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Comment by yeureka | Hacker News Reader

I wonder how this performs under XCode.

Currently I lug around a 15" MPBr and I would like something lighter to do development on the train but I wonder about performance.

Has anyone tried to do C++ builds on XCode using one of these machines?

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Yeah, pretty horribly. XCode compile times are about 200 - 300% of those on a rMBP 15" for the same project. Those machines are very very very very slow.

Is this with the standard CPU or with that 1.3 GHz max option?

IIRC it was topped out rMBP 15 (mid-2014) vs. topped out MacBook.

I know a few devs using the MacBook. They seem happy with it, surprisingly.

I bought a maxed out 11" Air last summer, because it has a LOT more processing power to offer over the MacBook. Not as nice a screen, but I use it tethered to a monitor when I need a nice screen.

Of all the computers I've ever owned, this one's my favourite. The portability is unbelievable and it's got enough guts to handle Xcode. Your needs may differ from mine but I can't recommend it enough.

I do my development inside a Linux VM running on MacBook 2015 with fastest CPU option. It is not a speed daemon, but various IDE works very OK. The lightness of the notebook is amazing, I never thought I would appreciate it that much.

I do all my C++ / Objective-C development on a 13" mid 2012 MBA, and it works perfectly. If you have to do a complete recompile it takes a bit longer, but overall, for me it's pretty good. I'm now getting this new Macbook. Can't beat portability.

Ok, from these opinions it looks like I need to check this out myself.

Maybe I can try one during the 14 day return period.

Thanks for all the replies!

Get a 13" rMBP. I previously had a 15" and love the 13". It's the best balance between portability and performance.

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