Questions on 1st Mac

[Tommym1609]

Hey all;
First time posting in the Mac section so forgive me if this has been posted before.
I've never owned a Mac before. Only crappy windows with 4 gigs of ram and low end processors. I've seen the cheapest MBA IS 1k, but it has only 4gbs of ram and not the best processor. My question; do specs really matter on a Mac computer? I've owned the iPhone 5+5s and while phones like the note 3 continually have "way better specs", yet the iPhone outperforms them and is just as fast with "lower end specs". Does the same hold true for macs or would I be better served saving money for a MBP w/ 8GBS of ram and a better processor?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

State your computational needs and we can answer you better. It might be, that you would not profit from a faster CPU or even more RAM, though 8 GB RAM is often better than 4 GB RAM, even with standard consumer needs.

 

[Mr-Kerrse]

Hey all;
First time posting in the Mac section so forgive me if this has been posted before.
I've never owned a Mac before. Only crappy windows with 4 gigs of ram and low end processors. I've seen the cheapest MBA IS 1k, but it has only 4gbs of ram and not the best processor. My question; do specs really matter on a Mac computer? I've owned the iPhone 5+5s and while phones like the note 3 continually have "way better specs", yet the iPhone outperforms them and is just as fast with "lower end specs". Does the same hold true for macs or would I be better served saving money for a MBP w/ 8GBS of ram and a better processor?

i would recommend min 8gb ram to future proof your machine but it does all depend what you are using it for. I have 8gb in my rMBP & 16gb in my Imac

 

[Tommym1609]

Too further clarify, I'm a student so I need to be able to have many pages open at once without it stuttering, and also be able to use programs such as word,excel, and photoshop at the same time. I've also wanted to try league of legends for a long time, but am not sure the specs needs for that

 

[simsaladimbamba]

Too further clarify, I'm a student so I need to be able to have many pages open at once without it stuttering, and also be able to use programs such as word,excel, and photoshop at the same time. I've also wanted to try league of legends for a long time, but am not sure the specs needs for that

Then 8 GB RAM will be more help than a faster CPU. I do not know, what specs that game requires, but it is probably easy to find out and compare with the Mac you want to buy. Maybe you can even find a YouTube video of someone playing that game on the Mac you want.

 

[scaredpoet]

Too further clarify, I'm a student so I need to be able to have many pages open at once without it stuttering, and also be able to use programs such as word,excel, and photoshop at the same time.

You'll probably be okay with 4GB. I have an 8GB MacBook Air, but in reality, it's very rare that I go over 4GB of usage. I use Photoshop, have safari tabs open and MS Office pretty frequently.

I've also wanted to try league of legends for a long time, but am not sure the specs needs for that

In this case, it's not the RAM that will cause you a problem (LoL requires 2GB minimum on a Mac) but the Graphics card: users of MacBook Airs are reporting low framerates (about 25fps) and it's because of the Intel 5000 GPU. If you really want LoL to play well, you might have to spring for a MacBook Pro.

Also, keep in mind that Apple has some refurb deals going on right now. The base model MacBook Air (current 2013 model) is going for about $849:

http://store.apple.com/us/product/F...nch-macbook-air-13ghz-dual-core-intel-core-i5

Refurbished stock from the Apple Store is almost always indistinguishable from new except for the serial numbers. Though, they do sell out pretty quick.

 

[coldjeanzzz]

Too further clarify, I'm a student so I need to be able to have many pages open at once without it stuttering, and also be able to use programs such as word,excel, and photoshop at the same time. I've also wanted to try league of legends for a long time, but am not sure the specs needs for that

If it's a computer that you plan to keep for more than a couple of years then I would advise to get 8 GB of RAM but do not worry about upgrading the processor. Even if you plan to sell it in a couple of years the 8 GB of RAM will help with resale value.

 

[kelon111]

Hey all;
First time posting in the Mac section so forgive me if this has been posted before.
I've never owned a Mac before. Only crappy windows with 4 gigs of ram and low end processors. I've seen the cheapest MBA IS 1k, but it has only 4gbs of ram and not the best processor. My question; do specs really matter on a Mac computer? I've owned the iPhone 5+5s and while phones like the note 3 continually have "way better specs", yet the iPhone outperforms them and is just as fast with "lower end specs". Does the same hold true for macs or would I be better served saving money for a MBP w/ 8GBS of ram and a better processor?

Of course specs.

8 GB of RAM does help quite a bit when you are multitasking. If you only are doing a few things at once , you wouldn't notice the difference from 4 GB but when you have a lot of tabs open in a browser and are doing other things at the same time , you'll notice a much faster response with 8 GB.

Since you only used low end Windows based laptops , you'll be in for quite a surprise if you buy a Mac laptop.

 

[robvas]

4GB is fine.

 

[kelon111]

4GB is fine.

The OP is probably going to keep the machine for 4+ years.

 

[skaertus]

Too further clarify, I'm a student so I need to be able to have many pages open at once without it stuttering, and also be able to use programs such as word,excel, and photoshop at the same time. I've also wanted to try league of legends for a long time, but am not sure the specs needs for that

Do you need an 11-inch laptop? Or are you just looking for the cheapest Mac available?

I don't recommend buying the 11-inch MacBook Air at this point. The laptop was redesigned in late 2010 and is probably getting revamped this year to get a retina display and become more streamlined. The latest upgrade to the specs was in June, and in a few months a new one is coming.

If you are looking for an 11-inch laptop, there are better solutions available right now. The current MacBook Air is dated. They just don't run OS X, but you are coming from Windows anyway. If you want the smaller Mac anyway, then I suggest you wait a few months to see what is coming.

If you are not looking for an 11-inch laptop, then think again. An 11-inch laptop is small by any standards and it may not fit your pattern of use. You can consider getting a 13-inch retina MacBook Pro if you are willing to spend some additional money, or settle with a cheaper but decent Windows laptop.

In any case, even if you want an 11-inch laptop, I don't recommend buying the Air right now, especially if you plan to keep it for a few years.