Engineering Software on MacBook Air, help?

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Engineering Software on MacBook Air, help?

Hey there! I want to buy a new laptop easy to travel with (because I'll be taking it to college everyday) and people keep telling me I should a MacBook Air because it's light and it does everything. Unfortunately, I'm concerned about:

1. I need to install several programs in there, some of them heavy as well as the projects coming from them.

2. Compatibility with Microsoft Office/Microsoft Programs

Here are some of the programs I would have to install so you can get the idea:

Silverlight 4/Microsoft Expression Encoder 4/Visual Web Developer Express Edition/Microsoft Expression Studio 4/Adobe Photoshop/Adobe Illustrator/Adobe Audition/Sound Forge Pro 10/Netbeans/JavaFX/Oracle SQL developer

+ more video editing programs/3D modeling software...

Fortunately I can customize it. So the best I could get would be a MacBook air with:

2.0GHz Intel Dual-Core Core i7, Turbo Boost up to 3.2GH

8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM

512GB Flash Storage

Will it be able to run these programs fast enough? I don't want performance problems since I really need to use it for college.

Waiting for opinions. Thanks!

MacBook Air

Posted on Apr 13, 2013 5:45 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 13, 2013 6:02 AM in response to emily.k

For Mac compatibility you should check the appropriate web site. You do appreciate you will have to buy the Mac versions.

If you already own windows software, you have the option of creating a windows partition and installing the existing sw on that volume.

The MBA you are considering is very fast.

Does your college have a computer store where you can do some hands on testing? Alternatively visit an Apple store and try out some of the display models to get an idea of how they run.

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Answer 2

emily.k Author

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Apr 13, 2013 1:23 PM in response to Eustace Mendis

Creating a Windows partition on a Macbook because of the compatibility issues makes no sense to me.

That will mess with the RAM which is a very important aspect to run the school programs smoothly.

I rather buy another laptop with the same configurations with Windows installed.

Unfortunately, it will be heavier but I'm sure I won't have performance and compatibility problems.

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Answer 3

Apr 13, 2013 1:27 PM in response to emily.k

• That will mess with the RAM ...

That is not correct. You can boot in to Windows or in to Mac. No RAM sharing involved.

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Answer 4

Apr 13, 2013 1:29 PM in response to emily.k

Installing a Windows partition, that is a BootCamp partition for Windows, will not have any effect on the ram. The partition uses part of the mass storage space available. This is done frequently by users and works very well.

You can buy Mac versions of the MS Office software that also works very well.

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