16GB usage clarification and longevity

[6749974]

How long can you expect 16GB to be sufficient for general Office, productivity/web based work etc with a bit of light photo editing? (The usual ‘casual/amateur/typical’ MBA user.

Probably for the next decade.

Secondly, for someone who has 16GB with the new M3 chip, how is memory pressure with multiple tabs open and the usual usage case?

I don't have an M3 chip with 16 GB but we can use basic math to get some ideas.

• macOS + GPU will wire about 1-3 GB, lets call it 2 GB
• That means with 16 GB RAM, you have 14 GB left for applications
• The avg. website is 120 MB (according to my usage)
• So with 14,000 MB (14 GB) thats 116 tabs
• With memory compression, you could probably fit 12 more tabs
• So thats 128 tabs before swap is needed

And swap isn't a big deal when dealing with web browsing—up to a point. But knowing this estimated number is good because it tells you that if you are using 7 GB of app memory for other things (eg. design apps) then you'll have 64 tab capacity for web research, or whatever, and it won't have much impact on whatever else you're doing.

 

[6749974]

No way lol. My 2013 loaded MBP became useless this year. The fans spin constantly even with the computer in sleep mode with lid closed, spotlight and mail app search is non functional, has not received MacOS updates in years. Zoom and Teams calls overload the computer at best, assuming the other line can hear you over the fan noise.

That computer is over 10 years old so

• it needs to be opened and cleaned of dust; that alone will make a huge difference.
• Then you can reapply thermal paste to bring it back to "like new."
• And finally use Open Core Legacy Patcher to put macOS Sonoma or macOS Ventura on it.

You'll get another 5 years out of it easy.

I have a loaded 2014 MBP, and while I use my M2 MacBook Air day to day, the 2014 MBP is still a great backup and I use it for Windows Bootcamp weekly. It can be of use for another decade. I still have a 2010 MacBook Air that works like new (I just keep it on an old OSX).

EDIT: typo

 

[KhunJay]

When I bought my Intel MBP 13" in 2018, the stock memory was 8MB.
But I paid the premium to upgrade it to 16GB

For many years I ran the machine on Mojave and it was a capable machine.
Last month I took a giant leap to Ventura, got myself a AX3000 router and
it now feels like I bought a new computer.

I credit the 16GB upgrade for this to a large extent.

Whenever possible, if budget permits, I would always look at maxing the memory
slot available. You may not need it now but 5 years later, you never know.

 

[Torty]

When I bought my Intel MBP 13" in 2018, the stock memory was 8MB.
But I paid the premium to upgrade it to 16GB

For many years I ran the machine on Mojave and it was a capable machine.
Last month I took a giant leap to Ventura, got myself a AX3000 router and
it now feels like I bought a new computer.

I credit the 16GB upgrade for this to a large extent.

Whenever possible, if budget permits, I would always look at maxing the memory
slot available. You may not need it now but 5 years later, you never know.

I think it's also a psychological thing. You need to be "right" on your purchase decision. So maybe if you would have bought 8GB you would say today that it runs great under Ventura and you invested the saved 200 USD in crypto market back then which is now worth 2000 USD 😁

 

[bluedoggiant]

That computer is over 10 years old so

• it needs to opened and cleaned of dust; that alone will make a huge difference.
• Then you can reapply thermal paste to bring it back to "like new."
• And finally use Open Core Legacy Patcher to put macOS Sonoma or macOS Ventura on it.

You'll get another 5 years out of it easy.

I have a loaded 2014 MBP, and while I use my M2 MacBook Air day to day, the 2014 MBP is still a great backup and I use it for Windows Bootcamp weekly. It can be of use for another decade. I still have a 2010 MacBook Air that works like new (I just keep it on an old OSX).

I’m sure these things will make a difference, I did not know about Legacy Patcher. Mine also has a severely swollen battery. At a certain point, it may make more sense to pick up a used MBA with Silicon for a couple hundred bucks for minimal effort performance boost.

 

[krspkbl]

16GB is plenty.

I think a lot of people just don't understand how RAM works so there is a lot of misleading posts. If you're new to Mac and coming from Windows then you need to know they report RAM usage a little differently. Windows doesn't include cached memory as used whereas macOS does. At first I was alarmed to see macOS using 12GB out of 16GB but 4-5GB of that is cached so really, going by Windows logic, it was only using 7-8GB. For comparison, my 64GB RAM pc is reporting that is using 10.9GB but if this was a Mac it'd be using 42.7GB.

I have the M3 Air with 16GB. No matter how hard I pushed my M3 Air the RAM wouldn't go above 13GB. I only pushed it as hard as I think I'd use it. If I really wanted to push it I'd have downloaded apps I'll never use to stress it. From another post I made here is what I found:

safari - 22 tabs - youtube streaming 4K, tiktok, google maps 3d, x/twitter, reddit are the most demanding sites
spotify streaming at highest quality (muted)
mail app open
imessage open
calendar open
notes open
reminders open
photos open
apple maps open
weather open
bitwarden open
apple music open
6 pdfs open

16GB physical memory
12.6-12.9GB used
3.25-3.95GB cached
4.97-5.86GB app memory
2.6-3.9GB wired memory
3.2-3.44GB compressed memory
0 bytes Swapped

Memory pressure is still in the green.

I'd suggest you simply use your devices and see if they offer a suitable experience and performance that you're happy with. Don't even worry about RAM. If you want to look then you should only really look at "App Memory" and "Memory Pressure" in Activity Monitor. App Memory doesn't seem to include cached memory. Memory pressure sums the usage up in a graph with colours. If you're using 13GB and the memory pressure is low and green then you're good because it's probably mostly using cached/compressed memory. If you're in the yellow with 13-14GB then it probably means the OS can't allocate as much space to cache/compressed memory so that suggests you don't have enough RAM. If you're in the red then yeah you're probably hitting the limits and heavily relying on SWAP.

Don't worry about compressed, cached, or SWAP memory. They are normal and macOS (and every other OS) uses them to optimize memory management. Let the OS do its job and trust it knows better than you.

Most people who buy a MacBook Air are only using it for web browsing, watching Netflix, streaming music, doing homework, etc. Other devices with 16GB are gaming consoles. The PS5 has 16GB unified memory, the Xbox Series X has 16GB unified memory, the Steam Deck has 16GB unified memory. So if you don't play games you're likely good for another 4-5 years with 16GB. If 16GB isn't going to be enough for you when doing non gaming stuff then you probably already know this and will pick the 24GB option or get a MacBook Pro instead.

 

[mdnz]

If you’re not a *professional* developer or video editor, you don’t need more than 16GB for a long time. If you do it as a hobby it’s also arguably wasted money if you get more than 16.

 

[AlixSPQR]

16 GB RAM should be fine until anything breaks, then you have a shiny brick to decorate with in your home.

 

[leifp]

I can categorically state that 8Gb is not enough. Go for 8GB…

And 8GB is more than you need for your tasks, OP. If you prefer 16GB because it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and you don’t mind (and can afford) paying for something you do not need, have at it.

Unless, of course, by “general Office, productivity/web based work etc with a bit of light photo editing? The usual ‘casual/amateur/typical’ MBA user” you mean Excel files with dozens of tabs each with hundreds of thousands of cells, and 100 transforms of a dozen 500MP files regularly…

 

[Falcon9]

This video is helpful in illustrating the difference the amount of ram makes. In summary, 16GB is plenty for most workflows and it's diminishing returns after that.

 

[Lift Bar]

No way lol. My 2013 loaded MBP became useless this year. The fans spin constantly even with the computer in sleep mode with lid closed, spotlight and mail app search is non functional, has not received MacOS updates in years. Zoom and Teams calls overload the computer at best, assuming the other line can hear you over the fan noise.

Clean the Fans: Use compressed air to clean out the fans and remove any dust buildup.
Check Activity Monitor: Look for any apps using a lot of resources and consider closing them.
Reset SMC: Shut down your MacBook, then hold Shift + Control + Option and the power button for 10 seconds. Release and turn on your MacBook.
Reindex Spotlight: Go to System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy, add your hard drive, wait a bit, then remove it to start reindexing.
Update Software: Make sure all your apps, especially Zoom and Teams, are up to date.

Honestly, your 2013 MacBook Pro should still work fine for tasks like Zoom and Teams calls, email, and web browsing. If these steps don't improve performance, it might be worth getting a check-up at an Apple Store or an authorized service provider.

 

[Alex Cai]

Secondly, for someone who has 16GB with the new M3 chip, how is memory pressure with multiple tabs open and the usual usage case?

Many thanks

16GB is enough, and here you go (M2)

 

[bradman83]

Hi,

I know this ‘dilemma’ has been done to death. I remember buying a MBP with 16GB RAM in 2013 (I think!).

I’ve read the different threads etc but just wanted to ask, with 16GB now slowly becoming the recommended memory configuration for most people unless very light usage. How long can you expect 16GB to be sufficient for general Office, productivity/web based work etc with a bit of light photo editing? (The usual ‘casual/amateur/typical’ MBA user.

Secondly, for someone who has 16GB with the new M3 chip, how is memory pressure with multiple tabs open and the usual usage case?

Many thanks

I have a 14" MBP with an M1 Pro and 16 GB of RAM and it runs circles around my work issued HP laptop with an 11th generation i7 and 32GB of RAM (U-series chip, not H-series). And I regularly have Photoshop, Lightroom, and supporting photo editing apps open in tandem, plus browser windows and other background apps. I've had it for just over 2 years and I expect it to serve me for at least another 3 years unless a truly compelling upgrade comes out. When I replace it I'll go for 32GB RAM (or maybe splurge for more) but even if I were to keep the laptop for 5-6 years it would still outrun whatever Windows laptop my employer issues me.

 

[6749974]

I’m sure these things will make a difference, I did not know about Legacy Patcher. Mine also has a severely swollen battery. At a certain point, it may make more sense to pick up a used MBA with Silicon for a couple hundred bucks for minimal effort performance boost.

Are you going to get it fixed by Apple for $200? or just give it to Apple ("recycle") and put the $200 into a new Mac?

That thing is a fire risk, but putting $200 into a new battery may feel like a waste if you're upgrading soon anyway.

 

[Torty]

Most people who buy a MacBook Air are only using it for web browsing, watching Netflix, streaming music, doing homework, etc. Other devices with 16GB are gaming consoles. The PS5 has 16GB unified memory, the Xbox Series X has 16GB unified memory, the Steam Deck has 16GB unified memory. So if you don't play games you're likely good for another 4-5 years with 16GB. If 16GB isn't going to be enough for you when doing non gaming stuff then you probably already know this and will pick the 24GB option or get a MacBook Pro instead.

And I would question if the MBA with its fan-less design is the right machine if you are into heavy tasks like gaming / long 4k/3D video editing etc

 

[6749974]

Windows doesn't include cached memory as used whereas macOS does.

Activity Monitor separates Memory Used and Cached Files. Although it's unclear to me if an app like Photoshop, which needs to create a cache file, will have that included in Memory Used or Cached Files.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Hi,

I know this ‘dilemma’ has been done to death. I remember buying a MBP with 16GB RAM in 2013 (I think!).

I’ve read the different threads etc but just wanted to ask, with 16GB now slowly becoming the recommended memory configuration for most people unless very light usage. How long can you expect 16GB to be sufficient for general Office, productivity/web based work etc with a bit of light photo editing? (The usual ‘casual/amateur/typical’ MBA user.

Secondly, for someone who has 16GB with the new M3 chip, how is memory pressure with multiple tabs open and the usual usage case?

Many thanks

Put it this way, by the time 16GB isn't sufficient for light uses, every Mac sold today will, most likely, have been rendered obsolete due to Apple dropping support (likely for reasons having nothing to do with RAM). That being said, no one can predict the future.

I generally advise, at least on the lower-end with the suffix-less M series as well as the M Pro series to get as much RAM as one can afford (simply because you can't change your mind five years down the line without replacing the whole computer and most people, outside of the wealthy folks on these forums, can't afford a new Mac every five years).

Incidentally, I have multiple M1 Macs with 16GB of RAM. Memory pressure isn't a problem for me doing basic tasks the way that it is on M1 Macs that I own that have 8GB of RAM. There's nothing inherent to the M3 family that ought to change how this works.

 

[Torty]

Put it this way, by the time 16GB isn't sufficient for light uses, every Mac sold today will, most likely, have been rendered obsolete due to Apple dropping support (likely for reasons having nothing to do with RAM). That being said, no one can predict the future.

I generally advise, at least on the lower-end with the suffix-less M series as well as the M Pro series to get as much RAM as one can afford (simply because you can't change your mind five years down the line without replacing the whole computer and most people, outside of the wealthy folks on these forums, can't afford a new Mac every five years).

Incidentally, I have multiple M1 Macs with 16GB of RAM. Memory pressure isn't a problem for me doing basic tasks the way that it is on M1 Macs that I own that have 8GB of RAM. There's nothing inherent to the M3 family that ought to change how this works.

Why you should max out only cause you can afford it? Buying 128GB Ram you will never need and use? Makes no sense to me.

Edit: OK you wrote about the M3/Pro.
IMO if you are not able to work with 16GB cause you are out of memory additional 50% will not make it.

 

[6749974]

And I would question if the MBA with its fan-less design is the right machine if you are into heavy tasks like gaming / long 4k/3D video editing etc

True but also an M3 chip is 2x faster than a 2019 16-inch MBP, and people were buying those for video editing and small project 3D work between 2019 and 2021. If the M3 Air is throttling, then its only 1.8x faster than a 2019 16-inch MBP—so still quite capable even without fans.

Obviously throwing more money at more CPU and GPU cores—with active cooling to support all that extra heat—will compress processing time down even further, but I no longer question people buying Airs for medium to heavy workloads if they are OK with slower processing time than an M3 Max, because maybe they only do that kind of stuff occasionally (eg. hobby) and for the rest of the time they just want something that feels good in the hand and on the couch.

 

[Yebubbleman]

Why you should max out only cause you can afford it? Buying 128GB Ram you will never need and use? Makes no sense to me.

Edit: OK you wrote about the M3/Pro.

Oh yeah; maxing to 64GB/96GB/128GB/192GB when it's not needed is definitely a waste. You're not future-proofing it enough (the Mac will lose the ability to run software and/or become insufficient for reasons having nothing to do with RAM at that point).

IMO if you are not able to work with 16GB cause you are out of memory additional 50% will not make it.

Depends on how much memory you're using. If you're only flirting with yellow memory pressure on 16GB, 24GB will provide enough headroom. I do agree that 32GB/36GB is going to be more comfortable. But it also depends on the use case and how that use case is likely to evolve over the computer's supported lifetime.

 

[za9ra22]

And I would question if the MBA with its fan-less design is the right machine if you are into heavy tasks like gaming / long 4k/3D video editing etc

Actually, it does better than that quite readily. I was working on a simultaneous process of importing, converting and exporting a 7,000 ebook library last night via a library management app, while I also had a 2,600 page Word document open in LibreOffice, an iMovie project and a 4 hour QuickTime movie streaming from it via AirPlay to my Apple TV.... It ran slightly warm.

I wouldn't expect any serious gamer would use one of these though, but that's about the screen not the RAM, and I sure wouldn't want to do anything like pro-level photo work on it either - that is RAM!

I have tried a couple of pro-level video projects in FCP, and it was quite happy and usable though. I've not experienced any notable warmups.

 

[raythompsontn]

I can categorically state that 8Gb is not enough. Go for 8GB…

Say what?

You state that 8GB is not enough, then state to go for 8GB. There is a conflict categorically stating.

 

[Torty]

Actually, it does better than that quite readily. I was working on a simultaneous process of importing, converting and exporting a 7,000 ebook library last night via a library management app, while I also had a 2,600 page Word document open in LibreOffice, an iMovie project and a 4 hour QuickTime movie streaming from it via AirPlay to my Apple TV.... It ran slightly warm.

I wouldn't expect any serious gamer would use one of these though, but that's about the screen not the RAM, and I sure wouldn't want to do anything like pro-level photo work on it either - that is RAM!

I have tried a couple of pro-level video projects in FCP, and it was quite happy and usable though. I've not experienced any notable warmups.

Who is importing 7k ebooks? How many lives do you need to read all this? 😁 4h Movie in times of tick tock and YouTube shorts.

I think most videos watched are much much shorter.

Pro Photo editing:
Macrumors is a pro site and no hobby site. I can't imagine that 8GB is not enough for Pro-Photo editing in most cases like this:

 

[coffeemilktea]

How long can you expect 16GB to be sufficient for general Office, productivity/web based work etc with a bit of light photo editing? (The usual ‘casual/amateur/typical’ MBA user.

Realistically, a lot of those things will work fine on a $200 Chromebook, and at that price point, a lot of them only have about 4GB to 8GB of RAM... and I imagine they'll work fine for years to come despite having so little memory.

So the real question is less "can I physically run my apps on this hardware" and more "should you spend over a thousand dollars on a laptop when Apple is so stingy with memory?" (keep in mind that for $31 more than the price of the cheapest 13-inch M3 MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM, HP will sell you a laptop with 64 GB of RAM and 4 TB of storage )

But to answer your question, 16 GB is completely fine, and I frequently have Chrome, Pixelmator Pro, and Apple Music all open at the same time with no lag or slowdown with that much memory.

 

[za9ra22]

Who is importing 7k ebooks? How many lives do you need to read all this? 😁 4h Movie in times of tick tock and YouTube shorts.

I think most videos watched are much much shorter.

Pro Photo editing:
Macrumors is a pro site and no hobby site. I can't imagine that 8GB is not enough for Pro-Photo editing in most cases like this:
View attachment 2364472

Ha! Yes, 7,000. I'm a bit of a completist, so it's a thing!

I can't speak to other users or uses, only my own, but as far as 4 hour QuickTime videos are concerned... I have quite a few of those too. Or actually, some quite a bit longer. I don't usually AirPlay them off my MBA though - they're usually played off my Kodi box, but I wanted to apply a bit of pressure to the MBA while it was still in the return window!

It passed, so I'll keep it.