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Is the 13" MacBook Air ENOUGH?!

[DL]

[DL]

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Feb 19, 2010
314
0
Louisiana
So, erm, yeah, I'm ready for my second Mac. And the 13" MacBook Air, is looking great. I'd like to go with a 1.8 Ghz i7, which has 4GB of memory. But I'd just like to know if it's good enough for what I do.

Safari and iTunes are always open. I do some composing in GarageBand, although that program isn't always running. I also play various games and use various apps from the App Store, such as Lego Star Wars. So can the MacBook Air handle GarageBand, Safari, and iTunes all open at once? And I'm planning to purchase Logic Studio. Does anyone know if that hangs a bit on the Air? It seems like it's a resource-demanding program.
 
I Have An Air

(DL)*DARK* said:
So, erm, yeah, I'm ready for my second Mac. And the 13" MacBook Air, is looking great. I'd like to go with a 1.8 Ghz i7, which has 4GB of memory. But I'd just like to know if it's good enough for what I do.

Safari and iTunes are always open. I do some composing in GarageBand, although that program isn't always running. I also play various games and use various apps from the App Store, such as Lego Star Wars. So can the MacBook Air handle GarageBand, Safari, and iTunes all open at once? And I'm planning to purchase Logic Studio. Does anyone know if that hangs a bit on the Air? It seems like it's a resource-demanding program.
Click to expand...

Whilst its a good machine, and will easily run the apps you mention, I wonder if you might be better off with a pro for Logic. I also have an MBP and use the Air for transfer of larger music and videos to my iMac And Pro.

My Air is the same top spec model as you mention....,I think if I had the choice I would go with the Pro.
 
Thanks for the reply! Er, well, I might not get Logic because of money issues, so otherwise it'd still be okay to go with the Air right? I mean I looked at the requirements for the program and it said 1GB. So I don't really think it's much of an issue on that one. And the processor is i7.
 
I was afraid of that. Oh well, it's not like I could ever afford that right now. :p Thanks for the help.
 
Mba 2010

Do you have a desktop for the heavy-liftings or will the mba be your standalone pc? I don't really edit movies, only twice though lol.. First time, when I was using my 2010 mba, 1.8ghz,4gb,13" it's kinda laggy when i use imovie (I was editing a 5 mins movie). The second time, I use my friend's imac, and wow! no laggy at all. Well, I couldn't confirm whether the 2010 mba's cpu not strong enough to edit movies or I use the wrong program :) I don't usually edit movies though.
 
Capt Underpants said:
The MBA will even run Logic just fine, if you plan to buy it in the future.

I run Logic on a 2007 Macbook.
Click to expand...

Oh, cool. So it's basically best to go with the Air, here. I also tried it out at Best Buy and it runs Lion far better than my 2009 MacBook did.
 
I work at a place where I get to use both MB Pros and MB Airs. I am amazed how the current MB Airs are VERY snappy for most tasks. They are more than enough for most people.

But it sounds like you are not 'most people', and you would probably benefit from the extra CPU power and the ability to have extra RAM in the MB Pro.
 
FredTheDeadHead said:
I work at a place where I get to use both MB Pros and MB Airs. I am amazed how the current MB Airs are VERY snappy for most tasks. They are more than enough for most people.

But it sounds like you are not 'most people', and you would probably benefit from the extra CPU power and the ability to have extra RAM in the MB Pro.
Click to expand...

We don't have enough information to really conclude if he is 'most people' quite yet. Again, I've recorded records with my 2007 Core 2 Duo Macbook [with 4 gigs of RAM and a slow SSD].

How many tracks does one of your typical compositions have? And how many large sample libraries and virtual instruments go into these? If the answer is less than 64, you're golden. If it's less than 128, it's probably still manageable.

The records I've done have had about 24 audio tracks, and a few sampled instruments. But again, no problems on my 2007 Macbook. YMMV
 
OP - You could also get the base MBP, which is faster than the fastest Air, AND buy Logic, since the Pro is that much less expensive than the 1.8 GHz Air.

Just a thought . . .
 
OP Maybe it would be a good idea to wait until early next year for the rumoured 15" "MacBook Air" (or it may end up being labelled MacBook Pro, who knows???). If the specs are bumped a little you might get exactly what you need.

1000
 
The air oughta handle logic just fine, it's been run on far less powerful systems for a long, long time.
 
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