Anyone find 2GB Ram not enough?

[zer0tails]

have any macbook air owners here found that 2GB ram is inadequate for their needs?

I'm thinking it should be fine for me now, but i'm just worried say 2 years down the road if the 2GB ram will be enough, since ram is not upgradeable on the MBA.

i know the MBA is the machine I want, but i'm afraid of spending 2500 on a notebook which isn't very futureproof.

thoughts?

 

[kornyboy]

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2GB should be good on the MBA since it is not meant for much more than checking email, surfing the web, office type tasks, etc. It is not intended to be a video editing box or a gaming computer so I think 2GB should be ample RAM if you are using it for its intended use. I will say that of the options that you have with Apple laptops, it is probably the least "futureproof" option.

 

[zer0tails]

yes, I understand it's not a video editing computer I have my mac pro for that.

I'm just going to work on word documents, excel spreadsheets, and surfing safari, and chatting on adium, with itunes providing the music.

I only am asking because i realized when I first got my macbook pro last year with the default 2GB of ram, all those things only left about 40mb of free ram.

so i was just wondering I guess. I don't really care too much about the battery not being user replaceable and all that. Just wondering as apps become more ram hungry and we know os x is, so i'm thinking ahead to snow leopard, will 2gb be sufficient?

 

[toughboy]

Well sadly, there is nothing called 'futureproof'. 1 year from now, 2GB RAM will become 1GB of now. Thats why I always recommend my friends and relatives who ask for advice to maximize their amount of memory when they purchase a computer whether Mac or something else.

With MBA on the other hand, you are putting everything behind mobility, including upgradability. With the new MacBok only 2kgs in weight, I would go with the new unibody MacBooks if I were you if you care about upgradability that much.

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

The problem for me is the screen on the Macbook...I currently have a 1st gen MBA 1.6/80 and picked up a 13" Macbook when they were announced. I got the Macbook because I was getting tired of the slowness of launching some apps and the heat generated by streaming video and was willing to trade the weight difference for the integrated Superdrive and upgradable HDD and RAM and better cooling. I really liked the Macbook until I compared it to the Air side by side. The screen is worlds better on the Air, it isn't even a close comparison. You have to tilt the Macbook pretty far back and can really only get a good picture in one spot. The side to side viewing is horrible and the screen washes out quickly and gets the reverse video effect the original ipod touches were getting. Looks like I am going to bite the bullet and try my luck with the 2nd Gen Air...I just don't' want to wait 2 weeks!

 

[NC MacGuy]

With the graphics using 256MB, you only have 1.75GB of RAM usable. Yes, I found that in some circumstances the RAM was getting maxed out. Wasn't horrendous but there was the slowness and spinning beachball. Just closed Safari and reopened or emptied cache or closed something that wasn't being used heavily.

 

[yorkshire]

The problem for me is the screen on the Macbook...I currently have a 1st gen MBA 1.6/80 and picked up a 13" Macbook when they were announced. I got the Macbook because I was getting tired of the slowness of launching some apps and the heat generated by streaming video and was willing to trade the weight difference for the integrated Superdrive and upgradable HDD and RAM and better cooling. I really liked the Macbook until I compared it to the Air side by side. The screen is worlds better on the Air, it isn't even a close comparison. You have to tilt the Macbook pretty far back and can really only get a good picture in one spot. The side to side viewing is horrible and the screen washes out quickly and gets the reverse video effect the original ipod touches were getting. Looks like I am going to bite the bullet and try my luck with the 2nd Gen Air...I just don't' want to wait 2 weeks!

You're referring to the new aluminium MB right?

 

[dehory]

With the graphics using 256MB, you only have 1.75GB of RAM usable. Yes, I found that in some circumstances the RAM was getting maxed out. Wasn't horrendous but there was the slowness and spinning beachball. Just closed Safari and reopened or emptied cache or closed something that wasn't being used heavily.

That sounds kind of lame... You really have to wonder why on earth Apple decided not to have a 4GB RAM option. It's not like they've streamlined motherboard assembly by just offering one processor.

 

[ducatidoc]

That sounds kind of lame... You really have to wonder why on earth Apple decided not to have a 4GB RAM option.

simple. it leaves steve something new and better to sell in january.

 

[Y2JDMBFAN]

You're referring to the new aluminium MB right?

Yep...

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Air is a fancy NetBook for the rich.

 

[TheRiseofTheFal]

then why own one if its just a fancy tool for the rich? I'm only a college student, but i enjoy not lugging a behemoth to class when this is exactly what I need

edit: I'm not attacking you as you've been helpful in working on finding a new hd for me, just curious about your line of reasoning since you own one in addition to a fairly feature heavy macbook

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Air was designed to target business travelers. As most of them turn to Sony's popular TT line and the likes. Please watch the Keynotes from MacWorld 2008. Steve Jobs clearly compares the Air against Sony TT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5iPJwZkr6E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-UpM8Q-wc&feature=related
The MacBook line is what Apple designed for students.

 

[1rottenapple]

Air was designed to target business travelers. As most of them turn to Sony's popular TT line and the likes. Please watch the Keynotes from MacWorld 2008. Steve Jobs clearly compares the Air against Sony TT.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5iPJwZkr6E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP-UpM8Q-wc&feature=related
The MacBook line is what Apple designed for students.

Maybe you should write steve jobs and tell them to add the policy to not sell to non-business users since you seem to be all knowing.

 

[mathcolo]

have any macbook air owners here found that 2GB ram is inadequate for their needs?

I'm thinking it should be fine for me now, but i'm just worried say 2 years down the road if the 2GB ram will be enough, since ram is not upgradeable on the MBA.

i know the MBA is the machine I want, but i'm afraid of spending 2500 on a notebook which isn't very futureproof.

thoughts?

I think that even though futureproofness is a reality; all Apple laptops will always be obsolete relatively soon. The only real way to really futureproof the machine is upgrading everything and spending the most money, which is likely not an option for most people.

 

[1rottenapple]

Is there really such a thing as future proofing technology? I think you can future proof a house, but cars, technology... Something always comes up. 4 years from now, the Airs design is gonna look dated with the way Apple's design is going. Processing speed multiple each year, cars get faster, more hp with better fuel economy.

 

[zer0tails]

I guess futureproofing is the wrong word.

Let's put it this way, i have an old iMac 1.25 ghz. It came with 512mb of ram. 4 years later it still works great for me with the basic tasks I get it to do. So i wouldn't call it obsolete.

Why? I upped the ram to 1GB. That's what I really meant. 1.25 ghz G4 chip is still good enough for the tasks i have it do.

Processing speed, and the latest and greatest emerge every 6 months. That's a given. New design etc.

I'm just wondering how long 2GB will be good enough that's all. Because one can solve the small HD with an external.

but as many people know, ram is one of the vital organs of a computer.

 

[SFStateStudent]

I'm happy with 2GB in my MBA, but I'm much happier with 8GB in my Mac Pro...

 

[TJunkers]

I have 2 GB in my iMac and 4 GB in my laptop and they both run great. I do video editing, photo editing, and so on and my iMac runs every program great with 2 GB! and these are programs like CS3 Suite, and Final Cut Studio.

 

[gotzero]

The RAM is matched well enough to the other components. I had very low expectations for my MBA, and it managed to exceed them all.

I do not watch any video, the toughest things I do are play with Logic Pro a bit when I am away from the MP at home and use math programs in Vista.

If I was buying today, I probably would have gone for the new MB, but I am happy with my purchase.

 

[zer0tails]

appreciate everyone sharing.

@gotzero: the macbook is very nice but so is the air. It's a tough choice between them. Air does have a nicer screen though.

@TJunkers: i'm impressed.

Oh something interesting to add, I was reading Anandtech's review of the macbook air, and he mentioned that the air is the kind of computer one upgrades every 2 years.

It would be nice if I could do that. But this air i'm buying would have to last me 3 years at least before i consider upgrading. Hence, my initial ram question.

So, how long do you expect your MBA to last you?

 

[HiFiGuy528]

So, how long do you expect your MBA to last you?

I think the Air will last a few years when used as a NetBook. Some people are still happy with their G4.

This may interest you guys. Future proof?

 

[eRondeau]

I only am asking because i realized when I first got my macbook pro last year with the default 2GB of ram, all those things only left about 40mb of free ram.

Don't be concerned about this; don't think that you'd run out of RAM if you tried to load a 45MB application. OSX is exceptionally good at memory management which means shuffling things in-and-out of RAM. In your case, OSX was efficiently using all the available RAM it could -- while invisibly paging-out hundreds of megabytes of code and data as you switched between applications. I still use an iMac G3 (Tiger 10.4.11 / 600MHz / 640MB / 40GB) regularly for email, surfing, and Microsoft Office 2004 and believe it or not, it is still very usable for all these things. And that G3 machine is now 7 years old!

 

[andrewp]

I really can't understand why you are questioning this. Mac isn't like Vista. Vista uses 1gb for the operative system (unless you tweak it), if you add antivirus + other security tools it'll become even more. My PC runs on 33% with 4gb.

As for Mac, the operative system only needs up to 300mb + 256 ram for the graphics, which leaves 1500 ram for everything else. IMO photoshop rarely uses more than 1gb.
So I'm getting my MBA2.0 in 2-3 weeks, and I'm looking forward to be running WOW fluently and playback some of my cubase projects on it. Another thing is the playback of 1080p movies on my television through the MBA.

Now I'm certain that it can handle all of these things without problems because my other laptop (1,5 dual core) can do it. The only question is whether there'll still be problems with the overheating, but looking at the graphic card change, I think that we can expect it to be solved too.

 

[zer0tails]

@ eRondeau: I never saw it that way, thanks, I love OS X

@ andrewp: I know the 2GB of ram will handle things very well now and with no problems. I was questioning it because I plan to keep my MBA for 3 years at least hopefully, and was questioning whether 2GB of ram will be sufficient in a year or two's time.

I think it'll still get a little warm, but not overheat.