3 ms·

I'm considering switching to the Air as well. How have the first impressions been? I'm somewhat worried about using an Air for development performance-wise.

by wheels 6y ago

I'm considering switching to the Air as well. How have the first impressions been? I'm somewhat worried about using an Air for development performance-wise. For me the big factors are that I actually use functions keys (in Emacs, mostly) and just cost. My previous Macbook Pro (2011), which is in its death throes, at the time a top-of-the-line 13", was $1200. With aftermarket 8 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD, I managed to keep it usable for almost a decade. At the current MBP configurations, I'd almost certainly end up shelling out a mind-blowing 3-4x that much. This gives me pause for three reasons: - All of the soldered on crap means that I can't use aftermarket upgrades to extend the life - It sounds like an ARM switch is in the cards in the next 1-2 years - I just don't like having a $3000-5000 portable device. I have my laptop out with me quite often, and I don't relish the idea of having something worth > $4000 with me that may get lost or stolen.

tolmasky 6y ago
So I am going to have an unsatisfactory answer, but maybe its helpful: 1. Performance was kind of a reason for the Air. I want a machine that gives me the perspective my users will have when using my software. 2. But doesn't that suck for actually building? Yes except... I also just have a nice computer on the network that I offload the actual rough tasks to. This might end up being a good solution for you too. 3. This might also future-proof you for the ARM switch. If you have a good build computer, and a cheap "interface" computer, you can switch to a new ARM computer in a bit with little pain: none of the the "real" stuff has to change. It kinda sucks for multi-monitor though. It really struggles with it.
jeddf 6y ago
I naively picked up a late 2018 air without considering the thermal aspects of the performance. It sounds obvious but I totally missed it and bought on basis of the benchmark numbers, make sure to look at the thermal performance under sustained loads. Notebookcheck do a good job at deep diving on this in their review https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-2018-i5-256-GB-Laptop-Review.357481.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-2018-i5-256-.... It's basically passively cooled! There's no heatpipe connecting the fan to the CPU so it kicks up to max all the time trying to cool it but can't make much of a dent on the temp. Really mind boggling. I had to switch back to my old pro machine and felt like a bit of a berk for not reading up on that aspect.

by wheels 6y ago

tolmasky 6y ago

So I am going to have an unsatisfactory answer, but maybe its helpful: 1. Performance was kind of a reason for the Air. I want a machine that gives me the perspective my users will have when using my software. 2. But doesn't that suck for actually building? Yes except... I also just have a nice computer on the network that I offload the actual rough tasks to. This might end up being a good solution for you too. 3. This might also future-proof you for the ARM switch. If you have a good build computer, and a cheap "interface" computer, you can switch to a new ARM computer in a bit with little pain: none of the the "real" stuff has to change. It kinda sucks for multi-monitor though. It really struggles with it.

jeddf 6y ago

I naively picked up a late 2018 air without considering the thermal aspects of the performance. It sounds obvious but I totally missed it and bought on basis of the benchmark numbers, make sure to look at the thermal performance under sustained loads. Notebookcheck do a good job at deep diving on this in their review https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-2018-i5-256-GB-Laptop-Review.357481.0.html https://www.notebookcheck.net/Apple-MacBook-Air-2018-i5-256-.... It's basically passively cooled! There's no heatpipe connecting the fan to the CPU so it kicks up to max all the time trying to cool it but can't make much of a dent on the temp. Really mind boggling. I had to switch back to my old pro machine and felt like a bit of a berk for not reading up on that aspect.