**Testing the Power of an SSD MacBook Air**

As I sit here with my MacBook Air, I get to experience one of my favorite things - launching multiple apps at once and seeing how quickly this computer responds. This is far from a reasonable amount for most people to use on their daily computers, but it's a great way to showcase the power of an SSD (solid-state drive). The Intel Graphics HD 3000 processor, which shares memory with the main RAM, handles these loads and shutdowns with ease and speed.

To see just how fast this SSD is, I ran a disk speed test. The results show that the right speed hovers around 250 Megabytes per second, while the read speed comes in at 270 Megabytes per second. These are significant improvements over standard hard disk drives, which typically run at around 54 on the right speed and 84 on the read speed. In fact, my MacBook Air outperforms not only other MacBooks but also even the newer iMac.

**SSD Performance Comparison**

To put this performance into perspective, let's look at how it compares to other Apple devices with SSDs. The MacBook Pro, for example, runs at around 200 Megabytes per second on the read and right speeds, while the iMac comes in at around 180 on the right speed and 215 on the read speed. This shows that the MacBook Air's modern SSD gives it a significant edge over its competitors.

**SSD Model Used**

It's worth noting that some MacBooks come with different SSD models. In my case, I was testing a Samsung model, while others may have Toshiba or other brands. The older SSDs are being used in some MacBooks, but the newer ones are being sold separately. To help identify which SSD you're getting in your MacBook Air, John at TLD Today has posted a video guide - be sure to check it out.

**Geekbench Scores**

When it comes to geekbench scores, the MacBook Air fares reasonably well. With a score of around 5468, it's nearly doubling the performance of last year's model and more than double that of the 2010 version. While not as impressive as some of Apple's higher-end devices, this is still a significant improvement.

**Gaming Performance**

When it comes to gaming, things get a bit more interesting. Using the Cinebench benchmarking tool, I was able to see how the MacBook Air performs with games that are more demanding. The Open GL test gave me around 10.98 frames per second and 1.91 points on the CPU score. This is similar performance to some of my other MacBooks with standard configurations and SSDs. However, when comparing it to a higher-end device like the iMac, which comes with dedicated graphics, the performance difference is much more noticeable.

**Real-World Performance**

So, how does this translate to real-world performance? Surprisingly, the MacBook Air is able to handle some of its less demanding games without issue. I was playing Call of Duty 4 and saw it running fairly smoothly, with only occasional frame drops and skips. This may not be ideal for more modern or high-end games, but for everyday use, this computer is certainly capable.

**Conclusion**

In conclusion, the SSD MacBook Air is a powerful device that's capable of handling demanding tasks without breaking a sweat. While it may not be the best choice for gaming, it's an excellent option for general productivity and everyday use. If you're considering purchasing one of these MacBooks, keep in mind that some models come with different SSDs - be sure to check out John at TLD Today's video guide to see which one you'll get.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up YouTube this is Detroit por with a look at the Speed and Performance of the newest 11-in MacBook Air introduced in July 2011 so we get the 1.6 GHz Sandy Bridge Core i5 dual core processor and I have the mid-grade M so that upgrades me from 2 gigs to 4 gigs of RAM and from 64 gigs to 128 gigs on the SSD and I do have the standard graphics processor here which is the integrated Intel Graphics HD 3000 which shares 300 and 84 Megs with the main memory so let's go ahead and do one of my favorite things with an SSD computer and that's launch a bunch of apps just to show you the power of the SSD so of course this is far more than a reasonable person would toss at their MacBook here but you get the idea it's very stable under these loads and certainly very quick if you just want to load a few apps or shut it down and restart it quickly so exactly how fast is this SSD well if we run a dis speed test we can see that the right speed hovers a little under 250 Megs per second and the read speed hovers a little under 270 Megs per second now this is a substantial increase from a standard hard disk drive the ones you might find in a standard MacBook Pro 13in those run at about 54 on the right speed and 84 on the read speed now if we look at the Speed and Performance of the MacBook Air versus the ssds and the MacBook Pro and the iMac will find that the MacBook Air actually outperforms them in this case the MacBook Pro hovers around 200 Meg per second on the read and right speed and the iMac covers around 180 on the right speed and around 215 on the read speed so again the MacBook Air has a more modern SSD and therefore outperforms them now as some of you may be aware the new Macbook Air is being sold with two different ssds one by Toshiba and one by Samsung the one I tested here is the Samsung model and the older ssds as you saw in my MacBook Pro and my iMac are tashiba and unfortunately that model is being sold into the MacBook Air as well unfortunately you can identify which version you're getting before you buy the MacBook Air so what I'm going to do is post a video link in my description below so you can take a look at John at TLD today's video on how to identify which SSD you got in your MacBook Air now if we take a look at the geek bench scores for the MacBook Air it scored about 5468 which is a significant leap from last year nearly doubling the scores from the 2010 model now the MacBook Pro standard configuration running at 2.3 GHz 4 gigs of RAM but adding an SSD gives us about 7,000 which is a significant leap from the air but not as significant as you might expect now if we go much higher up the Apple food chain to the top of line iMac which is 3.4 GHz core i7 16 gigs of RAM and the SSD that gives us about 12 716 on the geek bench score certainly a much more powerful computer next up we're going to take a look at the gaming performance of the MacBook Air and to do this we're going to use the cin bench benchmarking tool if we look at the scores for the MacBook Air the openg GL test gives us about 10.98 frames per second and the CPU runs at about 1.91 points if we look at the MacBook Pro the one we mentioned earlier with the standard configuration plus the SSD that runs a little bit better at 12.10 frames per second and 2.58 points on the CPU score so you can see here that both of these computers have the same integrated graphics processor which shares Ram with the uh main memory so both of them are the Intel hd3000 processor now if we look at a computer with dedicated graphics or a discrete graphics processor like the iMac we can see that scores are very different so looking at the iMac we get a whopping 43.5 frames per second with a CPU at 6.84 points that's certainly a significant performance difference and that's thanks largely to the large graphics processor inside the iMac which gives us 2 gigs of dedicated Ram so how does this translate to real world performance well it's kind of surprising the MacBook Air on paper doesn't look like it can do anything but if we play Call of Duty 4 it runs fairly smoothly uh this is my only example here but certainly higher-end games or more modern games are going to give you more trouble we do occasionally see some frame dropping and some skips here and there and it does choke on more intense scenes but it does play just fine and this was the case with the previous mebook there which was even lower on the score level so I would say uh if you want this computer for gaming it's it's not your best choice but you certainly can get away with it and it's certainly a nice side benefit all righty guys that's it for this test of the MacBook here thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next videowhat's up YouTube this is Detroit por with a look at the Speed and Performance of the newest 11-in MacBook Air introduced in July 2011 so we get the 1.6 GHz Sandy Bridge Core i5 dual core processor and I have the mid-grade M so that upgrades me from 2 gigs to 4 gigs of RAM and from 64 gigs to 128 gigs on the SSD and I do have the standard graphics processor here which is the integrated Intel Graphics HD 3000 which shares 300 and 84 Megs with the main memory so let's go ahead and do one of my favorite things with an SSD computer and that's launch a bunch of apps just to show you the power of the SSD so of course this is far more than a reasonable person would toss at their MacBook here but you get the idea it's very stable under these loads and certainly very quick if you just want to load a few apps or shut it down and restart it quickly so exactly how fast is this SSD well if we run a dis speed test we can see that the right speed hovers a little under 250 Megs per second and the read speed hovers a little under 270 Megs per second now this is a substantial increase from a standard hard disk drive the ones you might find in a standard MacBook Pro 13in those run at about 54 on the right speed and 84 on the read speed now if we look at the Speed and Performance of the MacBook Air versus the ssds and the MacBook Pro and the iMac will find that the MacBook Air actually outperforms them in this case the MacBook Pro hovers around 200 Meg per second on the read and right speed and the iMac covers around 180 on the right speed and around 215 on the read speed so again the MacBook Air has a more modern SSD and therefore outperforms them now as some of you may be aware the new Macbook Air is being sold with two different ssds one by Toshiba and one by Samsung the one I tested here is the Samsung model and the older ssds as you saw in my MacBook Pro and my iMac are tashiba and unfortunately that model is being sold into the MacBook Air as well unfortunately you can identify which version you're getting before you buy the MacBook Air so what I'm going to do is post a video link in my description below so you can take a look at John at TLD today's video on how to identify which SSD you got in your MacBook Air now if we take a look at the geek bench scores for the MacBook Air it scored about 5468 which is a significant leap from last year nearly doubling the scores from the 2010 model now the MacBook Pro standard configuration running at 2.3 GHz 4 gigs of RAM but adding an SSD gives us about 7,000 which is a significant leap from the air but not as significant as you might expect now if we go much higher up the Apple food chain to the top of line iMac which is 3.4 GHz core i7 16 gigs of RAM and the SSD that gives us about 12 716 on the geek bench score certainly a much more powerful computer next up we're going to take a look at the gaming performance of the MacBook Air and to do this we're going to use the cin bench benchmarking tool if we look at the scores for the MacBook Air the openg GL test gives us about 10.98 frames per second and the CPU runs at about 1.91 points if we look at the MacBook Pro the one we mentioned earlier with the standard configuration plus the SSD that runs a little bit better at 12.10 frames per second and 2.58 points on the CPU score so you can see here that both of these computers have the same integrated graphics processor which shares Ram with the uh main memory so both of them are the Intel hd3000 processor now if we look at a computer with dedicated graphics or a discrete graphics processor like the iMac we can see that scores are very different so looking at the iMac we get a whopping 43.5 frames per second with a CPU at 6.84 points that's certainly a significant performance difference and that's thanks largely to the large graphics processor inside the iMac which gives us 2 gigs of dedicated Ram so how does this translate to real world performance well it's kind of surprising the MacBook Air on paper doesn't look like it can do anything but if we play Call of Duty 4 it runs fairly smoothly uh this is my only example here but certainly higher-end games or more modern games are going to give you more trouble we do occasionally see some frame dropping and some skips here and there and it does choke on more intense scenes but it does play just fine and this was the case with the previous mebook there which was even lower on the score level so I would say uh if you want this computer for gaming it's it's not your best choice but you certainly can get away with it and it's certainly a nice side benefit all righty guys that's it for this test of the MacBook here thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next video\n"