I refuse to buy an Apple Silicon Mac with only 8 GB RAM!

[Technerd108]

I'm a RAM snob for sure. Put 32 GB in my 2015 iMac when it was brand new.

That said - I went against brand and recently purchase a base M2 MBA from BBY for $999 ($789 after trade). This is definitely unusual for me. The purpose of the machine was to replace an iPad as the bedside device for email, web and some streaming. For that it has worked extremely well. I obsessively watch the memory pressure and haven't seen it use any swap. I have a MBP14 and Studio as my "real machines".

I admit this is a strange use case. And I for sure recommend more memory for anyone who intends to use the machine beyond these ridiculously light tasks. But there is a role for an 8 GB Apple Silicon device. Even for a RAM snob like me.

You can do a lot more with the base M2 MBA than an iPad pro base model. Since that is basically the price you paid.

I don't know what you traded and how much you lost but the purchase price is great and a reasonable use case.

I would try your luck at a private sale on a site like Swappa next time. It is a little more work but you usually get considerably more than trade in, specially with Best buy. Just FYI.

 

[ADGrant]

Alas, the same amount of RAM for the new M2 base model. No new mini for me. 🫤

So buy the M2 Pro model

 

[tstafford]

You can do a lot more with the base M2 MBA than an iPad pro base model. Since that is basically the price you paid.

I don't know what you traded and how much you lost but the purchase price is great and a reasonable use case.

I would try your luck at a private sale on a site like Swappa next time. It is a little more work but you usually get considerably more than trade in, specially with Best buy. Just FYI.

Thanks for the heads up. It was an Intel MBA. I really liked the simplicity of the process. I placed the order online and had the whole process (trade and pick-up) done 45 minutes later. I'll pay a bit extra for that level of convenience. But I definitely understand your point. Net/net: $789 for this device is very, very good. The M2 chip is nice.

 

[Technerd108]

Alas, the same amount of RAM for the new M2 base model. No new mini for me. 🫤

The base model Mac Mini is $599 and you are complaining? That is the cost of an M1 iPad air with quadruple the storage.

The M2 Pro Mac Mini is $1299 with 16gb ram and 512gb ssd. Seems pretty reasonable to me.

Honestly for a desktop these new Mac Mini are pretty sweet.

If you are complaining it seems like nothing would make you happy. Name another desktop that costs $599 with 16gb ram and a very fast processor? And nice build quality?

If I needed or liked a desktop Mac the M2 Pro Mac Mini would be in my short list

 

[Technerd108]

Thanks for the heads up. It was an Intel MBA. I really liked the simplicity of the process. I placed the order online and had the whole process (trade and pick-up) done 45 minutes later. I'll pay a bit extra for that level of convenience. But I definitely understand your point. Net/net: $789 for this device is very, very good. The M2 chip is nice.

I completely understand.

I think you got a great deal either way.

Enjoy your M2 MBA. Even the base model is a hell of a machine!

 

[redheeler]

If you are complaining it seems like nothing would make you happy. Name another desktop that costs $599 with 16gb ram and a very fast processor? And nice build quality?

I can see where you're coming from, though the complaints are justifiable even on the Mac mini given the lack of upgradability. If you could upgrade later I doubt anyone would be complaining (as much).

 

[Technerd108]

I can see where you're coming from, though the complaints are justifiable even on the Mac mini given the lack of upgradability. If you could upgrade later I doubt anyone would be complaining (as much).

For the price I don't see a problem.

If you like m series processor then you know everything is unified and part of the chip. It is the price you pay for the extra performance.

$599 is pretty cheap as an entry desktop into MacOS regardless of upgrades since with M series upgrades are a mute point.

Just save up for the Pro. I am sure it will eventually go on sale but $1299 for the Pro base is the sweet spot IMHO.

Everyone should know what they are getting into 3 years into m series chips. Complaining about the base model seems a little ridiculous at this point.

Even the base Mac Mini with M2 will go on sale at some point and you can get edu discount or refurbished in time.

 

[redheeler]

For the price I don't see a problem.

If you like m series processor then you know everything is unified and part of the chip. It is the price you pay for the extra performance.

$599 is pretty cheap as an entry desktop into MacOS regardless of upgrades since with M series upgrades are a mute point.

Just save up for the Pro. I am sure it will eventually go on sale but $1299 for the Pro base is the sweet spot IMHO.

Everyone should know what they are getting into 3 years into m series chips. Complaining about the base model seems a little ridiculous at this point.

Even the base Mac Mini with M2 will go on sale at some point and you can get edu discount or refurbished in time.

The price is the problem. Even you have to admit this is too much.

RAM upgrades from Apple have always been overpriced, only you used to be able to circumvent that. I upgraded my Late 2015 iMac from 8 GB to 32 GB myself using my own sticks of RAM. The upgrade made a big difference with usability and I've gotten many years of use out of it since.

 

[Technerd108]

The price is the problem. Even you have to admit this is too much.

View attachment 2143867

RAM upgrades from Apple have always been cash grabs, only you used to be able to circumvent that. I upgraded my Late 2015 iMac from 8 GB to 32 GB myself using my own sticks of RAM. The upgrade made a big difference with usability and I've gotten many years of use out of it since.

That is why the base model M2 Pro is the sweet spot.

Everyone complains and whines about the price points. Sure $400 for an extra 16gb ram is expensive but $1699 for a Mac Mini with 32gb ram is still $300 less than the base model 14" MBP?

Also unified ram costs more than socketed ram.

In my experience with M series Pro processor 16gb ram is enough for most of what people will do. Those that really need 32gb ram will probably get a Studio or MBP anyway.

I still think the price is decent. Not cheap or affordable but it is not crazy either. Apple ALWAYS makes a profit.

Also your Intel Mac is not the same at all. Hard to compare adding more ram to an Intel processor many years later. Look at M1 3 years in? It is still a very capable chipset. I bet it will still be in 3 more years even with only 8gb ram.

It does suck that you can't upgrade but that is the cost of the extra performance of a unified system and part of the reason why m series chips are so much better than Intel.

I am not an Apple fan boy either. I call out their crap all the time. And there is a lot of things that I don't like about various Apple products and the OS platforms. However these Mac Minis are pretty sweet and reasonable priced for Apple. I bet Apple is going to sell a LOT of Mac Minis!!

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

Alas, the same amount of RAM for the new M2 base model. No new mini for me. 🫤

They made it $100 cheaper though (at least in the U.S)

 

[smirking]

That said - I went against brand and recently purchase a base M2 MBA from BBY for $999 ($789 after trade). This is definitely unusual for me. The purpose of the machine was to replace an iPad as the bedside device for email, web and some streaming. For that it has worked extremely well. I obsessively watch the memory pressure and haven't seen it use any swap.

I've been a lifelong RAM snob myself, but I kept reading that 8GB of RAM is actually plenty for the vast majority of users (Windows included). So I test drove a base level M1 MBP a couple of years ago and ran it as hard as I could for 2 weeks. It was living in the red for most of that time.

I was amazed. I wouldn't have known the memory pressure was red if I wasn't checking it. 8GB is still a little on the short side for me, but I'm totally OK with 16GB now after experiencing that firsthand.

 

[adonis3k]

16 should be base spec in this day and age!

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

16 should be base spec in this day and age!

Not for a budget machine

 

[Dovahkiing]

people have been saying 8GB isn't enough and you will need to upgrade in order to future proof since 2013. And yet - here casual users are ten years later still with 8GB and being just fine.

 

[Timbukstu]

Buy when you need and what you need. There's nothing like future-proofing, so beware of over-spending on what you might never need in the long run (or before updating to another machine, that is). That's what I've learned in the past years

Nothing is more wasteful than future proofing. 98% of the people that do, don’t need it. You could be a 2%er but future proofing is silly when 8gb/512 m1 is good for 98% of people using macs.
Future proofing is spending 200 to get 1tb, not upgrading to 16gb. Lightroom is fine on the 8gb. If you are full stack dev or regularly export video files then you shouldn’t be reading this…

For example a YouTuber m1 8gb…

OK I finally got it to slow down. Here's where it maxed before grinding to a halt: 12 apps, 2 of which x86 on Rosetta, 24 Safari tabs + 6 Safari windows (all of which playing YouTube videos at 2160p), Slack running full screen, Spotify playing, Monosnap to take the screenshot. pic.twitter.com/kUtsYea41X

 

[JoshNori]

I'm a RAM snob for sure. Put 32 GB in my 2015 iMac when it was brand new.

That said - I went against brand and recently purchase a base M2 MBA from BBY for $999 ($789 after trade). This is definitely unusual for me. The purpose of the machine was to replace an iPad as the bedside device for email, web and some streaming. For that it has worked extremely well. I obsessively watch the memory pressure and haven't seen it use any swap. I have a MBP14 and Studio as my "real machines".

I admit this is a strange use case. And I for sure recommend more memory for anyone who intends to use the machine beyond these ridiculously light tasks. But there is a role for an 8 GB Apple Silicon device. Even for a RAM snob like me.

Hey, no better investment you could make when a chipset is soldered. I just find it tacky that they make us pay out the nose for longevity. Apple is stingy as all on RAM, and it’s a big deterrent for me. Base pricing should be for a reasonably well-equipped machine. There shouldn’t be a crap model to justify “upgrades” to normality.

 

[Macintosh1984]

I do web graphics, so files are not too big, at the moment I use Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. without problems. on an iMac 27" Late 2012.

RAM question, with the concept of unified memory, if I understand correctly, the GPU also uses RAM, do I understand correctly?

In your opinion, is 8GB just a few? I repeat, I have 8GB on my old iMac but the video card has 2GB of memory, as if they were 10GB unified?

Please help me decide whether you really need to upgrade the new Mac mini M2 to 16GB or not. Unfortunately I also have to buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse, so saving money where possible would be appreciated.

 

[maflynn]

What do you think?

Buy what ever you want. If you don't want a computer with 8gb, then don't.

 

[mpetrides]

I do web graphics, so files are not too big, at the moment I use Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. without problems. on an iMac 27" Late 2012.

RAM question, with the concept of unified memory, if I understand correctly, the GPU also uses RAM, do I understand correctly?

In your opinion, is 8GB just a few? I repeat, I have 8GB on my old iMac but the video card has 2GB of memory, as if they were 10GB unified?

Please help me decide whether you really need to upgrade the new Mac mini M2 to 16GB or not. Unfortunately I also have to buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse, so saving money where possible would be appreciated.

I personally would not buy a serious computer with only 8 GB RAM in today's world unless that RAM can be user-upgraded, which the M-series Macs clearly do not support. One of the key benefits of buying a Mac is longevity compared to Windoze PCs. Even if an 8 GB machine would meet my needs now, I rather doubt it will 3-5 years down the line. Pay the extra $200 to ensure longevity.

 

[MBAir2010]

Ahhhh, when I buy MacBooks, I always forget the memory!
im stuck with the feeble MacBook Air m1 with 8G

 

[MBAir2010]

Bs of Ram, not enough to complete my post I tried typing above this one.

 

[Tagbert]

I do web graphics, so files are not too big, at the moment I use Photoshop, Illustrator, etc. without problems. on an iMac 27" Late 2012.

RAM question, with the concept of unified memory, if I understand correctly, the GPU also uses RAM, do I understand correctly?

In your opinion, is 8GB just a few? I repeat, I have 8GB on my old iMac but the video card has 2GB of memory, as if they were 10GB unified?

Please help me decide whether you really need to upgrade the new Mac mini M2 to 16GB or not. Unfortunately I also have to buy a monitor, keyboard and mouse, so saving money where possible would be appreciated.

If you are doing web graphics professionally or on a fairly regular basis, then you probably would want to upgrade to 16GB of RAM. The 8GB is best for more casual, single-tasking work or where you don't care if there is some occasional slowness. A lot of people just use one or two apps at a time and then only for undemanding personal work and the 8/256GB machines are a good match for them in terms of price and performance.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Alas, the same amount of RAM for the new M2 base model. No new mini for me. 🫤

If only Apple had some way you could get more RAM in the Mac mini… some sort of, I don’t know. “Option” where people can select the amount of RAM they want.

 

[Technerd108]

If only Apple had some way you could get more RAM in the Mac mini… some sort of, I don’t know. “Option” where people can select the amount of RAM they want. View attachment 2144356

That would cost more. Everything should be free! Lol.

Why would Apple put more Ram in the M2 mini than M2 air? Everyone would complain. If they were to bump up base ram they would have to do it starting with the M3 air and then apply to the rest of the line.

Also they would have to charge more. Apple actually charged a $100 less than the last Mini so they are offering a better value with a better CPU. If you wanted 16gb ram it would only cost $100 more than the last iteration base.

I really don't see why people complain other than to complain. In a time where everything is costing more and a lot of companies are justifying charging more Apple is charging less for an improved product.

 

[smirking]

I really don't see why people complain other than to complain. In a time where everything is costing more and a lot of companies are justifying charging more Apple is charging less for an improved product.

Much of it is also just people comparing numbers without truly understanding how those numbers add up. Anyone who bought a tower in the late 90's was surely familiar with being asked "Oh, nice PC. How many Mhz has it got?"

Or the even better question of how much storage it has when the asker really meant "How much memory?"

Or buying a digital camera and being asked "but how many megapickles?" ...like the glass or rest of the system didn't matter.

People ask smarter questions now, but I don't think that urge to compare numbers and wanting to end up with the bigger number even when those numbers aren't a 1 to 1 comparison has gone anywhere.