macbook air for biological research applications?

[lycophidion]

I've been trying decide between a 13" macbook air and a 13" macbook pro(r) (and, actually, also a lenovo X1 carbon), but tilting toward the first because of the weight, a primary consideration. For the most part, I'd use the computer for teaching (prepping and presenting ppts, spreadsheet work, etc) or word processing, but I also run some computationally intensive DNA analysis software. My question is, can a maxed-out macbook air (i7 and 8 gb ram) handle these programs?

Thanks!

 

[nikkisharif]

Its possible. The largest amount of of storage available is 512GB, so if that's not an issue then I don't see why not. If you think you'll need more Ram & storage in the future, you may want to check out the MacBook Pro w/Retina Display. The 13" model is only half a pound heavier than the Air.