I am currently using Lightroom on an iMac, but would like to go back to using a laptop for it. I have a 2012 11" MBA that I've filled up the SSD on so my options are either upgrading the SSD or upgrading the computer. I am leaning towards the upgrade of the SSD, but I'm not sure how Lightroom will perform on it since I have the model with only 4GB of RAM. It looks like that is within the system requirements that Adobe publishes, but I'm not sure if it will still run acceptably. Anyone have experience running it on one of these?
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Lightroom performance on 2012 MBA
- Thread starter 0007776
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Depends on what level of performance you want. My wife had the same CPU in the 2021 13" model, 8 gb of ram as I recall. Contrary to popular opinion, I do not feel LR needs ram so you should be ok in that respect. But your end result will be laggy, jerky at times. A spinning ball may appear for short periods at times.
Up to you, I couldn't stand it.
Up to you, I couldn't stand it.
If you are using the adjustment brush it can get quite frustrating if it lags behind.
I've got 16gb of RAM but I think my GPU and i5 processor are my issues in my 2012 iMac.
I don't believe you can upgrade the SSD or any other component in a 2012 MBA; quick google search returns results for MBPro but not MBA. Would be happy to be wrong on that but I think my daughters MBA is a 2012 and as I recall I bought it with the understanding that it would not be possible to upgrade.
Cheers
It’s the only component you can upgrade on it, but you can do it. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Air+11-Inch+Mid+2012+Solid-State+Drive+Replacement/12351