Bootcamp on new macbook air?

Is it doable? Any potential issues?
I'm an engineering student and I need to run programs from cadence/mathworks.

 

The tricky part is that you need to have an external DVD drive to be able to install Windows with Boot Camp. The external Super Drive Apple sells goes for $99. It is doable definitely. Keep in mind that on the low-end MBA you get only 64 GB of space on the flash drive, so space will be an issue from the get-go.

 

Don't forget that running Windows will take a toll on your battery life...

 

I just checked on the order page for the MBA, the Super Drive can be had for $79 when buying it along with the MBA. Pretty cool.

 

Although it's possible to have Boot Camp on the new Air with the size of storage they come with it may not be a good idea. You may instead think about a virtual machine option...

 

why even buy a macbook air then? get a macbook or macbook pro

 

Cuz i'd like something thin that I can slip in my messenger bag along with my books.

 

I agree with setting up a VM instead of using Boot Camp. The only reason for Boot Camp I see is if you want to run Windows games. Having a VM allows you to move it to an external hard-drive should you need to expand it's size.

 

i would still recommend a macbook pro. they can easily fit in a messenger bag and the pro is probably still smaller than many of your books.

 

We're assuming that you can partition this new flashdrive. If its like any conventional drive then it should be ok, but I wouldn't be surprised if you couldn't partition it for some wacky reason.

 

For SolidWorks, LabVIEW, and a lot of other engineering software, you need to have Windows installed natively. Take this into consideration when thinking about Boot Camp vs Parallels/VM - if you plan to BootCamp it, get the 128GB SSD.

 

Haven't tried to do boot camp yet but I'll let you know because I am planning to do it soon can't live without playing some of my windows games lol even though I'd prolly be better off playing them on another machine. hehehe

 

Not to be rude, but you're making a very stupid decision. Get a Macbook Pro

 

Really constructive, my friend. Way to be helpful.

I put 7 Ultimate (64 bit) on the 11er (64GB hard disk, too....I'm getting supertight on space). Other than the space thing though, it works great. Pretty similar to my experiences with the MBP13, actually.

 

Be nice. Say why you think it's a bad idea, not LOL GOD UR STUPID HURR.

 

Just put windows 7 ultimate on mine and let me tell you it runs great

 

and the battery life ?

 

how's the temperature? I was going to buy one, but I'm scared it will burn my hand s

I touched the macbook pro 2010 in bestbuy, it runs hot!

 

Look, people will believe what they want to regardless of advice given. This guy's mind is already made up.

He wants to run engineering applications, not play Solitaire, how anyone can recommend a MBA is seriously beyond me.

Just listen to the reason he gave for wanting the Air: It can fit in his messenger bag! Firstly, there's no bag the MBA will fit into that will not accomodate the 13" MBP. Let's assume I'm wrong and his messenger bag is the size of a purse, is he really unwilling to make the $30 investment to get a bag that fits his books alongside the right computer for the job? Cause really, an Air isn't going to cut it if you intend to do anything serious with Mathwork's MATLAB or Cadence's design suites (I'm familiar with both, recent EE grad here)

He wants an Air and is just going to ignore all other opinions until he's been convinced enough that it's a good idea.

Nothing wrong with that, but why bother asking advice if you're just going to make excuses to not take it? Some people have already told him a MBP is the best thing for his uses but he can't compromise because it's 2 lbs heavier and can't "fit in his messenger bag"

I'm just tired of threads like these.

/rant

 

See, look, was that so hard? Good job.

 

Tired of threads like these, sorry about that, perhaps we'll PM you first to check if you're 'ok' with the subject matter?

Nice to see a bit of intolerance online.

As for the question in hand I'd be interested to know how the MBA 2 handles VMware as well?

There is quite a bit of difference between an MBP and the latest MBA. It's all ultimately just a personal choice, posters often come on here, listen to the advice of others which allows them to confirm their own intentions, there's nothing wrong with that.

 

Fair enough.

I apologize, still I would advise you to get a more functional product. If price is an issue maybe you should look at some PCs? If you must have OS X then it's a problem cause you're really limited to the Pro line from description of your intended use.

However, I realize aesthetics are also pretty important and naturally people find a balance between the two ... Giving up some functionality because they want a product that appeals to them in the looks department. I did the same thing when buying a 13" Pro over the 15" Pro.

Still the Air is really really pushing it if you intend to design/validate models with either MATLAB's Simulink or any of Cadence's tools. I mean, it's a netbook pretty much. That type of computer is used for websurfing and basic email stuff, not what you described in the OP.

 

Wait hang on. How can you advocate an MBP13 over the Air when they're not actually that far apart performance-wise? You're looking at Core 2 either way, and if we're looking at the 13" Air, it's at most a 0.5GHz bump - on Core 2 that's not a lot. A 1.86 GHz Core 2 Duo will do basically everything a 2.4 GHz clocked part will, nearly as well.

Unless you're making the jump to the 15"er and its Core i5/i7 processors (which is close to doubling the carried weight and adds significantly to the cost) it simply isn't worth jumping from the Air 13 to the MBP13 for the performance aspect. It's $200 cheaper (with 4GB memory) and gives you an optical drive, but you lose the SSD and overall computing performance won't be too different. There's nothing you can do with a 2.5 year old 2.4GHz processor that can't be done on a 2.5 year old 1.86 or 2.13GHz processor.

 

Since there's no difference between 2.4 GHz and 1.86 GHz ... I guess there's no difference between 1.86 GHz and 1.32 GHz. By the same token, there's no difference between 1.32 GHz and 780 MHz ... Should the OP get a 780 MHz computer and use it to run engineering applications because it fits in his messenger bag?

 

Both the 11 and 13-inch flavors of the MBA do have virtualization support, so VMWare will run decently on it. The limiting factor is RAM, which on the MBA will be hard, if not impossible, to upgrade with aftermarket chips since it's soldered onto the motherboard (on the 11-inch models at least; not sure about 13 inch models). Having an SSD drive helps in-terms of disk speed for VM's, but again, the space on SSD drives comes at a huge premium still.

Specifications for the processors on the 11-inch and 13-inch MBA's, which shows they both have virtualization support:
11-inch MBA @ 1.4 GHz - Intel C2D SU9400
13-inch MBA @ 1.86 GHz - Intel C2D SL9400

 

Both versions of the new MBA have soldered RAM.

 

the MBP processor is quite a bit faster... the MBP can hold twice as much max ram. The MBP has faster graphics, because its not seriously underclocked like the MBA.

 

right, but any external DVD drive will do. there's nothing special about the Apple branded external drive.

you're paying $40 more than you need to.

 

Very true. The only thing that (for me) would be the reason to choose Apple's Super-Drive is that it can be powered by a single USB port. Plus the Super-Drive is a slot-loading drive, making it thinner and easier to transport. So paying the extra premium for those two aspects is worth it.

Then again... the need for a DVD drive these days is rapidly coming to a close.

 

I've got a base spec '$999' 11" Air (will update signature in a second) and I've stuck on Windows 7 Professional via BootCamp. Quite impressed it runs surprisingly well given the lack of CPU power and RAM, seems the SSD makes it feel very snappy. Graphics power is also excellent with the GeForce 320M scoring 5.0/ 5.9 in the WEI. Battery life and heat/ power management isn't significantly worse than OS X.

 

be sure to check out this page.

Newegg.com - usb dvd drive

all of those except the last few on the page are USB powered.

Newegg.com - Velocity Micro 8X DVD+R 8X DVD-R 8X DVD-ROM 24X CD-R 24X CD-ROM USB 8x External Slot Loading CD/DVD Writer Model VMdrive Pro

this one is slot loading. but it's up to you. for me, I use the DVD drive so infrequently, its loading mechanism is irrelevant. just as long as it works when I need to use it (once every 2 months).

yes, in the case of the Air, I wouldn't expect much battery life difference. why? because the problem with MacBook Pro's and the biggest reason why they don't have great battery life in Windows is because the Windows drivers force the discrete GPU (9600/330M) intead of being able to use the integrated GPU. since the Air only has the one GPU, I expect very little difference in battery life from one OS to the other.

 

It Apple's fault we can't use the intergraded video card in Windows, not MS's.

 

If we're looking at Core 2, then no, I'd argue that there's little to no merit in buying the MBP13 over the Air 13, or the Air 13 over the Air 11, simply for performance benefits when you're running engineering software. It's like asking whether you want a 160bhp Accord, a 140bhp Civic, or a 120bhp Fit for using on track days. Sure the Accord will be faster (well, that's debatable, but for the sake of the current discussion, let's assume it is) but all three are so much worse off performance-wise that one wonders if it really matters anymore.

Having run SolidWorks/Ansys/etc on enough number of laptops, seriously, if you're running Core 2 mobile, performance will be pitiful regardless of clock speed. Maybe the 2.66GHz+ parts are faster, but anything this side of 2.5GHz is pretty god-awful slow. I'm not saying that the MBP13 won't be faster than the Air, I'm just saying that it won't be faster by enough to warrant the decision hinging either way on performance characteristics that regardless of your choice are so far behind most decently powerful notebooks anyways.

The Air 11/13 and the Pro 13 all run the same 450 core/950 shader clocks.

 

thats a problem, but not the only one. Macbook Pro 13" with only integrated available still often get a few hours less in battery life in Windows.

its funny that before the Core i series came out, people thought the Core 2 ran the same software just fine... but now all of a sudden its pitiful. I think your exaggerating a bit. yes there is a newer processor out that runs it better, but that doesn't mean the old one changed in how it runs things.

then why do the new MBAs benchmark so slow in graphics that the 9400Ms look faster?

 

Which benchmarks are you looking at? Based on the benchmarks I have run, it's roughly 10-20% slower in gaming than the MBP13 due to the CPU bottleneck, but it's faster than the i3/G 310M combo in the Asus thin and lights, and in a totally different league than the older 9400M.

 

thats great if you ran your own benchmarks... there were several early ones that showed the OpenGL performance seriously slower than the MBP 13

 

These are the benchmarks I ran - Apple's 2010 MacBook Air (11 & 13 inch) Thoroughly Reviewed - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News

 

Battery life is noticeably shorter, on OSX the best battery life I got on it so far is roughly 7-8 hours going to class from 8-4 and by the time I got out of my 4pm class it was dwindling around 4mins left. That was with light web browsing and typing notes. Using Windows 7 I managed to get about 5-6 hours doing the same thing. Screen brightness was at about 2 ticks lower than half way, wifi was on, bluetooth off, and Google chrome open with Word 2008. Still very good battery life.

As for heat while running Windows 7 the bottom of it does get hotter and the fan does to run a bit more but it's nothing I'm too concerned about. While watching some HD videos it does tend get very warm but normal internet surfing and note taking was fine. Only when gaming does it just about burn your hand but that's with an hour of playing Fallout New Vegas lol.

 

do any of the fan controls programs work with it? SMCFanControl in OSX, and Lubbos in Windows? I wouldn't want to game on that thing without manually cranking the fan up fast. With how they put the SSD in there, it seems like it can get hotter than normal ones that are cased up like a hard drive.

 

Just to add a little to the discussion (as I've been researching this for my wife):

Education discount at Apple: 13" Macbook Pro 2.4Ghz, 4G RAM and 256G SSD - $1819.00

Macbook Air 13 - 2.1Ghz, 4G RAM and 256G SSD with external Superdrive - $1808.00

Apples to apples (sorry - couldn't help myself...!) the MBA 13 is similar price point, slightly slower CPU, external vs built-in optical, 35% lighter (2.9lb vs 4.5lb) and the biggest difference for me - 21% more pixels on the screen (1440x900 vs 1280x800).

It all comes down to what your priorities are, what you need to do and what you are willing to compromise.

Thx

 

BTW, thanks to those that have confirmed that Bootcamp will run on the new MBAs. This answers one of my biggest concerns with purchasing one for my wife.

Have a good one!

 

Don't forget to add in the weight of the external optical drive if you're going to be using it in comparisons.

 

I feel remis not at least mentioning to those thinking about spending $1,600+ on a MacBook Air:

The Sony Vaio Z is a better product in literally every way (save thinness).

 

Z is mad expensive though lol

 

Have to agree with this. It's at the top of my short list. Though the 1600 x 900 res @ 13.1" concerns me a little. Of course there's always the quick DPI fix.

Shame Apple decided to nix the backlit keyboard on the Air.

 

Even though the new macbook air is great, the SONY Z beats it hands down in every category, except maybe price and even the base configuration of the Z($1799.00) will blow away the macbook.
And I wouldn't worry about the Z's 1600x900 res the pinch and zoom feature works great on it.

 

I agree, I am a huge fan of the Vaio Z. And the 1600x900 resolution actually looks perfect though I'd probably push it and go for the 1080p.

 

I hear ya on the Sony Vaio Z - it looks really nice...!

My wife however wants to take her notebook with her everywhere (she's a writer, so any excuse to sit down and write is good for her). For that - the weight and form factor is a huge deal.

Oh well - I'll just keep loving my HP Envy15. Might not have an optical, but 1920x1080 resolution is awesome!

 

I do have a z590ubb atm but it's getting old which is why i was looking for a replacement. I've already paid almost 4k once for a Sony Z and didn't think that it was worth it. The little z runs pretty warm as there is only one exhaust at the side. The envy seemed like a good alternative until I found out the radiance screens were discontinued.

 

I OFTEN run OS and Win7 in VMWare Fusion. I see little to no lag in day-to-day use. Unless you have Safari with 10 tabs and 4-5 other applications along with VMWare, then yeah, you'll see the lag.