11" 2GB or 4GB RAM??

[anth82]

Hey guys,

I'm looking to buy the 11" Air do you think it is worth the extra $150 for the 4GB of ram?

The Air will be used for basic internet use, nothing too intense.

Thoughts??

[gehenna]

Yes, 4GB RAM is always worth it. It will make the base OS run smoothly.

[leon]

Yes get the RAM. It is almost a no brainer. 2GB these days is the bare minimum for Snow Leopard and simple web browsing. Add in some actual work and your looking at 3GB of RAM.

[jsarchibald]

Adding my push for the 4GB. You will regret it in a year's time when you can't run all the programs you want. Plus, $150 for 2GB from Apple seems a pretty fair price considering.

[Geoff3DMN]

And there is the upcoming version of OS X to consider as well. Each subsequent version of OS X has had higher minimum memory requirements and I fully expect the next version to need more memory than Snow Leopard.

So even if Snow Leopard is ok with 2Gb Lion might well not be.

[pyrite]

4GB for sure. 2GB will only suffice for super light use (little multitasking) and won't be at all future-proof. It's a little embarrassing that Apple still ship Macs with 2GB IMHO

[glacierdave]

If it was me, I'd go with 4GB if for no other reason than there's no easy upgrade later if you find you needed it after all.

It's not that expensive to get now and seriously expensive if you need it later (i.e. you'll be selling the MBA you've got and buying another one with more RAM).

[Rust]

hehe i think you know the answer...4GB is the go :P

[faberman@mac.com]

I think there's no good reason to buy with 4gb, increasing the initial cost spoils the low priced machine. It's not meant to be a huge work horse, it's a portable casual use machine.

If in time you need more ram, it should be cheaper to upgrade in the future.

[anth82]

Yeah, I think I'm leaning towards the 4GB.

Does anybody have any hands on experience with the 4GB?

[DaveOZ]

Get the RAM. It's cheap which is unusual for Apple.

[displayb333]

+1 Get the RAM. Can you even upgrade it later?

Better to have too much than not enough.

[jsarchibald]

I don't think the machine is expandable.

Go on, get the RAM! You'll regret it if you don't...

[gehenna]

The RAM is soldered to the logic board, so it has to be done at purchase, can't upgrade later.

[areal]

I'm clearly in the minority but I don't have a problem with 2GB and an SSD even with plenty of applications open. If you can't afford the RAM then don't let that stop you from getting an Air. If you're not doing anything serious then you'll probably never notice the difference.

[macman]

I've got a 11.6" 2GB 128GB and it flies along. Im using it principally for Chrome, iTunes & Mail. I'm sure if I were using Photoshop etc, then it would struggle. But for basic apps, no probs.

Cheers Macman

[jsarchibald]

But you have to think of the future. I bought a HP Pavilion in 2002, a 2.0GHz, 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD model. I kept it running daily for 6 years, and at the end, the computer had a 320GB HDD and 2GB of RAM.

The machine was fine as is for 2002, but 5 years later, it was slow and needed help. The upgrade kept it current. If I couldn't upgrade the machine, I would have used it for 3 years or so before upgrading to another machine.

It's the classic rule of computing - get the best you can now, and it will save you in the long run. You could save $150 now and go the 2GB model, and have to replace it in a couple of years, or you can 'future proof' it, so to speak, and get 3 or 4 years out of it. A big saving in my eyes.

I know plenty of people will disagree with me, but I'd rather get a good run out of a computer, rather than upgrade every 2 years. It is unneccessary and wasteful. Cue flaming...now.

[Reubania]

I'm thinking of getting the base model 11" but upping the RAM. Like you, it will be for light usage (accessing AirTunes, Mail, Safari, light word processing and light video content). No heavy duty video editing (I've never touched it in my life) or iPhoto editing (that's what the Mac Mini is for). So I think I'd rather spend my money on making all those applications run smoothly than have it chug along (which is what my rev A MBA is currently doing), but sacrificing the SSD (since I won't be using it much to storage content/files).

In my non-techno geek eyes, it pays to increase RAM ahead of processing speed and increased HDD/SSD.

[gehenna]

I think the basic rule of thumb should be 4GB for the MBA, and MBP for that matter - but that comes with 4GB. Seems a bit like profiteering to say 4GB is an upgrade for the MBA.

The point of it is that even if you are a light user, you still need 2GB for OS X itself. Anything you add on top of that, however light, would use up the whole 2GB of RAM in a heartbeat. With 4GB you have the comfort of running OS X at recommended spec, and running additional apps with plenty of room to spare.

[dolbinau]

OS X 10.6 on my MBA without any applications open has 1.4GB free RAM? (I mean I'm not sure why you'd need 2GB for OS X itself).

I find 2GB of RAM more than plenty for Safari+IM+iTunes+Word. Agree that future proofing might have been a good idea though. To think my iMac shipped in 2007 with only 1GB of RAM.