Flip Flopping between M1 Air 8GB vs 16GB deciding factor

[JamieLannister]

If you are on the fence, don't waste your time with 8GB RAM. Just go for the 16GB CTO models. It will be much better overall and especially when you drive the laptop with tons of apps open you really don't have to deal with the memory pressure levels much. This is all before even using a single photoshop or video editing software!

TLDR;

After owning both 8GB/16GB 512GB storage M1 Mini and keeping the M1 mini 16/512, I bought a new M1 8/256 base Macbook Air. Now I know everyone is contemplating the dealio between an 8GB/16GB and I will answer that for you because I also just returned the 8GB/256GB for a 16GB/1TB option instead!

With big sur 11.4 the 8/256 Air would hit YELLOW in memory pressure consistently; sometimes with safari and a few pages open, other times it is in the green but near yellow with 16 pages of mix between youtube and pdf and misc web pages open. BUT using it as a daily driver on the go, I don't even use photoshop or video editing just because I bought the base model as a chromebook workload type of laptop. Knowing that I wouldn't need more storage space because I have tons of externals and NAS/iCloud access, i said what the hey and opted for the base since it's cheap.

But after installing 11.4 the memory pressure would remain in yellow doing the most basic tasks. Before 11.4 I would see green and yellow spikes but with 11.4 it would be consistently yellow. On my 16/512 mini the swap space for that guy is about 30-70MB. I can do it all on the mini but for the air I would have to close safari and then reopen and use only a one or two pages at a time. With a full shutdown and restarting from cold boot it would not even use swap. but once I start doing daily workflow stuff it would hit yellow and swap can hit about 2GB or more even.

In short this is not going to work out. I opted for a 16GB/256GB CTO model but didn't know when that would ship so I saw how scam apple marketing would be because the only in store model is the 16GB/1TB option. I still bit and now everything is green or barely green in memory pressure. The swap file is zero and or close to my mini which stays on 24/7.

So if you are having doubts let me just say that from experience the AIR with 8GB did not lag even with YELLOW memory pressure but it remained high pressure (in the YELLOW) all the time. Swap space on the SSD can and was used although it did shrink back down to smaller sizes like 200MB - 750MB once apps closed out. This is all from basic usage too. I'm not saying I got lag or anything but the 7-core model was still smooth. Just that the memory clearly is nearing the threshold.

Some of you may argue that it never hits RED in memory pressure. And that was true! But having consistently being in the YELLOW from doing the most basic tasks for my own workflow meant this 8GB AIR ain't cuttin' it. You can't hype this 8GB up much because you can clearly tell even after VM compression on the apps running, 8GB is still running short (requiring nvme swap space). I just said F it and did myself a favor and got something I would not be concerned about for a long, long time. Storage space with online storage and NAS access I couldn't be concerned about but man, that RAM shortage is real!

 

[russell_314]

If you are on the fence, don't waste your time with 8GB RAM. Just go for the 16GB CTO models. It will be much better overall and especially when you drive the laptop with tons of apps open you really don't have to deal with the memory pressure levels much. This is all before even using a single photoshop or video editing software!

TLDR;

After owning both 8GB/16GB 512GB storage M1 Mini and keeping the M1 mini 16/512, I bought a new M1 8/256 base Macbook Air. Now I know everyone is contemplating the dealio between an 8GB/16GB and I will answer that for you because I also just returned the 8GB/256GB for a 16GB/1TB option instead!

With big sur 11.4 the 8/256 Air would hit YELLOW in memory pressure consistently; sometimes with safari and a few pages open, other times it is in the green but near yellow with 16 pages of mix between youtube and pdf and misc web pages open. BUT using it as a daily driver on the go, I don't even use photoshop or video editing just because I bought the base model as a chromebook workload type of laptop. Knowing that I wouldn't need more storage space because I have tons of externals and NAS/iCloud access, i said what the hey and opted for the base since it's cheap.

But after installing 11.4 the memory pressure would remain in yellow doing the most basic tasks. Before 11.4 I would see green and yellow spikes but with 11.4 it would be consistently yellow. On my 16/512 mini the swap space for that guy is about 30-70MB. I can do it all on the mini but for the air I would have to close safari and then reopen and use only a one or two pages at a time. With a full shutdown and restarting from cold boot it would not even use swap. but once I start doing daily workflow stuff it would hit yellow and swap can hit about 2GB or more even.

In short this is not going to work out. I opted for a 16GB/256GB CTO model but didn't know when that would ship so I saw how scam apple marketing would be because the only in store model is the 16GB/1TB option. I still bit and now everything is green or barely green in memory pressure. The swap file is zero and or close to my mini which stays on 24/7.

So if you are having doubts let me just say that from experience the AIR with 8GB did not lag even with YELLOW memory pressure but it remained high pressure (in the YELLOW) all the time. Swap space on the SSD can and was used although it did shrink back down to smaller sizes like 200MB - 750MB once apps closed out. This is all from basic usage too. I'm not saying I got lag or anything but the 7-core model was still smooth. Just that the memory clearly is nearing the threshold.

Some of you may argue that it never hits RED in memory pressure. And that was true! But having consistently being in the YELLOW from doing the most basic tasks for my own workflow meant this 8GB AIR ain't cuttin' it. You can't hype this 8GB up much because you can clearly tell even after VM compression on the apps running, 8GB is still running short (requiring nvme swap space). I just said F it and did myself a favor and got something I would not be concerned about for a long, long time. Storage space with online storage and NAS access I couldn't be concerned about but man, that RAM shortage is real!

OK all of this is great but if I don’t have Activity monitor open how do I know it’s yellow memory pressure? My point is people obsess about CPU temperature and other metrics that they have to have some sort of indicator to tell them there’s a problem but without that indicator is there a problem? If you took a user and put them in front of two MacBooks they did their daily computing tasks but weren’t allowed to open Activity monitor could they tell the difference? To me that’s the deciding factor not some metric that has to be read by an application.

 

[Gregintosh]

I used to have 16GB on my 15 inch Pro which I sold. Now I got the 8GB m1 Pro. It does everything I want it to do and does it fast. Does it arguably better than my 15 inch pro ever did despite the pro costing me $3500 back in 2017.

I agree with Russell, some people are too obsessed with running various sensors, monitors, etc. and going off of the results rather than just using the computer.

If you are obsessed with looking at various indicators, get the expensive models and enjoy seeing green arrows.

I, and most users, do not look at any arrows, we just go by how we feel using the computer and for those users 8GB is just fine. Even benchmarks/real world usage/YouTube comparisons show that the 16GB does not make a big - or any difference - for most use cases.

As for future proofing, that was my logic when I shelled out $3500 for my 15 inch pro. What a dumb idea that was. I sold mine for about $1200.. so basically lost $2300 in value for nothing.

If I got the computer I *needed* that time versus worrying about "future proofing" and what I may end up needing it for, I could have spent half the money, sell it and get another one, and do that probably several times over the next 10 years before I would have spent $3500 out of pocket. What a shame, but lessons were learned.

Be smart, buy what you will actually USE. As for future-proofing, just sell your computer in 2-3 years when you feel you actually *need* something better and yours isn't performing and just buy a new one. By then for sure there will be some new design tweaks, features, etc you are going to want which your "future proof" computer won't ever get!

 

[theanimala]

I have a child who will be going to college next year and I will need to get him a new laptop. I have been debating between 8GB and 16GB for weeks now. For his major he will not be pushing it but since I am considering this the last laptop I will purchase him I’m thinking the 16GB will last longer for use even after college. Hopefully I’m thinking about this correctly and not throwing away $$$…

 

[velocityg4]

Here’s my take with many years of buying computers. Really any moderately priced item. If you’re flip flopping between higher specs and lower specs. Buy the higher specs. As it’ll always bug you as you wonder, what if. Even years later.

If you over buy. It’ll cost you a little more. But you’ll be happy knowing you bought what you wanted. In a few weeks. You won’t be fretting anymore about having spent some extra money.

 

[BATman.Berlin]

If you took a user and put them in front of two MacBooks they did their daily computing tasks but weren’t allowed to open Activity monitor could they tell the difference?

I ran this experiment between a 8G/256G mini and a 16G/1T air. Yes, if you have multiple programs open and switch between, the 16G feels snappier and less stressed. The M1 did not perform bad by any means, but for demanding workflows I feel the difference. I do electronics design as a hobby and have a lot of different apps open at the same time. it is noticeable. I kept the air for mobility though.

 

[nigelbb]

The incremental price for the extra 8GB of RAM is only £200/$200 so hardly a deal breaker for most. If you can afford it then you are never going to regret having 16GB whereas you will always run the risk of regretting that you only have 8GB.

 

[Tech198]

16 gig may be the new kid in town, but i still like to base it on what apps are you using...

I guess the fact non-repiarable bring it into question to, but so does cost at the time...If i'm never going to be running pro apps why should i get 16 gig for instance

But if the apps you will run are/might run is photoshop, and video work, then go for 16 gig as a safe bet... IF you sure your not going to use them, save the pennies.

The incremental price for the extra 8GB of RAM is only £200/$200 so hardly a deal breaker for most. If you can afford it then you are never going to regret having 16GB whereas you will always run the risk of regretting that you only have 8GB.

not me.. I bought an iPad 128Gig thinking i will need it, i never have used it up.

 

[Significant1]

The incremental price for the extra 8GB of RAM is only £200/$200 so hardly a deal breaker for most. If you can afford it then you are never going to regret having 16GB whereas you will always run the risk of regretting that you only have 8GB.

Problem is, that 8GB is standard configuration and has been on sale in my country.

I knew 8GB would not cut it in the long term. So I bought the right configuration for me 16GB/1TB and Glad I did (Would actually have prefered more than 16GB, but it was the best I could get and I could not wait anylonger). But it did hurt to pay 2.3x the price, for upgrades that would be dirt cheap on a pc or if user upgradeable.

 

[11235813]

Unused RAM is wasted RAM.

What's the point of spending money on RAM that will stay empty? 8 GB RAM in yellow and 16 GB RAM in green perform identically, since only the amount of unused RAM changes.

 

[Significant1]

Unused RAM is wasted RAM.

What's the point of spending money on RAM that will stay empty? 8 GB RAM in yellow and 16 GB RAM in green perform identically, since only the amount of unused RAM changes.

oh, if your machine has 16GB it will use 16GB. Empty memory is wasted memory. If not for active memory, it will be used for cache.

Just looking at mine now (16GB). Memory pressure is 60 (yellow) and swap 2GB. It is not because I am doing something heavy. I just have many things open. Firefox and related processes is completely dominating memory consumption in activity monitor, with xcode simulator and xcode distant 2 and 3. It is not even my impression that firefox is the most memory hungry browser.

 

[happygodavid]

I have a child who will be going to college next year and I will need to get him a new laptop. I have been debating between 8GB and 16GB for weeks now. For his major he will not be pushing it but since I am considering this the last laptop I will purchase him I’m thinking the 16GB will last longer for use even after college. Hopefully I’m thinking about this correctly and not throwing away $$$…

Former Apple training kicking in here... ("Sell people what they need, not something that is far too much machine for what they'll be doing." That was hammered into everyone at Apple Retail.)

This is the conversation you and I would've had if you walked up to me at an Apple Store and asked for help: I'd say, "What will they be using it for? Internet, email, documents, photos, playing music, watching videos? Or any kind of audio, video, and/or photo editing? If it's the first, get the low end. If it's the second we can get more specific." Since you already answered that it will be a low-needs computer, I would say: get a $999 MB Air. That will be more than enough computer for your son's needs. As for 8 vs. 16 GB of RAM, 8 will be fine for years to come. He may notice a slow-down if he leaves tons of things open, and perhaps again in 5 years or so as technology advances. If you want that computer to be running things in 5 years as good as it will today, go with 16. But don't sweat it if you don't. As for storage, don't worry about the 256 HD "not being enough." You're going to need an iCloud monthly subscription that will give him cloud storage for everything in case his laptop explodes or gets stolen. (If you need to save money, the 50gb $0.99/mo option may be enough for all his documents and such. If it's not, $2.99/mo gets you 200gb. If you don't want him to have to ever think about storage down the road AND have an iCloud backup of everything on his Mac, including a backup of his iPhone and photos/videos, get the $9.99/mo 2TB plan. Done.). Buy Apple Care. A must for a laptop. I still buy it, and I stopped working at Apple in 2011. Apple makes good stuff, but stuff happens. $249 for 3 years of protection. So, you're looking at a base model MBA at $1248 +tax or a MBA with 16gb of RAM at $1448 +tax, plus a monthly subscription of whatever iCloud storage plan you choose or one of the new Apple One plans that adds other goodies like Apple Music, Apple TV+, etc. (the Family and Premier tiers may be worth checking out if you also have Apple products). Either one of those will be a great choice, and depending on your budget, you've got some really great options to choose from with regards to cloud backup.

I just had coffee, so I apologize for the length. Hopefully you or others may find this useful. Cheers, and good luck in your decision. Edit: clarity.

 

[Khedron]

Problem is, that 8GB is standard configuration and has been on sale in my country.

I knew 8GB would not cut it in the long term. So I bought the right configuration for me 16GB/1TB and Glad I did (Would actually have prefered more than 16GB, but it was the best I could get and I could not wait anylonger). But it did hurt to pay 2.3x the price, for upgrades that would be dirt cheap on a pc or if user upgradeable.

The reason M1 is so fast is because it’s SoC so RAM is not user-upgradable and never will be. So the M1 is the least rip off Apple has ever been for upgrades in its entire existence.

 

[Malus120]

OK all of this is great but if I don’t have Activity monitor open how do I know it’s yellow memory pressure? My point is people obsess about CPU temperature and other metrics that they have to have some sort of indicator to tell them there’s a problem but without that indicator is there a problem? If you took a user and put them in front of two MacBooks they did their daily computing tasks but weren’t allowed to open Activity monitor could they tell the difference? To me that’s the deciding factor not some metric that has to be read by an application.

Why do people "obsess" over indicators? Because those indicators can often tell you important things about the way your machine is performing. I don't have iStat Menus and Activity monitor open (just) because I like looking at graphs and "obsessing" over them, I have them open because when memory pressure is yellow or red, or when the CPU is pegged, performance tanks, and those tools allow me to assess why that is happening and take appropriate action. Taking action to reduce memory usage won't help if a program has gone rouge and decided to devour all of my CPU cycles. In the same vein, if my machine is sluggish, I can close my most demanding application(s) but if a page on Safari has decided it needs several gigs of ram it's unlikely to efficiently solve the problem.
I generally don't need any programs to tell me there's a problem. That's obvious, performance isn't where it should be and the machine is getting hot and unresponsive. The metrics are just there to help deduce why and address the root cause.

Some people are too obsessed with running various sensors, monitors, etc. and going off of the results rather than just using the computer. If you are obsessed with looking at various indicators, get the expensive models and enjoy seeing green arrows.

I, and most users, do not look at any arrows, we just go by how we feel using the computer and for those users 8GB is just fine. Even benchmarks/real world usage/YouTube comparisons show that the 16GB does not make a big - or any difference - for most use cases.

I really don't agree with the idea that everyone is just obsessed with looking at metrics "rather than just using the computer." I'll admit, I personally do find metrics kind of fun at times, but the real reason I look at them is, as noted above, for solving (and even preempting) problems and maximizing performance.
Furthermore, I'll tell you when I don't really look at metrics. When I'm using my 12 core 24 thread Ryzen Hackintosh with 32GB of ram and a powerful GPU. The metrics just don't matter that much as the machine handles whatever I throw at it with absolute ease and asks "is that all you got?"

As for who "most users" are, and whether or not they can tell the difference between 8GB, 16GB and 32GB of ram? Well I'd argue that's highly subjective, and will vary from person to person and by use case. I for one can easily tell the difference between 8, 16, and 32GB of ram even when just doing what I consider basic "office-like" tasks such as web browsing, email, PDF work, messaging, FaceTime, etc. Would I see a difference with 64GB of ram though? Probably not, even when doing some of the more intensive things I use the computer for like photography, editing etc (I used to have an iMac with 24GB of ram and honestly that felt functionally pretty close to how 32GB feels now so my sweet spot is probably somewhere around there.) Some people sure would though. Again, it's all about what you're using your machine for, how you're using it, and your personal tolerance for slow down.

As for future proofing, that was my logic when I shelled out $3500 for my 15 inch pro. What a dumb idea that was. I sold mine for about $1200.. so basically lost $2300 in value for nothing. If I got the computer I *needed* that time versus worrying about "future proofing" and what I may end up needing it for, I could have spent half the money, sell it and get another one, and do that probably several times...

Be smart, buy what you will actually USE. As for future-proofing, just sell your computer in 2-3 years when you feel you actually *need* something better and yours isn't performing and just buy a new one. By then for sure there will be some new design tweaks, features, etc you are going to want which your "future proof" computer won't ever get!

I'll mostly agree with you here. You're not wrong about how "future proofing," can be a fools errand. I'd say, buy what you need today and what you anticipate you'll need "tomorrow" (within the next 18 months), anything beyond that and you're probably better of saving the money.

 

[mi7chy]

If you live near a Microcenter the 16GB/256GB Macbook Air M1 is $1050 so closer to what it's worth.

https://www.microcenter.com/product...k-m1-late-2020-133-laptop-computer-space-gray

 

[iHorseHead]

Again with this topic here…
Personally I use Xcode daily and also use a simulator + Unity and I'm using MBA 8GB and I haven't had any slowdowns or issues yet.
Same with my Windows laptop. Been using Android Studio, Visual Studio and Unity on it for a year and it has 8GB of RAM ryzen 7 4800u and I haven't had any issues yet.
just let people pick whatever they pick.

 

[Blue Quark]

MS Office and LibreOffice both run perfectly on my 8GB MBA. I briefly had Diablo III installed on it (it's just not to my taste) and it ran dead smooth. And let me tell you... TextEdit was amazing!

Nothing I've tried out on it so far has had any problems, and *I've* certainly no complaints.

 

[JamieLannister]

alright so a few days with heavy use on this new 8core/16/1TB Air.

I frequent the news app throughout the day and that alone can eat up 2GB memory alone. With the safari browser and edge open with probably combined total of 10 tabs consumes about 4GB+ (YouTube, pdf, web apps). Other open apps in use during day of work flow consists of the following:

stocks, Microsoft office (assorted), affinity photo, VLC for some video viewing, a bunch of file conversions using handbrake, messages, signal, photos app, mail, 1password, vs code, music app playing in bg, journey app, calendar app, calculator apps, and photos).

system consumes about 13GB memory and the swap used is ZERO. Until I close lid for lunch break come back it hits about 20MB -50MB under Big Sur 11.4

There is no way the 8GB/256 7-core one I returned can keep up. RAM memory is ram memory there is no magic sauce to make more from what little hardware you have except to use a swap from your nvme. The memory pressure remains GREEN and never hits yellow while my 8GB ram AIR doing basically safari and some other apps already YELLOW and stays that way until I close safari.

I'm not saying 8GB is not good enough but those that use their machines and understands what RAM is will understand 8GB is not good enough period. I'm going to say this which I've held back forever on any apple product but here it goes:

this 8core 16GB/1TB AIR is the best - THE BEST - laptop I've ever used period. There is no heat issue, no lag, no problems. It is the most satisfying computer I've ever used on a mobile platform and I cannot stress enough that this M1 SoC is apple's saving grace. I dropped nearly $1700 on this guy but I am every single bit pleased and will not trade it in for anything intel, period. The sweet spot for Big Sur and just basic use is around 12GB RAM I personally experienced. 16GB is just going to make this laptop last a long time and more enjoyable. Let's not forget about that awesome battery life!

And about the "metrics" - you gotta have some way to substantiate and quantify the differences in computing hardware. The memory pressure readings are there for a reason. It is provided by apple to let you know how well your system is performing and don't ignore it just because you want to not hear the truth. It is what it is and 8GB truly (for me personally) is not good enough. Just upgraded to 16GB and problems solved! Last but not least I didn't even connect to any external QHD monitor yet! My mini is connected to 2 displays and it never hits yellow memory pressure either.

This post is not to stir up complaints but it is to help you decide if you are on the fence between 8/16GB ram. From buying both now I will still back up and say 100% go with the 16GB if you truly use your machine without worrying about swap files and memory pressures. My workload is very typical and I don't think it's anything out of the ordinary either.

edit: when I say no way the 8gb ram 7-core air can keep up I meant that in reference to the memory usage/pressure. That 8GB model used swap in excess of 6GB at most. Always high yellow as well.

 

[Altis]

MS Office and LibreOffice both run perfectly on my 8GB MBA. I briefly had Diablo III installed on it (it's just not to my taste) and it ran dead smooth. And let me tell you... TextEdit was amazing!

Nothing I've tried out on it so far has had any problems, and *I've* certainly no complaints.

I mean... those applications runs perfectly fine on a 15 year old basic computer. I'm not even sure why anyone would bother buying a new computer at all if that's what they're doing.

OK all of this is great but if I don’t have Activity monitor open how do I know it’s yellow memory pressure? My point is people obsess about CPU temperature and other metrics that they have to have some sort of indicator to tell them there’s a problem but without that indicator is there a problem? If you took a user and put them in front of two MacBooks they did their daily computing tasks but weren’t allowed to open Activity monitor could they tell the difference? To me that’s the deciding factor not some metric that has to be read by an application.

The issue with RAM demand isn't so much that performance degrades, it's that SSD wear increases massively due to constant paging to the drive. With soldered-on SSD, this means the whole life of the computer could be made shorter due to SSD failures.

I'm also amazed by just how much RAM simple web browsing seems to take these days on some systems. I can't help but think "developers" have absolutely no concern for or incapable of optimization anymore.

 

[Significant1]

The reason M1 is so fast is because it’s SoC so RAM is not user-upgradable and never will be. So the M1 is the least rip off Apple has ever been for upgrades in its entire existence.

Ever is a big word. I bet the cost difference for Apple is no where near the markup in price.

 

[Khedron]

Ever is a big word. I bet the cost difference for Apple is no where near the markup in price.

Of course it’s a markup but Apple charges 300% to put off the shelf RAM/storage into Intel Macs and iPhones so paying for SoC RAM is nothing compared to that

 

[MrGunny94]

I mean... those applications runs perfectly fine on a 15 year old basic computer. I'm not even sure why anyone would bother buying a new computer at all if that's what they're doing.

The issue with RAM demand isn't so much that performance degrades, it's that SSD wear increases massively due to constant paging to the drive. With soldered-on SSD, this means the whole life of the computer could be made shorter due to SSD failures.

I'm also amazed by just how much RAM simple web browsing seems to take these days on some systems. I can't help but think "developers" have absolutely no concern for or incapable of optimization anymore.

Honestly for someone who uses it for 5-7 years should be fine. Even if you pushing to the limit.

I have the base model as I’m currently waiting for the new 14”. And haven’t had any issue with my intensive workflow

 

[AVonGauss]

Deleted.

 

[MrGunny94]

I think more so than before because the RAM is now integrated we'll be having this discussion even more frequently. What I do find baffling, although not entirely surprising, is Apple didn't use the higher up stock model to include the upgraded RAM variation (ex. 8/256, 16/512).

Yeah on Amazon there’s only 8GB options for both Air and Pro in Europe at least, buying via Apple is like 50-60% more expensive

 

[ChromeCloud]

I think the best buying advice for RAM upgrades is as follows:

If you don't know if you need it or not, then you don't need it. Buy the 8GB base model.

If you know that you might need it but you are undecided between two options, get the higher spec. Buy the 16GB model.