That means you are not the “light user” that should be buying 8GB machines.
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8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests
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Agreed, very well said. This is just an unreasonable expectation. And as I pointed out earlier, the RAM spec doesn’t make the device premium, the high display quality, high quality sound system, unrivaled battery runtime, high build quality, and macOS make the MacBook Pro a premium device.
It is very easy to spec a much cheaper Windows laptop with 64GB/1TB for a lot less. But, then it is not “a pro laptop from a premium brand”. It is just as easy to spec an HP, Lenovo or Dell workstation laptop with those spec, that costs above 5-6000 USD (vs 4200 for a 16” M4 Max). But somehow people aren’t all up in arms over those. If Apple laptops seem expensive, you are comparing to the wrong competitors.
Edit: By the way, several of the competitors I looked at above 6000USD MAX OUT at 64 GB Ram, while M4 Max can be specced as 128.
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Exactly! When you actually compare Apple’s pricing against similar competitors, Apple’s pricing is actually very competitive. This is something I demonstrated numerous times before in this thread comparing Apple’s pricing on the MacBook Pro’s with other similar “premium” Windows laptops. And even with those Windows laptops that costed similar or more, most had a worse quality display, and don’t have anywhere close to the same battery runtime. Plus the downside that they’re stuck on atrocious Windows.
Sorry to wake this thread up but:
9to5mac.com
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.
Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
9to5mac.com
All that says to me is that Windows PCs are better.Sorry to wake this thread up but:
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
-> It runs like a slideshow and if you bought a Mac for gaming then…oh boy. And nobody bought a 8GB MacBook for AAA gaming. That's a given and nowadays 16GB is the new 8GB.
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I agree: for dedicated gaming a Mac is not suitable. But not everyone is an avid gamer and who knows, someone would like to play a AAA game once in a while. What is the point of an M3 with its ray tracing and mesh shading (ie used in modern games) when it is combined with 8GB…Its like selling a Ferrari that only has 3 gears (instead of 6 or 7). And someone reading an article like this (https://www.macobserver.com/tips/apple-catching-up-on-gaming-with-the-new-m3-chip/) probably assumes that a 1 year old 2000 euro M3 MacBook Pro should be able to play a 5-year old game….
Newsflash: Mac isn’t a great gaming platform. Thanks for figuring that out.Sorry to wake this thread up but:
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
I bought my son a MacBook Air for college. He said he was glad I bought him a Mac because it kept him from getting distracted with games.
18 GB RAM recommended for a smooth experience. And of course you need 159 GB of free space on your internal SSD 😅 when you buy it from the App Store.
I was thinking about splurging on Cyberpunk just for fun. It seems I'm out of luck with my M2 Pro 16GB/512GB.
I was thinking about splurging on Cyberpunk just for fun. It seems I'm out of luck with my M2 Pro 16GB/512GB.
If Apple wants to attract AAA games, they are going to need to come to grips with their storage pricing.
Yes, not as a dedicated game platform. But what is the added benefit of ray tracing, mesh shading and what not in the M3, when they cannot be put to use when paired with 8GB in a 2000 euro MBP...
But I tend to agree: better spend 500 euro on a PS5 for dedicated gaming. But seems like a waste if you would like to play an AAA game once in a while.
But, you can expand the memory, right...right??Sorry to wake this thread up but:
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
And a game that is notoriously taxing on hardware. People bought 8GB Macs knowing they couldn’t run that game, because that game wasn’t even on the Mac when those models were on offer.Sorry to wake this thread up but:
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
You mean, so taxing that I can run Cyberpunk on a 12 year old 250 euro PS4? But not on a 1 year old 2000 euro M3 MBP. You do not see how sad that is?
No, a Mac is not a dedicated gaming system. But what is the use of all these fancy capabilities in the m3 (ray tracing, mesh shading, higher mem bandwidth, frame generation in metal 4 etc etc) if it those are apparently useless when paired with 8GB. A much cheaper m1 air with 16GB can run this game….Prediction seems to come true: the m2 and m3 MBP paired with 8GB have a more limited set of software it seems to be able to run than a 16GB m1 mb air.
Offering any 8 GiB M3 product was bad, but nobody claimed it was good at gaming.
I mean, yeah. The RAM was a bigger bottleneck than the CPU/GPU, which had already been quite good.
I mean, yeah. The RAM was a bigger bottleneck than the CPU/GPU, which had already been quite good.
The PC port is different from the PS version, and I’ve heard it often cited as one of the most taxing PC games. Consoles are specifically designed to run games, and benefit from several optimizations that make many games run smoother on a console than on a PC.
And that game didn’t support the Mac when people purchased said Macs, so nobody bought the 8GB base-spec model expecting to run that game. And many wouldn’t try to do heavy gaming on a base-spec Mac in the first place…
They aren’t useless when paired with 8GB RAM, they have plenty of uses. One game not running doesn’t mean that A. no games can run (several can quite well, even in emulation), and/or B. that they’re useless. Those hardware improvements also improve 3D sculpting/modeling and rendering apps, which run fine on the base spec.
8GB models did and still do provide great value for those who don’t need a bunch of excess RAM, and want to save money by going with a cheaper option…
Which is why you buy a machine that meets your needs. I have a family member who use an 8GB M1 Air and it is perfect for their needs, it terms of power and small size. I have a 36GB M3 Max because it fits my use case but would be overkill and a waste of money for them. If I outgrow it then I'll hand it down and buy whatever I need.
You bought Apple so you deserve it. Nothing to be surprised about. Apple computers have always been overpriced. Same with the phones and watches and often are lower quality.
It’s already been settled that Apple stuck with 8GB RAM for too long.Sorry to wake this thread up but:
Told you so: the people with a new M3 but 8Gb will be left in the cold more often than people with a m1 and 16Gb. Case in point: Cyberpunk 2077. A 5 year old game.Cyberpunk 2077 launching on Mac this week - 9to5Mac
Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition is officially coming to the Mac this week. CD PROJEKT RED has announced that the game...
Honestly what’s most disappointing to me is the failure of right to repair to properly address this issue with Apple computers for a while now. Louis Rossman is quite the character, but he’s one of the few that has kept hammering on all these things for well over a decade now.
We shouldn’t be living in a world in where a 5 year old computer with 16GB RAM is in a position in where it is better equipped to handle more demanding tasks than expensive computers released later. In the past you could mitigate this issue with upgrades and we should get back to that accessibility.
Embarrassing and shows how weak consumers as a whole have been on this issue.
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maybe they are too busy using their 8GB machines and getting what they need done without worrying about irrelevant arguments on forums.
Nothing’s been “settled”. You believe your opinion, and many also have other opinions about this. I believe 8GB base-spec models provide great value for those who don’t need excess RAM and want to save some money.
We wouldn’t benefit from all the performance and efficiency improvements with Apple Silicon if Apple were still using antiquated RAM cards. Direct on-board memory is much more efficient and provides greater performance and speed to the whole system, things that more users care about than cracking open their laptop to try to replace fragile components… This is why even many high-end Windows PCs are moving away from antique RAM cards to the more modern and efficient technology…
And in this case “right to repair” is a misnomer. I can repair my M1 Mac Mini if I want, or even my M4 iPad Pro. I can do my own repairs perfectly fine if I so wished. You can buy replacement parts for every board and component of the computer and install them yourself. Replacing one component with a different component with different specs isn’t a “repair”, it’s changing the hardware. It’s analogous to me saying companies are infringing on my “right to repair” by not allowing me to replace the 1080p display panel a laptop shipped with with a 4k, 6k, or 8k one… That has nothing to do with repairing anything.
The 8GB models provide plenty of value for plenty of users and customers.
Almost like all of us who've been arguing about how dumb it was that Apple was selling Pros with 8GB for the last two years in here were proven right.
No, that’s just your opinion. And that’s fine, you’re entitled to it, but many other people have different opinions. The 8GB models provide great value for those who don’t need excess RAM, and want to save money. And I believe the business that actually has more data available is going to have the best idea of what products they should be producing. And aren’t making “dumb” products just because you don’t like them. It’s not as if there weren’t higher RAM specs for people who needed more. And nobody expects base-spec computers to run super demanding games like that… Cyberpunk is known to be one of the most demanding PC games you can run…
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