Why do people want 8GB RAM in the MBA?

[KnightWRX]

I think 8GB is necessary to avoid the OS from using its paging file.

Hum... I have yet to have a computer use its pagefile with 4GB of RAM installed. That's with my work VM running with 1.5 GB configured to it.

Of course looking at one of our SAP servers, it has over 48 GB of RAM in use, but then again, I don't run a full blown SAP CI on my MBA

 

[mward333]

It seems overkill for such a small machine. I mean, I bet most people wouldn't even use half of this but just want "the one with the bigger geebees".

A faster CPU will always make a faster machine. As for RAM, at some point, it doesn't really change anything if you don't use it.

I'm running Maple (symbolic mathematics), so the more RAM I have, the bigger computations I can perform. Of course I do most of my computing on my MacPro, but sometimes I'm on the road and not connected to the web. At times like these, having a lot of horsepower in a little machine can be extremely helpful.

 

[MythicFrost]

Hum... I have yet to have a computer use its pagefile with 4GB of RAM installed. That's with my work VM running with 1.5 GB configured to it.

Of course looking at one of our SAP servers, it has over 48 GB of RAM in use, but then again, I don't run a full blown SAP CI on my MBA

Hah, is that so? I can't say the same here

 

[tennisproha]

Same reason I want 12 cylinders in my Ferrari...

well said!

but yeah, I see both points

 

[Crunch]

My guess at this point is that it will continue to have a 4GB max. but I now think that it's just fine. Yes, in my case, it will surely use its paging file but so what? It's solid state flash memory, so any and all cashed items should be flowing through at extreme speeds and from what I read today, it will be of a new type of "SSD" that will be soldered right onto the motherboard, further increasing the speed and add about one hour to the overall battery life.

It's also encouraging to see the first ThunderBolt devices in the Apple Online store. Then I can replace my 17" MBP with its eSATA and FW800 connectivity and run as many RAID arrays as I want AND still connect my 27" LED Cinema Display, all on an Air, with FOUR USB ports. Sweeeet!

 

[nutjob]

I don't have a clue ? NVRAM is not SRAM and can be powered down, I was agreeing with you and joking a bit. I know the different types of RAM.

The second sentence of my post should have clued you in. Now calm down and don't go hyper defensive. Not everyone here is clueless and out to get you.

Is English your first language? I'm hardly defensive or paranoid. There is so much misinformation of this forums it's hard work trying to correct it all.

 

[Apple Expert]

I would love to have 8gb. 4 should be the standard. Why you ask? Some people are trying to make the MBA their primary computer and the memory the better.

 

[MTD's Mac]

Sorry, but that's not really true. As far as System Profiler is concerned, there are 2 DIMM "slots" occupied, each with 1GB or 2GB per slot.

That's how System Profiler handles the memory, but it's still a single stick and therefore not comparable to the RAM other people are referring to with lower price points. This portion of the conversation is about cost of technology, not how the system manages RAM. Next time get some context before posting.