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Queries about the MBA 11" Specs ( 64gb SSD I look at you!)

R

Rolfmaomachizli

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 5, 2011
62
0
Born: Paris, Lived: New York ( 6 Years), Currently
Dear Mac Users,

My Dell XPS M1330 has recently crashed, and therefore am on the lookout for a new laptop, I saw that the Macbook air 11" was perfect for my Uni needs, word processing, itunes, and occasional HD movies.

The questions:

1) If you guys out there own a MBA 11" with the 64GB SSD, can you tell me how it holds up with your storage needs? Music, movie storage and photos, and more.

2) Can this run photoshop without lagging? As I need to use it for UNI.

3) Should I go for 2GB or 4GB of ram? Is it wort the 99 bucks and will I run into problems if I take the 2GB option?

All the best,
Nicolas.Prieur
 
Based on the info in your post, I'd suggest a MacBook Pro to be honest.

AppleMatt
 
There are videos on youtube showing MBAs running photoshop. But for you I would get the 13 Macbook pro. More storage for files and the processor will help a great deal for ps.
The way I look at it, if you need it to run PS for work (to make $$) get the pro. If you dont care about the speed, get the air and an external hard drive.

Also the 4gb of ram is a worthy upgrade. It'll make a difference.

But if you have the $$ and can afford the 15 and dont care as much about portability, go that way!
 
Rolfmaomachizli said:
Dear Mac Users,

My Dell XPS M1330 has recently crashed, and therefore am on the lookout for a new laptop, I saw that the Macbook air 11" was perfect for my Uni needs, word processing, itunes, and occasional HD movies.

The questions:

1) If you guys out there own a MBA 11" with the 64GB SSD, can you tell me how it holds up with your storage needs? Music, movie storage and photos, and more.

2) Can this run photoshop without lagging? As I need to use it for UNI.

3) Should I go for 2GB or 4GB of ram? Is it wort the 99 bucks and will I run into problems if I take the 2GB option?

All the best,
Nicolas.Prieur
Click to expand...

I'd say go with the Air 11", it'll probably surpass your expectations by a long shot. The extra ram is worth it, but you may never need it, depends on your usage. I've had zero need for more ram so far. If I open every program (just for tests, no need normally) in the dock I have, including iLife, I've still got a little ram free and everything is still super snappy.

My advice would be to get the increased ssd space over the extra ram. Far more useful for most people given how fast the ssd is.
 
For your needs an MBA or mbp would suffice. A sweet spot for you might be the 13" MBA with 4 gbs.
 
If 8 out of 10 days, you use your Mac for Photoshop, I will advise you to get a MBP instead.

If you are someone who is always on the move, looking for something light & small, occasionally use it for photoshop, watch video, most of the time, browsing the net and using office or iWork,
I will recommend you MBA with 4gb ram.
 
4GB of RAM is critical for an MBA - 11 or 13". The performance difference is very noticeable.

With what is available right now, the 13" MBP might be a better option for longevity, as the Sandy Bridge technology inside is a *major* improvement over the previous chips -- and those already trumped the MBA chips.
 
Monkey194545 said:
There are videos on youtube showing MBAs running photoshop. But for you I would get the 13 Macbook pro. More storage for files and the processor will help a great deal for ps.
The way I look at it, if you need it to run PS for work (to make $$) get the pro. If you dont care about the speed, get the air and an external hard drive.

Also the 4gb of ram is a worthy upgrade. It'll make a difference.

But if you have the $$ and can afford the 15 and dont care as much about portability, go that way!
Click to expand...

I have a 1TB external hard drive. so i think that will cover my storage needs, one thing, what format should it be to work on both windows and mac?
 
The RAM on the MBA is not crucial, the SSD more than makes up for it. But, 64 GB is really tight. I wouldn't get that size hard drive unless it was a work latptop with just music, documents, slides, spreadsheets on it.

If it comes down to money, spend it on the 128 GB hard drive not on the RAM.
 
namtaB said:
The RAM on the MBA is not crucial, the SSD more than makes up for it. But, 64 GB is really tight. I wouldn't get that size hard drive unless it was a work latptop with just music, documents, slides, spreadsheets on it.

If it comes down to money, spend it on the 128 GB hard drive not on the RAM.
Click to expand...


Well, this is what i'll be using it for mainly:

- Word Processing ( essays, etc)
- Excel and Powerpoint
- Photoshop and Illustrator ( this is where i worry)
- Itunes ( I have around 7gb of music, and 4gb which i listen to often)
- Internet browsing ( intensive)
- Watching movies and TV shows ( mostly HD, but I heard that the 320M was very capable anyways)

I also have a 1TB hard drive for storing the movies, so it's no problem, and I download most of them via itunes, so the optical drive is no Issue.
 
Rolfmaomachizli said:
Well, this is what i'll be using it for mainly:

- Word Processing ( essays, etc)
- Excel and Powerpoint
- Photoshop and Illustrator ( this is where i worry)
- Itunes ( I have around 7gb of music, and 4gb which i listen to often)
- Internet browsing ( intensive)
- Watching movies and TV shows ( mostly HD, but I heard that the 320M was very capable anyways)

I also have a 1TB hard drive for storing the movies, so it's no problem, and I download most of them via itunes, so the optical drive is no Issue.
Click to expand...

U doing this off the web or are you ripping stuff onto your hard drive?

Seems like for your needs going with the 11" 64 GB and 4 G RAM would be ideal but don't worry about just sticking with the 2 G RAM if you can't spring the extra $100.

One Caveat: Make sure you go to the Apple store and check out the 11" MBA. Personally, I could never do anything on something that small, God bless all those out there who love the 11" MBA.
 
Rolfmaomachizli said:
The thing is I do not want to go over 1200 Bucks and I want it to be really small, like the 11", for UNI, and when I am in the dorm I just plug it in my 20" screen.
Click to expand...

I picked up a refurb 11" with 4/64 for $929. Its a work computer and has plenty of space when it comes to office 2011 and my files and some music.

Go for it.

Is another 64mgs really going to matter for someone on the go and
running a business or working for a company where production, ability to work anywhere and efficiency is key?
 
buckwheat987 said:
I picked up a refurb 11" with 4/64 for $929. Its a work computer and has plenty of space when it comes to office 2011 and my files and some music.

Go for it.

Is another 64mgs really going to matter for someone on the go and
running a business or working for a company where production, ability to work anywhere and efficiency is key?
Click to expand...

I would go with a fully loaded 11in Air, or a base model MB or 13in MBP

The MB and MBP would weigh more, but give you more functionality and battery life.
 
If you want the small 11" footprint go for the Air with 4gig of Ram and the 128gig drive. The SSD is Suhweeeet, and will make up for any speed differences by having a C2D processor.

It'll run photoshop just fine.
 
namtaB said:
U doing this off the web or are you ripping stuff onto your hard drive?

Seems like for your needs going with the 11" 64 GB and 4 G RAM would be ideal but don't worry about just sticking with the 2 G RAM if you can't spring the extra $100.

One Caveat: Make sure you go to the Apple store and check out the 11" MBA. Personally, I could never do anything on something that small, God bless all those out there who love the 11" MBA.
Click to expand...

I chose this size because it was light and perfect for UNI and taking notes, when I am in my dorm I plug it to my 20" screen, so size is not an issue.

Edit: I download them from Itunes, and I confess, I have downloaded a few movies off torrents, will you forgive me?
 
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