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I am a long time PC user

L

Legionnaire

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Original poster
Oct 10, 2011
331
88
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
 
Legionnaire said:
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...

As far as I'm aware, Intel recently created a new RAM model which is the only new one created for about 20 years. This may be used in future Macs, but when it will be implemented I cannot say. It's supposed to be much faster, which is quite an advantage, however for what you're doing, the model you listed seems perfectly fine.
 
Legionnaire said:
my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...

My mid-2012 MBA has 8 GB and 128 GB. I went with 8 GB to future proof because I assumed that the OS and programs would get bigger over the five-plus years I'd use the machine. No regrets there.

Wish I'd gone with a 256 GB SSD because my wife takes a lot of photos, and those have consumed a lot of memory. So has syncing OneDrive and Dropbox.

Good luck.
 
Legionnaire said:
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...

For what your planning on using it for you should be fine with the model you are looking at. I have the exact same MacBook Air and I am totally happy with it. I just got mine from Best Buy a few weeks ago and so far I'm showing that I have 99.03 GB free of 120.12 GB, so that should show you what the OS takes up. I haven't stored much of anything on it, my pictures are stored in the cloud as are other things, I only have a few songs actually on storage, I mostly use my iTunes home share to listen to music from my main computer. It boots up and runs super fast, most people complain about the screen resolution you get for the price you pay but it really hasn't been an issue for me so far, sure I would have loved to have a retina option but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. Guess it's all depends on what you really want or are planning on using it for. Overall, it's a very nice, light, and fast laptop. I do not regret my purchase, hope this helps you some. Good luck with your shopping.
 
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Do you foresee these prices getting any lower or better specs for same price within next year?
 
Legionnaire said:
Do you foresee these prices getting any lower or better specs for same price within next year?
Click to expand...
It's really hard to say better spec will go next year for MacBook Air, although, maybe MacBook Pro would Be updated, maybe.

According to your basic usage, rather than having 4GB of ram, I suggest you have 8GB in total because Mac OS X will eventually take much more ram than Windows, so for a future proof. Other than that, you will be fine.

If there is a local Apple Store nearing you, go ahead and take a look. And just don't buy at Apple Store, but have a look on how MacBook Air would be.

I realise something is wrong with my English. I Hope you can get the idea.
 
Legionnaire said:
Do you foresee these prices getting any lower or better specs for same price within next year?
Click to expand...

I personally don't see the prices getting any lower, you might find a better discount somewhere because the Holidays are coming up but all the ones I've ever seen have always been right around where they are now. I also don't think the specs will change much but hey, you never know I guess. We would all like to get the best specs possible and every year you could find yourself asking the same question (will it get better if I wait). Sooner or later your gonna have to just pull the trigger and make the purchase. You know the saying - it's always out dated as soon as you walk out of the store.

Look at the other laptop choices to see if their specs are better suited for you. If you have an Apple store or Best Buy near you, go check them out. Both stores usually have different models on display. We are just saying for the price you quoted, the MacBook Air 13 is a good machine. You just have to find what will work for you, it's just a personal decision. I have found that it works great for me and I am happy with my purchase. Good luck, I'm sure you will find something that you'll be happy with.
 
Legionnaire said:
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...

I don't think the prices will be lower than $700 +. Check Apples website for refurbished Airs. Best Buy seems to have monthly sales too.

I own a mid 2013 Air and have been very happy with it. I had one issue with my wifi, but found out it wasn't my Air but my router. It was dying. Bought another and all has been great!
 
Legionnaire said:
Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...
My daughter has a 2011 4/256GB MBA13, and my wife programs on a 2012 8/256GB MBA 13. Both are still happy. They run 10.10.x. Both have been upgraded to 480GB OWC SSD. My daughter's battery had over 1000 cycles, and it needed to be replaced a couple of month's ago, along with the trackpad (bulging battery led to the TP demise). I'm a little surprised 4GB memory works so well -- memory pressure is obviously higher than on the 8GB unit. But for general use it seems to be fine. I recommend the extra memory - you can upgrade the storage later if needed.
 
Legionnaire said:
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...

Your a PC user because you are cheap. Spend the money and stop debating the cost. Apple is the only way to go.
 
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Shirasaki said:
However despite OS RAM consumption, App RAM consumption should also be considered.

For whatever reason, 8GB is often a better choice.
Click to expand...

I agree. It depends of the use of the computer. Often, 4GB is enought, some need more. But I originally disputed your assumption that OSX would somehow need much more RAM than Windows.
 
Last edited:
hanser said:
I agree. It depends of the use of the computer. Often, 4GB is enought, some need more. But I originally disputed your assumption that OSX would somehow need much more RAM than Windows.
Click to expand...
OS X will take up more memory to run as time goes on. System 7 uses way less memory than Mac OS X el Capitan to run, right?
 
Shirasaki said:
Yeah. I am really talking about Apple "System 7". :D
Click to expand...
OK, I thought you meant Windows 7, since you started comparing OSX and Windows. Obviously Apple 7 used less RAM, but that is not the issue. You claimed: "Mac OS X will eventually take much more ram than Windows". And THAT I dispute. Since you since evaded the point, I think that you can´t backup your claim and therefore should retract it.
 
hanser said:
OK, I thought you meant Windows 7, since you started comparing OSX and Windows. Obviously Apple 7 used less RAM, but that is not the issue. You claimed: "Mac OS X will eventually take much more ram than Windows". And THAT I dispute. Since you since evaded the point, I think that you can´t backup your claim and therefore should retract it.
Click to expand...
Oh. Yeah. I have claimed Mac OS X will consume more memory than Windows. My fault, although I should say I didn't aware of this when commenting.
So my point is Mac OS X will eventually take more RAM over time. Nothing is about Mocrosoft Windows.
 
Mostly you get what you pay for. Macs are more than bottom of the barrel pc's, but there are a lot of crappy expensive pc's too. Just suck it up and pay the price and get something recent. You only live once.
 
To answer the OP: My wife bought some time ago a refurbished Macbook Air with 4GB and 128 SSD of which more than 100 GB were free. We feel that for the use you describe 4GB is enough for the next few years. OSX El capitan at least does not need more, and will be supported for the next 3 years. I would expect that one can use this notebook for at least the next 4-5 years without problems.
 
Legionnaire said:
I am tired of pc / laptops dying and breaking. I have a y500 that is a montser but it just died on me, and im tired of new pcs lol. Long story short.

Ive been seeing deals here and there, I saw one at best buy 799 macbook air 4gb 128gb. 13 inch, with movers coupon etc.. 700 or so. Will there be better deals? any features you can think on waiting for? Should I get a 4gb?

my current is 256gb OS msata/16gb ram/1tb memory storage. None of which I use, I just browse, check emails, facebook, forums, listen to music. I am going to be keeping old laptop just to torrent /store things. So I am wanting a macbook for everything else.

Is 4gb future proof on macbooks airs? how much OS takes up from the 128gb ? Reliability for years?
Click to expand...


I would strongly recommend against having only 4GB of RAM. 8 minimum and 16 better. You may not need 16 today but if you want to keep the machine for a long time I'd suggest 16.
 
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