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MacBook Air with M5

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Re: MacBook Air with M5

#121

Post by bryanlarsen »

bearjaws wrote: post #53
mg wrote: post #14

The one thing that interests me most when it comes to laptops these days is weight. So I jumped right into the tech specs section and looked it up. Since this is the "Air" laptop of the company that is popular for thin and lightweight devices, my hopes were high. But ... The 13 inch version is heavier than a ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Which has a 14 inch screen and can run Linux.

The Air is going to run laps around the X1, in literally every benchmark you can come up with besides "its not open source". I have that same processor in a much bulkier thinkpad and it thermal throttles instantly doing basic office multi-tasking, with the fan running constantly. Also its made out of metal.

The X1 Carbon is getting updated to Panther Lake, and Panther Lake is getting competitive with the M5.

> in literally every benchmark you can come up

Nope, Panther Lake will win most gaming benchmarks. The M5 will win most others but not by "running laps around" levels.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#122

Post by Reason077 »

__patchbit__ wrote: post #106
esprehn wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you used a MacBook as a daily driver since the M chips came out?

No. I'm looking to get one with 64GB memory for local AI models. The worry is the keyboard experience on the MBA isn't as good as the MacBook Pro.

I’ve used both extensively and there’s very little difference in the keyboards between an Air and a Pro.

The difference in displays (Pro much brighter) and size/weight (Air much lighter) are much more significant considerations, IMO.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#123

Post by wpm »

NoLinkToMe wrote: post #34
julianozen wrote: post #10

Damn. Will this company ever make a Mac with cellular built in

Yeah not sure if it's so necessary. Everyone carries their phone. Power users (i.e. nomads who need connectivity in many different places) have lots of unlimited data plans available that are modestly priced (I've travelled asia the last few months and used e-sims for like $10 a month in each country). And that's a niche group, but even they have their phone as a hotspot. Downside is that it burns battery, but if you…

If "just hotspot your phone" was hunky dory why does Apple sell iPads with cellular modems?

Also, have you ever used an iPad with a cellular modem? It's a far better experience than tethering. One (larger) battery to run down instead of two, lower latency (the extra hop from iPad to phone over Wi-Fi is gonna add at least a few dozen ms to every single web request), and best of all, I don't have to think about it. I don't have to wait, or fumble around with my phone. I take my iPad out on the train, turn cellular data on in the control center, and in half a second I'm connected to 5G. It's a vastly better way to connect on the go. Tethering is a last resort for me.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#124

Post by jon-wood »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #117
kibwen wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Why is the finder the way it is? Is it actually easier to use than (whatever the normal file browser windows and linux uses is called) if all you ever use is macs? Most of the other quirks I can work around (though the default alt tab behavior not picking up windows of the same app is an insane default) but the finder is just unusable.

As much as this saddens me I think its because most computer users these days never think about files. Everything we do on a day to day basis exists as database records, either in sqlite databases hidden away in application data directories, or in the databases behind a million SaaS products. Music is done in Apple Music, photos are managed in iPhoto, and so and so forth.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#125

Post by golem14 »

ApolloFortyNine wrote: post #117
kibwen wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Why is the finder the way it is? Is it actually easier to use than (whatever the normal file browser windows and linux uses is called) if all you ever use is macs? Most of the other quirks I can work around (though the default alt tab behavior not picking up windows of the same app is an insane default) but the finder is just unusable.

In which way are other GUI “finder-equivalents” better? I’m not invested either way, but I’m quite curious. It would be a great biz opportunity to make an aftermarket replacement if there is huge gap.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#126

Post by longbucks »

Does the chip actually improves? I’m still on a specced out M1 Max (64GB RAM / 2TB SSD) and it still feels like a beast for my daily work. It’s wild that we’re at the M5 now, but it’s hard to justify an upgrade when this machine still handles everything I throw at it so well. Seeing 512GB finally become the baseline is great, but I think I’ll be holding onto this M1 for a while longer.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#127

Post by Reason077 »

dijit wrote: post #73
zarzavat wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's essential for thermals. Without the unibody, it would throttle sooner and you'd lose performance.

The aluminium chassis cannot be used for heat dissipation without risk of harming users. Which is why there is a "macbook air peformance mod" to add thermal-interface-material (instead of thermal insulation) to turn the chassis into a heatsink. It's not a heatsink by default.

Not really. I did the thermal mod to my previous (M1) MacBook Air and it still didn’t get all that warm.

The Intel MacBook Pro I had before that one got far, far hotter - almost scalding hot if you really pushed it - without any modifications.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#128

Post by throw393234 »

caymanjim wrote: post #98
mg wrote: post #14

The one thing that interests me most when it comes to laptops these days is weight. So I jumped right into the tech specs section and looked it up. Since this is the "Air" laptop of the company that is popular for thin and lightweight devices, my hopes were high. But ... The 13 inch version is heavier than a ThinkPad X1 Carbon. Which has a 14 inch screen and can run Linux.

I bought a ThinkPad X1. Had to send it back for repairs three times in the first year, including a complete motherboard replacement, and it died again immediately after the warranty expired. Been a $2800 door stop since then. The case is flimsy plastic that gets beat to crap easily. The trackpad is over-sensitive in all the wrong ways which makes it hard to use as an actual laptop. Plus it's weaker and slower than an…

I also bought a ThinkPad X1 back in 2015. Used it for 9 years with no issues at all. I installed Linux on it last year and still use it.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#129

Post by jhawk28 »

longbucks wrote: post #126

Does the chip actually improves? I’m still on a specced out M1 Max (64GB RAM / 2TB SSD) and it still feels like a beast for my daily work. It’s wild that we’re at the M5 now, but it’s hard to justify an upgrade when this machine still handles everything I throw at it so well. Seeing 512GB finally become the baseline is great, but I think I’ll be holding onto this M1 for a while longer.

M5 is almost 2x the single core performance of the M1 Max. You would notice that things are faster.

Re: MacBook Air with M5

#130

Post by carlosjobim »

longbucks wrote: post #126

Does the chip actually improves? I’m still on a specced out M1 Max (64GB RAM / 2TB SSD) and it still feels like a beast for my daily work. It’s wild that we’re at the M5 now, but it’s hard to justify an upgrade when this machine still handles everything I throw at it so well. Seeing 512GB finally become the baseline is great, but I think I’ll be holding onto this M1 for a while longer.

Noted, I will inform Tim Cook.
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