Which is better to upgrade when buying a new MacBook Air: CPU or RAM?

Okay, so I'm looking at buying the 2012 MacBook Air and I'm in the price range of just over $1600. I'm not sure if I should upgrade the processor or upgrade the RAM because both add $100, which brings the total to $1600. This will basically be used for browsing the Web and watching videos and writing papers. Which is better to upgrade when ordering the MacBook Air?

mac macbookair macbook

asked Oct 17 '12 at 23:12

Tigers2012
1●2●2●3

edited Oct 18 '12 at 17:53

Fogarty ♦♦
11.7k●12●27●38

6 Answers:

oldest newest most voted

Depends what you want to do with it of course… but my general advice is (1) get the base model CPU, (2) upgrade the RAM separately from Crucial or a similar reputable company, and (3) if you want to really notice a performance difference put an SSD in it, or at least a Seagate hybrid drive.

CPUs are generally not the bottleneck for speed these days. (Again, ymmv based on your user requirements, these are just my general observations/guidelines.)

answered Oct 17 '12 at 23:38

XanderPlooy
5

Wrong, you can't upgrade the RAM later on the new Macbook Air.

(Oct 18 '12 at 01:37) Tim Fontana

And the Air also has no HDD, just flash storage built onto the motherboard. So no SSD upgrade either.

(Oct 18 '12 at 01:54) sfrancis928

Here's my suggestion. If you're talking MacBook Pro, upgrade the processor cause that is not user replaceable. You can upgrade your RAM like XanderPlooy say from Crucial. I am personally using Kingston for my MacBook Pro.

answered Oct 17 '12 at 23:40

AlphaMike
871●43●48●65

Wrong, you can't upgrade the RAM later on the new Macbook Air.

(Oct 18 '12 at 01:37) Tim Fontana

He updated the question. It was the Pro in question earlier. Then if it's the MacBook Air then yes you can't.

(Oct 18 '12 at 06:20) AlphaMike

When getting a laptop you should get the best processor you can afford when you buy it, and upgrade ram later.

answered Oct 17 '12 at 23:59

trueb
14.9k●49●99●256

Wrong, you can't upgrade the RAM later on the new Macbook Air.

(Oct 18 '12 at 01:37) Tim Fontana

o that's right... its a Mac...

(Oct 18 '12 at 09:06) trueb

0	I would get it how you want it, the RAM on the new MBA is soldered to the motherboard, as is the CPU. You'll have a tough time replacing either answered Oct 18 '12 at 01:38 Tim Fontana 15.3k●135●199●368

You really can't upgrade anything on the Air, so when you're picking it out, get everything you're gonna need. And that shouldn't be too much, if you're just web browsing and stuff like that. But get whatever you want, you're stuck with what you get. If you're choosing between the two I would go for the processor upgrade. You should be fine on 4GB of RAM for simple tasks, and a faster processor just makes everything a little snappier.

answered Oct 18 '12 at 01:59

sfrancis928
2.6k●33●44●79

edited Oct 18 '12 at 16:35

Tim Fontana
15.3k●135●199●368

Please edit instead of repeat posting

(Oct 18 '12 at 16:35) Tim Fontana

It wasn't a repeat post, it was a totally different answer...

(Oct 18 '12 at 18:27) sfrancis928

It's related, you should edit and add it in please

(Oct 19 '12 at 01:47) Tim Fontana

With a macbook air you will get ripped off on the RAM and due to it's design you cant avoid it so load up on as much RAM as you can as that will be your main limitation. (for most uses the CPU will be more than fast enough (I know a few people who even video edit on one while on the go)

If you can afford to spend $1600 on a system what will not give $1600 worth of performance then you should be able to dive in the ol money pool and send over some extra coinage for more RAM

alt text

answered Oct 18 '12 at 23:27

Razor512
15.6k●34●80●242

... GIFs move here?! Well you just opened my eyes to new opportunities.

(Oct 19 '12 at 00:33) DJ Scooby Doo

Your answer

toggle preview

community wiki

Follow this question

By Email:

Once you sign in you will be able to subscribe for any updates here

By RSS:

Answers

Answers and Comments

Markdown Basics

*italic* or __italic__
**bold** or __bold__
link:[text](http://url.com/ "title")
image?![alt text](/path/img.jpg "title")
numbered list: 1. Foo 2. Bar
to add a line break simply add two spaces to where you would like the new line to be.
basic HTML tags are also supported

learn more about Markdown