That's not entirely true. A lot of the bigger stores have 8GB configurations in stock. For instance, I got my i7/8GB/256GB 11" at Grand Central, and the associate said that they had other "non-standard" configurations in stock, as well. Also, the Retina MacBook Pro also has non-upgradable RAM, so it's the same situation (for those who want 16GB RAM).
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4GB vs 8GB ram
- Thread starter Jensen G
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That's not entirely true. A lot of the bigger stores have 8GB configurations in stock. For instance, I got my i7/8GB/256GB 11" at Grand Central, and the associate said that they had other "non-standard" configurations in stock, as well. Also, the Retina MacBook Pro also has non-upgradable RAM, so it's the same situation (for those who want 16GB RAM).
I believe mine has the i7/8gb/256 11" combo in stock. Interestingly when I went in to have a play this week she was pushing me towards the 4gb. Given i'm looking to keep mine for 3 years, I will also be going with 8gb, whichever combo I decide on.
verified.
just migrated from my old air to my new one and instantly noticed an extra 4 gigs missing...ran space gremlin and low and behold, an 8gb sleep image emerged...twice the size of my old sleep image now that I have 8gb ram.
bummer.
at least I've got a usb3 drive coming to back some stuff off to...but now I wish I went with the bigger SSD 4 sure.
You can permanently prohibit that file from being created if you would like to regain that disk space
http://www.tuaw.com/2011/08/22/why-hibernate-or-safe-sleep-mode-is-no-longer-necessary-in-os/
I've now called 4 stores in the Bay Area (Palo Alto, Stanford, Valley Fair Mall, and San Francisco (Union Square)) and none of them carry any model besides the 2 shown on the Apple website and the Ultimate. I even told them about the New York and L.A. stores and not surprisingly, they had nothing to say about that. So much for being the "Silicon Valley." Sometimes I really hate it here.
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I have a 13" Air winging its way to me.
I consider 4gb to be the minimum amount for daily use, so the only upgrade I chose was the 8gb memory. For 8800 yen it was definitely worth it.
Has anyone heard about Mountain Lion's real memory usage? Apple has stated that new functions won't affect it, but I can see things like iMessage eating away at the GBs.
I consider 4gb to be the minimum amount for daily use, so the only upgrade I chose was the 8gb memory. For 8800 yen it was definitely worth it.
Has anyone heard about Mountain Lion's real memory usage? Apple has stated that new functions won't affect it, but I can see things like iMessage eating away at the GBs.
I agree. The average person does not care about specs.
But it also depends on the person purchasing... some people like to upgrade after every update or two, and this is the way to do it with minimal loss. A few revisions down the line and we may see the base coming with 8 gigs. If you're this type speccing the machine to be future proof doesn't make much rational sense when a couple years down the road you'll have another machine anyway. For light users going 3+ years speccing up is a reasonable approach, but even then RAM requirements really haven't gone up much over the years. My first work machine outfitted with 4 gigs of RAM was probably 7-8 years ago, and it seemed like 2 gigs for most users was adequate for about a good 5 years or so, so I'm not really a big believer that we'll be seeing a base of 8 gigs be necessary for average users anytime soon.
My last machine was a base 2k10 11" Air. I used it primarily for web dev projects on the side and light personal use, and it was adequate. It was a good exercise in seeing if a minimal machine would suffice and it did alright. I went with 8/128 this time around as now I'm working as a remote contractor and this is my main machine... it's now the only tool I have to make a living (right now primarily Rails dev). I probably could get by just fine with 4 gigs, rarely do I see use in excess of 3.5 looking at Activity Monitor. But if my work gets more involved, if I do Android or iOS dev for instance, or if I need to throw VMs into the mix to test on other environments, then it will come in handy. Of course anyone doing heavy lifting with photoshop, video editing, or other production work will likely benefit.
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We have Airs with 4GB and 8GB in them. I can tell the difference but most people will be OK with 4GB. For $100 I would go to 8GB on a new machine.
also, when selling on craigslist...most of the people who are interested in an Air do not really look for 4 gb or 8gb....it is typically someone looking for a cheaper entry level model. I upgrade every year and could easily slide with 4gb. I use memory free to monitor my activity, and i don't think i have ever seen more than about 1.8 gigs used no matter how many tabs i have open or apps. Granted, i do not do any photoshop or final cut
I am leaning closer and closer to getting 4GB. When I went to the Apple Store yesterday, the Specialist told me that 4GB will probably last 5 years (and the next 2 versions of OS X including Mountain Lion). That sounds pretty good to me. I'm using 512mb on my Powerbook and have been fine for the past 7 years.
i would suggest just buying the 4gb and downloading the free memory app to see how much you are actually using. I was just fine with a 2gb air and am currently just fine with the 4gb air. I upgrade at the longest every 2 years, and that will be just fine. Honestly, resell with a mac is extremely easy too and the difference when you go to sell will not be $100 b.c the ram you have.
I bought both an 11/i7/256/8 and a 13/i5/128/4 and the 11 is going to go back to the store. With what i do, the specs of the 13 are more than enough and the price difference is almost $400
Pardon me, but what good would that do me? Wouldn't that just stress me out? Haha. Is there a way I could run this test at the Apple Store however, on their base demos?
i think you could log into your app account and just download the app....just remember to log out. right now i have itunes open, spotify playing music, 4 tabs opens, mail and calendar app open and still have 2.30 free
There's no need to download an app. Just type "Activity Monitor" into spotlight and you're good to go. That said, if your use really is this basic you're pretty far from needing 8 gigs.
THIS
Most individuals using the MacBook Air really don't need 8 GB of RAM. That's overkill. 100 bucks more? Use that money to pay off some debt, get a meal with your lady/guy friend, etc.
Anywho - I scored a brand new/unopened late 2011 11" MacBook Air 1.6/128 SSD for only 700 bucks off Craigslist last week. I run Photoshop/Illustrator, Safari and iTunes (and maybe MS Office) at the same time with only 4 GB RAM. Verdict? Pretty damn quick and enough for work when I am off my 15" MBP. Almost to where I feel wanting to solely by on the MBA. ...Almost.
Makes no difference reformatting and installing then getting it with the new OS from store.
Makes no difference reformatting and installing then getting it with the new OS from store.
Well even with a clean install, it's extra work IMO.
I don't believe that when you buy a new computer, it should require many updates - much less, an entire new operating system. What's so wrong about that.
I use garangeband a lot, will 4 gb be enough for me on the air? (Plus some casual gaming like portal, and homework).