Monday, February 4,2008 @ 1:25am
MacBook Air benchmarks: not quite a MacBook
The MacBook Air has caused quite a stir with its slender packaging and minimalist features, but many have wondered what they are giving up in terms of performance by trading in their MacBooks and MacBook Pros for the ultraportable. Primate Labs recently benchmarked the miniature laptop, and found that performance was around 80- to 85-percent of that of a 2GHz MacBook. While the Air pulled ahead slightly in memory and stream performance, it was lacking in other areas.
The Air dragged behind the generation-old MacBook in integer and floating point performance, which the tester admits it is somewhat to be expected, since the Air has a slower clock speed.
Primate Labs found that while there is a bit of performance difference between the MacBook and MacBook Air, most users wouldn't notice the change. The tester also vindicates the ultraportable for PowerPC users, saying "the MacBook Air will feel a lot faster (and lighter, too)."
