Air slower than older one?
updated 04:40 pm EDT, Fri June 26, 2009
Old MBA beats new MBA?
The new high-end MacBook Air is paradoxically slower than its predecessor, a review of the system is said to expose. While the updated low-end Air has been made faster, as expected, the new 2.13GHz high-end is actually said to score lower on tests than its older 1.86GHz equivalent. The last-generation model wins out in 11 of 18 Speedmark tests, for an overall score of 179 as compared to 175.
Storage systems are also noted to be unusually important with the Air, as in the current generation, the low-end model can occasionally trump the high-end as a consequence of using a regular hard drive. Depending on the kind of file access needed, hard drives may still rank faster than SSDs. The statement even applies to video compression and 3D rendering, tasks which are typically more dependent on CPU and GPU power.
[Graph courtesy of Macworld]
Weird...
06/26, 05:37pm reply
I bought the new 13" MBP and put a 128GB Corsair SSD in it, and it FLIES...
MyRightEye
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2008
Really Weird...
06/27, 12:47am reply
I just bought a new MBA 2.13GHz to replace my old MBA 1.6GHz. Right out of the box, it wobbled. No, I mean it wobbled on my desk. The case appeared to be warped. Not much. Just a little bit, maybe a couple of millimeters in the front left corner. Enough to make it wobble on a perfectly flat surface when I typed (I tried 4 different surfaces). So I took it right back and demanded a new one. The manager at the Glendale, CA store gave me a new one, no charge. As I told him, I didn't want to have to type on a wobbly laptop all night long. First thing I noticed when I got home with the new one? The new one that doesn't wobble boots faster. Huh? The time between when I pushed the power button and when the screen lit up was 5 or 6 seconds on the wobbly MBA. It was almost instantaneous on the replacement. OK. Call me crazy, everyone else does. But, the wobbly one just didn't feel right. Like if you bought a new car that was a lemon and you just got a gut feeling you're gonna have nothing but trouble with it. Can you say quality control? Maybe MacWorld should take theirs back and get a new one. Then run the same benchmarks again.
designr
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Apr 2002
This is the best news!
06/27, 06:39am reply
I bought a 1.86 128SSD about three weeks before the 2.13 was released. I called apple the day the new model was announced to see if I could get a refund or exchange as I had just bought a "slower" model for the same money. They weren't having it and told me tough luck. So imagine my glee when your article came across my rss reader. Thanks for this! You made my day!
fyminc
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jun 2009