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The 2013 MacBook Air has amazing Windows 8 perfomance

Alright, so I have a pretty straightforward question for you all. I need a new laptop and I'm looking between a few windows models and the macbook pro and macbook air. It will be used for some work in Autodesk Maya and Adobe products work.

My main desktop is pretty powerful, I need this device for classroom and mobile work. I don't really care about which operating system is better, I need to be able to run windows, period. How well do the drivers on the windows side with the macbook air actually work, and how much support will there be in the future for drivers?

Personally I want the macbook air, it seems to offer the best balance of features I want for the price, but if it can't run windows as well as I need then it's a no go. I would run OSX as well, but not as my main OS. Any opinions here?
 
If you are looking for a Windows laptop, but a Windows laptop. The Macbook Air is not a Windows laptop.

Having said that, the MBA runs Windows very well, both natively and in a VM (with Parallels or VMWare). However, some users complain about the trackpad not being supported very well, and the video driver will lag a bit in development.

Don't expect Apple to support Windows on their laptops as well as a Windows laptop manufacturer (like Sony or Dell) would. It just doesn't make any sense.

If you do not want to run OS X at all, it doesn't make sense to buy a Macbook. IMO.
 
ZBoater said:
If you are looking for a Windows laptop, but a Windows laptop. The Macbook Air is not a Windows laptop.

Having said that, the MBA runs Windows very well, both natively and in a VM (with Parallels or VMWare). However, some users complain about the trackpad not being supported very well, and the video driver will lag a bit in development.

Don't expect Apple to support Windows on their laptops as well as a Windows laptop manufacturer (like Sony or Dell) would. It just doesn't make any sense.

If you do not want to run OS X at all, it doesn't make sense to buy a Macbook. IMO.
Click to expand...

Well I do want to run OS X, but I want to run Windows more. I was mainly going for the price to hardware ratio, build quality, overall finish, and support for parts, should I need any. I'm mainly looking for a mobile machine that runs windows programs well, because most of my software just works better or is only available in windows. To me it's about getting the job done and the quality of finish on the machine, including hardware. If OS X or Linux got the job done faster for me, I'd use those instead.
 
Dirt Bringer said:
Well I do want to run OS X, but I want to run Windows more. I was mainly going for the price to hardware ratio, build quality, overall finish, and support for parts, should I need any. I'm mainly looking for a mobile machine that runs windows programs well, because most of my software just works better or is only available in windows. To me it's about getting the job done and the quality of finish on the machine, including hardware. If OS X or Linux got the job done faster for me, I'd use those instead.
Click to expand...

My point was that if Windows was your primary concern, you are better off with a Dell or a Sony, someone who has a vested interest in supporting you.

Apple has done a very good job supporting Windows on their Macs. But there are issues. Little issues for sure. I also run some Windows apps but am trying to transition to OS X. Still have some Windows apps, and I can boot native into Win7 x64 or run several flavors of Windows in virtual machines. They run very, very well.

But I have read all sorts of horror stories with the Bootcamp drivers, and if I had a big problem with Windows I would't expect Apple to make it a priority to fix it, unlike say Dell, which ships with Windows.

I have more confidence in Parallels supporting Windows that Apple, but having said that, Windows runs natively on my MBA just fine. I also have to say it runs better than any other Windows laptop I have ever owned.

Take the plunge. If push comes to shove, buy a cheap Windows laptop, but it shouldn't come to that. Also remember that the new Macs only support 64 bit versions of Windows 7 and 8. Any other versions of Windows won't run in Bootcamp, although they will run in a virtual machine.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5634
 
Dirt Bringer said:
Alright, so I have a pretty straightforward question for you all. I need a new laptop and I'm looking between a few windows models and the macbook pro and macbook air. It will be used for some work in Autodesk Maya and Adobe products work.

My main desktop is pretty powerful, I need this device for classroom and mobile work. I don't really care about which operating system is better, I need to be able to run windows, period. How well do the drivers on the windows side with the macbook air actually work, and how much support will there be in the future for drivers?

Personally I want the macbook air, it seems to offer the best balance of features I want for the price, but if it can't run windows as well as I need then it's a no go. I would run OSX as well, but not as my main OS. Any opinions here?
Click to expand...

I recommend going with a comparable ultrabook to the air. I had my air for about two months and I was having minor issues with Windows 8 and some bigger issues with Windows 8.1.

I sold my macbook air just recently and brought an Acer S7
 
I have a simple question. Aside from the cool or wow factor of running windows 8 on a macbook air, Why are you running Windows 8 on it? Are you not happy with Lion? Are you using special software not available for OSX? etc. I'm curious.
 
Miltz said:
I have a simple question. Aside from the cool or wow factor of running windows 8 on a macbook air, Why are you running Windows 8 on it? Are you not happy with Lion? Are you using special software not available for OSX? etc. I'm curious.
Click to expand...

There is nothing cool about Windows to me. I'm a Linux guy at heart, but I use the operating system that runs my required software (for school) best, and allows me to do my homework most efficiently. That would be windows. From the perspective of a power user, I consider Windows to be more efficient on a human scale, for technical work. The day I find a reason to use Mac OS due to efficiency, I will, and the same goes for Linux. I don't care about OS, I'm comfortable with any, I care about getting my work done.
 
Miltz said:
I have a simple question. Aside from the cool or wow factor of running windows 8 on a macbook air, Why are you running Windows 8 on it? Are you not happy with Lion? Are you using special software not available for OSX? etc. I'm curious.
Click to expand...

Because Quicken doesn't make Quicken Pro for Mac,

Because Escort Radar doesn't make their update app for Mac.

Because Garmin Mapsource doesn't run on Mac.

Etc etc etc.
 
m98custom1212 said:
I recommend going with a comparable ultrabook to the air. I had my air for about two months and I was having minor issues with Windows 8 and some bigger issues with Windows 8.1.

I sold my macbook air just recently and brought an Acer S7
Click to expand...

What kind of issues were you having? I'm looking at the Acer s7 and Dell XPS 13/14. I do want a Mac, mostly for the novelty of never had one, but being in the same boat as you and having to run Windows may put a damper on that idea when reality kicks in.
 
Dirt Bringer said:
What kind of issues were you having? I'm looking at the Acer s7 and Dell XPS 13/14. I do want a Mac, mostly for the novelty of never had one, but being in the same boat as you and having to run Windows may put a damper on that idea when reality kicks in.
Click to expand...

1. connection dropping on my Bluetooth mouse
2. Slow transfers to my nas and work nas
3. Waking up from sleep takes few minutes to recognize the keyboard and touchpad
 
m98custom1212 said:
1. connection dropping on my Bluetooth mouse
2. Slow transfers to my nas and work nas
3. Waking up from sleep takes few minutes to recognize the keyboard and touchpad
Click to expand...

Were you able to solve any of those issues? the bluetooth and more specifically the sleep wake would affect me pretty heavily as I tend to open and close the laptop pretty regularly at school. Has anyone else experienced the same issues with Windows on the Air?
 
Dirt Bringer said:
Were you able to solve any of those issues? the bluetooth and more specifically the sleep wake would affect me pretty heavily as I tend to open and close the laptop pretty regularly at school. Has anyone else experienced the same issues with Windows on the Air?
Click to expand...

Nope I couldn't solved any of the issues. That's I finally just sold it. I got sick of the issues. I didnt have the wake problem until a few weeks ago. I did try install new drivers and fresh installs, making new bootcamp usb. I was opening and closing the air all the time between home work and school. I tried windows 8.1 and that was complete failure.

I tried using parallels and it just wasn't the same.
 
Last edited:
Brandon263 said:
I've been using my new base 2013 MacBook Air in Windows 8 over the past few days and I'm really enjoying it. Some observations:

1. Overall performance seems faster (!) than in Mountain lion: I can have more than 50 Chrome tabs open, Spotify streaming music and Acrobat open and have no lag or problems at all. Perhaps this is because of the implementation of Chrome in Windows, but I really like it. I have a suspicion that memory management in Windows 8 might be better than in Mountain Lion, because I have dozens of tabs open in Chrome, Spotify and Acrobat running, as well as many Metro apps open and still have task manager only showing 2.0GB of RAM used.

2. Windows 8 boots up very fast -- I'm getting to the desktop in less than 10 seconds. That's amazing.

3. I just love the graphics in Windows 8: I like how it shows you a graph with the copy rate it shows when copying stuff, I love the new task manager, and I just love the overall snappiness of it.

4. WiFi is faaaaast. I can stream HD movies from my DRLINK AC1200 router while downloading apps in Chrome and having many tabs open in it without any hiccups at all.

5. I'm getting 11 hours of battery life. In Windows. (Jaw drops.)

5. I like the Metro News app. I also generally just like reading articles, browsing the web, watching Netflix and using Twitter in the Metro mode of Windows 8. :)

Have others using Windows 8 on the new Airs had a similar experience?
Click to expand...

Those are great news.
Thanks for sharing.
It would be interesting to have comparison with Windows 7.
 
TALLY ERP 9 on macbook air

Has anyone run tally erp 9, on macbook air using windows. I'd like to know if its runs smoothly?
 
I have it running on parallels and to be honest, the screen looks MUCH sharper and overall better on Windows 8 than it does on Mountain Lion

Samsung 13 inch/i5/8/128 2013 model
 
Mac Air with Windows and two monitors

I am thinking of a new laptop at work and thinking Mac Air. I have these at home.
Problem - work runs Windows.

Question:
Anyone running windows with two monitors - something like docking a Mac to have lid shut and use keyboard and mouse?

which monitors are you using and what is your set up?

cheers
 
Brandon263 said:
I've been using my new base 2013 MacBook Air in Windows 8 over the past few days and I'm really enjoying it. Some observations:

1. Overall performance seems faster (!) than in Mountain lion: I can have more than 50 Chrome tabs open, Spotify streaming music and Acrobat open and have no lag or problems at all. Perhaps this is because of the implementation of Chrome in Windows, but I really like it. I have a suspicion that memory management in Windows 8 might be better than in Mountain Lion, because I have dozens of tabs open in Chrome, Spotify and Acrobat running, as well as many Metro apps open and still have task manager only showing 2.0GB of RAM used.

2. Windows 8 boots up very fast -- I'm getting to the desktop in less than 10 seconds. That's amazing.

3. I just love the graphics in Windows 8: I like how it shows you a graph with the copy rate it shows when copying stuff, I love the new task manager, and I just love the overall snappiness of it.

4. WiFi is faaaaast. I can stream HD movies from my DRLINK AC1200 router while downloading apps in Chrome and having many tabs open in it without any hiccups at all.

5. I'm getting 11 hours of battery life. In Windows. (Jaw drops.)

5. I like the Metro News app. I also generally just like reading articles, browsing the web, watching Netflix and using Twitter in the Metro mode of Windows 8. :)

Have others using Windows 8 on the new Airs had a similar experience?
Click to expand...


Hello, I'm planning to buy the macbook air. Can you please tell me how much GB partition do you have in your windows 8 and how much GB you have left in OSX? Thanks.
 
nx300m said:
Hello, I'm planning to buy the macbook air. Can you please tell me how much GB partition do you have in your windows 8 and how much GB you have left in OSX? Thanks.
Click to expand...


Hi, I have a 50 GB Windows drive and the rest in OSX. I have about 30GB free in OS X.
 
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