Is 24GB/1TB configuration a sensible choice for the 15" M2 MacBook Air?

[Tenashus1]

«Non tech savvy» does not mean blind or stupid.

People do know what's a difference between smooth display and 60 Hz display. Having smooth display is unequivocally better than not having it, just like having Retina display is unequivocally better than not having it.

Also specs is the only thing that matters, especially in Apple world.

All I'm trying to say is at the moment, MacBook Pro 14-inch and 16-inch provide great value for the price, and non-base-model MacBook Air is a lame cash grab.

Yep. Like comparing a Mustang V6 to a Mustang GT. Two totally different cars. They both look nice though.

 

[Fozziebear71]

Yep. Like comparing a Mustang V6 to a Mustang GT. Two totally different cars. They both look nice though.

Fortunately for him he has the option of not buying either car rather than sitting on a forum about cars endlessly carping about how he is never going to buy the car.

 

[Tdude96]

It's a perfectly reasonable thing to do with the MacBook Air. Last August I bought the 13" in a 8/10-Core, 24GB RAM, 1TB SSD configuration and have been unbelievably happy with it (aside from the screen going bad a few weeks ago and having to send it in for AppleCare repair).

It does everything I want it to do, and is the perfect form factor for what I wanted it for.

For your described needs, it does sound like 16 GB of RAM is the absolute minimum you'd want to have. It makes sense to me to bump that up to 24 GB. In the event your needs change in the future (app updates, want to run more apps, have a high browser usage day, etc), you don't want to be disappointed that you could have gotten it, but didn't.

 

[0339327]

I currently own a 2019 Intel iMac with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, as well as a 2020 M1 MacBook Air with 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. While I'm generally satisfied with the overall performance of my MacBook Air, I'm contemplating upgrading it due to memory pressure and limited storage capacity.

The main memory-intensive applications I use are Devonthink 3 (consuming around 4-6GB) and Logos Bible Software (taking up approximately 1.5GB). My MacBook Air consistently shows yellow memory pressure. Furthermore, the storage shortage prevents me from utilizing all of my DT3 databases, which I can access on my iMac. In contrast, my iMac typically utilizes around 23-24GB out of its 32GB RAM, and I am currently using 400GB out of the 1TB storage space.

Based on my iMac's usage patterns, I have decided to opt for a 15" M2 MacBook Air configuration with 24GB RAM and a 1TB SSD (512GB would have only around 100GB free space, so I thought 1TB would be a wiser choice). I briefly considered the 16" M1 Pro MacBook Pro, which falls within a similar price range, but since I don't engage in heavy-duty tasks, I believe the M2 MacBook Air would adequately meet my needs. In addition, in my office setup, I use an external monitor and headphones which makes MacBook Pro's promotion display and superior speakers less appealing to me. Although I may occasionally miss the ability to use multiple external displays that the Pro offers, the Air fulfills my requirements adequately.

However, I have come across numerous posts discouraging the selection of 24GB RAM for the MacBook Air. Some individuals suggest that if one desires 24GB RAM, it would be more prudent to consider the 14" MacBook Pro instead. Others argue that having 24GB RAM doesn't make sense for the MacBook Air at all.

I would appreciate your opinion on this matter.

If you think you need 24 and currently have 32, I would get 32GB of Ram.

The only other real difference, besides the chip, is that Apple restricts the MBA to a single external display.

 

[danpass]

The 24/1tb makes sense in the 15in model. I currently have that configuration in my Apple bag .....

My current setup is:

iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPad Pro M1 11in
-- insert laptop here --
M1 Mini as desktop unit

There is an M2 Macbook Pro 14 on my desk as the work computer and that has provided a nice comparison to want a lightweight 15in model.

The only reason I'm considering a personal laptop at all is because I'm a power user; Finder with multiple tabs, keyboard shortcut aficionado, copy/paste, drag/drop, multiple browser windows with multiple tabs each, and so on, and the Mac OS is far superior to iPadOS in that regard. My last trip, with iphone/ipad, was limited by those OSs. The Air seems like a good unit for 'power' travel, especially in the stock market trading aspect. The desktop versions of ThinkorSwim and TradingView are much better than their mobile equivalents and the desktop versions are RAM hungry.

The iPad, with the magic keyboard, is great for consuming content, social media and the like, especially for use on an airplane. The keyboard makes for a great stand, has the trackpad, can still use many keyboard shortcuts, and has a USB-C charge-only port in the spine of the case. This saves me from plugging/unplugging from my more expensive unit and avoids having a cable sticking out there in the universe.

With iMovie, only occasionally do I run into the limits of iMovie so the iPadOS and Mac OS versions are fine.

My Macbook 12 was always limited by the 256gb SSD but even so it only made it about two years before the 8gb ram became a real limiting factor, especially with OS updates. Now it cannot handle iPhone 14/GoPro 4k video lol while the M1 iPad handles it fine.

-

 

[Tenashus1]

Fortunately for him he has the option of not buying either car rather than sitting on a forum about cars endlessly carping about how he is never going to buy the car.

 

[AppleTO]

honestly idk why 256 is even an option this day in age. I know Apple wants to upsell us but 256 is just awful.

I purchased a base model M1 Air when it was released, and now I have a 15" M2 Air, also base model. I've never had an issue with memory or storage. I've very happy 8/256 is still an option. I'd hate to have to pay more for something I don't need.

 

[AppleTO]

But of course it is. Unless you change the Retina scaling setting one notch below and sacrifice screen estate.

This problem exists since 2016, when Apple cheapened out on displays in MacBook Pros and instead of actually ordering higher resolution panels, they increased screen space on default settings at the cost of clarity / sharpness,

It was solved in 2021 M1 MacBook Pros. But not on Airs, they still have same low resolution screens as previous generations (but now with additional lane of pixels separated by notch on top, which is nice!).

Retina scaling has never worked well, and I've lost hope that it will ever be fixed...

I've been using fractional scaling on many machines since retina was introduced and have never had any issues. No idea what you are talking about. Do you even have a machine, or are you just echoing others?

 

[KPOM]

We disagree. IMO 16 GB would be a seriously wrong choice. 24 GB is an absolute minimum, and only a choice because someone wants to spend less and compromise with the lower end, lighter MBA. 32 GB (or better 64 GB) will allow less constrained future operation.

We buy computers to do work. Arbitrarily limiting performance with lesser RAM is a bad choice - - even if Apple's excellent memory management lets under-spec'd boxes still work.

Note also one should choose adequate RAM for the 3-6 year life cycle of a new box. Not what one did last year.

Also you are right about minimum 1 TB SSD. A good rule of thumb is that SSD size should be about double what you may put on it.

I have a 16GB Mac, 24GB Mac, and 16GB Windows PC. I don’t have RAM issues on any of them. Based on the tasks the OP described I don’t foresee an issue anytime in the next 3-5 years. Computer performance has plateaued, at least as far as the average user is concerned.

 

[ogawa]

A year after purchasing a 8/10/16 MBA 13" I'm wishing I had paid a bit more for 24 gigs of RAM. I absolutely love the portability of the MBA and it is surprisingly powerful without too many apps open, but I do find myself hitting the limit of my RAM more than I expected.

 

[ignatius345]

The main memory-intensive applications I use are Devonthink 3 (consuming around 4-6GB) and Logos Bible Software (taking up approximately 1.5GB). My MacBook Air consistently shows yellow memory pressure. Furthermore, the storage shortage prevents me from utilizing all of my DT3 databases, which I can access on my iMac. In contrast, my iMac typically utilizes around 23-24GB out of its 32GB RAM, and I am currently using 400GB out of the 1TB storage space.

I wouldn't get too worked up about "memory pressure" and stats like that in Activity Monitor. Is the MacBook Air actually running things slowly? Is it unresponsive when you switch from one app to another? That's a much better guide to resource usage. Macs have excellent memory management. I'm not saying 8GB is necessarily what you'd want to spec on a new Mac, but 24GB of RAM sounds like overkill for the usage you describe.

Storage space is another matter. If you need it, you need it. On a desktop Mac, it's a lot easier to expand storage by plugging an external drive into the back, but that's very awkward on a laptop.

 

[ignatius345]

We disagree. IMO 16 GB would be a seriously wrong choice. 24 GB is an absolute minimum

That's absurd. I'm using an M1 iMac with 16GB of RAM to run multiple graphic design applications (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop) simultaneously, plus productivity software, plus web browsing. No beachballs, no stuttering when switching tasks.

I do agree with your point about anticipating future needs, but I don't agree that 24GB of RAM should be considered a minimum to have a responsive Mac a few years down the road.

 

[david.h]

If you think you need 24 and currently have 32, I would get 32GB of Ram.

The only other real difference, besides the chip, is that Apple restricts the MBA to a single external display.

On my Intel iMac with 32gb ram, memory pressure is constantly low, so 24gb ram will probably be fine for the next few years, especially given M2’s faster swapping.

Single external display can be an issue in the future although I currently use one external monitor.

 

[david.h]

I have a 16GB Mac, 24GB Mac, and 16GB Windows PC. I don’t have RAM issues on any of them. Based on the tasks the OP described I don’t foresee an issue anytime in the next 3-5 years. Computer performance has plateaued, at least as far as the average user is concerned.

I also agree that “computer performance has plateaued.”

 

[david.h]

I wouldn't get too worked up about "memory pressure" and stats like that in Activity Monitor. Is the MacBook Air actually running things slowly? Is it unresponsive when you switch from one app to another? That's a much better guide to resource usage. Macs have excellent memory management. I'm not saying 8GB is necessarily what you'd want to spec on a new Mac, but 24GB of RAM sounds like overkill for the usage you describe.

Storage space is another matter. If you need it, you need it. On a desktop Mac, it's a lot easier to expand storage by plugging an external drive into the back, but that's very awkward on a laptop.

Yes, my air sometimes stutters, although it has apparently become a bit better on Ventura. And I forgot to mention that I always have tons of apps running background to a degree that without Bartender 4, even the 27” screen’s menubar can’t contain all the apps that reside on the menu bar.
Additionally, my air almost always uses more swap memory than ram. Swap memory is often greater than 7gb.

But at the same time I got your point. 24gb may be overkill for me.

 

[ddsforlife]

Yes, my air sometimes stutters, although it has apparently become a bit better on Ventura. And I forgot to mention that I always have tons of apps running background to a degree that without Bartender 4, even the 27” screen’s menubar can’t contain all the apps that reside on the menu bar.
Additionally, my air almost always uses more swap memory than ram. Swap memory is often greater than 7gb.

But at the same time I got your point. 24gb may be overkill for me.

Sounds like you really know what you need/want. 😊 If you’re fine with the minimum, go for it. If you want to not worry about memory or storage space, then go for it.

I believe in having the right tool for the job. I would over spec and not “worry” that maybe I should have gone bigger.

You live with your decisions. 😊 Own them. Buy what you want and be happy about it. 👍🏻

 

[david.h]

Sounds like you really know what you need/want. 😊 If you’re fine with the minimum, go for it. If you want to not worry about memory or storage space, then go for it.

I believe in having the right tool for the job. I would over spec and not “worry” that maybe I should have gone bigger.

You live with your decisions. 😊 Own them. Buy what you want and be happy about it. 👍🏻

The inputs provided here have been incredibly helpful!

 

[ignatius345]

Additionally, my air almost always uses more swap memory than ram. Swap memory is often greater than 7gb.

Swap really isn't the showstopper it was back when we were all using slow mechanical hard drives. I don't even bother looking at Activity Monitor unless something is going very wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[applesed]

I think it’s a good config, but to have to pay 2k for a laptop that doesn’t support a 2nd external monitor seems wrong. But 512gb or 16gb ram feel like you’re being too frugal for something you’ll want to get a lot out of or use for many years. I hope next year, the 16 pro gets lighter or this one supports a second external.

 

[david.h]

Swap really isn't the showstopper it was back when we were all using slow mechanical hard drives. I don't even bother looking at Activity Monitor unless something is going very wrong ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yes, I agree, but ony my air, swap seems excessive. I should have a habit of not looking at Activity Monitor anyway.

 

[david.h]

I think it’s a good config, but to have to pay 2k for a laptop that doesn’t support a 2nd external monitor seems wrong. But 512gb or 16gb ram feel like you’re being too frugal for something you’ll want to get a lot out of or use for many years. I hope next year, the 16 pro gets lighter or this one supports a second external.

Yes, that's absurd. But I have to invest $450 more for 14 MBP with 32GB RAM/1TB SSD. Based on some inputs provided here, it is likely that the MBA with 24GB RAM/1TB SSD will serve me better than the MBP 14 base model. I may need to be satisfied with one external monitor.

 

[JamesMay82]

Yes, I agree, but ony my air, swap seems excessive. I should have a habit of not looking at Activity Monitor anyway.

Ha its like the heart rate monitor on Apple Watch!

 

[ilikewhey]

On my Intel iMac with 32gb ram, memory pressure is constantly low, so 24gb ram will probably be fine for the next few years, especially given M2’s faster swapping.

Single external display can be an issue in the future although I currently use one external monitor.

i wouldnt be so sure, on my intel mac i was getting 10gb ram usage out of 16gb, i thought 16gb would be enough but when i shift to the m1 mba, suddenly i was memory swapping 2-3gb.

 

[applesed]

It a

Yes, that's absurd. But I have to invest $450 more for 14 MBP with 32GB RAM/1TB SSD. Based on some inputs provided here, it is likely that the MBA with 24GB RAM/1TB SSD will serve me better than the MBP 14 base model. I may need to be satisfied with one external monitor.

lt also depends on your habits. I complain about the lack of 2nd monitor support, but would use it on the couch or single monitor 90% of the time. I guess the DisplayLink way isn’t terrible if you only need the 2nd monitor once in a while.

 

[Malus120]

Just a quick note.
If you have an Apple Store nearby (or don't mind ordering from Apple online) you could easily buy, try and return both a base 14" MacBook Pro AND a 15" MBA to see which one better meets your needs.
Apple has a generous return policy for a reason, don't be afraid to use it.