Would you even consider 4GB ram today?

[weckart]

I'm still using my 2010 Macbook Air with 2GB RAM, and I'm currently running OS X Mavericks perfectly fine. This is my main machine, and I hardly notice the RAM limitations in everyday usage as a graduate student; the only time I notice it is when I'm trying to multitask with heavy apps (which is very rare).

However, if I were purchasing a new MacBook Air (which I am planning in 2014), I would not consider anything less than 8GB. The money I would save by choosing a lower RAM option is not enough to justify it.

In the same boat and agree. The 2GB is less of an issue with an SSD and while I like the sound of the extra battery life I would get with Haswell, I am going to wait for Broadwell, which will give a similar boost again (although Apple will probably reduce the battery so it can pursue its aim of thin at all costs). Mavericks has helped me to eke at least another year of useful life out of this working machine.

I wouldn't necessarily plump for 8GB unless I thought I needed it. As the previous posted said resale values tend to undervalue add ons, like extra RAM, beefed up cpus etc.

 

[robvas]

A lot of people have the misconception that you don't need as much RAM when you have an SSD. Sure, your system is overall faster and paging isn't nearly as bad as when you have to page to a 5400 RPM 2.5" hard drive, but it's still very noticeable on a 2GB machine. I bought a 2011 2GB Air last year and since I had a 2010 with 2GB a few years back, I thought it would be fine. But it was very stuttery feeling and I was always paging.

I have even ran into server admins who think you only need 4GB or 8GB in a database server because you have SSD for storage. RAM is still many, many tens of times faster than SSD's which of course are many times faster than hard drives.

 

[jnpy!$4g3cwk]

Just wondering who's been purchasing Airs lately. Are you buying 4GB or 8GB ram?

I regularly use MBPs with 4 GB and 8 GB. And, until recently, sometimes a 2 GB.

I can honestly say that while I was on the 2 GB system, I was constantly aware of the lack of enough memory.

I seldom experience that on 4 GB. I thought 8 GB would be a similar jump in feel, but, most of the time, it isn't. Of course, I haven't been running Windows under a VM lately either. When I did, 4 GB was absolutely not enough.

If you run VMs, get 8 GB for sure. Likewise image processing. But, this is an Air-- most people do those things on beefier machines anyway. For a true laptop, 4 GB still seems to be the sweet spot.

Multitasking on 4gb of ram


It's perfectly suitable for most users.

Additionally, modern software isn't getting more memory-hungry. They're getting smarter and more efficient. "needing more ram for futureproofing" is mainly FUD leftover from the previous decade The only way I would consider 'future-proofing' is if you plan on changing your own usage patterns.

Consider that the ipad mini runs buttery smooth on 512mb of RAM..

I'm a software developer. Just my observations.

Let me elaborate a tiny bit-
For the large portion of the past decade, primary goal of consumer software developers was to add in more features. We got huge monolithic software from large corporations that added everything but the kitchen sink and cost a ton of money. It wasn't until recently we had a proliferation of independent developers and small startups. A lot of it was thanks to the mobile revolution. We started calling them "apps".. they cost $4 instead of $400, and more task focused. Hardware changed... cpu clock speeds hit a ceiling, devices needed to shrink, battery life became more of a concern. Companies like apple and google heavily enforced best-practices on limited mobile operating systems.. practices which eventually trickled on to laptop/desktops, and gradually even becoming apparent even on clunky corporate software.

Software developers can't add better hardware to their customer's computers, so they make it more efficient. If they can't make a software scroll through a hundred images, they can't just expect the next generation of computers to fix that problem.. The average-joe computer is the new common denominator so optimization/performance/refinement is a big priority. "User-experience" is the new buzzword that's here to stay.

I long suspected some kind of conspiracy somewhere by software developers and memory manufacturers. The "phablet" revolution seems to finally have slowed that, thank goodness. At least for a while.

 

[Mrbobb]

Software developers can't add better hardware to their customer's computers, so they make it more efficient. If they can't make a software scroll through a hundred images, they can't just expect the next generation of computers to fix that problem.. The average-joe computer is the new common denominator so optimization/performance/refinement is a big priority. "User-experience" is the new buzzword that's here to stay.

I really, really, really want to believe you.

While I don't dispute user experience is OBVIOUSLY a good thing, until software reviews have a standard rating for User Experience, I withhold judgement.

Yes CPU clock topped out, but they throw in more Cores, ever thinner geometry, and mobile going to 64 bits is going to up the hardware performance arent they?

Capitalism making you happy with what you got so they can't sell you new stuff? Call me skeptic.

 

[vicynic]

Recently considered and chosen for my 2013 13" MBA. I simply do not need more than 4GB for my laptop usage patterns.

 

[na1577]

I have a 2012 Air with 4 GB of RAM and I never really run out of it. For most people 8 GB is not a necessity. I think a lot of people here exaggerate how much RAM they actually need.

A few years from now, things will change and 8 GB will become the new standard. But 4 GB is perfectly fine right now. It's standard, but certainly not the minimum necessary for most users.

 

[shenan1982]

Just wondering who's been purchasing Airs lately. Are you buying 4GB or 8GB ram?

As a primary computer, no. But as a travel\portable secondary computer, absolutely! It does just about anything you'd want.... but with that said if it were my primary computer I'd likely have bought 8gb

 

[cerberusss]

If you run VMs, get 8 GB for sure. Likewise image processing

Mods, please close this topic

Seriously though, I think you nailed it. Even stuff like running Xcode alongside Safari, Mail, Photoshop and MS Word doesn't get into 8 gigabyte territory. But VMs surely do.