Memory or Processor Upgrade for MacAir?

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Nov 9, 2012
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Ventura, CA
Your Mac's Specs
Macbook Pro: Early 2011; 2.3GHz; 8GB RAM; version 10.9.4 OS X
I decided to cash in my MacBook Pro later on this month and get a Macbook Air for better compatibility.

Now, I got some reconfiguration options, but only want to spend the money on one. Which would you prefer? What would be better in the long run?

Processor: upgrade from an i5-1.7Ghz Dual core to an i7-2.0 GHz dual core ($150)
or....

Memory: upgrade from a 4GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM to a 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L SDRAM ($100).

I plan to run Adobe Photoshop software and elements, and Rosetta stone software, I also plan to put on Windows 7 (via bootcamp)...or maybe Windows 8 later on.

Any thoughts? Or will it really be worth getting both reconfigured?
 
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Louisville, KY - USA
Your Mac's Specs
MBP 17" 2011, 2.3GHz Intel Quad-Core i7, 8GB RAM, MacMini 2011, 2.7GHz Intel Dual-Core i7, 8GB RAM
You can never upgrade the Air after purchase. Anything. What you buy, you are stuck with for the time you have it.

Get the best you can afford. Especially if you want to use it like a MBP. Which it is not.

What are the stats of the pro, it may be better anyway.
 

cwa107


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Your Mac's Specs
14" MacBook Pro M1 Pro, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD
Personally, if it's an either/or proposition, I'd go with the upgraded memory. The i7 and i5 in the MBA are both dual core, if I'm not mistaken - and I'm not convinced that hyperthreading is that big of a deal in terms of tangible performance difference - certainly 300MHz of clockspeed isn't much of a difference.

Where you're really going to be up against the limitations of that machine will be in dual-booting another operating system - make sure you've got enough SSD capacity to comfortably house both OSes.
 

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