11.6" MacBook Air as a primary machine?
I currently have a 13" MacBook Pro (2.4GHZ, 4GB RAM, nVidia 320m, etc...), but am allured by the size, weight, and solid state storage found in the new 11.6" MacBook Air.
Surely I must be crazy to sell my current machine for what is seemingly a huge downgrade to the weaker power of the new 'Air; especially considering that I do 3D graphics work/video editing. Having said that, the MacBook Air, should it handle such tasks (with its nVidia 320m) would be the ultimate in mobility! That would encourage me to use my computer more frequently.
Any thoughts, besides those which are most obvious?
UPDATE:
I'd like to add that the machine I'm looking to get is the 11.6" 128GB MacBook air with a 1.6ghz processor and 4GB of ram.
Surely I must be crazy to sell my current machine for what is seemingly a huge downgrade to the weaker power of the new 'Air; especially considering that I do 3D graphics work/video editing. Having said that, the MacBook Air, should it handle such tasks (with its nVidia 320m) would be the ultimate in mobility! That would encourage me to use my computer more frequently.
Any thoughts, besides those which are most obvious?
UPDATE:
I'd like to add that the machine I'm looking to get is the 11.6" 128GB MacBook air with a 1.6ghz processor and 4GB of ram.
Comments
Definitely get 4GB RAM. You can get USB or wifi storage so 64GB isn't a big deal.
1.4GHz is pretty slow - it will be pretty much half what you're used to and not many options to get round that.
I would hold off until next year's model. Next year, Intel and AMD are competing quite strongly in this area so we should see some big jumps. SSD capacities will double and GPUs are being merged with the CPU.
The highest up 13" is closest to the Macbook but not much incentive to switch and $1799.
Definitely get 4GB RAM. You can get USB or wifi storage so 64GB isn't a big deal.
1.4GHz is pretty slow - it will be pretty much half what you're used to and not many options to get round that.
I would hold off until next year's model. Next year, Intel and AMD are competing quite strongly in this area so we should see some big jumps. SSD capacities will double and GPUs are being merged with the CPU.
So you think next year's models will be powerful enough to be main computers for most people?
I currently have a 13" MacBook Pro (2.4GHZ, 4GB RAM, nVidia 320m, etc...), but am allured by the size, weight, and solid state storage found in the new 11.6" MacBook Air.
Yes all that stuff is very nice. Right now though you would be better off buying a SSD for your current machine.
Surely I must be crazy to sell my current machine for what is seemingly a huge downgrade to the weaker power of the new 'Air;
Yes crazy is the word for it.
especially considering that I do 3D graphics work/video editing. Having said that, the MacBook Air, should it handle such tasks (with its nVidia 320m) would be the ultimate in mobility! That would encourage me to use my computer more frequently.
Don't assume anything. For example do we know what the GPU is clocked at? Will main memory slow it down to much? Just because it has 320m stamped on does not mean you will get the same performamce. Even if it comes close to the same performance there is the question of what the unit can sustain.
The details here will be cleared up over time. One thing we know for sure is that the CPU will suck relative to what you have now. That may or may not be an issue with your 3D work.
Any thoughts, besides those which are most obvious?
Well don't do it. It may not be obvious but upgrading your current machine to SSD is a far smarter move in my opinion. This is all based on what you are telling us right now with respect to 3D and video editing. I would imagine that the machine would be sluggish beyond bareable compared to your current machine.
I suspect it will be years before an ultra compact notebook like the 11" AIR will be suitable for the work you have in mind. It isn't just an issue of 3D & Video editing performance but you have the issue of limited storage for apps and files. So even if the 320m is clocked fast enough and they use the enclosed video hardware to encode you still have to figure out where to put everything. The only way I could see this working at all is if your needs are minor and you like waiting.
Dave
So you think next year's models will be powerful enough to be main computers for most people?
I can't speak for the other guy bit I don't think that is what he was getting at. The guy that started the thread detailed a context that involved 3D work and movie editing. This is not what most people are into. Plus such work can be very demanding of hardware.
Your question is however a problem because what is "most people". Seriously, even the little 11" AIR will be suitable for some users. Modest users that is. For those of us running MBPs the 11" AIR would be a huge step back in some respects. What is suitable for any one user depends upon their expectations. There are still people happily using G4 based notebooks, but frankly most users wouldn't be happy with those old machines either.
Take this as an example, I have an early 2008 MBP 15" that i consider to be a very nice machine that performs fairly well. It is OK as my primary machine, but as a primary machine it has issues. In the future I'd like to upgrade and address those issues. Since some of the issues revolve around performance going backwards isn't an option for a primary machine. You see this machine has educated me in what I need to meet my expectations.
Now as a secondary machine we can have a whole different discussion. The fact is the new AIRs do impress me. They come up short in a couple of ways so they can't replace my MBP but that doesn't mean I wouldn't buy one for other reasons. Another person with different needs may turn the 11" AIR into a real work horse. In any event I hope you understand what I'm getting at, only you can answer the question you poised.
Also note one more thing, in a years time the upgraded AIRs will be able to serve a wider array of needs. Everyone should see that as a given. However the rest of the laptop line will not stand still so you have an issue of performance deltas to consider. As someone alluded to, next year will see whole new generations of SoC implementations to repower AIR, performance could advance faster than expected.
So you think next year's models will be powerful enough to be main computers for most people?
The current 11" may well be enough but if I had to assume the current benchmark for average use would include media encoding (home movies, iTunes etc), HD video decoding (mainly 720p), I would say dual 1.4GHz would bump 60-90 minute movie encode times from 30-40 minutes to well over an hour.
For everyday tasks like browsing and word processing, even image editing, it's fine but I think encoding should be taken into account given that media conversion for mobile devices will be used by lots of people.
Obviously people used to use Powerbooks for everyday use and many still do and they are only single 1.5GHz at best so dual 1.4GHz C2D with an SSD and very fast GPU would easily suffice for people with those expectations.
The Core 2 Duo chips are old now though and next year, the 22nm fab will bring some interesting developments. I don't think it would be a good move to try sticking to 45nm C2D.
Of course, rather than make it a quad, Apple might opt to extend the battery life.
Obviously people used to use Powerbooks for everyday use and many still do and they are only single 1.5GHz at best so dual 1.4GHz C2D with an SSD and very fast GPU would easily suffice for people with those expectations.
Interestingly I used to have one of the 12.1" PowerBook G4s w/ a 1.5ghz brain, however I've since been spoiled by first a 2.16ghz dual-core iMac, followed by a 2.53ghz MacBook Pro, and then of course as I mentioned at the top, my 13" MacBook Pro 2.4ghz machine.