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How much longer will 8GB be ok for?

WishyWashyUK

WishyWashyUK

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2021
82
98
Genuine question: in light of Apple’s move to make 16gb RAM the minimum, how long do you reckon those of us with a 8gb M-series machine will be ok without significant slowdowns?

I appreciate no one has a crystal ball but I’m not very versed with RAM usage etc so grateful for any insights on how much AI will use and so on.

I currently to have a base M1 MBA which has been flawless to date for my needs, but I’m wondering whether to sell it while it still has a decent resale value and jump on the 16gb train…?

Thanks all!
 
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WishyWashyUK

WishyWashyUK

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2021
82
98
Yeah I should have added that I only use it for browsing, admin, a bit of photo editing etc but would like to have the option of casual video editing for family videos etc (if I ever get time to learn how to do it properly!).

Considering 8gb MacBooks were being sold until very recently (and still on the refurb store) I’d hope they have a fair bit of life left in them, but I’m nervous about the value plummeting now like what happened with the intel machines after Apple silicon was introduced! Already seeing some significant sales on 8gb M2/M3 machines!
 
mi7chy

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
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There are a ton of unsold 8GB Macbooks for sale, for example, on Facebook Marketplace so options are either hang on to it or take a sizable loss and put it towards a $599 ($499 with edu/military discount) 16GB M4 Mac Mini. Worst case if you hang on to it is it'll just swap more to storage so slower and more wear on SSD until you can upgrade.
 
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Iwavvns

Iwavvns

macrumors 6502a
Dec 11, 2023
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Earth
It is my opinion that Apple increased to 16GB because of the introduction of Apple Intelligence. You may have issues if you plan to use all that Apple Intelligence has to offer. I plan to turn all of the Apple Intelligence garbage off completely.. doing so may not present a problem with 8GB of RAM. macOS ran just fine two years ago without Apple Intelligence, I don't believe AI is going to bring anything beneficial to the table.
 
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WishyWashyUK

WishyWashyUK

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2021
82
98
mi7chy said:
There are a ton of unsold 8GB Macbooks for sale, for example, on Facebook Marketplace so options are either hang on to it or take a sizable loss and put it towards a $599 ($499 with edu/military discount) 16GB M4 Mac Mini. Worst case if you hang on to it is it'll just swap more to storage so slower and more wear on SSD until you can upgrade.
Click to expand...
Thanks yeah I’m definitely tempted by the M4 Mac Mini. For me with current M1 MBA trade-in prices it would be the same cost for me to just buy the M4 Mac Mini outright and keep my M1 MBA as a mobile option to run it into the ground as it would cost to trade in and upgrade to a newer 16gb MBA (M2 or M3).

Or like you say, sell/trade in the M1 MBA and buy a M4 Mac Mini with little extra outlay… 🤔
 
WishyWashyUK

WishyWashyUK

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 23, 2021
82
98
Iwavvns said:
It is my opinion that Apple increased to 16GB because of the introduction of Apple Intelligence. You may have issues if you plan to use all that Apple Intelligence has to offer. I plan to turn all of the Apple Intelligence garbage off completely.. doing so may not present a problem with 8GB of RAM. macOS ran just fine two years ago without Apple Intelligence, I don't believe AI is going to bring anything beneficial to the table.
Click to expand...
I haven’t tried all the features yet so reserving judgement, but yeah that’s always an option!

Do we know how much if any RAM it actually uses when it’s switched on but ‘idle’? I’m just thinking if I only use it occasionally and when I’m not doing anything intensive would that prevent significant slowdowns? Or is it supposed to be always working away in the background and using RAM?
 
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Isamilis

macrumors 68020
Apr 3, 2012
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It depends how deep apple will integrate its AI into their systems and apps? Also, how long we can stay running the old version when the new version came with AI as minimum requirement.
 
A

Allen_Wentz

macrumors 68040
Dec 3, 2016
3,291
3,716
USA
WishyWashyUK said:
Genuine question: in light of Apple’s move to make 16gb RAM the minimum, how long do you reckon those of us with a 8gb M-series machine will be ok without significant slowdowns?

I appreciate no one has a crystal ball but I’m not very versed with RAM usage etc so grateful for any insights on how much AI will use and so on.

I currently to have a base M1 MBA which has been flawless to date for my needs, but I’m wondering whether to sell it while it still has a decent resale value and jump on the 16gb train…?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Your question answers itself. Just wait. As long as the 8 GB keeps fulfilling your needs it is all good. Treat your laptop not as an investment device but instead as a tool.

Use the tool until the limitations of the lame 8 GB bother you, then upgrade. When you upgrade buy adequate RAM for the planned life cycle of the new Mac, knowing that RAM demands will increase every year like they have since the 128k Macs. One uses a new box only in the future, not in the past, so we must plan for the future even though that is often challenging.

We buy computers to compute with, and use of RAM is a very good way to compute. Which is why hardware engineers and OS/app designers constantly build to take advantage of more and more RAM every year.
 
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Allen_Wentz

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Dec 3, 2016
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Cervisia said:
You mean there will be a point when Apple Intelligence couldn't be turned off? Even Microsoft wouldn't dare that.
Click to expand...
AI is not [necessarily] Big Brother in a box. AI is a computing tool that we should expect to see become increasingly integrated into all computers. AI usage will evolve just like RAM in Macs evolved from 128k in desktop to 128 GB even in laptops; but much more quickly.
 
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Cervisia

macrumors regular
Jun 22, 2024
136
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Allen_Wentz said:
AI is not [necessarily] Big Brother in a box. AI is a computing tool that we should expect to see become increasingly integrated into all computers. AI usage will evolve just like RAM in Macs evolved from 128k in desktop to 128 GB even in laptops; but much more quickly.
Click to expand...
Personalized AI, which afaik Apple Intelligence aims to be, is necessarily a Big Brother in a box.
 
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leifp

macrumors 6502a
Feb 8, 2008
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Canada
If you add video editing to your portfolio, Apple’s RAM restrictions on new macOS updates is unlikely to be the deciding factor on a switch to a new Mac. You will notice quickly whether that causes your system to choke and can make a decision on replacing it then. For example, from the M2 generation Apple added video coders/decoders that were limited to the Pro+ chips in the M1 generation.
 
macfacts

macfacts

macrumors 603
Oct 7, 2012
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Cybertron
WishyWashyUK said:
Genuine question: in light of Apple’s move to make 16gb RAM the minimum, how long do you reckon those of us with a 8gb M-series machine will be ok without significant slowdowns?

I appreciate no one has a crystal ball but I’m not very versed with RAM usage etc so grateful for any insights on how much AI will use and so on.

I currently to have a base M1 MBA which has been flawless to date for my needs, but I’m wondering whether to sell it while it still has a decent resale value and jump on the 16gb train…?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
Do you think you want to use Apple's AI features?
 
smirking

smirking

macrumors 68040
Aug 31, 2003
3,920
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Corefile said:
Hopefully there'll be a stop/disable/off switch for that "Apple Intelligence" rubbish.
Click to expand...

How long has Siri been around? I can count the number of times I've used Siri on one hand. I suspect there are enough of us who don't give a fig about Apple Intelligence that they can't just force it.

Even when the AI features are useful, the amount that a typical person will need it for their daily tasks will diminish over time. If you haven't learned how to make oatmeal without Apple AI after 10 times, you have problems. Under such a scenario, I really wouldn't care if AI consumes all of my device's resources. I wouldn't be using it often enough for it to be a serious issue.

My 2009 8GB Unibody MBP still works perfectly fine for everyday computing. The main reason I can't do more with it is because it lacks software support.
 
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applepotato666

macrumors 6502a
Jun 25, 2016
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WishyWashyUK said:
Do we know how much if any RAM it actually uses when it’s switched on but ‘idle’?
Click to expand...
Currently it doesn't seem to on mine, but perhaps it depends on the device. Personal context is not out yet and maybe that will require more idle resources. I'm sure if you're low on RAM and not using the models, whatever you're actively doing will take priority over keeping the models in the memory so it's nothing to worry about.
 
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pappkristof

pappkristof

macrumors regular
Aug 1, 2015
149
256
WishyWashyUK said:
Genuine question: in light of Apple’s move to make 16gb RAM the minimum, how long do you reckon those of us with a 8gb M-series machine will be ok without significant slowdowns?

I appreciate no one has a crystal ball but I’m not very versed with RAM usage etc so grateful for any insights on how much AI will use and so on.

I currently to have a base M1 MBA which has been flawless to date for my needs, but I’m wondering whether to sell it while it still has a decent resale value and jump on the 16gb train…?

Thanks all!
Click to expand...
It’s already NOT ok to have 8 GB.
 
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