OS X for mid 2013 MBA 11

[jercdevil]

Picking up a Mid June 2013 MBA 11 4gb 128gb. What would you suggest for a stable Operating system. I will be using this for Web browsing and email. Also entertainment on flights. I travel 2 weeks out of the month so portablity is a must. Also would like to upgrade the SDD in the near future. What's the best option for this. Would like a 512 or higher.

 

[keysofanxiety]

El Capitan (10.11).

Wouldn't bother upgrading the SSD. It's proprietary and the cost for a 512GB would probably be more than you paid for the machine.

 

[DesignerOnMac]

Picking up a Mid June 2013 MBA 11 4gb 128gb. What would you suggest for a stable Operating system. I will be using this for Web browsing and email. Also entertainment on flights. I travel 2 weeks out of the month so portablity is a must. Also would like to upgrade the SDD in the near future. What's the best option for this. Would like a 512 or higher.

Have had El Capitan since it was introduced, works great!

 

[Boyd01]

I got a new 2013 11" MBA exactly three years ago. I still use the original operating system, 10.8.5. Everything has always worked fine, I have the i7/8gb/512gb model and sometime run demanding software like Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, VectorWorks, Strata 3d CX, Photoshop, etc. These are all old versions, so there would be no advantage to running a newer version of MacOS, and I subscribe to the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" philosophy.

If I were buying a 2013 machine, I would play around with it first using whatever version of the operating system is already installed. If you like it, leave well enough alone. Otherwise, upgrade to a newer version, there are plenty of threads here from people who say the newest versions run fine on these machines.

Now, regarding the SSD. If you want more than 128gb, then don't buy a 128gb machine. Upgrades are expensive and there are various threads here with complaints about problems from some vendors. Buy a machine that already has the RAM and SSD capacity that you need.

 

[Kaylor]

I've been running 10.11 El Capitan on my 13" Mid-2012 MBA without any issue (it originally came with Lion, 10.7) so you shouldn't have any problem running it on a 2013 model.

And I agree on not trying to upgrade the SSD yourself-- it will be an expensive endeavor. I'm assuming you're buying a machine second-hand? If so, maybe shop around and see if you can find a used machine with a bigger SSD. If not, you can always look into cloud-based options or removable storage.

 

[jercdevil]

Just purchased a refurbished MBA 2013 4/128. It came with Yosemite installed so like Boyd said I will run it like this until I get some experience with it. I'm coming from only owning window machines. This is going to take some getting used to. Also will have to come up with an alternate storage system eg ext HDD or cloud storage.

My iTunes is well over 200 gigs in itself. I like the size and build of the MBA 11 just have to figure out how to use it.

 

[Kaylor]

Just purchased a refurbished MBA 2013 4/128. It came with Yosemite installed so like Boyd said I will run it like this until I get some experience with it. I'm coming from only owning window machines. This is going to take some getting used to. Also will have to come up with an alternate storage system eg ext HDD or cloud storage.

My iTunes is well over 200 gigs in itself. I like the size and build of the MBA 11 just have to figure out how to use it.

Congrats on the purchase! You'll get used to OS X quickly. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Boyd01]

The 802.11ac wifi is very nice on the 2013 MBA, if you have a compatible router. I get write speeds over 50MB/sec with a network drive on wifi. So if you have another machine you can use as a file server, that would be one way to access more storage at reasonable speed at home. It's considerably faster than any of the USB 3.0 flash drives I have.

It's possible to put your iTunes library on a network drive, and I did that for awhile myself. Ultimately I stopped doing it because there are a few "gotchas" that can be annoying.

Enjoy the new computer. IMO, the 2013 MBA offers the most bang for the buck today, performance is very close to the new models. Mine is my primary computer and probably will continue so for at least a couple more years.

 

[bhayes444]

Just purchased a refurbished MBA 2013 4/128. It came with Yosemite installed so like Boyd said I will run it like this until I get some experience with it. I'm coming from only owning window machines. This is going to take some getting used to. Also will have to come up with an alternate storage system eg ext HDD or cloud storage.

My iTunes is well over 200 gigs in itself. I like the size and build of the MBA 11 just have to figure out how to use it.

Congrats on the purchase! As for the storage concerns you could always get a low profile 128GB USB flash drive and stick it in one of the USB ports. Or get two and stick them in both! If you have the 13" you can get one of the flush SD cards (like the JetDrive Lite) in 128GB or 256GB flavors. That would give you 512GB more storage max. Of course that is if you don't mind having those three ports in use all the time.

You could just stick your iTunes on the SD card and keep other files on the two flash drives; leaving your SSD available for programs and the like.