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Big Sur or Linux Mint?

TechRunner

TechRunner

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 28, 2016
1,343
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SW Florida, US
While I (impatiently) wait for the 14" MBP redesign, I just pulled the trigger on a base spec Mac Mini to hold me over. My bottom spec (Dual core i5/4/128) 2015 MBA struggles a lot at times, and I kept putting off a purchase, hoping for new MBP redesigns this year. Simply couldn't take it any longer. Expecting a big speed upgrade with the new Mini!

So here's my question for those much more in the know than I am. I want to strip down my Air to just be an internet cruising machine. In your best estimation, would Big Sur or Mint make for a faster, less frustrating experience? I've dabbled in Linux off and on, so learning curve isn't really an issue. I'm just curious if anyone has compared, well, ANY version of MacOS with Mint, and what your thoughts are.

Thanks in advance!
 
Mr. Heckles

Mr. Heckles

macrumors 65816
Mar 20, 2018
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Around
960design said:
YES! The 4GB is what is killing your system. 16GB or nothing. Mint will run well enough with 4GB, just stay away from Chromium browser.
Click to expand...
I have a friend who got a MacBook Air a few months ago and I told her to get 16GB of RAM. I feel 8 isn’t for be be enough soon.
 
960design

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
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Destin, FL
Eric Idle said:
Running 8gb of RAM now on a 2020 MacBook Air, with 40+ tabs open. Machine works flawlessly.
Click to expand...
Fantastic! 40+ tabs open in Safari? Chrome? M1?

A single application should be no worries ( except maybe Chrome - depending on which pages you have open - obviously static pages are nothing, it's the JS heavy ones that will kill your computer in Chrome ).

8GB is not bad and arguably enough for most, but 16GB is better for resale and longevity.

Same with cars, the little engine will work great, but somedays you wish you had the bigger engine and when you trade it in, you will really wish you had the bigger engine. There is a trade off, bigger engine uses more fuel, just alike more ram uses more battery.
 
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biffuz

macrumors 6502
Feb 23, 2016
347
348
Try an ad blocker and disable video autoplay... they do miracles.
And if some website says they need ads to stay alive, ask them to buy you a new computer or shut up.
 
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Eric Idle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2020
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960design said:
Fantastic! 40+ tabs open in Safari? Chrome? M1?

A single application should be no worries ( except maybe Chrome - depending on which pages you have open - obviously static pages are nothing, it's the JS heavy ones that will kill your computer in Chrome ).

8GB is not bad and arguably enough for most, but 16GB is better for resale and longevity.

Same with cars, the little engine will work great, but somedays you wish you had the bigger engine and when you trade it in, you will really wish you had the bigger engine. There is a trade off, bigger engine uses more fuel, just alike more ram uses more battery.
Click to expand...
Safari and Firefox. I have those, Apple Music, Apple TV, News, Mail, Calendar, and several other apps open now. All running flawlessly on 8gb of RAM.
 
960design

960design

macrumors 68040
Apr 17, 2012
3,794
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Destin, FL
Eric Idle said:
Safari and Firefox. I have those, Apple Music, Apple TV, News, Mail, Calendar, and several other apps open now. All running flawlessly on 8gb of RAM.
Click to expand...
Activity Monitor > Memory Tab > Memory Pressure ( bottom left ) and more importantly Swap Used.
A little swap is common on Unix based systems, but anything nearing 1G and your hard drive is covering your memory shortage. This is where the 16GB will helps.

Again, you seem tech savy enough to know exactly what you need and have purchased no more than necessary ( saving $180 in the process ).
 
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Eric Idle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2020
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960design said:
Activity Monitor > Memory Tab > Memory Pressure ( bottom left ) and more importantly Swap Used.
A little swap is common on Unix based systems, but anything nearing 1G and your hard drive is covering your memory shortage. This is where the 16GB will helps.

Again, you seem tech savy enough to know exactly what you need and have purchased no more than necessary ( saving $180 in the process ).
Click to expand...

My memory pressure is always green. Never anything else. Swap used is 3.5 gigs, but I never notice this happening. SSD's are pretty fast.

I would have gotten a 16 gb MacBook Air but the wait time for that option added 4 weeks to my order, which I could not allow due to pressing needs.
 
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atmenterprises

macrumors 6502
Jan 28, 2006
389
204
I run Mint on a 2012 MacBook Pro. It requires some technical know-how to fix issues (like Broadcom drivers not loading) and installing additional software sometimes, but, aside from Ubuntu, Mint has been the most complete and compatible system for me out of the box.

If Cinnamon causes you any lag, you could use XFCE.

But if you want something that is easier to use, it's Mac OS all the way.
 
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LeeW

LeeW

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Feb 5, 2017
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Over here
Eric Idle said:
It was 3.5 gigs in post 10...now it's up to 4.2 gigs.
Click to expand...

So not really flawless is it? at 4.2GB of Swap, your machine is OOM and preventing your device from crashing by using a lot of swaps. Sure, the swap has a purpose, it works as intended and the device will appear to run well as the SSD is so fast, but my point is your still OOM.
 
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Eric Idle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2020
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LeeW said:
So not really flawless is it? at 4.2GB of Swap, your machine is OOM and preventing your device from crashing by using a lot of swaps. Sure, the swap has a purpose, it works as intended and the device will appear to run well as the SSD is so fast, but my point is your still OOM.
Click to expand...
Swap=working as intended=i dont notice it=flawless.
 
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LeeW

LeeW

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Feb 5, 2017
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Over here
Eric Idle said:
i dont notice it=flawless
Click to expand...
Yeah. That is why people need to realize when they read comments like 'it runs flawlessly', just an opinion, not a true reflection of what is really happening and not necessarily how it will work for them.
 
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Eric Idle

macrumors 6502a
Jan 4, 2020
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LeeW said:
Yeah. That is why people need to realize when they read comments like 'it runs flawlessly', just an opinion, not a true reflection of what is really happening and not necessarily how it will work for them.
Click to expand...

Working as intended. Not broken. Not struggling. Not hindered in any way.
 
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