Will the baseline 11.6" Air be sufficent to run Photoshop?

[mynbrhandle]

I'm tryng to choose between the 11.6" Air and the 13.3" Pro.


I want to know if the baseline 11.6" Air sufficent to run Photoshop? That's the most taxing software I will be running. I might use this laptop for school in some graphic design classes, but this won't be for anything professional at all.


Thanks for looking!

[Ryan]

ULV i5 vs. i5 has significant performance differences.

Although, I would like to ask if you were going to upgrade the RAM or hard drive, as the standard 2GB RAM / 64GB SSD may not be fit for all the RAW files.

[masterchef341]

Photoshop is a pretty generic program. It offers a wide range of functionality. It depends on what you want to do with it. I would warn that you might run into issues with the screen size if you're trying to do graphic design on an 11.6" screen.

[SP Forsythe]

If you mean by "Baseline", the 2 Gb memory unit, I would advise against it.

The MBA's all use SSD's now, and while the speed of the SSD makes for relatively quick use of paging, I would hardly want to subject an SSD to constant paging with an intended primary use.

If you are not willing to go 4 Gb, then go with the 13" MBP.

The screen on the 11" is a little small for doing lot of Photoshop work as well.
By no means consider that I am biased agains the MBA's. I have 2 of them, and sold all my MBP's as I consider the Air to be a perfect fit for me.


p.s. I use Photoshop too, quite a bit.

[mynbrhandle]

Originally Posted by Ryan

ULV i5 vs. i5 has significant performance differences.

Although, I would like to ask if you were going to upgrade the RAM or hard drive, as the standard 2GB RAM / 64GB SSD may not be fit for all the RAW files.

No upgrades. I will be using an external drive to store the majority of my stuff so space won't be an issue.

Originally Posted by masterchef341

Photoshop is a pretty generic program. It offers a wide range of functionality. It depends on what you want to do with it. I would warn that you might run into issues with the screen size if you're trying to do graphic design on an 11.6" screen.

This isn't for anything professional or anything. I've seen the screen first hand and it will be fine I think. The resolution is very close to the 13.3" Pro. It will just be for recreational use. Making sigs for forums, wallpapers, some misc. pieces. Nothing I'm making money off right now, just for fun and possibly class.

Thanks you two!

[mynbrhandle]

Originally Posted by SP Forsythe

If you mean by "Baseline", the 2 Gb memory unit, I would advise against it.

The MBA's all use SSD's now, and while the speed of the SSD makes for relatively quick use of paging, I would hardly want to subject an SSD to constant paging with an intended primary use.

If you are not willing to go 4 Gb, then go with the 13" MBP.

The screen on the 11" is a little small for doing lot of Photoshop work as well.
By no means consider that I am biased agains the MBA's. I have 2 of them, and sold all my MBP's as I consider the Air to be a perfect fit for me.


p.s. I use Photoshop too, quite a bit.

Your MBA's have 4GB of RAM I'm assuming? What's is the real world difference between 2 and 4 gigs while running PS?

Thanks

[masterchef341]

photoshop doesn't use that much memory on it's own. it really depends on what type of content you are working with. 2 GB might be fine if your working with small images.

at the same time, i wouldn't recommend buying a laptop with 2 GB of memory today just on principle, but I think you would be fine.

The principle is that memory is cheap up to about 8 GB. Unfortunately, you can't upgrade the memory later in a macbook air.

[redmimic]

Originally Posted by mynbrhandle

No upgrades. I will be using an external drive to store the majority of my stuff so space won't be an issue.


This isn't for anything professional or anything. I've seen the screen first hand and it will be fine I think. The resolution is very close to the 13.3" Pro. It will just be for recreational use. Making sigs for forums, wallpapers, some misc. pieces. Nothing I'm making money off right now, just for fun and possibly class.

Thanks you two!

I was on an 4 year old Toshiba with 2GB of ram before I upgraded to a new computer for work. I imagine it is much less powerful than a current MacBook Air. I was running Vista 32bit with Photoshop CS3.

Anyways, I could handle 400dpi 22 x 17", 2-10 layer files (some layers being filled entirely) that clocked in around 250-500 mbs if I remember correctly.

Anything more than that and the machine would start to choke. From the sound of it, the files you work with wouldn't be anywhere near that size so I think you'll be more than fine. That said, I still think 4GB would be best so you can use other programs while Photoshop is running.

[Lieto]

No real reason to buy 11 over 13 imo. 11 will feel nicer in your bag but once you start working with it you will realize how much more uncomfortable it is. Not to mention that mbp is faster and extra half kilo is nothing that a man cant carry.

i would get 11 only if you spend half of your life in air planes or do nothing but web browsing, skyping and emailing.

[kornchild2002]

Or just spend the extra money to get the 4GB version of the 11" MBA. I see absolutely no reason in this day and age to buy a new notebook with just 2GB of RAM. You may want to save up more money too and buy the baseline 13" MBA. That will come with a processor that is pretty much on par with the baseline 13" MBP, 4GB of RAM, and a higher resolution display than the 13" MBA.

I would also argue with that whole nonsense of "an extra half kilo is nothing that a man can't carry." BS, people will carry what they want to carry regardless of gender. I didn't want to haul my 13" MBP up and down 300ft of hills every single day. It became taxing so I picked up a 13" MBA. It's also more than 0.5 kg. The 13" MBP comes in at 2 kg without the charger while the 11" MBA is 1.08 kg and the 13" MBA is 1.34 kb. 0.92 and 0.66 kg are higher than 0.5 kg and something that is quite noticeable even in a backpack.