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HELP! M1 MBA 16/512 or M2 MBA 8/512 for the same price?

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danielleo369

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 5, 2022
12
11
I'm having a hard time choosing the M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM 512GB SSD or M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM 512GB SSD. I live in a country where any Macs beyond the base RAM is a custom order and they basically charge more if I want to go with that. Hence, the two laptops cost exactly the same.

I'm a writer and journalist, working with 50+ chrome tabs on a daily. I also open Microsoft Office, WhatsApp, Skype, and do occasional iMovie/Garageband/Photoshopping. Currently with my 2017 13" MacBook Pro, I easily touch 7.00/8.00GB memory and uses over 4GB of swap, with memory pressure sometimes going above green to yellow.

I don't care about the design, and I just want a reliable machine that works well in clamshell mode with a 4K display (since this is how I'll use it most of the time) for the next 5 years, minimum. FYI I can't get a mac mini because my area is prone to blackouts, and sometimes I take my work to cafés ✌🏻.

Concern with M2 MBA 8/512: Not enough ram, overheats in clamshell mode.
Concern with M1 MBA 16/512: Overpriced, 2 y.o processor, lack of ports, regret not buying the new one for the same price.

Let me know your thoughts! I appreciate any help and opinion ❤️
 
danielleo369 said:
I'm having a hard time choosing the M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM 512GB SSD or M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM 512GB SSD. I live in a country where any Macs beyond the base RAM is a custom order and they basically charge more if I want to go with that. Hence, the two laptops cost exactly the same.

I'm a writer and journalist, working with 50+ chrome tabs on a daily. I also open Microsoft Office, WhatsApp, Skype, and do occasional iMovie/Garageband/Photoshopping. Currently with my 2017 13" MacBook Pro, I easily touch 7.00/8.00GB memory and uses over 4GB of swap, with memory pressure sometimes going above green to yellow.

I don't care about the design, and I just want a reliable machine that works well in clamshell mode with a 4K display (since this is how I'll use it most of the time) for the next 5 years, minimum. FYI I can't get a mac mini because my area is prone to blackouts, and sometimes I take my work to cafés ✌🏻.

Concern with M2 MBA 8/512: Not enough ram, overheats in clamshell mode.
Concern with M1 MBA 16/512: Overpriced, 2 y.o processor, lack of ports, regret not buying the new one for the same price.

Let me know your thoughts! I appreciate any help and opinion ❤️
Click to expand...
If you don't care about design, then definitely go for the 16gb model, I would say your main tradeoff will be MagSafe fast charging. As for some of your other concerns:
1. Both Macs will be reliable for much longer than 5 years if you take care of them properly
2. The M2 MBA overheating seems to be a non issue for you since you have no heavy tasks.
3. Despite the M1 being almost 2 years old, it is still an amazing chip and if you don't do heavier tasks in the future, it will handily last many years to come.
 
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albozr said:
If you don't care about design, then definitely go for the 16gb model, I would say your main tradeoff will be MagSafe fast charging. As for some of your other concerns:
1. Both Macs will be reliable for much longer than 5 years if you take care of them properly
2. The M2 MBA overheating seems to be a non issue for you since you have no heavy tasks.
3. Despite the M1 being almost 2 years old, it is still an amazing chip and if you don't do heavier tasks in the future, it will handily last many years to come.
Click to expand...
Appreciate your opinion! So you think the 16GB M1 will still be worth it even if I have to pay 8GB M2 money for it?
 
Imo, the best value for this year are the M1 MBA and the 14” MBP. So my answer is the M1 MBA in your case.

The M2 MBA should only be bought if you don’t care about value.
 
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danielleo369 said:
Appreciate your opinion! So you think the 16GB M1 will still be worth it even if I have to pay 8GB M2 money for it?
Click to expand...
Yes, it would definitely bring more improvement than the M2 chip with 8gb ram. I would definitely buy the 16gb m1 (unless you heavily value the design which does not apply for you)
 
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Would your 2017 MacBook Pro continue to do the job fine if you simply had more RAM? I am assuming so, so the M1 with more RAM is going to be a big improvement. I would go with more RAM over the M2 with less, especially since you cannot upgrade this ever.
 
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Already said well in comments above.
I just bought an M1 Air with 16GB RAM on the refurb store on sale.
Having the extra memory helps my Mac to breathe easier!! Seems like the memory is an important factor for you and you could feel more at ease with some extra headroom .... you will be happy in the cafe with 16GB of ram.
 
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danielleo369 said:
I'm having a hard time choosing the M1 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM 512GB SSD or M2 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM 512GB SSD. I live in a country where any Macs beyond the base RAM is a custom order and they basically charge more if I want to go with that. Hence, the two laptops cost exactly the same.

I'm a writer and journalist, working with 50+ chrome tabs on a daily. I also open Microsoft Office, WhatsApp, Skype, and do occasional iMovie/Garageband/Photoshopping. Currently with my 2017 13" MacBook Pro, I easily touch 7.00/8.00GB memory and uses over 4GB of swap, with memory pressure sometimes going above green to yellow.

I don't care about the design, and I just want a reliable machine that works well in clamshell mode with a 4K display (since this is how I'll use it most of the time) for the next 5 years, minimum. FYI I can't get a mac mini because my area is prone to blackouts, and sometimes I take my work to cafés ✌🏻.

Concern with M2 MBA 8/512: Not enough ram, overheats in clamshell mode.
Concern with M1 MBA 16/512: Overpriced, 2 y.o processor, lack of ports, regret not buying the new one for the same price.

Let me know your thoughts! I appreciate any help and opinion ❤️
Click to expand...
Stick with the M1 MBA. It has higher memory and hence, you'll see it respond better to certain situations.
 
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What you lose in RAM you gain in new form factor, Better camera speakers and mic, battery, MagSafe, et al. As much as I’d rather have 16GB of RAM, I would personally get the first of a new generation, not the last of an old.
 
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A good example really of a question never to ask a forum because you won't get a consensus :)

Personally I would value RAM over the better CPU.

Possibly a better approach is to consider that both laptops are excellent machines and really, it doesn't matter which one you buy, it'll be fine. I sense though, in your heart, you want the M2 because it's the newer machine. I have to say as an Air user with just 2 USBC ports - one for charging - I would find the magsafe very useful.
 
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JW5566 said:
A good example really of a question never to ask a forum because you won't get a consensus :)

Personally I would value RAM over the better CPU.

Possibly a better approach is to consider that both laptops are excellent machines and really, it doesn't matter which one you buy, it'll be fine. I sense though, in your heart, you want the M2 because it's the newer machine. I have to say as an Air user with just 2 USBC ports - one for charging - I would find the magsafe very useful.
Click to expand...
Lol, actually my heart says the 16GB M1.. It's just that I'm scared of having buyer's remorse by paying this much, but didn't get the new one instead. But overall, this forum has encouraged me to go with my gut :)

I found the forum rather helpful, as even the most advanced tech YouTubers wouldn't have answers to my situation and have videos about it.
 
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danielleo369 said:
Lol, actually my heart says the 16GB M1.. It's just that I'm scared of having buyer's remorse by paying this much, but didn't get the new one instead. But overall, this forum has encouraged me to go with my gut :)

I found the forum rather helpful, as even the most advanced tech YouTubers wouldn't have answers to my situation and have videos about it.
Click to expand...
So you know what you want and are just waiting for validation. I'll still suggest the M1 MBA with higher memory.
 
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OP, depends what you want.

Do you care just about performance? Get 16Gb RAM M1.

Do you care about the overall package? Design? MagSafe? Better screen? More modern design? Get the M2.

Personally, I'd get the M2, because 8Gb would be enough for me and I just love how it looks. But no one can blame you if you choose the excellent M1.
 
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Without a doubt, I would go with the higher RAM configuration -- in this case the MBA M1 16/512 configuration. You are unlikely to notice the difference between the M1 vs M2 CPU with how to described your usage.
 
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Tyler O'Bannon said:
What you lose in RAM you gain in new form factor, Better camera speakers and mic, battery, MagSafe, et al. As much as I’d rather have 16GB of RAM, I would personally get the first of a new generation, not the last of an old.
Click to expand...
Different strokes for different folks etc.

I'm the total opposite - if things were reasonably close i'd much rather have the machine that's proven itself rather than the one with all new design and possibly all new defects (hello butterfly keyboard!).

But things are never equal.

Given the choice between a proven machine with double the RAM and a new one that's maybe 15% faster and half the ram.... speakers, mic and camera in both are nothing to write home about. Magsafe, sure... you'd miss that but there's no work around for insufficient memory down the track.
 
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throAU said:
Different strokes for different folks etc.

I'm the total opposite - if things were reasonably close i'd much rather have the machine that's proven itself rather than the one with all new design and possibly all new defects (hello butterfly keyboard!).

But things are never equal.

Given the choice between a proven machine with double the RAM and a new one that's maybe 15% faster and half the ram.... speakers, mic and camera in both are nothing to write home about. Magsafe, sure... you'd miss that but there's no work around for insufficient memory down the track.
Click to expand...
I think what also makes it a bit difficult for me to consider the M1 Air is the fact that I'm currently using the 2017 MacBook Pro with TouchBar, which is exterior-wise, it's on a higher class than the Air. Hence going with the Air M1 feels like a bit of a downgrade, physically. It's kind of a bummer to pay over $1000 on a laptop with the same exact screen as my current laptop, dimmer in fact (400 nits Air vs 500 nits Pro).

But I assume these shall be forgiven with the M1 chip and the 16 GB ram performance.
 
This article I wrote about a week after I bought my M1 MBA. I was replacing a 2016 MBP so will be pretty close to your 2017 MBP. Short version the M1 MBA will be about twice as fast as your current Intel Machine and you will never hear the fans ( as it does not have any). Given you use case I would go with the M1 Air with the extra RAM.

forums.macrumors.com

MacBook Air M1 ,1 Week Review, Switch from 15” MBP

I thought it might be useful to summarise my thoughts after using the new M1 MacBook Air after using it for a week, and how it compares with a 15” MBP, if anyone else is thinking of upgrading. The summary is for those that don’t want to read a long post is I am really happy with the switch, the...
forums.macrumors.com forums.macrumors.com
 
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