Can the new MacBook Air run adobe's Creative Suite CS6

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Level 1

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Can the new MacBook Air run adobe's Creative Suite CS6

I'm looking at a souped up 13", I.e. 1.7Ghz processor, 8 ram, and 512 flash. The specs technically work but is this realistic? I'm not doing creative work for others, just my own web page and photo manipulation, etc. I travel a lot so the lighter weight and long battery time are very attractive. Apple says the Air's graphics card is better too. The alternative is the 13" Pro with retina display, which is lighter than the regular 13" Pro. The Pro would also give me a faster processor for that bulky software, but as I say, it's just for me....

Thanks a lot for your input.

MacBook Air (13-inch Mid 2013), 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7

Posted on Jul 30, 2013 4:56 AM

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Answer 1

mende1

Level 10

93,624 points

Jul 30, 2013 4:58 AM in response to Celebessea

Welcome to Apple Support Communities

The MacBook Air supports Adobe Creative Suite, but the problem is its GPU. Adobe Creative Suite doesn't support integrated GPUs officially, and you won't get the best performance. If you aren't going to use it for heavy manipulation, it should be enough. The same problem with the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display

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Answer 2

dwb

Level 7

33,256 points

Jul 30, 2013 7:52 AM in response to Celebessea

Only the 15" MacBook Pro models have a discrete graphics processor, all 13" MBP computers use Intel's integrated graphics. Adobe's Creative Suite products can use the graphics processor to speed up some processes but the GPU isn't required.

I sometimes notice a difference in performance between my new iMac and 2011 MBA when using Photoshop but it depends on what I'm doing. RAW photos open faster on the iMac, some filters are significantly faster on the iMac. 3D manipulations are faster. This is all due to the GPU acceleration. But the difference isn't enough to make me replace my MBA nor, in most cases, is it enough to decide I'll wait until I can work on my iMac.

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Answer 3

Celebessea Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2013 3:14 PM in response to dwb

Okay, that's encouraging. I don't need to use the software a ton. However, my lingering concern is that CS6 has got to be a lot bigger. Oi!

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Answer 4

Celebessea Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2013 3:44 PM in response to Celebessea

Thanks to everyone for their help. Just wanted to update you and any looky-loos. Rather than fretting about it all, I called both Apple and Adobe and talked to their technical people rather than sales people. Apple says there's no GPU issue according to Adobe's specs. He said don't run lots of other apps when running CS6 and I should be fine. And when I called Adobe, the guy said I would not be sacrificing any of the software's features to go with the souped up Air and he added, "You've got a pretty quick computer there."

So if anyone else is wrestling with a similar dilemma, there you have it.

Thanks again.

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Answer 5

dwb

Level 7

33,256 points

Jul 31, 2013 3:45 PM in response to Celebessea

It would be cruel to say I told you so.....so I won't 🙂

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Answer 6

Celebessea Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2013 3:59 PM in response to Celebessea

Background: The Air configured this way is cheaper than a comparable Pro with Retina display. (I ruled out the regular Pro because it's significantly heavier than even the Pro with Retina display.). The Air has a better graphics card and a much longer battery life. It's processor is obviously not as fast as either Pro's. The Retina display would be lovely but was icing rather than meat in my priorities.

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Answer 7

Saeid

Level 1

22 points

Jul 31, 2013 4:29 PM in response to Celebessea

As a graphic designer, I'm actually buying the new MacBook Air 2013!

A lot of my collegues in the same industry are already using the Air as their main machine! All of whom are using Adobe CS6!

There is not requirement for a dedicated graphic card at all! It is a common misconception!

It all comes down to which applications your going to be using. I personally use Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop and Dreamweaver.

Consider these

Graphic card: The MacBook Air's graphic card the Intel HD Graphics 5000, outperforms the "dedicated" graphic card in the MacBook Pro 15" 2011!! And definitely outperforms the Intel HD Graphics 4000.

Processor: As far as the CPU performance, the i7 1.7Ghz benchmarked 2.90 in Cinebench, the MacBook Pro Retina 2.6Ghz scored 2.92.

Memory: 8GB is a great amount.

Storage: The Air is using the latest Flash Storage technology, it outperforms the MacBook Pro Retina's in terms of storage.

Go ahead, get the Air and enjoy it... worst case scenerio, you have 14 days to return it (if you buy it from Apple).

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Answer 8

Celebessea Author

Level 1

0 points

Jul 31, 2013 7:39 PM in response to Saeid

Saeid, that's great to hear. I really appreciate the Cinebench scores and the performance of flash storage info is terrific news. I guess the retina display is the only significant advantage of that Pro? Anyway, that your colleagues are using the Air with CS6 is music to my ears. Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop & Dreamweaver are the key apps for me as well. Two weeks is a bit short for me to really assess the performance, but with your input alongside the techies' at Apple and even Adobe, I'm feeling great about my purchase now! Thanks a lot.

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Answer 9

PRC

Level 1

83 points

Aug 9, 2013 5:57 AM in response to Celebessea

Celebessea

I switched from a MBP 15 to the new MBA 13 i7 w 512 GB and the Adobe CS6 works fine for me even using NIK, Alien Skin, and Digital Film Tools plug-ins. No, it isn't exactly as fast as the MBP but the battery life is amazingly longer and the unit is so much lighter. I'm not looking back. Also, use Lightroom and Aperture as well.

Enjoy Apple's New Innovations,

Patrick

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