Base level MacBook air for college

[MacBoook160]

Try the heal-tool on a massive raw file and watch the cpu go through the roof and lag to occur.

OK, now, that isn't even in English, is it?

(Yes, I'm just a "basic" user!)

 

[albusseverus]

I loved my 11" Air. The size, weight, shape (16:9 is the only aspect ratio that looks 'right 'to me). I could take it anywhere and didn't even know it was in my bag. The screen was better than any Windows notebook. I only gave it up when 2GB RAM just wouldn't run photo editing software anymore. (Yosemite) Apple's best Mac, hands-down.

My advice? Have a garage sale, get a second job, sell your blood, beg steal, borrow, do whatever you have to, to get a MacBook—most especially if you're coming from Retina. There is no going back. For all the hassle 1 USB-C port will give you, you'll thank yourself every day for making the effort, and definitely if you need the machine for a few years.

The Air is a good solid computer, but it's dead technology now. There's little difference in price once you spec an Air to the level of the MacBook and you will need the 8GB RAM to last a few years anyway.

If you have no other options, the Air will do the job. Barely, but it's better than nothing (or Windows). If there's any way on earth you can stretch to MacBook, it will be worth it. The specs of the MacBook are no indicator of how it actually performs. It's amazing.

All the other advice here is solid, sympathetic to your situation & well intentioned. I offer this as the alternative point of view—most especially because you mentioned Retina. Think hard & be happy that you made the best decision you could.

 

[akimoriRyuuji]

I loved my 11" Air. The size, weight, shape (16:9 is the only aspect ratio that looks 'right 'to me). I could take it anywhere and didn't even know it was in my bag. The screen was better than any Windows notebook. I only gave it up when 2GB RAM just wouldn't run photo editing software anymore. (Yosemite) Apple's best Mac, hands-down.

My advice? Have a garage sale, get a second job, sell your blood, beg steal, borrow, do whatever you have to, to get a MacBook—most especially if you're coming from Retina. There is no going back. For all the hassle 1 USB-C port will give you, you'll thank yourself every day for making the effort, and definitely if you need the machine for a few years.

The Air is a good solid computer, but it's dead technology now. There's little difference in price once you spec an Air to the level of the MacBook and you will need the 8GB RAM to last a few years anyway.

If you have no other options, the Air will do the job. Barely, but it's better than nothing (or Windows). If there's any way on earth you can stretch to MacBook, it will be worth it. The specs of the MacBook are no indicator of how it actually performs. It's amazing.

All the other advice here is solid, sympathetic to your situation & well intentioned. I offer this as the alternative point of view—most especially because you mentioned Retina. Think hard & be happy that you made the best decision you could.

No.
Just, no.

The MacBook Air is far from dead. It performs much, much better than the Macbook. Remember, it has a fan in it. Higher clock speeds = higher performance.

You don't need 8GB RAM to last a few years; you can, even now, last fine with 4GB.
It's way, way, WAY better than the Macbook.

If you upgrade the MacBook Air to 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD, you'll have a machine that performs much better than the Macbook will. Period. It's a better bang for your buck.

 

[MacBoook160]

I loved my 11" Air. The size, weight, shape (16:9 is the only aspect ratio that looks 'right 'to me). I could take it anywhere and didn't even know it was in my bag. The screen was better than any Windows notebook. I only gave it up when 2GB RAM just wouldn't run photo editing software anymore. (Yosemite) Apple's best Mac, hands-down.

My advice? Have a garage sale, get a second job, sell your blood, beg steal, borrow, do whatever you have to, to get a MacBook—most especially if you're coming from Retina. There is no going back. For all the hassle 1 USB-C port will give you, you'll thank yourself every day for making the effort, and definitely if you need the machine for a few years.

The Air is a good solid computer, but it's dead technology now. There's little difference in price once you spec an Air to the level of the MacBook and you will need the 8GB RAM to last a few years anyway.

If you have no other options, the Air will do the job. Barely, but it's better than nothing (or Windows). If there's any way on earth you can stretch to MacBook, it will be worth it. The specs of the MacBook are no indicator of how it actually performs. It's amazing.

All the other advice here is solid, sympathetic to your situation & well intentioned. I offer this as the alternative point of view—most especially because you mentioned Retina. Think hard & be happy that you made the best decision you could.

I have yet to meet the technology - any product, for that matter - that I would be willing to sell my blood, beg or steal for. I save that level of sacrifice for a few very special people.

I appreciate the enthusiasm, and think it's warranted in a number of ways (the screen, to be sure), but come on. The Air is just "better than nothing?"

However, I'm genuinely happy that you like your laptop as much as you do.