The 2011 MacBook Air (11 & 13-inch): Thoroughly Reviewed
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 28, 2011 3:25 AM EST- Posted in
- Apple
- Mac
- Intel
- Sandy Bridge
- MacBook Air
- Laptops
Windows 7 Application Performance
I pulled the latest Windows 7 notebook results from Dustin's Alienware M11x R3 review and ran much of the same suite on the new MacBook Air. The Air has a huge advantage in the PCMark 7 suite because of its integrated SSD, while all but one of the competing notebooks here ship with mechanical drives by default. Only the quad-core Sandy Bridge numbers use an Intel X25-M G2 (160GB).
This really just highlights the importance of having an SSD in a modern system. There aren't really any surprises here.
These next few tests take the SSD almost entirely out of the picture as they are completely CPU bound. Once again there are no surprises here but the Air performs more like a normal notebook in these tests. The 13 is hot on the heels of the M11x R3 and faster than our Llano system, but slower than anything using a faster dual-core SNB or Arrandale part.
Gaming performance is just slightly behind the 13-inch MacBook Pro. We're limited entirely by the Intel HD 3000 GPU here. Pretty much any system with a decent discrete GPU is going to be faster than the new Air.
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GotThumbs - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
While Apple has created a pretty cool setup. I feel their breeding a reliance of proprietary devices for Apple users and a market for accessories (similar to IPAD) to gain standard connections provided on other systems. This trend is limiting choices for apples users. I build my own systems and rarely use a laptop. I do have a tablet for light moble use (email, quick web browsing, etc.)I'd be interested to see if Apple uses any of AMD's Llano APU's in future systems. Else there seems to be an exclusivity reminiscent of Dell and Intel in Dells earlier years.
GotThumbs - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
Clarification: An Android tablettipoo - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
The HD3000 graphics in the MBA aren't the same as the regular, the regular one clocks at 650MHz and turbos up to 1.3GHz and the Low Voltage one 350MHz - 1.2GHz. Since they score similarly in most benchmarks, I wonder if the performance would go down over time as the thermal envelope no longer allows boosting? Likewise for the CPU? Any input on that?futurepastnow - Sunday, July 31, 2011 - link
Most graphics tests (and many games) don't place a heavy load on the CPU at the same time as the GPU, so the GPU can probably use its full turbo as the CPU cores are nearly idle. If both CPU and GPU are both being worked hard, that may change. This is probably reflected in the Starcraft 2 test.As to your second question, it depends on how much extra capacity Apple engineered into the cooling system. Performance should not decrease over time if the fan can adequately cool the processor, even at its highest heat output.
papawapa - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
I've been waiting for this review since the launch of the new Air. Thanks Anand! I'm taking a close look at the 13".tipoo - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
Yikes, that is a huge drop between the two. Most sites are saying the 13' usually gets the slower controller, which is a bummer because that's what I was considering. How much impact does 4k random read performance have on general feel?tipoo - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
You guys have a decibel meter in your lab, right? I'd really like to see idle and load readings for laptop reviews. I think it was there in some of them, but never in a mac article.frumpsnake - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
The Airs are listed as Macbook Pros under Clock Speed Scaling Comparison on page 3.TEAMSWITCHER - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
"Apple did almost exactly what I asked for and built a monitor with more IO. It's called the Thunderbolt Display and it features an integrated USB 2.0, FireWire 800, Gigabit Ethernet and audio controller."Please tell me your gonna review this monster when it ships. I have been wanting something like this for MacBook Pro since 2007.
bji - Thursday, July 28, 2011 - link
Can you comment on the fan noise? The fan wasn't even mentioned at all in the review except to talk about where its output vent is positioned. I have been spoiled by a fanless laptop for years now and I am really sensitive to annoying fan noise now. I had intended to wait until Ivy Bridge came out in the hopes that it would have reduced thermals and that Apple would make a fanless Macbook based on it. But in the meantime I'd love to know how often the fan spins up on the current Sandy Bridge Macbook Airs and what the volume of it is when it is spinning. Thanks!