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I currently have an original Macbook (black) 2.0 ghz Core Duo Processor. It's not the Core2 though. I usually have word, powerpoint, iweb, photoshop, and keynote open along with my internet apps. (I know, I should probably close some stuff) but at work, I'm constantly switching between them. I'm starting to guess that it would be better for me to go to a MacBook Pro for my next machine. However, I was just curious about the speed of the macbook air as I do bring my laptop EVERYWHERE.... So portability is important. Too bad I need power too

Mike

In your situation, RAM is very important. Since the MB Air takes only 2GB RAM, you wouldn't be satisfied with the performance.

You should consider a MBP with 4GB RAM.

I use a MBAir for everything you do except for Photoshop and it works fine. I think the answer depends on what you use Photoshop for.

Photoshop for minor touchups to photos and some minor editing. Very basic iMovie stuff too. It's just that even with the macbook I currently have, I do notice things getting slow and lagging in apps when I'm working between many things. I usually do my presentations in keynote, shared stuff between colleagues in powerpoint. Trying to manage and update my website daily etc etc. With all those open apps, I organize them with spaces and that slows things down too! I wish I could 'try' one for awhile! How is the SSD going for you Mduell? do you also carry around a portable drive with you for everything else?

The MBA is really slow. It will be slower than your CD MB. And it's RAM-crippled too. Get a MBP with enough RAM instead.



As you can see, though the MacBook Air (1.8 GHz, 64 GB SSD) costs more, it is way behind the MacBook Pro 2.6 in performance. I know it's thinner and lighter but if you think the two are in any way close in performance, you are mistaken. Not only is the CPU in the MacBook Pro much faster but the graphics processor (GPU) is also much faster.

Thanks guys for your input... I'll just admire the MBAir but will be shopping for a MBP!

Of course if it had two usb ports, it would be much faster. Then again, if it had an internal cd drive, it would be even with the Macbook Pro.

Of course, I jest. I have a Macbook Air. For the LIFE of me, what's the big deal with 2 gigs of RAM? My three month Dell laptop has 2 gigs, too. Nobody bitches about that anywhere.

Oh, I forgot to add that my Air blows the hell out of my 1.8ghz G5 iMac. I believe that only has 2 gigs of ram, as well.

I have a MBP witg 4GB RAM and its pretty damn dast. I borrowed the Air from a friend for a couple of days to get a feel for it and yes, there were times when I felt the system was stalled. More than the RAM, it is the slow HD that makes you feel the difference and my guess is that with an SSD it would be better.

-a

How much RAM is in your MB? I don't have any beachball issues with Mail/Firefox/iChat/Office/iWork open at the same time.
I've tried the SSD and HDD models and there's not that much difference between them; they each have marginal advantages for different usage patterns. I had hoped Apple was providing a $1500 (high performance) SSD for their $999 upgrade price (possible due to volume), but instead it's more like a $300 (low performance) SSD with a lot of markup.

Um... your kidding right? 1.8 Ghz versus 2.4Ghz > A bigger screen, and what some people call a "real" keyboard, not to mention FW400 and 800, and the ability to actually upgrade RAM. Not to mention an actual GPU and not just the puny onboard, I can't figure out how any one could actually rely on one of those things to get any real aperture and serious PS work done.

I'm kidding, I'm just sarcastic as hell. And maybe people who don't do those things can happily use a Macbook Air. Like me. I have Photoshop Elements and I don't have any complaints. I guess if you need the power that the Macbook Pro offers, then you can use that. I needed the weight savings for some reasons.

If you're in the market for a new laptop and you take your laptop everywhere. The MBA could work, provided you can live within the 13" screen (which you already do). Photoshop is the wildcard in the mix. If you're happy with PS in your MB, then the performance isn't going to be that much slower. It will be slower but probably not too much.

Personally by going from a MB to an MBA, you are only gaining the smaller lighter form factor but that may be important enough for you. I don't take my 15" MBP everywhere, just around the house or when I travel which is a few times a year, but I don't think I'd want to take that everywhere I go. The MB maybe, the MBA probably but not the MBP, so keep in mind if you go the MBP route get a feel if the form factor and weight is to your liking.

I have a 2.2GHz MacBook and I'm very happy. It has a smaller footprint than a MacBook Pro and it'll accept 4GB of RAM unlike the MacBook Air.

For me, it was the best compromise between portability and performance.

oh, sorry haha, I just have a strong hate for those things.

lol @ all the misinformation in this here thread. most of it is based in, as admitted in the post above mine, a STRONG HATE for the macbook air. very rational indeed.

i wonder how many people in this thread actually have used one.

I have a 1.8ghz macbook air, and I run Photoshop CS3 and Photomatix Pro on it just fine while surfing the web, chatting on aim, and listening to music with iTunes. I am on 1gb ram. Runs fast with no hiccups. 80gb hd.

And with CS3/Photomatix, it's not just small images I edit - I work with 5-7 exposure HDRs, each being 8MP and in RAW.

It's a great machine. Maybe a bit pricey, but to me, it was worth every penny.

All MacBook Airs have 2GB RAM.

I don't own one, but I have one of those friends who has to have everything. He loves it, he knows all he uses it for is web browsing and MS Office, and he knows if he wanted to do any photo editing he would move up to a real machine, he says he will someday, but the MBA is sexy enough for him for a while.

And it is, it's a decent machine I guess, but anyone who does real work can't appreciate it's extremely high price tag.

It's not the MBA specifically, it's any machine without a GPU, for processing thumbnails, rapid work in aperture, etc. It's the fact that it's so overpriced and that it has the same specs as my IBM thinkpad from 2003, and that thing only cost me 1500 bucks even when the technology wasn't as old.

I know your paying for the thinnest laptop in the world, I also know that no one needs, and for some, don't even want a laptop that thin, i'd be so afraid of a device that small, costing so much, I would never take it anywhere.

Whoops, you're right. I must've gotten it confused with my mac mini - I stand corrected. Thanks.