MacBook Air

[midwestfisherman]

I'm looking at the 13" Air. I'll be using it for general web use and some light Photoshop tasks. Is there any reason to get more than the 4GB of RAM?

 

[FoxFifth]

I have the 2012 model 13" Air with 4GB and think it is more than enough. A lot of people on the Mac forums suggest getting 8 to "future proof" since the ram is not upgradeable. In spite of that if I was buying one today I would still go with 4GB.

 

[amyklai]

Depends on how long you typically keep your laptops. if you're the 1-2 year type, 4 GB will be enough, if you keep them 3-4 years, better get 8 GB.

 

[smackababy]

4GB will be just fine. Unless you actually forsee any real memory intensive stuff happening in the future, 4GB will last you for a good while.

Personally, if I were looking at the 13" Air, I'd upgrade to the 13" rMBP instead for the few hundred more. The better screen is worth it.

 

[TreVader]

You will regret not getting 8GB ram



Although 4GB is enough, I had a 2011 13" Air with the 1.8Ghz i7 and 4GB ram, and it still far outperforms the weak 1.3Ghz i5 Airs they sell today.


If all you want is something to browse and watch netflix then get the 4GB, anything else you should get the 8GB w/ i7. Frankly, if all you want to do is browse and watch netflix just get an iPad and save your money.

 

[TreVader]

4GB will be just fine. Unless you actually forsee any real memory intensive stuff happening in the future, 4GB will last you for a good while.

Personally, if I were looking at the 13" Air, I'd upgrade to the 13" rMBP instead for the few hundred more. The better screen is worth it.

the 13 rMBP is underpowered and heavy and has awful battery life compared to the air. The dual core i7 in the top of the line Air handily outperforms the i5 in the rMBP and that screen is WAY too large to be run using integrated graphics. As soon as you do anything beyond browsing and opening a few finder windows, the 13" rMBP will stutter.

 

[smackababy]

the 13 rMBP is underpowered and heavy and has awful battery life compared to the air. The dual core i7 in the top of the line Air handily outperforms the i5 in the rMBP and that screen is WAY too large to be run using integrated graphics. As soon as you do anything beyond browsing and opening a few finder windows, the 13" rMBP will stutter.

You're comparing the base model rMBP to the "top of the line" Air? Did you even read the OP? He is using it for web browsing and the occasional light photoshop.

Also, I've yet to hear any complaints from REAL rMBP owners.

I don't even know why I am responding to you. 100% of your posts are ignorant troll garbage.

 

[Eug]

I would recommend 8 GB. With light to moderate usage on my 13" MacBook Pro (non-Retina), I am consuming all my 4 GB RAM pretty quickly. Luckily in Mavericks the OS makes use of RAM compression so I'm not hitting the SSD yet very often, but nonetheless, 8 GB provides a lot more breathing room.

In 2013/2014, I would say a 4 GB laptop is a basic office app machine, emailer, and surfer, but if you want to do more, go for 8 GB at least.

And yeah, the screens on the Pros are way better than on the Airs. I would suggest going into an Apple Store (or other retail store) and checking them out. It's a night vs day improvement in the Pros.

 

[gus6464]

the 13 rMBP is underpowered and heavy and has awful battery life compared to the air. The dual core i7 in the top of the line Air handily outperforms the i5 in the rMBP and that screen is WAY too large to be run using integrated graphics. As soon as you do anything beyond browsing and opening a few finder windows, the 13" rMBP will stutter.

How is 10+ hour battery life awful? Also, I had a 13" rMBP for a week before I went with the 15" and all you are saying is just flat out false.

 

[midwestfisherman]

I didn't consider the rMBP because I liked the idea of a super light portable laptop. The battery life is a huge plus as well. I just want to be sure that 4MB of RAM will be ok for my use.

 

[Eug]

Really, check out the screens in real life first. The Pro is much nicer.

And 4 GB is really pushing it these days.

 

[JAG87]

OP, listen to the advice. For half a pound and an infinitely better screen, the rMBP is a whole other category of machinery. I'm not even sure how you plan to photoshop at all on that awful TN panel, but be my guest.

 

[cheez]

How is 10+ hour battery life awful? Also, I had a 13" rMBP for a week before I went with the 15" and all you are saying is just flat out false.

Young man, I would think that's reasonable as rMBP consumes more power due to high res Retina screen. It will put stress on the graphics controller and it's gonna want more POWA. Hence the battery runs down sooner.

EEEhhhhehehehehehehehehehhehehe


Oh and to the memory question, I would start at 8GB.

cheez

 

[Tweak155]

4gb *should* be plenty, but since you can't upgrade and your uses might change, it is probably safer to go with 8gb.

Personally, I'd still pick 4gb but I mainly just internet browse and play some music. Photoshop is nowhere on my radar.

 

[Zaap]

I didn't consider the rMBP because I liked the idea of a super light portable laptop. The battery life is a huge plus as well. I just want to be sure that 4MB of RAM will be ok for my use.

Yes, you will be fine with 4GB of RAM. Even for light Photoshop work. Of course, Photoshop loves as much RAM as it can get, but it's not like it won't function on the Air.

My wife has an Air with 4GB of RAM and she does pretty much the same type of stuff on it, including light Photoshop use. (Mainly just resizing and quick touch up to photos for the web). The Air handles it fine.

The screen quality difference is another matter. Personally, I'd never want to use the Air vs. the screen on my rMBP (infinitely superior) but my wife couldn't care less, the Air is perfect for her, she's more into just being able to take it with her quickly because its so small.

I'd take others advice and go look at the machines in person, the Air vs. the entry 13" rMPB. For my money, I'd go with the 13" rMBP since its so close in price, has the much better screen, and battery life while not as good as the Air is still pretty damn good. But by all means, make your own decision.

Main thing is, yes for your uses you can get away with 4GB of RAM. Many people have an inaccurate gauge on just how much RAM is needed to do most tasks, and just automatically go for MORE MORE MORE. It's not always actually needed. Systems I have with 16 and 32GB of RAM have barely ever, even under heavy use, scraped using anywhere near all of that, and mostly just cruise along using less than half. Nice to know it's there, but really, we kid ourselves all the time about how much power we really need vs. what things actually use.

 

[Tweak155]

^ not to mention it looks like rMBP will be $200 off on BF at BB. Makes it same price you'd spend right now!

 

[TreVader]

You're comparing the base model rMBP to the "top of the line" Air? Did you even read the OP? He is using it for web browsing and the occasional light photoshop.

Also, I've yet to hear any complaints from REAL rMBP owners.

I don't even know why I am responding to you. 100% of your posts are ignorant troll garbage.

I own both a 15" rMBP and a 13" macbook air you fool.


Just because you made poor decisions with the meager funds you had to buy a macbook, doesn't mean everyone else is that poor or that dumb.




Knock off the insults.


esquared
Anandtech Forum Director

 

[TreVader]

How is 10+ hour battery life awful? Also, I had a 13" rMBP for a week before I went with the 15" and all you are saying is just flat out false.

can you read? I said COMPARED TO THE MBA. it has nearly 50% LESS battery life. That is what I would call awful

 

[TreVader]

^ not to mention it looks like rMBP will be $200 off on BF at BB. Makes it same price you'd spend right now!

The issue with the rMBP 13" is that it doesn't have very good battery life or much better performance than the MBA

If you don't need quad core or a 15" screen, get the MBA. The battery life is amazing, it's much more portable than the rMBP, and it performs 90% as well.


If you need power, the 15" rMBP is way, way, way faster than the 13". 2 more cores, 90% of the battery life, i7, dedicated graphic, enough said.

 

[manly]

can you read? I said COMPARED TO THE MBA. it has nearly 50% LESS battery life. That is what I would call awful

Compared to Bill Gates, Larry Ellison is a pauper?

 

[Eug]

Yeah, I love the Air's form factor and light weight, but hate the screen. First off I hate the pixel density, and second, the viewing angles are poor. I love the screen of the new Retina MBP, but dislike the added weight over the Air.

So I'm personally gonna wait until 2014 before I buy, hoping for a new class of machine, nearly as light as the Airs, but with Retina. However, I can get away with it since I already own an older MacBook Pro.

P.S. In Mountain Lion, I'd page out to disk (or SSD) from time to time with my 4 GB doing exactly what the OP wants to do. It certainly wasn't a deal killer though as the machine was still usually quite responsive (since I have an SSD in it). However, Mavericks does provide memory compression, so pageouts should happen less often. Still, this tells me I'm right on the cusp, which is why I say 8 GB is recommended, esp. if you plan on keeping the machine for more than a year or two. In fact, I considered upgrading this Pro to 8 GB, but unfortunately the RAM costs more than I had hoped ($100). In the case of a new Mac Air, you will not have the option at all since the RAM is soldered to the motherboard. BTW, when I first bought the MacBook Pro, it was with 2 GB RAM. That was back in 2009. So yes, I've had the thing for over 4 years now. Back then 2 GB was borderline. Fast forward 4 years later, and 2 GB definitely is not enough, and I'm contemplating getting an upgrade to 4X the memory.

P.P.S. As for TreVader's posts, he can like what he wants, but I personally have no interest in either the Air or the 15" MBP. The 15" is simply too big and bulky, and the Air's screen is too crappy for either of them to be a consideration. In today's world for my usage and preferences, I'd say the 13" MacBook Pro Retina is by far the best solution for me. Having great battery life in the Air and the $1000 or so cost just seems like a waste when the screen is so mediocre. The 15" MBP and the 13" Air are effectively the worst of both worlds in certain respects, for me. That said, my sis' has an 11.6" Air and she doesn't mind the screen at all.

 

[gus6464]

can you read? I said COMPARED TO THE MBA. it has nearly 50% LESS battery life. That is what I would call awful

wtf? They are two different classes of machine. To even try and compare the two is just flat out idiotic.

 

[StinkyPinky]

the 13 rMBP is underpowered and heavy and has awful battery life compared to the air. The dual core i7 in the top of the line Air handily outperforms the i5 in the rMBP and that screen is WAY too large to be run using integrated graphics. As soon as you do anything beyond browsing and opening a few finder windows, the 13" rMBP will stutter.

I vehemently disagree. Have a MB Air at work and a MB Pro for home and the Pro is easily the better machine. It's screen alone is worth it, and the Iris graphics power the screen very easily. Yeah I wouldn't want to play 3D games on it, but who the hell plays 3d games on a 13" MB Pro anyway? That's not what they are designed for.

And why are you comparing the top of the line i7 on the air to the i5 on the MB pro? You should compare base CPU to base cpu or top of the line to top of the line. Add in the fact that the PRo has a faster SSD, a faster CPU, and a much superior screen and there's plenty of reasons to go the Pro. Not everyone has the same requirements. For me, 9 hours battery is more than enough.

 

[Eug]

Well, to be fair gus6464, I'm personally hoping they eliminate that Air/Pro distinction in some ways. I want a Pro level screen, but I don't necessarily need Pro level CPU/GPU performance.

 

[gus6464]

Well, to be fair gus6464, I'm personally hoping they eliminate that Air/Pro distinction in some ways. I want a Pro level screen, but I don't necessarily need Pro level CPU/GPU performance.

If the put a retina screen on Air it would effectively kill the MBP. There is no way Apple would self cannibalize like that. I can see Apple moving to IGZO for next year's MBA to increase battery life even more but you are not getting a retina screen.