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Should I upgrade my MacBook Air

I have an old (can't remember year I bought it) MacBook Air 11 inch.

1.7 Ghz Intel Core i5, 4GB Mhz DDR3

My son, aged 16 , needs a computer for school, and I proposed giving him this. He is horrified and said its way too outdated for him. 

Can any one advise please?

If this is your MBA, you can upgrade to Sierra from the AppStore.

MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) - Technical Specifications

You can also (and probably should) install more RAM, at least 8GB. You can check that with the advisory tool in Crucial, or OWC. Both reliable vendors.

Generally speaking, you should always upgrade to the latest possible system that you meet the specs for, as long as you have no “must have” apps that do not meet the specs. Upgrades and updates contain important security improvements plus additional features.

How to upgrade

https://support.apple.com/kb/sp728

https://www.apple.com/osx/how-to-upgrade

Before upgrading:

1. Backup. Anything can happen at any time,, so you should always keep a good backup. Make a bootable clone SuperDuper! or CarbonCopy Cloner or use TimeMachine.

2. If you have issues on your present system don't compound them by installing over them. Solve them first then upgrade.

3 Check HDD for free space. At least 8.8GB of available storage. Preferably much more.

4. Check your applications for compatibility here…https://roaringapps.com/apps.

5. Disconnect all peripherals, including USB hubs.

6. After downloading the installer, it will be in /Applications folder. Duplicate it and then drag the copy it to another locations like Downloads, if you want to save the installer.

7. Be patient, the download takes a long time and the install may look like it has died at times. Ignore it.

Hi,

That MBA may be as new as 2012. 4GBs of RAM is a bit limiting, but will run the newest OS, Sierra. With the 1.7GHz CPU, it will not be as fast as other higher powered machines, but it will do everyday things like word processing, web surfing, playing iTunes, etc. It will not do well with games or video rendering or anything needing a faster CPU/GPU. For an "everyday" machine, it should serve him fine, but nothing above that.

最后更新：2017-08-22 04:54:36

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