

Ask HN:Xcode on new mac air with SSD? - ashleyreddy

I was considering getting the new Macbook Air with SSD.  Does anyone have one running Xcode? If so how is the performance?  Any Pros/Cons?
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Zev
I use a MBP with an SSD for iPhone dev. The only difference is the screen
size; 15" vs whatever size you have for the Air.

Xcode runs much faster now. Its still going to be the slowest (and largest)
application you'll load (besides iTunes). But, it doesn't feel as heavy
anymore.

Builds are _much_ faster for me; one project used to take > 2m30s to build and
now builds in just over 1m (between getting an SSD and switching from gcc-4.2
to clang).

~~~
ashleyreddy
Thats great info? BTW have you tried Windows in a VM on it?

~~~
Zev
_Thats great info?_

I wasn't quite sure what you were asking, so I went with a generalized
response. If you want more info (Xbench, etc), please ask (here, or in email
if you prefer). I figured since you were asking about Xcode and the SSD,
rather than the screen size specifically, I might be able to answer your
questions.

 _BTW have you tried Windows in a VM on it?_

Only briefly. I spend more time running a VM of Slackware. I don't notice any
slowdown in using it and it does seem faster than before. But, I haven't done
any benchmarking (since I don't have a "before" to compare it to).

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corysama
I use a 2.4Ghz MB for iPhone dev. I'd love to have a smaller laptop with an
SSD, but my games are very, very shader heavy. They run fine on the iPhone4,
but the software gpu emulation in the simulator chugs on my machine. I don't
expect that 1.6Ghz will be usable for my situation...

For everyone else, the SSD should more than compensate for the old CPU. My
Win7 box at home has an Intel SSD and it is like butter.

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zekel
Just got mine today. Very interested in this.

