Video: MacBook Air versus MacBook Pro in a Restart Speed Test

By Brian Patterson

41924 responses2010-11-12+15%3A15%3A37Brian+Patterson. »

Let me introduce myself briefly so you have some frame of reference on who this article and video are coming from. I’m not really an Apple guy; up until last week, the only Apple products I ever owned were a 2nd Gen iPod and the most recent iPod Nano. While I’ve always had a sort of an appreciation for Mac computers, I just never really felt like learning a new OS and I was also turned off a bit by the fanboy-ism. Besides that, I’m trying really hard to do everything in the browser these days so as not to be tied down to any particular machine. I love me some cloud.

My wife has been bugging me to get a new laptop because she’s sick of splitting time with me on it at night when we’re just hanging out. I hang out with Dan, the guy who started Maciverse, a good bit… and he wore me down enough to consider getting the Air. I’ll admit, the MacBook Air is the first Apple computer that really caught my eye from launch, so I figured I’d head down the street to take a look at them.

While in Best Buy, I noticed the MacBook Pro and MacBook Air were right next to eachother, so I did a restart on both of them and watched what happened. I really couldn’t believe the results, so I did it again (since both had just been restared), and this time recorded it. The video below are the results. Pretty amazing.

What you see in this video is what convinced me, a guy very skeptical and cynical of Mac, to get a MacBook Air. Oh yeah… and the whole 2 pound thing; its so light its ridiculous. So here’s to learning this crazy OS and jumping on a bandwagon 5 years after everyone else.

About Brian Patterson

Brian is a new Apple Cult convert, having just bought the MacBook Air in November of 2010. An IT consultant by trade, he focuses on Search Engine Optimization, Reputation Management, and other cool stuff on the interwebs. G+

41924 Responses2010-11-12+15%3A15%3A37Brian+Patterson so far.

Eric
November 12, 2010 at 3:42 am
You are comparing two computers with very different drive technologies inside, and not only that, you are doing it with a 'restart' test, a VERY loose way of comparing. A boot test with you pressing both power buttons at the same time would be more productive. Comparing a hard drive computer to an SSD computer hardly proves anything, everyone knows an SSD is faster. If you were to try that test with a macbook pro that had a SSD installed the results would be much closer.
So I don't really understand the point of this post at all. We get that SSD's are fast. What else?
Brian
November 12, 2010 at 4:55 am
Hey Eric, thanks for the warm welcome. The video was showing what impressed me – how fast the Air was at restarting compared to the MBP that most people buy. I wasn't proving anything and it wasn't a scientific test… I shot it on a cell phone cam in Best Buy and then put it to the instrumental version of 'Big Pimpin'.
I knew I wasn't breaking news with the post/video, just showing what finally converted someone who, up until this point, couldn't have cared less about Mac computers.
Darren
November 12, 2010 at 6:39 pm
I have a 2009 MacBook Pro that's constantly updated and cleaned and it's start-up time is under 20 seconds. God knows how long the Best Buy MacBook Pro was sitting on the shelf being loaded with crap via the browser, having its settings manipulated, or the last time the OS was updated. If your point was why a Mac finally pulled your attention from a Windows-based system, you should have compared the Air to a Windows-based system. Just a thought.
Despite this post being lame, welcome to the Mac family.
Dan
November 12, 2010 at 11:27 pm
Darren – I was there with Brian, the MBP was new, no special installation software but the Mac "Experience" demos. This wasn't just start-up time, but restart time. A bit different.