Ram question for macbook air 11''.

Hey guys,

I am planning on buying a macbook air 11'' (baseline model) and wondering whether or not I should bump up the ram. I plan to run these following programs and if someone can let me know whether or not I should bump it up, I will greatly appreciate it.

1) MS Office
2) Iwork
3) startup programs - fantastical, coversutra, caffeine, dropbox, evernote, dateline
4) mental case study app
5) iLife

Not planning on doing any film editing or gaming (sometime light gaming like angry birds or something)

Few more questions :

1) Does the macbook air come with a USB stick with os x lion on it?
2) will os x lion run smoothly with just 2gb of ram?
3) How is the battery life compared to the 13 inch?

Hope someone can clear these queries for me.

Thanks in advance

 

please Buy 4gb, Do Not Buy 2gb, Think Of The Future

Buy 4gb!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

same as above. it may run fine now but in a year or two 2gb may not be enough and with the macbook air i believe the ram is soldiered to the board so you can't upgrade later. get the 4gb upgrade

 

1) Does the macbook air come with a USB stick with os x lion on it?

No, recovery is dependent upon a separate partition, called the "Recovery Partition", in concert with internet downloading any components required for a restoration.

2) will os x lion run smoothly with just 2gb of ram?

All by itself, yes. Once you start layering applications and startup items, you will be longing for more memory. Don't do it. Get the 4 GB unit.

3) How is the battery life compared to the 13 inch?

About 30% less runtime than the 13". Apple says 5 hours for the 11", versus 7 Hours for the 13". Real world is anywhere from 2.5-5 hours. My 11" averages 3 - 3.5 hours the way I use it (similar to your description).

 

Thanks guys for all the replies. I will heed your warning and go with the 4gb ram upgrade. Thanks again and I really appreciate it