Welcome to the Treehouse Community

Want to collaborate on code errors? Have bugs you need feedback on? Looking for an extra set of eyes on your latest project? Get support with fellow developers, designers, and programmers of all backgrounds and skill levels here with the Treehouse Community! While you're at it, check out some resources Treehouse students have shared here.

Looking to learn something new?

Treehouse offers a seven day free trial for new students. Get access to thousands of hours of content and join thousands of Treehouse students and alumni in the community today.

Start your free trial

Design

Is this the laptop I should invest in??

It's an Apple-MacBook Air, 11.6" display, intel core i5, 4gb memory with 128gb flash storage. I'm not to sure about the 'air' part in the title because I heard those computer break more easily. If someone could get back to me, whether it's about this computer or a different computer, that'd be awesome. I want to build and design games, I'm starting out with apps, an then working my way up the chain. So if someone can help me out with this sometime soon, that'd be great. :)

I actually would go for the pro. I had an MacBook Air before and it was great but being limited to 4gb of RAM(well, mine had 2gb) kicks in when you run design programs. Gets sluggish at times. If you're going to run like Sketch and just Sublime Text then def get the MacBook Air but if you think you're going to run Photoshop, etc. I think it'd be a better invest to get a Pro.

justinw
justinw
14,517 Points

I would agree with David Tonge that the MacBook Pro is your best option. They just had a minor refresh recently and for coding, design and gaming it'll be your best choice for multi-tasking and demanding resources to perform at their maximum potential.

They're a little pricer, but definitely target an SSD + 8gb ram at a minimum. I would also get no less than 256gb hd space.

2 Answers

Alexander Stanuga
Alexander Stanuga
11,999 Points

I've heard anecdotally from friends that the Mac Book Air doesn't have enough processing power or spec to run Adobe CC, it was in relation to a School purchase, they bought a bunch of Air's but weren't able to run Photoshop on them.

I can't say I've tried myself, but I'd be sure to investigate if I were you. In my opinion you want to buy the most powerful machine you can afford, mainly for longevity reasons. As applications progressively develop, you'll find they use up more and more of the available spec. I'm still running a bottom level 2010 MacBook Pro, although it gets by, I've updated the RAM to it's full capacity and have ALL my files saved externally in order to ensure I have enough HD for Photoshops scratch disk. The computer still works excellently when running applications released for it's spec, but I'm now in desperate need of an upgrade as I have too many (and much needed) apps installed that slow it down.

Robyn Goodwin
PLUS
Robyn Goodwin
Courses Plus Student 10,009 Points

I just went back and forth on whether to buy an air or a Macbook pro. I finally settled on a Macbook Pro because of the storage capabilities. The Air is a lighter machine and is a comparable machine. So if you want a light laptop because you're going to be carrying it around go with the Air. My niece bought the Air and is very happy with it. She's Dental Hygenist that keeps her patient files on it as shemoves from office to office. So it's working for her, It's really a personal decision, think about how much memory you're going to need with learning to code, as well as the programs you'll be running, that should help make your decision.

I'll look into both of them again, thank you for the input it really IS helpful :)