difference between airs i7 and i5

[felface]

On apple's website in the UK for an extra ?100 on the most expensive model (and more) you can upgrade the 1.7 i5 to a 1.8 i7 and i was just wondering if it was worth it? has it actually got increased speeds worthy of of an extra ?100 or is it just future proofing? when in five years time this runs much faster?

WHAT IS THE POINT?

 

[Bias X]

i7 has hyperthreading.
plus a 7.4% increase in CPU speed.
the cache has another MB. That will probably be better down the road.

In the end kind of depends what you are using it for.
Web browsing, word processing, etc. No
Video editing, picture editing, music editing. Yes.

Though i would probably go with a lower end MBP over an MBA for the music editing and such.

 

[felface]

Whats hyperthreading again and also your saying this woudnt be best for lasting a long time what wold you say is?

 

[Bias X]

Hyperthreading is letting a single processor do two things at once. Probably the easiest way i can sum it up. Its sort of like having another core but you dont quite get the same performance boost you would if you had a tri-core or quad-core.

I'm not exactly saying that a macbook air wouldn't last 5 or more years, but if you're looking for something that is going to last as long is possible.
A desktop like an iMac is going to last you a lot longer than a laptop would.
If you're looking specifically for a laptop.
Macbook pro > Macbook air.
The more expensive the better. Up until high end 15', its got the exact same specs as the 17'.

But like i said its all what you're looking for.
If you're just doing basic processing things like web browsing, listening to music, etc. I wouldn't spend $2200(err thats USD sorry) just because it will last longer. The Macbook Air will be fine and should last you quite awhile.
If you're wanting to get into music editing, video editing, photography editing, and gaming, the macbook pro is going to last you a heck of a lot longer than an Air would.

 

[felface]

I dont want to start making dupstep on my laptop or editing photos till you can't recgonise them i would like a little bit of that but no noing much beyond the usual is what i need is a mac thats gonna last me the next 5 years and the i7 won't help me with that but will give me some more power did i get everything correct?

 

[Bias X]

It will help it last longer. It just depends on if you really need to spend the extra cash for what you are using the mac for.

Sent from my SGH-i677 using Board Express

 

[imwjl]

It will help it last longer. It just depends on if you really need to spend the extra cash for what you are using the mac for.

Sent from my SGH-i677 using Board Express

I don't know how the choice of CPU can make the computer last longer unless you are thinking it will spend its life at high CPU utilization and wear our a fan. You start with the advantage of solid state drive no matter what Air you choose.

I use the i5 and i7 in Apple and non-Apple products and with all sorts of applications and also use late model laptops not i5 or i7. The i5 is a high performance laptop to begin with.

My observations are you won't get any video editing performance like you would with a work station type system. I do feel I have a more responsive and faster system using my virtual machines when I'm also doing things with the host OS.

Mac or Windows, people can often judge the sort of performance they need with built in system tools. Look at your CPU utilization, memory utilization, disk performance etc... over an extended time before you make your purchase.

We support many users and it's rare when somebody who isn't sure what performance they need requires the high level systems. Most people do simple messaging, read web pages, relatively simple spreadsheets and do video playback. I would only call that high performance if they've got a host and guest OS running.