Macbook Air Speed

[jmfel1926]

Hello, i am thinking of buying the new Macbook air 2012 11,6'' , the base model , meaning the i5 1,7Ghz with turboboost , 4gb of Ram and the only thing i am going to change will be the ssd , that i will choose the 128gb one. I would like to make 3 question as i don't know much . it will be my first Mac and i want to know some things from people tha have an advanced experience.

1) will the 128gb ssd be enough for applications? or in some time it will be full and i will have problem ? i will not use it as backup for movies etc because i am going to buy an external ssd.

2) concerning the power of the air. will i be able to run smoothly my web browser with flash video , text editing and stuff like that ? i believe the answer is yes , so i want to know if the new macbook air is able to run for exampe photoshop or 3ds MAX.

3) Will the 4gb of ram be enough for the OS X Lion and the Mountain Lion that will be released on July ?

thats all for now. please help i am new and would like to know !!! thanks for your time !

 

[mattpreston11]

1) 128gb is enough in my experience, I managed for 18 months on 64gb. This time round I went for the same model you're thinking of with 128gb so I can have a 40gb Windows partition.
2) Haven't tested Photoshop on my new air, although my 2010 1.4ghz C2D did not run Photoshop particularly well. I'm sure the 2012 will breeze through tasks though.
3) Many will tell you to go for 4GB. Once again I've managed with 2GB for 18 months, I'm more than happy with 4gb on my 2012

 

[snow blind]

I'm new to the Air coming from years of iMacs & MBPs... I was both pleasantly surprised and mildly disappointed this week while getting to know my new 13" base 2012 Air.

1) You're fine with 128GB if you're using an external. Hell, you'd be fine with 64GB if you use externals and the cloud etc.

2) Can't speak of the 11"... but if the 13" handles working on one-two big files at a time with ease... then I imagine the 11" will also.

3) I honestly regret going with 4GB and would have went with 8GB.

I'll be returning my Air this weekend as I've discovered the "7/&" key is broken. Sort of a blessing and a curse as i'm thinking about going back to a MBP or waiting for the new iMac. I'm very impressed with the speed of the SSD Apple has used and the Ivy Bridge battery life; however, it seems like the 13" struggles thermally. The fans kick to full and it warms like crazy with even the slightest use above word processing. If you try watching any SD YouTube videos the thing spools up (new fans sound just as loud as the new ones) and ignites! I'm really hoping this is just some defective, CPU crippled model I was unlucky to get... but if it's not, I'm going back to the MBP.

 

[KPOM]

3) I honestly regret going with 4GB and would have went with 8GB.

I'll be returning my Air this weekend as I've discovered the "7/&" key is broken. Sort of a blessing and a curse as i'm thinking about going back to a MBP or waiting for the new iMac. I'm very impressed with the speed of the SSD Apple has used and the Ivy Bridge battery life; however, it seems like the 13" struggles thermally. The fans kick to full and it warms like crazy with even the slightest use above word processing. If you try watching any SD YouTube videos the thing spools up (new fans sound just as loud as the new ones) and ignites! I'm really hoping this is just some defective, CPU crippled model I was unlucky to get... but if it's not, I'm going back to the MBP.

Maybe you should consider the 8GB model? The store may well have it in stock. As for the fans and the heat, the MacBook Airs do run a bit hotter than most notebooks. Most of the time, though the fan is hardly noticeable.

I don't know about the Retina MacBook Pro, but that model also has a different cooling system from the Air (as well as the full implementation of the asymmetrical fans, rather than the partial implementation of the new Airs), so maybe it won't run as hot.

 

[snow blind]

Maybe you should consider the 8GB model? The store may well have it in stock. As for the fans and the heat, the MacBook Airs do run a bit hotter than most notebooks. Most of the time, though the fan is hardly noticeable.

I don't know about the Retina MacBook Pro, but that model also has a different cooling system from the Air (as well as the full implementation of the asymmetrical fans, rather than the partial implementation of the new Airs), so maybe it won't run as hot.

If i stick with an Air i will without a doubt upgrade to 8GB. It's just a shame the thing gets so warm (not scalding hot) so quickly. Just acts like a panting dog desperate for a drink on a 90° day.

The rMBP does indeed employ the full, two-sided air induction cooling design. I'd never buy one as I don't have need for the CPU/GPU on that beast... but it probably does run cooler.