Upgrading from MBP 2010 to MBA2011 or MBP 2011?

Alright so I'm upgrading from a Mid 2010 Macbook pro to either MBA 2011 or MBP 2011. Both 13'

I know that the MBA are like 1.7ghz i5 and the MBP are 2.4GHz i5. My old 2010 one was 2.4 ghz Intel Core 2 Duo. Will I be downgrading if I go for the 1.7ghz i5? or is the i5 faster than the Intel Core 2 Duo of the old macbook?

What are the chances of the 256GB SSD crashing? I know that the hdd is pretty hard to replace compared to the MBP....

I'm kind of leaning towards a 2011 MBA 256gb because I'll be bringing this around a lot, especially school. I know Macs aren't made for gaming but my old MBP ran some games pretty well, even diablo 3. Btw I have a alienware M14x r2 at home that I do not wan't to bring around so you don't need to tell me just get a gaming laptop.


I'm mostly using it for browsing and movies and LIGHT gaming such as diablo 3 or guild wars 2. I heard that the MBA's run diablo 3 alright on low settings.

 

the Core i5 CPU will be faster than your old machine, even though its only at 1.7ghz

You'll see even a bigger jump in performance just having an SSD in the Air. The Air is a better buy overall than the 13" Pro unless you really really have to have a built in DVD drive or the other ports on the Pro. SSDs don't die as easily or frequently as a HDD, so its probably not something you should worry about. Warranty will swap it if it dies, so keep a Time Machine backup like normal... if its out of warranty you can get replacements from OWC for the SSD, just make sure you buy one for the right Year model, but they are expensive of course like all SSDs are.

When it comes to gaming, you might be better off getting a 2012 model. Under Mac OS X, the Geforce 320m in your old machine is about the same performance as the Intel HD 3000 in the 2011 MBA and MBP 13, but if anything its actually a downgrade, but in Windows the Geforce 320m in your old machine is actually faster. If you got a 2012 model with the new CPUs, they have Intel HD 4000 which is much faster than the others.

 

The 320m is faster than the HD 3000 in both operating systems. The overall performance in 3D games between the 2010 and 2011 machines (which depends on the processor and how the OS is designed to use system resources) is close enough in OS X that the newer model is probably desirable just for the processing performance outside of games and the backlit keyboard. In windows, the overall performance is considerably faster on the 2010 machine for most 3D games.

The 2012 model is better than either the 2010/2011, as stated.

 

Expensive compared to hard drives, yes, but the prices for typical 2.5-inch SSDs have been falling like rocks. Time it right, and you can buy 240-256 GB drives for $180, sometimes less if there's a mail-in rebate. What you used to pay for these drives ($400) is what will get you into a 512 GB model now.

OWC is expensive because they're the only game in town for aftermarket MBA drive upgrades. If more companies offered them, no doubt the price would come down.

 

More evidence and data from Anand: AnandTech - The 2012 MacBook Air (11 & 13-inch) Review