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ant2009

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 24, 2010
38
0
I am planning to buy the new Macbook Air 13", as I need something more mobile, but only have a limited budget. So the Air 13" seems like a perfect solution.

Currently I have a iMac which I bought nearly 4 years ago. And I need to know if it is worth changing for a MBA. I use the iMac for adobe photoshop, illustrator, After Effects, etc. Nothing high end just basic stuff graphic programming, no advanced video editing.

I am just wondering what is more powerful the new Macbook Air 13" Hashwell 1.3Ghz i5 Intel Graphics 5000, 4GB Ram. For the graphics programming I will be doing on it.

Or my iMac:
2.66 Core Duo 2
Nvida Graphics 256
4GB Ram

Just a side note, what is the new MBA like for doing iOS development using the latest version of Xcode? Would it be slow?

Many thanks for any suggestions,
 

53kyle

macrumors 65816
Mar 27, 2012
1,282
111
Sebastopol, CA
I am planning to buy the new Macbook Air 13", as I need something more mobile, but only have a limited budget. So the Air 13" seems like a perfect solution.

Currently I have a iMac which I bought nearly 4 years ago. And I need to know if it is worth changing for a MBA. I use the iMac for adobe photoshop, illustrator, After Effects, etc. Nothing high end just basic stuff graphic programming, no advanced video editing.

I am just wondering what is more powerful the new Macbook Air 13" Hashwell 1.3Ghz i5 Intel Graphics 5000, 4GB Ram. For the graphics programming I will be doing on it.

Or my iMac:
2.66 Core Duo 2
Nvida Graphics 256
4GB Ram

Just a side note, what is the new MBA like for doing iOS development using the latest version of Xcode? Would it be slow?

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Given the age of the iMac, the air could be a little to a lot better than the iMac.
 

Amplelink

macrumors 6502a
Oct 8, 2012
933
392
The MBA will run circles around the iMac. You'll feel a huge boost.

These days, to be honest an MBA could be a primary computer for lots of people. Hook it up to an external monitor and it's an excellent workstation.
 

APlotdevice

macrumors 68040
Sep 3, 2011
3,145
3,861
At the very least you will notice a massive improvement in data access times thanks to the SSD.
 

Hermes Monster

macrumors 65816
May 4, 2010
1,204
552
UK
I've just sold my 2010 iMac i3 3.06GHz mode (if I recall, this model was mooted as a big step up from the model you have)l, it was starting to get really slow on Mountain Lion, and I wanted to free up some space.

Bought the new MBA 13" base config and it runs circles around it, even doing the back ups/transfers on my iMac grated me after using the MBA, it seemed so slow compared.

Buy now buy now buy now :)
 

coldjeanzzz

macrumors 6502a
Nov 4, 2012
655
17
The MBA for some reason has this reputation of being a crippled, cheap Mac for people to buy when in reality it's probably the best Mac you can purchase right now. It's not that expensive relatively, has great internals now, and awesome portability. I wouldn't think twice about this one honestly.
 

HiDEF

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2010
1,706
394
Miami, FL
I've just sold my 2010 iMac i3 3.06GHz mode (if I recall, this model was mooted as a big step up from the model you have)l, it was starting to get really slow on Mountain Lion, and I wanted to free up some space.

Bought the new MBA 13" base config and it runs circles around it, even doing the back ups/transfers on my iMac grated me after using the MBA, it seemed so slow compared.

Buy now buy now buy now :)

Hermes, not sure if I've asked you this in the past but hows the base model (4GB RAM) treating you? Have you experienced hangs/slowdowns/lag due to the low RAM?
 

Hermes Monster

macrumors 65816
May 4, 2010
1,204
552
UK
I haven't had a single slowdown yet, granted I haven't done anything too taxing.

The most intensive thing I've done would be using Pixlemator while transferring a 26gb file via AirDrop from my previous iMac. Or possibly mirroring HD content from the MBA to the Apple TV while streaming the content from the net via XBMC.

I haven't run Adobe CS5 on this machine, as I did on my iMac (previous was a work copy that I no longer have access to....but anyway!) but having done some fairly detailed design work on Pixlemator I'm 99% confident it would run rings around my iMac.

My only slight worry is the memory, I'm already down to 60GB but don't think I'll use much more.

Also I've installed DropBox, Google Drive and Copy for additional free cloud storage.

The machine is a joy to use, so happy I bought it.
 

HiDEF

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2010
1,706
394
Miami, FL
I haven't had a single slowdown yet, granted I haven't done anything too taxing.

The most intensive thing I've done would be using Pixlemator while transferring a 26gb file via AirDrop from my previous iMac. Or possibly mirroring HD content from the MBA to the Apple TV while streaming the content from the net via XBMC.

I haven't run Adobe CS5 on this machine, as I did on my iMac (previous was a work copy that I no longer have access to....but anyway!) but having done some fairly detailed design work on Pixlemator I'm 99% confident it would run rings around my iMac.

My only slight worry is the memory, I'm already down to 60GB but don't think I'll use much more.

Also I've installed DropBox, Google Drive and Copy for additional free cloud storage.

The machine is a joy to use, so happy I bought it.

Good to hear! I have till this Sunday to decide whether I'm going to keep the 4GB model or not. But your comments--along with others who have 4GB's--have been encouraging, so I might end up keeping it.

Thanx for the feedback.
 
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