I am really torn between 8GB vs. 16GB RAM

[Rck1984]

You don't hear anybody complaining about having too much RAM. For me it's a tax deductible purchase so no point whatsoever in buying the cheaper machine. I don't get to keep the money: it either stays with the tax man or goes to Cupertino.
Very happy with my M1 Mini!

Doesn't mean there is no such thing as having too much RAM, because that definitely exists..

Ofcourse, if money isn't of any concern then buy the most expensive machine there is and be happy with it. But for the majority of people where money does matter, instead of getting unnecessary RAM they could save it or spend it elsewhere.

Edit: The difference between a base model MacBook Air M1 and a 16GB MacBook Air in my situation is 340 euro, that equals $415 U.S. I am not living on bread and water here, but for many it is a lot of money for something unnecessary isn't it?

 

[TynH]

Sure but they could save a lot more by simply purchasing a Wintel box instead or picking up a used/old stock Apple machine.
It's not as if they've suddenly become useless.

 

[pshufd]

You don't hear anybody complaining about having too much RAM. For me it's a tax deductible purchase so no point whatsoever in buying the cheaper machine. I don't get to keep the money: it either stays with the tax man or goes to Cupertino.
Very happy with my M1 Mini!

The other thing is that RAM is dirt cheap. Just not Apple-provided RAM.

The iMac is the ideal system if you want a lot of RAM as it has four easily accessible RAM slots. You could pay Apple $2,600 for 128 GB of RAM or you could just buy the 8GB standard and then pay $500 for 128 GB of RAM from Amazon. For Apple's $200 to go from 8 GB to 16 GB, you could spend $129 and get to 40 GB of RAM.

 

[pshufd]

Sure but they could save a lot more by simply purchasing a Wintel box instead or picking up a used/old stock Apple machine.
It's not as if they've suddenly become useless.

I like Apple systems where you can buy commodity RAM and put it in yourself. The Intel Mini, 27 iMac, and Mac Pros are such systems. You just need to get a strong enough CPU or use multiple machines in a cluster.

 

[Spudlicious]

Curiously the 16GB version seems hard to find, at least in the UK market. Amazon, John Lewis, Laptops Direct - they just don't offer it. It's a BTO option at Apple with a sickening wait, so I've settled on an 8/512. I don't know if the extra RAM would have been of benefit to me, I doubt it, but I would have been entirely happy to pay the relatively small extra cost just to think I had some headroom. How many people are settling for 8GB only because they don't want to wait for 16GB?

 

[pshufd]

Curiously the 16GB version seems hard to find, at least in the UK market. Amazon, John Lewis, Laptops Direct - they just don't offer it. It's a BTO option at Apple with a sickening wait, so I've settled on an 8/512. I don't know if the extra RAM would have been of benefit to me, I doubt it, but I would have been entirely happy to pay the relatively small extra cost just to think I had some headroom. How many people are settling for 8GB only because they don't want to wait for 16GB?

In the US, what you do is camp out on apple.com and they show up at odd times of the day. You place your order online and then pick it up the same day, the next day or two days away. They may be in inventory for a very short period of time. I checked this morning at 7 AM and the models were there in my local store but they weren't there at 3 AM. So it may seem like they are never in stock but it's just that so many other people want them as well.

There is huge demand in my local area for the 8 GB models as well as I often see all of the 12 closest stores out of them. But the 16 GB are out of stock about 98% of the time and I'd say that the 8 GB models are out of stock about 30% of the time.

 

[alien3dx]

In the US, what you do is camp out on apple.com and they show up at odd times of the day. You place your order online and then pick it up the same day, the next day or two days away. They may be in inventory for a very short period of time. I checked this morning at 7 AM and the models were there in my local store but they weren't there at 3 AM. So it may seem like they are never in stock but it's just that so many other people want them as well.

There is huge demand in my local area for the 8 GB models as well as I often see all of the 12 closest stores out of them. But the 16 GB are out of stock about 98% of the time and I'd say that the 8 GB models are out of stock about 30% of the time.

0 stock also here, that's the reason i force to repair my imac 2017 and bought another huawei laptop. Will sell the huawei laptop upon purchase new laptop m1.

** really unsure to buy or retain this laptop but if i order 16 GB ram the date is 21 January.

 

[pshufd]

0 stock also here, that's the reason i force to repair my imac 2017 and bought another huawei laptop. Will sell the huawei laptop upon purchase new laptop m1.

** really unsure to buy or retain this laptop but if i order 16 GB ram the date is 21 January.

I bought a used 2015 MBP a few years ago as a backup for my 2014 but I always make sure to have a backup and a backup for the backup, even if the equipment is really old. Sometimes relatives and friends need a computer, monitor, router or something and I can usually dig something out for them in a pinch.

I see you have a 2011 MBP - those aren't bad either - if the video card holds up.

 

[alien3dx]

I bought a used 2015 MBP a few years ago as a backup for my 2014 but I always make sure to have a backup and a backup for the backup, even if the equipment is really old. Sometimes relatives and friends need a computer, monitor, router or something and I can usually dig something out for them in a pinch.

I see you have a 2011 MBP - those aren't bad either - if the video card holds up.

Yes, still working great with 16 GB ram . I develop mobile apps and web system. And most backup phone already my family take it.. They see, why not used? ?.That's my testing device lol

 

[Spudlicious]

In the US, what you do is camp out on apple.com and they show up at odd times of the day. You place your order online and then pick it up the same day, the next day or two days away. They may be in inventory for a very short period of time. I checked this morning at 7 AM and the models were there in my local store but they weren't there at 3 AM. So it may seem like they are never in stock but it's just that so many other people want them as well.

There is huge demand in my local area for the 8 GB models as well as I often see all of the 12 closest stores out of them. But the 16 GB are out of stock about 98% of the time and I'd say that the 8 GB models are out of stock about 30% of the time.

What a storming success Apple are having with the M1, and with such huge implications. When mine arrives it will be the first time I’ve owned a non-Intel computer since 1988.

 

[Quackers]

My first laptop had 256MB of ram so 8GB seems a lot to me

On a different tack if you're using a VM with, say, 4GB of ram allocated to it, presumably that ram returns for use by the host machine once the VM is shut down?
I can see that if you only suspend the VM the ram would be lost to the host.

 

[darngooddesign]

I like Apple systems where you can buy commodity RAM and put it in yourself. The Intel Mini, 27 iMac, and Mac Pros are such systems. You just need to get a strong enough CPU or use multiple machines in a cluster.

Buying multiple machines kind of negates the savings from buying cheaper RAM.

 

[MarkC426]

And extra power usage... ?

 

[Quackington]

I bought a used 2015 MBP a few years ago as a backup for my 2014 but I always make sure to have a backup and a backup for the backup, even if the equipment is really old. Sometimes relatives and friends need a computer, monitor, router or something and I can usually dig something out for them in a pinch.

I see you have a 2011 MBP - those aren't bad either - if the video card holds up.

So you have a main laptop and two backups? Hah, nice. I don't think of mine as back-ups but I have two older machines, one MBA and a Surface.

 

[Argon_]

I bought a used 2015 MBP a few years ago as a backup for my 2014 but I always make sure to have a backup and a backup for the backup, even if the equipment is really old. Sometimes relatives and friends need a computer, monitor, router or something and I can usually dig something out for them in a pinch.

I see you have a 2011 MBP - those aren't bad either - if the video card holds up.

The spare computer. A first world solution to a first world problem.

All joking aside, I do the same. It drastically reduces downtime if some calamity happens.

 

[Populus]

This is a random screenshot of my Memory info in Activity Monitor on my 16GB M1 MBA with the machine at idle (but a few apps open). All I was saying is that an uninformed observer would see "Memory Used 10.25GB" and assume that they needed more than 8GB. Memory is complicated which is why Apple gave us Memory Pressure. View attachment 1705896

Yeah, it is complicated, but the 8GB doesn't magically turn into 16GB on the new M1. Yes, the management is better, more efficient, the memory is faster and used for more things... but 8GB is still 8GB.

Here's a screenshot of my entire Activity Monitor screen. As you can see, only Safari (with several tabs, including Prime Video) and Firefox with just one or two tabs, is what is causing my 8GB machine to suffer with yellow levels of RAM compression. This is not always happening, but it happens. And when it is green, it is pretty high as well, using a big amount of Swap memory (which uses the SSD and we all know what happens if you're constantly writing gigabytes of data each day on a rather small SSD).

In my case, honestly, I'd like to get the redesigned MacBook Air in 2022 (because this year we'll only see the MacBook Pros redesign, according to analysts), but that means being 2 years with a machine I won't be 100% satisfied with. Also, I am not sure if in 2022 I will have the income to sell this and get the new one. Also, maybe the new MacBook Air doesn't come with a 3nm M3 but rather a slightly improved M2, a minor upgrade. And being the first model after a complete redesign, there may be flaws like the 2016 MBP keyboard, or the 2016 flex cable, etc. I'd rather wait a few iterations of the new redesigned MacBook Air, and get the machine at the best moment.

If I want to wait 3 or even 4 years with this machine, I want to be happy with it. And that's why I am returning my 8GB/256GB MacBook Air and getting a 16GB/512GB MacBook Air.

 

[Rck1984]

Personally, I think Apple should have given the MacBook Air 8GB and just possibilities to upgrade the storage.
The MacBook Pro should have been the device with 16GB and more, that would have made far more sense.

Remember, the light/small and 'cheap' MacBook Air is (and has always been) aimed at the light to moderate user. The type of person that uses it for office work, web browsing, music listening and perhaps the casual photo/video editing. For more than that, you should be looking at a Pro model.

I might be stepping on some toes here, but I wonder why people with 'heavy' workloads such as serious photo/video editing, music production or use of virtualisation are going for a MacBook Air in the first place.

 

[Populus]

Personally, I think Apple should have given the MacBook Air 8GB and just possibilities to upgrade the storage.
The MacBook Pro should have been the device with 16GB and more, that would have made far more sense.

Remember, the light/small and 'cheap' MacBook Air is (and has always been) aimed at the light to moderate user. The type of person that uses it for office work, web browsing, music listening and perhaps the casual photo/video editing. For more than that, you should be looking at a Pro model.

I might be stepping on some toes here, but I wonder why people with 'heavy' workloads such as serious photo/video editing, music production or use of virtualisation are going for a MacBook Air in the first place.

Honestly, I couldn't disagree more with your post, respectfully. I mean, I am sorry but I don't share your opinion. Limiting artificially the MacBook Air, especially this year that both MBA and Pro are so similar in performance, would be ugly, and would force anyone who wants an improved machine (RAM/storage) to get a machine with a Touch Bar. And many of us don't like the Touch Bar.

Do you wonder why people with heavy workloads are going for a MacBook Air? Because they like the design more than a MacBook Pro, and they have seen the reviews, and the performance only drops a little with sustained workloads. It is almost as capable as a Pro, without the annoying TouchBar, at a slightly lower price point.

However, I do agree the Pro should have been offered in 16 and 32GB of RAM

 

[MarkC426]

I might be stepping on some toes here, but I wonder why people with 'heavy' workloads such as serious photo/video editing, music production or use of virtualisation are going for a MacBook Air in the first place.

Or even an M1 mac.
These are the 'base' models after all, and newer macs will only be beefier.

 

[pshufd]

What a storming success Apple are having with the M1, and with such huge implications. When mine arrives it will be the first time I’ve owned a non-Intel computer since 1988.

I am certainly impressed with the uptake.

BTW, I think that Apple is still selling a lot of Intel Macs. I keep an eye on iMac inventory in my area and those things are moving in and out of inventory as well. Interestingly, if you want a base model 21.5 inch iMac, they are out of stock in the 12 closest stores to me. This means that their store inventory has been booked for the next three days. If you want to upgrade from 8 to 16 GB of RAM, you have to wait until February. This is the same schedule for the M1 Macs.

There are two stores out of twelve locally that have the base model 27 inch iMac in stock, but any kind of BTO pushes you out until February.

I was going to order a base Air for my daughter because she said that she wanted a small laptop of office stuff. So I asked her some more questions and she indicated that 256 GB was probably too small. Her assumption was that you couldn't game with it either but I told her that you could. So after shopping, we decided to get the 16/1 but when I got back home, they were all gone.

So I'll check again at 5 AM in the morning.

I'm probably getting a 16/1 Pro for myself.

 

[pshufd]

Buying multiple machines kind of negates the savings from buying cheaper RAM.

I keep machines around for a long time and can just cluster them together to get very long life and quite good performance. I like to think 1, 5, 10 years out.

 

[Rck1984]

Honestly, I couldn't disagree more with your post, respectfully. I mean, I am sorry but I don't share your opinion. Limiting artificially the MacBook Air, especially this year that both MBA and Pro are so similar in performance, would be ugly, and would force anyone who wants an improved machine (RAM/storage) to get a machine with a Touch Bar. And many of us don't like the Touch Bar.

Do you wonder why people with heavy workloads are going for a MacBook Air? Because they like the design more than a MacBook Pro, and they have seen the reviews, and the performance only drops a little with sustained workloads. It is almost as capable as a Pro, without the annoying TouchBar, at a slightly lower price point.

However, I do agree the Pro should have been offered in 16 and 32GB of RAM

No offence taken, no one has to agree with my opinion.

But they should make the Touch Bar optional then.
I still believe the Air is aimed at another audience, the Pro is there for people with a 'pro' use case/workload hence the name (and the fan etc..).

 

[pshufd]

Or even an M1 mac.
These are the 'base' models after all, and newer macs will only be beefier.

You might have multiple use cases and want to kick the tires. So buy an Air just to use around the house to try it out and then buy a real system when they are available.

 

[darngooddesign]

No offence taken, no one has to agree with my opinion.

But they should make the Touch Bar optional then.
I still believe the Air is aimed at another audience, the Pro is there for people with a 'pro' use case/workload hence the name (and the fan etc..).

The performance is so close that either will satisfy 90% of the use cases, pro or casual; just pick the shape, keyboard, and level of noise you prefer. I'm glad Apple didn't limit the Air compared to the Pro.

 

[MarkC426]

You might have multiple use cases and want to kick the tires. So buy an Air just to use around the house to try it out and then buy a real system when they are available.

But then many, many people on this forum feel very strongly about not spending $200 for 8gb extra ram..... , never mind a whole computer just to fill a gap for 6 months.