Do you think we will get 8GB RAM?

[bp1000]

I've pretty much decided to buy this tomorrow from the stores and i'm trying to bury my 8GB Ram requirements.

The 13" 1.7ghz i5 will only be used for general stuff + coding, basic web graphics and maybe the odd home movie editing and and dSLR photos. So i should have enough power.

But, i will want to run virtual windows xp so i can test my stuff in I.E - that is a definite. I dont tend to run the virtual os all day, only for 10 mins whilst i test etc. And i thought 8GB might allow the OS to run a little quicker with more programs open.

Shall i just forget about more ram and just get it or does anyone remember this happening in the past, where 2 months after launch they get more upgrade options?

I'm also thinking 4gb my be the ceiling limit to force people who want more to get a MBP.

 

[tbobmccoy]

I've pretty much decided to buy this tomorrow from the stores and i'm trying to bury my 8GB Ram requirements.

The 13" 1.7ghz i5 will only be used for general stuff + coding, basic web graphics and maybe the odd home movie editing and and dSLR photos. So i should have enough power.

But, i will want to run virtual windows xp so i can test my stuff in I.E - that is a definite. I dont tend to run the virtual os all day, only for 10 mins whilst i test etc. And i thought 8GB might allow the OS to run a little quicker with more programs open.

Shall i just forget about more ram and just get it or does anyone remember this happening in the past, where 2 months after launch they get more upgrade options?

I'm also thinking 4gb my be the ceiling limit to force people who want more to get a MBP.

Maybe in the next MBA refresh we'll get 8GB, but I doubt anytime soon. They definitely want to keep this as a "Pro" perk.

 

[Patriot24]

I don't think we're going to see an option for more than 4GB in the Air until the next refresh. I tend to agree that Apple would probably tell you that if you need 8GB to get the Pro model at this point.

In the future, we may see Pro models adopt many characteristics of the Air. If so, then they can maintain the dividing lines between the Air and Pro by continuing to offer higher-caliber hardware for the Pro line.

 

[JLatte]

I've pretty much decided to buy this tomorrow from the stores and i'm trying to bury my 8GB Ram requirements.

The 13" 1.7ghz i5 will only be used for general stuff + coding, basic web graphics and maybe the odd home movie editing and and dSLR photos. So i should have enough power.

But, i will want to run virtual windows xp so i can test my stuff in I.E - that is a definite. I dont tend to run the virtual os all day, only for 10 mins whilst i test etc. And i thought 8GB might allow the OS to run a little quicker with more programs open.

Shall i just forget about more ram and just get it or does anyone remember this happening in the past, where 2 months after launch they get more upgrade options?

I'm also thinking 4gb my be the ceiling limit to force people who want more to get a MBP.

I'm a web developer and was borrowing a friend's 2010 ultimate 11"... so 128gb hd and 4 gigs of ram.

I regularly run Safari, Chrome (with about 10-20 tabs open at one time), FF, Dreamweaver, SVN and S3 upload clients, iTunes, Photoshop CS5 with about 2-3 images open, Sequel Pro, Adium Chat client, Skype, and VM Fusion with Windows 7 just to test IE 7 / 8 / 9 and 1 GB of RAM allocated to VM ware.

With all of this running, everything still is snappy as all hell, if there's any lag I sure haven't noticed it (and I'm pretty picky about these things). As a web developer, I can easily say that this is a good computer, and with the faster processors it's going to be even better.

The SSD really makes a difference. Of course, if you're going to be running on all of these things, I recommend getting an external monitor

If you ever have any doubts, go to the store and load up as many apps as you can and try running some tasks. Open the activity monitor and see where all the memory is being used. It uses a lot of memory, but manages to switch between tasks very quickly. It easily works as a primary work computer for what I do.

 

[bp1000]

I'm a web developer and was borrowing a friend's 2010 ultimate 11"... so 128gb hd and 4 gigs of ram.

I regularly run Safari, Chrome (with about 10-20 tabs open at one time), FF, Dreamweaver, SVN and S3 upload clients, iTunes, Photoshop CS5 with about 2-3 images open, Sequel Pro, Adium Chat client, Skype, and VM Fusion with Windows 7 just to test IE 7 / 8 / 9 and 1 GB of RAM allocated to VM ware.

With all of this running, everything still is snappy as all hell, if there's any lag I sure haven't noticed it (and I'm pretty picky about these things). As a web developer, I can easily say that this is a good computer, and with the faster processors it's going to be even better.

The SSD really makes a difference. Of course, if you're going to be running on all of these things, I recommend getting an external monitor

If you ever have any doubts, go to the store and load up as many apps as you can and try running some tasks. Open the activity monitor and see where all the memory is being used. It uses a lot of memory, but manages to switch between tasks very quickly. It easily works as a primary work computer for what I do.

This has been really helpful thanks v.much

What you use is pretty much identical to what i do daily so a great insight.

Like you say, 11" is a little too small but 13" is a good compromise for doing all that stuff on the move + at home i will plug into a monitor.

I must admit i never max out on 4gb now, but i know Lion likes to pile everything into RAM.

 

[JLatte]

This has been really helpful thanks v.much

What you use is pretty much identical to what i do daily so a great insight.

Like you say, 11" is a little too small but 13" is a good compromise for doing all that stuff on the move + at home i will plug into a monitor.

I must admit i never max out on 4gb now, but i know Lion likes to pile everything into RAM.

This is true, however my friend (we work in the same office) has his Air back from me. I don't know exactly yet the difference of Lion vs Snow Leopard in regards to RAM usage, however he did download Lion on the said Air, and runs everything identical to what I do except for Dreamweaver, and he's had nothing but good things to say about the "snappiness". According to activity monitor, it's still running smoothly, but I'd wait for more conclusive data tests.

I'm definitely going to be ordering a maxed out 11" Air since I usually am hooked up to an external display. I was on the fence between a maxed out 15" MBP and an 11" Air. Seeing the real world results definitely pushed me over the fence and I'm pretty sure I'll be very satisfied.

A developer, Jeff LaMarche has a blog where he wrote his experience with an 11" (I know you're looking at 13" but check it out). Definitely a good short read.

http://iphonedevelopment.blogspot.com/2011/04/macbook-air-11-as-dev-machine.html

Cheers!