I am looking at getting the new Macbook Air 13.3. I want to get the best battery life. The only thing I need is the 512Gb SSD. Does the amount of RAM and CPU matter when it comes to battery life? If it does, I will get the 1.3GHz and 4GB RAM, if not I was thinking the 1.7GHz and 8GB RAM..
Thoughts??
Thanks!!
MacBook Air, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)
I don't have an answer for you, but am (was) also interested in battery life between the 2 CPUs. Then I made a decision on which new Air to get. 🙂
I've got a new MacBook Air 13 on order with the 1.7GHz i7, 8GB RAM, and 512GB SSD. Once it's set up I plan on doing a comparison between it and my 2011 MacBook Air 13 (1.8GHz i7, 4GB RAM, and 256GB SSD.)
I figured the battery life would exceed what I have now, though it would be nice to get closer to 12 hours runtime on the new one.
I agree.. Thanks!! When did you order the new Air? Any idea on ETA?
I ordered mine late last week (Friday or Saturday). It will be ready to pick up at my nearby Apple Store on Friday (if there aren't delays in shipping.)
I can hardly stand the wait. 🙂
My MacBook Air arrived a day early. Just got it home and am about to unbox it. Will let you know what kind of battery life I get once I get a chance to test it. 🙂
The amount of RAM and storage will have little impact on battery life. The 1.7 CPU will use more battery resources than the 1.3 WHEN is is being stressed towards its operating limits. Otherwise its a nit.
ciao.
Here's a little update on battery life between my new 2013 MB Air 1.7 i7, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM vs. my mid-2011 MB Air 1.8 i7, 256GB SSD, 4GB RAM...
Turned both on - the 2013 MBA showed 100% charge, my old MBA was charged this morning and also showing 100% charge.
I set up the 2013 MBA and have been duplicating settings, web browsing, listening to samples from the iTMS while doing the same thing on the 2011 MBA.
2013 MBA shows 14 hours 12 minutes remaining with a 92% battery level.
2011 MBA shows 6 hours 35 minutes remaining with an 84% battery level.
Having said that, I haven't really used either one like I normally do in day to day activities. Still, they were doing pretty much the same things, so the relative difference in battery life is probably a reasonably good indicator of how much more efficient the 2013 MBA is.
I'll report on more detailed testing later on (this weekend?)
New Macbook Air - Battery life.. 1.3GHz vs 1.7GHz
