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Processor speed or Memory?

scottttocs

scottttocs

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 15, 2007
3
0
Philadelphia
I am ordering an Air tonight, and I cant afford to max out a 13". So what is more important, faster processor (2.0GHz i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz) or 8gm of ram? Could I get away with 4gb? I use Illustrator a lot for the work I do, and I honestly dont know. Is the 1.8GHz, Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz sufficient?
 
scottttocs said:
I am ordering an Air tonight, and I cant afford to max out a 13". So what is more important, faster processor (2.0GHz i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz) or 8gm of ram? Could I get away with 4gb? I use Illustrator a lot for the work I do, and I honestly dont know. Is the 1.8GHz, Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz sufficient?
Click to expand...

Sufficient? Any of the configurations available for years will run it. The question isn't can it run it, but how well does it run it.

I think folks put too much importance on CPU speed. RAM can have a much bigger impact in performance, especially if it starts swapping.

I'd vote for the additional RAM. On the other hand, if you've spent $1600 can you really not afford another 100?
 
If you can choose only one, go with the RAM. RAM is faster even than an SSD.
 
plucky duck said:
Ram for your usage scenario, you will get the most real life utility out of it.
Click to expand...

This!
Ram isn't always the best upgrade, but if you'll be loading large illustrator files more ram will certainly be more effective (in a scenario that is seemingly ram/disk bound rather than cpu bound).
 
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