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The Verge: 2013 MBA best laptop ever
- Thread starter sparks9
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I would say for the next 3-4 years 4 GB will be plenty. 2gb is still good considering how much a SSD can make up for the lack of RAM. If you will get a new laptop in less than 4 years don't worry about it.
LOL. What is this based on? 4GB is an absurdly low amount of RAM these days. 3-4 years? C'mon. It may be "fine" - but considering you cannot upgrade the RAM yourself in these MacBook Airs why would you not get 8GB? It's barely enough as it is if you do anything remotely power user level.
I guarantee no one will regret the $100 on the 8GB upgrade whereas people that "skimped" for 4GB will be regretting things as they use more apps, upgrade to newer version of OS X, etc.
It is based on real world usage. I can still use the 2gb Airs just fine. I had a base 2012 Air and ran VM's without a hiccup. The only place you will see people complain about needing 8gb of RAM is these forums. IRL, most users will not notice a single ounce of difference. I stand by my statement, based on real world experience, that you do not need 8gb of RAM unless you plan on keeping the system longer than 4 years or do VERY VERY intensive tasks. The average person uses their computer for surfing the web and light task....4gb of RAM is MORE THAN SUFFICIENT. If anything OS's become better optimized to work with less RAM.
On a side note, think of the newest gaming systems. They are coming with 8gb of RAM and these systems are used for gaming and will last a decade. $100 may not be a lot to you, but to some it is and you also cannot just pick up a system in store with 8gb of RAM unless you buy an "ultimate." Enjoy wasting that $100 on something that will never matter...but hey, you have 8gb of RAM....if you need it. That is like buying insurance for a boat you do not own, but if you need it, it is there.
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I really disagree. The SSD makes a massive amount of RAM a lot less important. Mavericks is going to be even better with how it handles RAM, which hints that Apple is heading in a direction that is more memory-conservative.
4GB is perfectly acceptable for a mobile machine, especially when an SSD is installed. From what I've seen, the Airs with 4GB of RAM run beautifully. And sometimes keeping the battery life high and keeping the heat low is what is most important in a portable. That's at least how I thought about it when I bought mine.
Hmmm, the specification page says 5 hours. And good luck with the huge 32Gb HD.
https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromebook_pixel_wifi
If you can live in an all browser world, maybe. I would argue that $1300 for a browser based OS is way too expensive. The $249 chromebook is a better buy IMO.
I might be one of the few but i'm not enjoying my 2013 11" base model.. I liked my 2012 MBA 13 base better.. It ran smoother, better scrolling in all browsers.. My 11 has a washed out LCD and a very badly uniformed backlit along the bottom. I may just return this and exchange for the 13.. Aside from my issues above, I just don't think the 11's screen has enough height.. It's hard to work inside a 720p frame these days.. The 900p on the 13 is about the smallest I can deal with now. At least Bestbuy is awesome with returns and exchanges!
I have a 2011 Macbook Air, and no reason what so ever to upgrade, but I want to. USB 3 and 12 hours of battery life sounds so nice.
Not as awesome as they used to be. Just remember that if you are not Premier Silver the return window is only 15 days now.
I have heard that from a few people regarding the 2013 Airs. I messed around with them in store and did not experience this. As for as the washed out display, that is the issue with the Airs....3 different display manufacturs. IMO, the samsung display looks the best. Type this into terminal "ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6" (the bolded part) and it will spit out something along the lines of "LP133WP1-TJA3." Google that and it will tell you if you have a samsung, LG, or AUO. The samsung is the only one that has a screen that really pops.
If you do have the LG screen I suggest following these steps http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/30/how-...lay-in-a-macbook-air-and-make-it-look-better/
No, it is the exact same as the $249 chromebook with better specs. It runs Chrome OS.
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Your gaming system point only further proves mine. 8GB for a customized, stripped-down experience (they're built for gaming and multimedia) and future proofing.
Mac OS X's current version requires 2GB or more RAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5444.
If you are buying an MBA as a toy to ding around with...fine. But the VMs I run need at least 4GB and the HD 5000 uses at least 1GB itself. Add that to the fact it's not upgradeable and it's only $100 - it's a no brainer.
Insurance for a boat I don't own? OK. That doesn't even make sense...this is purely speaking about a computer that you'd like to use for over a year with acceptable performance. It's not a useless upgrade nor a luxury one at $100.
So far it's no different than my friend's base model. We're both power users and with his i5 he is getting around 5 hours. That has been my experience with installing/setup. Obviously it goes longer if you just browse.
It's an LG panel.. and it looks like garbage.. I actually had an LG on my previous '12 MBA 13 and it didn't look this washed out and cheap. And had no uneven backlighting.
The backlight is definitely a reason to return it. I know some people say it is not a big deal, but I can immediately tell the difference between the two displays, and I know which one I prefer. My local apple store actually had all LG's on display and last year they had all Samsungs. Makes me wonder if this was strategically done so people do not get home and think.."why does my screen not look as good." Now they will get home and have a pleasant surprise if they got a sammy.
I believe the panels come out in batches.. I've seen a store open 3 seperate Macbooks in a row and they all were identical panels.. Best bet is to probably go to another city's Apple store.. But today i'm going to another Best Buy instead and hoping for the best.. But i'm also going back to a 13" so I may have better luck.
I wonder if there is some correlation between the screen size and panel. I know last year anything, or almost anything, over 256 SSD was the samsung ssd. The 128 and lower were mixed.
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I'm questioning your assertions. 19 hours? On the Pixel,
According to Google's spec page; 5 hours
http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromebook-pixel/#pixel-specs
According to various reviews, 3.30 hours to 5 hours
http://www.laptopmag.com/reviews/laptops/google-chromebook-pixel.aspx
Engadget clocks in at 4 hours.
http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/25/chromebook-pixel-review/
OP, the verge review doesn't rate it the best laptop ever, but the best "coffee shop" laptop ever. that's a minor difference, i guess.
and while battery life really appears to be great, i am still getting by very well with my late 2010 mba with 2 gig ram.
but then again, i am more of a coffee shop user (probably like millions of others), with modest word processing, photo and video editing, and light gaming.
and while battery life really appears to be great, i am still getting by very well with my late 2010 mba with 2 gig ram.
but then again, i am more of a coffee shop user (probably like millions of others), with modest word processing, photo and video editing, and light gaming.
Just got back from exchanging the 11" for a 13"..
Got lucky - Samsung LCD in this one (LSN133BT01A02) and a Samsung SSD.
My previous 11" had a LG screen and Sandisk SSD.
My write speed on the Sandisk was 360ish and this Samsung is around 430ish.
Both had read speeds in the 700s...
Got lucky - Samsung LCD in this one (LSN133BT01A02) and a Samsung SSD.
My previous 11" had a LG screen and Sandisk SSD.
My write speed on the Sandisk was 360ish and this Samsung is around 430ish.
Both had read speeds in the 700s...
Mind I asking why you decided to go from 11" to 13"? Pondering going the other way (and haven't received mine yet)
Regardless of who's right on the battery claim, I wouldn't be caught dead with a Pixel. Life - all of my life - through a browser? Yuck. If you're going to fence me off like that, give me an iPad.