Purchasing Macbook Air/Pro? vs 4GB/8GB?

[truz]

I'm looking to replace my existing macbook pro c2d 2.16, 3gb ram. I'm looking for better performance, less beach balls and more memory. On a good productive day I see beach balls more then ever. Normal usage I don't see them. I don't use photoshop much, however when I use photoshop I close most applications.

Safari is my largest memory user. I always have multiple windows and tabs. I have attached a screen shot with my current memory usage and running applications. Safari can become quite the hog with multiple windows/tabs. Currently only 1 window and 10 tabs in safari.

I have been eyeing the macbook air 13" 256GB. The 4GB of ram seems to be turning me away from it. I know 3GB now is not cutting it, I'm not sure how an additional 1GB would do. I would love to have 8GB in the air. So my second runner up would be the macbook pro 13", 8GB ram, 128GB ssd (can't see forking out an additional $400 for 256GB drive, maybe $200-$250).

Any thoughts or opinions?

Would love to get some feedback on users running both the macbook air 13" and macbook pro 13" with SSD and Lion. Some of the same running applications would be nice.

 

[chuffman15]

id say go with the pro. just buy the 4gb one and then buy the memory kit on amazon for 47$ shipped and do the ram upgrade yourself. save some money. i was in the same boat as you. it was for my wife and i went the mbp route. the air is very nice but to me its too thin. but im not travelling with it.

 

[Consultant]

Upgrade memory yourself. Takes under 10 minutes.

 

[Vantage Point]

The 2011 MBP's can actually take up to 16GB of RAM. Get the base model and put the RAM to 8GB yourself, takes about 10 minutes or less, for about $50. Right now 16Gb (2 x 8gb) costs about $600 but last year it was $1,600 so next year it will be around $200. I often use up all my 8GB of ram for photoshop work so I may trade mine in for a late 2011 model (15") partly to have the ability to upgrade later on. The MBP is an extra pound and but it can pack a significantly more powerful punch than a MA

 

[spacepower7]

Safari is a pita.....

I ran a test, rebooted my Mac, only launched safari with the last 30 windows open and no other apps. I let the computer sit for 5 hours and came back to check on Safari. It was using 1.8 GB of Ram None of these pages had flash or active graphics, just static with a few jpegs and a page of text.

I can't believe Apple sells the low end air with 2GB of Ram

 

[jjhoekstra]

I use a MA13. It just flies compared to any computer with an old fashioned hdd. Even my MacPro feels slow. I will never ever again buy a computer without SSD. Period. So my advice would be: buy a MBP if you can afford the SDD option, otherwise buy an MA.

Have fun!

 

[Vantage Point]

I can't believe Apple sells the low end air with 2GB of Ram

That's nothing, I can't believe Apple sells a low end Mac Pro ($2,500) with only 3GB RAM. This is one of the reasons buying a base MBP and upgrading RAM and/or hard drive yourself is the best value. But, for those that don't need heavy processing power 2gb ram and a SSD is a snappy machine

 

[truz]

Alright so I was leaning towards the 13" macbook pro, however the 15" high res would come in handy and better graphics.

My questions, Does upgrading the HDD to SSD after purchase void the Apple warranty? From what I hear the memory does not void the warranty, but I see some say the HDD does and does not.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3419 - Macbook pro HDD upgrade

 

[Young Spade]

Alright so I was leaning towards the 13" macbook pro, however the 15" high res would come in handy and better graphics.

My questions, Does upgrading the HDD to SSD after purchase void the Apple warranty? From what I hear the memory does not void the warranty, but I see some say the HDD does and does not.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3419 - Macbook pro HDD upgrade

No. Just take it out and put in the standard hardware when you send it back in. If it's something like a faulty screen, obviously the storage isn't the problem, but to be safe, make sure all parts are stock when sending back for repair (ram, hd, and optical drive of you swapped that for something as well).