Macbook Air 13"11" i5/i7 Config Help

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AnimalMother Author

Level 1

4 points

Macbook Air 13"11" i5/i7 Config Help

I am a student.

I have been using MS Office, Autocad, and Adobe Illustrator. I also do video/graphics design.

My options:

1: Macbook Air 11 256gb ssd i7 8gb

2: Macbook Air 13 128gb ssd i5 8gb

3: Macbook Air 13 256gb ssd i7 8gb

I like the 2nd option the best it cheaper and i am seriously considering computer science as my major possibly.

Anyways, since they have been out a while now is the i7 significantly faster then the i5?

What do you guys think?

Any other difference from the macbook air 13/11?

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Dec 13, 2012 9:27 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

John Galt

Level 10

141,162 points

Dec 13, 2012 9:34 PM in response to AnimalMother

For video editing and graphics design, I recommend you consider the MacBook Pro. Any of the MacBook Air models you are considering will work, but the MacBook Pro and its ability to address more memory is better suited to these tasks.

Also, the 13" screen would seem a bit small for me for graphics work but this is a subjective opinion. A 15" would be better and if Apple would only make a 17" MBP I'd buy it.

There is a difference between the i5 and i7 but it is not a significant one. The difference in performance is readily apparent only when you compare them side by side.

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Answer 2

Dec 14, 2012 6:14 AM in response to AnimalMother

Today's MacBook Air's are very powerful machines indeed. They can handle graphics design and that kind of stuff, as long as what you do is not really demanding in terms of hardware resources. Mine is running Adobe Photoshop CS3 smoothly. The only problem is that the screen size is small. But you can always use an external display when the need arises. But then you mentioned video. Video is a different matter. I think a MacBook Pro with a discrete graphics card should handle video better.

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Answer 3

AnimalMother Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 14, 2012 10:57 AM in response to Norwegian Forest Cat

Thanks allot guys, you both have excellent points.

Both of you solved my question. I did go ahead knowing the pro would be a beter options. I chose the tradeoff, portabilty. Thanks again, much apprecietd.

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Answer 4

AnimalMother Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 17, 2012 9:38 PM in response to John Galt

Just want to also add, that I was able to compared them side by side.

I turned them both on the exact same time for the first time.

1 with a i5 and the other a i7

The i5 was half a second to a second slower to the i7.

I turned thme both on for the first time and did everything at the same time.

The i5 was nearly as fast. I am happy with the i5.

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