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

[jlc1978]

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.

Given your memory issues 16 GB MBA M1 seems to be the way to go.

MagSafe equivalent USB-C charging cables are readily available and cheap, I use them with my iPad and MBP with no problems.

I also have an MBA M1 and the battery certainly is powerful enough not to have to worry about it going dead under a normal days use.

Sure, the M2 MBA has a nicer screen, more power but memory seems to be your limiting factor.

 

[danielleo369]

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.

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

Thanks for sharing man! That's one precious review you just gave me.

 

[danielleo369]

Given your memory issues 16 GB MBA M1 seems to be the way to go.

MagSafe equivalent USB-C charging cables are readily available and cheap, I use them with my iPad and MBP with no problems.

I also have an MBA M1 and the battery certainly is powerful enough not to have to worry about it going dead under a normal days use.

Sure, the M2 MBA has a nicer screen, more power but memory seems to be your limiting factor.

Yeah, I just never thought even Chome tabs can eat so much ram. Even 1 or 2 Microsoft word documents can take 500 MB ram! I'd love to see myself as a casual user with no intention to do video editing at all on my machine. But still, I found going for the base 8GB is just not enough for a blogger like me.

 

[throAU]

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.

Hmm. I'd say the keyboard will still be an upgrade - and holy crap the CPU + GPU performance will be a massive step up. Along with the lack of fan noise.

 

[jav6454]

Yeah the drinks taste waaaaay better at the cafe with 16 gigs of ram😁😁😁

Sarcasm aside, do recall these devices are non-upgradeable on the memory front. Hence, skimping out on that will mean that later you could easily regret it.

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

Sarcasm aside, do recall these devices are non-upgradeable on the memory front. Hence, skimping out on that will mean that later you could easily regret it.

Yep only have one shot to get it right nowadays. The good old days of choosing YOUR price for purchasing upgrades are long gone.

 

[danielleo369]

Sarcasm aside, do recall these devices are non-upgradeable on the memory front. Hence, skimping out on that will mean that later you could easily regret it.

Thanks guys, I just ordered one today lol. Fingers crossed

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

Thanks guys, I just ordered one today lol. Fingers crossed

Which one? The 16GB M1?

 

[danielleo369]

Which one? The 16GB M1?

Yeup

 

[shinkansenwarrior]

Good for you. I am typing this post on my wonderful M1 MB Air 16GB RAM mean machine.
I guess this thread is now EOL ...lol.

Enjoy your new MBA!!

 

[jav6454]

Thanks guys, I just ordered one today lol. Fingers crossed

You are making a good decision. M1 is a powerful CPU even today and the M1 MBA is no slow-poke.

 

[tomstone74]

I'm in a similar situation for a decision / thinking on what's next. I currently own a M1 MBA 16G/1TB (refurbed) for a typical private daily use case (Web, Mail, Streaming) + some light Java software development stuff + still learning/experimenting with MacOS, as this is my first MacOS device. An awesome laptop.

But the Windows laptop of my daughter broke, so I thought giving the MBA to her and I getting something new / refurbed again for myself .

Comparing stuff and when I want to be in the same spec range again in terms of 16G/1TB, a M1 PRO 14" 8c/14c/16G/1TB Refurbished at 2.229 EUR (Austria/Europe) seems to be a pretty good deal compared to a new M2 MBA 16G/1TB at 2.309 EUR. If I'm not mistaken the MBP would be 6+2 cores ad more GPU cores whereas M2 MBA is 4+4, I get the SD-Card Slot, one additional USB-C, a slightly bigger (and even brighter?) screen, higher memory bandwidth ...

Hmm, the MBP 14" sounds tempting ...

 

[danielleo369]

I'm in a similar situation for a decision / thinking on what's next. I currently own a M1 MBA 16G/1TB (refurbed) for a typical private daily use case (Web, Mail, Streaming) + some light Java software development stuff + still learning/experimenting with MacOS, as this is my first MacOS device. An awesome laptop.

But the Windows laptop of my daughter broke, so I thought giving the MBA to her and I getting something new / refurbed again for myself .

Comparing stuff and when I want to be in the same spec range again in terms of 16G/1TB, a M1 PRO 14" 8c/14c/16G/1TB Refurbished at 2.229 EUR (Austria/Europe) seems to be a pretty good deal compared to a new M2 MBA 16G/1TB at 2.309 EUR. If I'm not mistaken the MBP would be 6+2 cores ad more GPU cores whereas M2 MBA is 4+4, I get the SD-Card Slot, one additional USB-C, a slightly bigger (and even brighter?) screen, higher memory bandwidth ...

Hmm, the MBP 14" sounds tempting ...

If I were you, if the base 14-inch MBP is within my budget, I'd just forget the M2 MBA and go for the Pro instead. Unless you care about portability, color, and battery life, the M2 loses to the M1 PRO every time! In fact, when I was trying to figure out the budget, I really tried to stretch my budget to get the 14-inch Pro, but then I felt ridiculous as I won't need that much power or that nice screen.

 

[jlc1978]

I'm in a similar situation for a decision / thinking on what's next. I currently own a M1 MBA 16G/1TB (refurbed) for a typical private daily use case (Web, Mail, Streaming) + some light Java software development stuff + still learning/experimenting with MacOS, as this is my first MacOS device. An awesome laptop.

But the Windows laptop of my daughter broke, so I thought giving the MBA to her and I getting something new / refurbed again for myself .

Comparing stuff and when I want to be in the same spec range again in terms of 16G/1TB, a M1 PRO 14" 8c/14c/16G/1TB Refurbished at 2.229 EUR (Austria/Europe) seems to be a pretty good deal compared to a new M2 MBA 16G/1TB at 2.309 EUR. If I'm not mistaken the MBP would be 6+2 cores ad more GPU cores whereas M2 MBA is 4+4, I get the SD-Card Slot, one additional USB-C, a slightly bigger (and even brighter?) screen, higher memory bandwidth ...

Hmm, the MBP 14" sounds tempting ...

I have the M1 MBA and MBP 14". The MBA was fine for 90% of my uses, but I got the 14" MBP because the extra power was useful in Parallels, and I use the SD slot to do hourly backups with CCC. The extra USB-C slots are nice as well. For less money, even if refurbed, I'd go with the 14" MBP.

 

[StoneJack]

I'm in a similar situation for a decision / thinking on what's next. I currently own a M1 MBA 16G/1TB (refurbed) for a typical private daily use case (Web, Mail, Streaming) + some light Java software development stuff + still learning/experimenting with MacOS, as this is my first MacOS device. An awesome laptop.

But the Windows laptop of my daughter broke, so I thought giving the MBA to her and I getting something new / refurbed again for myself .

Comparing stuff and when I want to be in the same spec range again in terms of 16G/1TB, a M1 PRO 14" 8c/14c/16G/1TB Refurbished at 2.229 EUR (Austria/Europe) seems to be a pretty good deal compared to a new M2 MBA 16G/1TB at 2.309 EUR. If I'm not mistaken the MBP would be 6+2 cores ad more GPU cores whereas M2 MBA is 4+4, I get the SD-Card Slot, one additional USB-C, a slightly bigger (and even brighter?) screen, higher memory bandwidth ...

Hmm, the MBP 14" sounds tempting ...

Well I bought MBA M1 16/512 and I use it only for office work. Since I also have a large desktop computer, I am thinking of selling M1 and I already bought 2017 Macbook 12 inch, 8/256 and installed Monterey on it. It is perfect for travel and light office work as well. I am thinking that in 2 years I might give Macbook 12 inch to my kid and then buy M3 MBA.

 

[Wokis]

Concern with M2 MBA 8/512: Not enough ram, overheats in clamshell mode.

This sounds odd. What's the source for this claim? The reason as to why you get different thermal results open vs closed in a typical macbook is because how the vents around the hinge get blocked off more once closed. But then there are also fans actively trying to push air out through those vents, which the MBA doesn't have.

Now arguably heat from the M2 escapes through the keyboard so having a screen blocking it could perhaps make some sort of measurable difference, but we're also talking about a chip that maxes out at about 15W and throttles down to about half regardless if the lid is open or closed.

Anyway I wouldn't go for anything 8GB if I were to have 50 chrome tabs open and wanting to multitask as freely as possible. Rather M1.

 

[danielleo369]

This sounds odd. What's the source for this claim? The reason as to why you get different thermal results open vs closed in a typical macbook is because how the vents around the hinge get blocked off more once closed. But then there are also fans actively trying to push air out through those vents, which the MBA doesn't have.

Now arguably heat from the M2 escapes through the keyboard so having a screen blocking it could perhaps make some sort of measurable difference, but we're also talking about a chip that maxes out at about 15W and throttles down to about half regardless if the lid is open or closed.

Anyway I wouldn't go for anything 8GB if I were to have 50 chrome tabs open and wanting to multitask as freely as possible. Rather M1.

I mean, I said that assuming the chassis of the M2 Air does get hotter than the M1. Since I'm going to use it in clamshell mode for 80-90% of the time, I worried after 2 years or so, the screen or battery would be ruined because the heat couldn't escape properly.. I guess buying a super slim laptop that gets hotter over its previous gen is pretty concerning for me and my use case.

 

[jdb8167]

I mean, I said that assuming the chassis of the M2 Air does get hotter than the M1. Since I'm going to use it in clamshell mode for 80-90% of the time, I worried after 2 years or so, the screen or battery would be ruined because the heat couldn't escape properly.. I guess buying a super slim laptop that gets hotter over its previous gen is pretty concerning for me and my use case.

Why assume that? As far as I can tell, it stays about the same as the M1 MacBook Air.

 

[danielleo369]

Why assume that? As far as I can tell, it stays about the same as the M1 MacBook Air.

I've seen tests where the M2 is being pushed, it'll get 4 degrees C higher than the M1 Air. Maybe I'm just being conservative here. After all, the M1 has proven itself, while the M2's pretty new and I haven't gained the confidence it'll be as reliable as the M1.

 

[throAU]

If the passively cooled MBA is starting to get too hot it will thermal throttle. All modern CPUs do this - this is what turbo boost is (stated in reverse).

If you're constantly pushing the machine, you should consider an actively cooled pro for better performance. Or just accept the fact that a passively cooled machine will always need to constrain its performance somewhat vs. a machine with active cooling.

 

[jlc1978]

I mean, I said that assuming the chassis of the M2 Air does get hotter than the M1. Since I'm going to use it in clamshell mode for 80-90% of the time, I worried after 2 years or so, the screen or battery would be ruined because the heat couldn't escape properly.. I guess buying a super slim laptop that gets hotter over its previous gen is pretty concerning for me and my use case.

Get AppleCare+. I usually don't buy the extended warranty, but have found AC+ worth it. YMMV

 

[RaphaZ]

@danielleo369 , M1 with 16 GB with no doubt.
I've bought a M1 three weeks ago, it is awesome. But for your workload, we need 16 GB. On intel machines, the RAM pressure is lower than in Silicon. The RAM was always green on my intel, but now it likes to be near yellow.

 

[danielleo369]

@danielleo369 , M1 with 16 GB with no doubt.
I've bought a M1 three weeks ago, it is awesome. But for your workload, we need 16 GB. On intel machines, the RAM pressure is lower than in Silicon. The RAM was always green on my intel, but now it likes to be near yellow.

Thanks man! Just received the delivery of my 16/512 M1 MBA a few hours ago, and it's snappy as heck! My God, I'm probably gonna ditch Chrome for Safari now, it's just better!

 

[Isamilis]

I'm in a similar situation for a decision / thinking on what's next. I currently own a M1 MBA 16G/1TB (refurbed) for a typical private daily use case (Web, Mail, Streaming) + some light Java software development stuff + still learning/experimenting with MacOS, as this is my first MacOS device. An awesome laptop.

But the Windows laptop of my daughter broke, so I thought giving the MBA to her and I getting something new / refurbed again for myself .

Comparing stuff and when I want to be in the same spec range again in terms of 16G/1TB, a M1 PRO 14" 8c/14c/16G/1TB Refurbished at 2.229 EUR (Austria/Europe) seems to be a pretty good deal compared to a new M2 MBA 16G/1TB at 2.309 EUR. If I'm not mistaken the MBP would be 6+2 cores ad more GPU cores whereas M2 MBA is 4+4, I get the SD-Card Slot, one additional USB-C, a slightly bigger (and even brighter?) screen, higher memory bandwidth ...

Hmm, the MBP 14" sounds tempting ...

How old is your daughter? 16gb/1TB for kids is huuge upgrade, which she may not use it anyway. If I were you, I would just buy another windows laptop or base M1/M2 MBA for her.