Macbook Air question

[guitarguy23]

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So before I start M1 I am getting one of these. Now my question: Would adding 8GB of RAM vs. 4GB be a noticeable/necessary upgrade?

I am not huge gamer -Starcraft every so often though-nor do I use video/photo software for editing or any other multimedia purpose, I just want to know if it is worth the upgrade considering the typical workload most students put on their comps. Thanks!

 

[Lactobacillus]

Not likely. 4gb should be plenty unless you run everything, including Starcraft, all at the same time. The SSD in the air is fantastically fast.

 

[guitarguy23]

Not likely. 4gb should be plenty unless you run everything, including Starcraft, all at the same time. The SSD in the air is fantastically fast.

Wow crazy stuff. Do you have one?

 

[Bartemius]

So before I start M1 I am getting one of these. Now my question: Would adding 8GB of RAM vs. 4GB be a noticeable/necessary upgrade?

I am not huge gamer -Starcraft every so often though-nor do I use video/photo software for editing or any other multimedia purpose, I just want to know if it is worth the upgrade considering the typical workload most students put on their comps. Thanks!

Go with 8, especially if you ever need to run one or more virtual machines (which you probably will on a Mac). Plus Macs 1) last a long time and 2) are really tough to upgrade so it's worth it to invest in more RAM.

 

[guitarguy23]

Go with 8, especially if you ever need to run one or more virtual machines (which you probably will on a Mac). Plus Macs 1) last a long time and 2) are really tough to upgrade so it's worth it to invest in more RAM.

That's why I'm having a tough time. I will probably be doing research so that will cut into it as well. hmm...

 

[Lactobacillus]

That's why I'm having a tough time. I will probably be doing research so that will cut into it as well. hmm...

How much more is the upgrade? The other post is right about the upgrading, although I thought they changed that this year in the air.

I do have an air, and I like it very much because it's quick and gets the job done, although I don't play a lot of games on it.

 

[guitarguy23]

How much more is the upgrade? The other post is right about the upgrading, although I thought they changed that this year in the air.

I do have an air, and I like it very much because it's quick and gets the job done, although I don't play a lot of games on it.

$100 more. No brainer?

 

[armybound]

I usually say to go with as much RAM as possible, but in the Air I don't think it's necessary. Of course you can't upgrade the Air's RAM later, so you might as well do it right up front.

 

[Sheldor]

I usually say to go with as much RAM as possible, but in the Air I don't think it's necessary. Of course you can't upgrade the Air's RAM later, so you might as well do it right up front.

I recently bight the 4gb then returned it and ordered the 8 Gb. The 4 ran wonderfully, but the truth is that macs last at least 3 years, and so for $100, ensuring that I have the best computer possible until 2015 was very worth it.

As an aside, I've had the 8 gb for a couple weeks now and it is incredibly fast. I makes my 2010 MacBook pro seem slow!!

 

[armybound]

I run 8gb in my MBP. Can't wait to put a SSD in it. Should be pretty baller.

Those Airs are really nice, especially the new ones.

 

[FiremedicMike]

So before I start M1 I am getting one of these. Now my question: Would adding 8GB of RAM vs. 4GB be a noticeable/necessary upgrade?

I am not huge gamer -Starcraft every so often though-nor do I use video/photo software for editing or any other multimedia purpose, I just want to know if it is worth the upgrade considering the typical workload most students put on their comps. Thanks!

FWIW, go play with both the air and the pro before you decide on the air. The advertising and mob makes it seem like the pro is a brick and the air is a feather. Truth be told, there's not really a significant difference between the two, and the 13" pro is actually quite portable. With the pro you get a video card that isn't crippled (I've heard they throttle back the one on the air to keep power consumption down, I have not confirmed this) and a 500gb HDD.

As for 4 vs 8, you might notice a difference, but I would say probably not enough to make it worth the additional cost.

 

[Magicjewel]

FWIW, go play with both the air and the pro before you decide on the air. The advertising and mob makes it seem like the pro is a brick and the air is a feather. Truth be told, there's not really a significant difference between the two, and the 13" pro is actually quite portable. With the pro you get a video card that isn't crippled (I've heard they throttle back the one on the air to keep power consumption down, I have not confirmed this) and a 500gb HDD.

As for 4 vs 8, you might notice a difference, but I would say probably not enough to make it worth the additional cost.

I use a 13" pro as my primary computer and I'm pretty satisfied. I bought it in 2009 and I have 4gb of RAM in it and it has no problems. I don't game on it but I do run a lot of programs at the same time (including stats programs, which eat memory like no other) and I think it's pretty fast.

 

[Etorphine]

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[Luke Skywalker]

So before I start M1 I am getting one of these. Now my question: Would adding 8GB of RAM vs. 4GB be a noticeable/necessary upgrade?

I am not huge gamer -Starcraft every so often though-nor do I use video/photo software for editing or any other multimedia purpose, I just want to know if it is worth the upgrade considering the typical workload most students put on their comps. Thanks!

4gb is generally good for casual computing (anything you will do in med school) however, 8gb might come in handy if you are going to be playing memory intensive games/analytical programs while multitasking.