8 ms·

The macbook air has an 800MHz frontside bus, which isn't even fast enough to take advantage of last-generation SSD performance. You would get better performanc

The macbook air has an 800MHz frontside bus, which isn't even fast enough to take advantage of last-generation SSD performance. You would get better performance from the unibody macbook and a 3rd party SSD (1066MHz fsb), and even better performance with the macbook pro and the latest generation of SSD (2.5GT/s Intel DMI). And there's also no ethernet jack on the air, you're not going to get the same performance out of the usb ethernet adapter.

silencio 15y ago
From the post: > It’s not about performance specs, it about user experience and how people use their computers — most people just don’t do that many CPU intensive tasks on anything but an occasional basis. That is me. I care about the fact that my 13" Air is thinner and lighter than the 13" MBP, which makes a noticeable difference over any kind of day no matter the ergonomically designed bag or purse I might be using. I care that my 13" Air can run everything I need at acceptable or better performance, be it Xcode 4 or raiding with 24 other people in WoW. I don't care that I can't get the best performance possible or that there is no ethernet port or optical drive as those are edge cases at best and workarounds exist. It does what I want and feels incredible in every way that matters to me at the same time, and the MBP can't. It's as simple as that.
- klochner 15y ago
  I guess it depends on how you're using it - I don't really notice the weight in my backpack, and I don't walk around with my laptop otherwise. Also from the post: While at the same time forgoing things that you will notice every time you use the computer (screen resolution and the performance of an SSD). If the performance of the SSD is a main feature, why would it not also be an important feature if you could quadruple the MBA SSD speed with the MBP + latest SSD?
  - silencio 15y ago
    I suppose if you are one to consider that and other performance boosts a main feature, the MBP makes a lot more sense to purchase. I'm not saying that the Air works for all people for all reasons. It definitely shows when it's struggling with something, and this is why I have other machines to offload things to. I don't use the Air as a desktop replacement although I do about 80% of my work on it, and that might be key to this discussion. Performance trivialities are no big deal when I can easily just head home or to my office and use a cheaper-priced desktop that still blows any MBP out of the water. > I guess it depends on how you're using it - I don't really notice the weight in my backpack, and I don't walk around with my laptop otherwise. If there is one thing I really hate about being female, it's the inability to get away with walking around dressed nicely with a backpack on. But even when I do use backpacks, it's usually the case that 1.5lb and a slimmer laptop is nicer to have and I definitely notice the added weight and subsequent strain when I'm lugging around a work laptop or my 13" or 15" MBPs instead of the Air.
r00fus 15y ago
I have a 13" Pro with a Vertex2. My Dad's MB Air 13 feels faster (synthetic bench states mine is about 5-10% faster). The weight difference is tangible. Once the Thunderbolt Air arrives, I'm switching.
jolan 15y ago
> you're not going to get the same performance out of the usb ethernet adapter 3rd party gigabit USB adapters are surprisingly fast. They combine multiple ethernet packets into a single USB packet.

silencio 15y ago

From the post: > It’s not about performance specs, it about user experience and how people use their computers — most people just don’t do that many CPU intensive tasks on anything but an occasional basis. That is me. I care about the fact that my 13" Air is thinner and lighter than the 13" MBP, which makes a noticeable difference over any kind of day no matter the ergonomically designed bag or purse I might be using. I care that my 13" Air can run everything I need at acceptable or better performance, be it Xcode 4 or raiding with 24 other people in WoW. I don't care that I can't get the best performance possible or that there is no ethernet port or optical drive as those are edge cases at best and workarounds exist. It does what I want and feels incredible in every way that matters to me at the same time, and the MBP can't. It's as simple as that.

klochner 15y ago
I guess it depends on how you're using it - I don't really notice the weight in my backpack, and I don't walk around with my laptop otherwise. Also from the post: While at the same time forgoing things that you will notice every time you use the computer (screen resolution and the performance of an SSD). If the performance of the SSD is a main feature, why would it not also be an important feature if you could quadruple the MBA SSD speed with the MBP + latest SSD?
- silencio 15y ago
  I suppose if you are one to consider that and other performance boosts a main feature, the MBP makes a lot more sense to purchase. I'm not saying that the Air works for all people for all reasons. It definitely shows when it's struggling with something, and this is why I have other machines to offload things to. I don't use the Air as a desktop replacement although I do about 80% of my work on it, and that might be key to this discussion. Performance trivialities are no big deal when I can easily just head home or to my office and use a cheaper-priced desktop that still blows any MBP out of the water. > I guess it depends on how you're using it - I don't really notice the weight in my backpack, and I don't walk around with my laptop otherwise. If there is one thing I really hate about being female, it's the inability to get away with walking around dressed nicely with a backpack on. But even when I do use backpacks, it's usually the case that 1.5lb and a slimmer laptop is nicer to have and I definitely notice the added weight and subsequent strain when I'm lugging around a work laptop or my 13" or 15" MBPs instead of the Air.

r00fus 15y ago

I have a 13" Pro with a Vertex2. My Dad's MB Air 13 feels faster (synthetic bench states mine is about 5-10% faster). The weight difference is tangible. Once the Thunderbolt Air arrives, I'm switching.

jolan 15y ago

> you're not going to get the same performance out of the usb ethernet adapter 3rd party gigabit USB adapters are surprisingly fast. They combine multiple ethernet packets into a single USB packet.