for me , if i see no compressed /no swap good.
. For me , 8 gb enough for meeting customer and 16 gb for workhorse since average is 10 to 14 gb.
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I am really torn between 8GB vs. 16GB RAM
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. For me , 8 gb enough for meeting customer and 16 gb for workhorse since average is 10 to 14 gb.Yep, and I am using 2x with 3x monitors in the future when the M* processor supports 3 monitors.
I feel like the 8GB option exists because:
(a) it's 'good enough' for undemanding users/uses, at least for now
(b) it's (a bit) cheaper for Apple than offering 16GB as a base for all
(c) most importantly of all, $200 for 8GB more RAM is an excellent high-margin upgrade in a machine that has relatively few upgrade options for Apple to upsell
It's the same logic that led to a 128GB SSD option existing for so long - much longer than was justifiable.
(a) it's 'good enough' for undemanding users/uses, at least for now
(b) it's (a bit) cheaper for Apple than offering 16GB as a base for all
(c) most importantly of all, $200 for 8GB more RAM is an excellent high-margin upgrade in a machine that has relatively few upgrade options for Apple to upsell
It's the same logic that led to a 128GB SSD option existing for so long - much longer than was justifiable.
I agree with most of what you’ve said, but this particular conclusion doesn’t really follow from your premise. Given a large amount of RAM and no other demands on same, the OS will aggressively cache, but that doesn’t mean you need all those file in cache. Some meaningful percentage of that cache may not be accessed for some considerable amount of time, and the only reason it hasn’t been purged is that there’s currently no cost to keep it there.
GPUs usually have a spec of maximum resolution supported and then you can divide that space up by all of your monitors.
I have been using my computer now for 2 weeks. I took it with me on travel and thus far, I had only one instance with memory pressure but majority of the time, the 8GB was suprisingly keeping up. Of course, as a power user, I always...ALWAYS WANT MORE. but this was like tight integration like a Toyota AE86 on some corners going down a Japanese mountain carrying tofu at midnight.
I really don't understand why people try to push people into an ARM computer with tinny 8GB of RAM, when mobile ARM computers aka smartphones have even more RAM also.
The Samsung S21 Ultra for example has 16GB RAM and also has an ARM instruction set.
The Samsung S21 Ultra for example has 16GB RAM and also has an ARM instruction set.
It's Apple's way.
Apple sells a $2,299 i7-10700K iMac with 8 GB of RAM. It's a bit crazy to have that much compute power, GPU horsepower, the ability to run several high-resolution monitors, and a likely limit of 256 GB of user-installable RAM. Yet I see many iMacs with 4 GB or 8 GB stock for sale on Craigslist. People could have improved their performance substantially with more RAM. A lot of these systems have HDDs and Fusion drives too.
My wife's 2018 Mac Mini has 8 GB/128 GB. It works fine for her - I've heard no complaints about the system. I would hear complaints all the time when she had a Windows desktop and I got her the Mini so that I wouldn't have to do tech support. I could throw in another 8 GB of RAM but I don't think that it would matter given what she runs.
Given that 16GB RAM is CTO and only available at select outlets, there's just going to be a ton more 8GB RAM M1 MacBooks sold compared to 16GB.
We're not pushing anything. Merely acknowledging that 8GB RAM is actually quite usable for most users (i.e. those who don't frequent MacRumors).
intel /amd - good on multi tasking so on each process require on memory and power.
arm - not good multi tasking which focus on main proc and use smaller if required which less power.
Like me , i buy tommorow m1 laptop if existed as been said. It only will be meet customer , word ,pdf and debugging client side . Not like imac which i open tidal, word, pdf, web ,xcode and a lot more.
Conclusion right tool to used.
no, it only impacts GPU performance
That's true, in shared memory models (unified), the system only allocates as needed up to the maximums allowed.
It also has a tiny screen, does that mean your ARM computer should also have a tiny screen?
Saying your phone has 16GB RAM will impress easily impressed people.
Your not comparing apples to apples here (no pun), and therefore making zero sense tbh.
AFAIK the Samsung S21 is powered by Snapdragon/Qualcomm, running an Android OS. The same situation as AMD/Intel, running on Windows or MacOS.
An Apple M1 is running Apple's own SOC, on its own OS. Both hardware and software tailored in conjunction of one another, therefore much more optimized/efficient. Where that Samsung needs the 16GB to function well, the M1 doesn't (putting aside power users).
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Also... the Samsung S21 Ultra has a screen resolution of 3200x1440
It might require a lot of RAM to push around that many pixels every millisecond.
It might require a lot of RAM to push around that many pixels every millisecond.
Im using 4GB of swap file everyday always when im working on my mac mini m1 with 8GB. It seem ok , the memory pressure always stay green at around 50%. I wonder if I have to upgrade but I am waiting for the new chip with 16 cpu core and more GPU core to put my money on. I guess ill put 24GB on that new chip computer if we can. ( Its going to be good for all kind of Machine learning task i guess. )
If apple can help us here , It can be great.
If apple can help us here , It can be great.
Exactly (3200x1440x24 bits of color)/ 8 bits per byte / 1024 ... So about 14 MB of VRAM.
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And yet iDevices do just fine on 4-6GB of RAM, despite also being ARM-based.
Android and iOS are almost diametrically opposed in how they manage memory. Android doesn‘t give a toss what you have opened or for how long, and memory management is much more in the hands of the user. iOS will start dumping apps from memory and closing processes if it catches you looking away from the screen for half a second.
The conclusion you should draw form this isn’t that ARM-based devices are RAM-hungry, but that the memory management philosophy of the OS is important.
I agree with all of these points and really have no complaints about it. The value of the base config is really extremely good for the performance, and the total cost after the $200 upgrade is still a very good value (even though $200 for 8GB RAM is not a good value in and of itself).
I just wish Apple would have offered a non CTO option with 16GB RAM so that getting one would be a lot easier.
They have implicitly - they are the Air 16 GB/1 TB and the Pro 16 GB/1 TB. I could order the Pro right now and get it Thursday, either delivered to my home or at three local stores. The Air is out of stock at the moment but the stores should have their inventories replenished tonight.
Of course the downside is that you may have to order far more storage than you wanted.
Yes, this is all true. I was only pointing out that you can't treat them as just additive - it's not like 8 + 8 ram /video ram were being used for the same things (or only in certain circumstances).
But yes, most of the time the ram dedicated to the video is taken out of what's available elsewhere (true for the intel systems with on-board gpu only as well, like the previous macbook airs).
I think having 16gb on board in the M1 series is far superior to 8 + 8 (for comparison only), assuming no speed penalty - previously your dGPU ram would not be available for general system purposes, and hence little benefit from that extra 8 unless you were actively using a lot of it (which might only be for games or some specific programs). If your actual video ram in use is only 1gb, that extra dedicated 8 would be mighty underused.
So mostly you'll get better use out of that 16gb system ram. [There will be some uses that really need the separate large dgpu with dedicated ram - doubt they're the market for macbook airs / low-end powerbooks.]
For me the difference between a 8GB and 16GB would be about 320 euro, that's about $400 U.S.
Being located in Europe and getting a discount on a base model.
$400 U.S for 8GB of RAM? I've accepted Apple tax, but that is a ridiculous amount money (a third of the entire MacBook) for something I don't need right now, but maybe, just maybe in the future.
I still believe a lot of people are overestimating their need for RAM, and wasting money because of FOMO and "advice" on forums like these. I've been both 'suspect' and 'victim' of it in the past as well..
Being located in Europe and getting a discount on a base model.
$400 U.S for 8GB of RAM? I've accepted Apple tax, but that is a ridiculous amount money (a third of the entire MacBook) for something I don't need right now, but maybe, just maybe in the future.
I still believe a lot of people are overestimating their need for RAM, and wasting money because of FOMO and "advice" on forums like these. I've been both 'suspect' and 'victim' of it in the past as well..