Is 8GB of RAM Enough for a Mac in 2024?

[Siliconguy]

Dude 8GB is pushing it just doing basic standard work environment multitasking (text editor/spreadsheets, browser and playing music for example).

I decided to test your assertion. I have a word processor doc open, a spreadsheet, (both in LibreOffice 7.5.9) music playing, This web page in Safari, Activity Tracker, and Mactracker is still open from last time I used it. My Mac is a base M1 MacBook Air, so 8 GB RAM. Memory used is 5.8 GB. Swap used is zero.

I'm not seeing a problem here. I'm sure I would have an issue editing a 4k video, but I never do that. I don't even have a way to watch a 4k video.

My Linux box does have 16 GB for the "heavy" work (which is still not 4k videos). But for this laptop what matters is battery life, and RAM requires transistors which use power, so the fewer the better as long as I can get the work done.

So 8 GB in the Air is just fine. If you want to complain about 8 GB in a machine labeled Pro then you are on better ground. I'll even agree that no machine labeled Pro should have 8 GB as the base configuration.

 

[czoli]

The simple answer is YES, unless you know that you need more - those users know

Or buy a Chromebook instead if all you need to do is open a browser and use gmail, right?

 

[Fuzzball84]

This. 8GB are enough for casual users, but we are in 2024 already and this laptop should last you at least until 2029-2030 so it isn’t furureproof. Apple brags about being green while intentionally cutting corners so you either buy a new laptop sooner, or force you to spend almost 500 bucks more for an average 16GB-512GB.

Problem is, for future-roofing apple devices its not just about RAM... although support for devices is typically longer than for most other companies (iPads and iPhones especially)... they ruthlessly cut off devices for no apparent technical reason at times... worse still, they don't tell you ahead of time how long they will support it (Microsoft do tell you...). I suspect the ML aspects of M series CPU will be the main determiner of cut offs in the future... as increasingly their OS (MacOS and iOS) will rely on this for "core features".

SO really you're left with the 5 year rule for vintage and 7 year for obsolete hardware (from last point of retail sale at Apple).

Thats what Im going off for my Intel Mac mini I bought in 2020.... it's last retail sale was around summer 2020. So I figure I have until summer 2025 for hardware repairs and OS support... and after that it's just hoping. The only reason I think they will drop it is because its intel. I'll just have to see... the only hope I really have is that it still gets security updates once it no longer supports future versions of MacOS. I have to hand it to Apple... that they still push out security updates for their OS for older devices is really good.

 

[ElectricPotato]

That isn't exactly 6 years later.

It is for sufficiently large values of 6. Math humor.

 

[Howard2k]

As always, do some actual research before purchasing.

Very obviously 8GB may or may not be enough depending how you use the device.

 

[raythompsontn]

8GB is a joke in this day and age

Dell still sells servers starting at 8GB. So it's not just Apple.

Dell's upgrade costs for laptops are just as steep as Apple.

 

[GraXXoR]

I decided to test your assertion. I have a word processor doc open, a spreadsheet, (both in LibreOffice 7.5.9) music playing, This web page in Safari, Activity Tracker, and Mactracker is still open from last time I used it. My Mac is a base M1 MacBook Air, so 8 GB RAM. Memory used is 5.8 GB. Swap used is zero.

I'm not seeing a problem here. I'm sure I would have an issue editing a 4k video, but I never do that. I don't even have a way to watch a 4k video.

My Linux box does have 16 GB for the "heavy" work (which is still not 4k videos). But for this laptop what matters is battery life, and RAM requires transistors which use power, so the fewer the better as long as I can get the work done.

So 8 GB in the Air is just fine. If you want to complain about 8 GB in a machine labeled Pro then you are on better ground. I'll even agree that no machine labeled Pro should have 8 GB as the base configuration.

Problem is you’re paying $1500, which is effectively a pro price without the pro moniker.

 

[Velli]

8gb "works", but I mean jesus, the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max have 8gb ram. Shouldn't the laptops have at least 12gb?

Admittedly my phone has less ram, but I feel limited by ram a lot more often on my iPhone 13 Mini, than on my 8GB Macbook Air.

What seems logical is not always right.

 

[JonathanX64]

Of course not, but I also don't get the "average users are fine" argument.

Average users don't stare at an empty screen; at the very least they browse the web. Modern websites and Electron-based apps are not exactly RAM-friendly. And it's not like the concept of multitasking is a privilege reserved to "advanced users".

Which leads to an active usage of swap and memory compression, which leads to a sluggish experience. But if Apple is fine with modern Macs being considered slow and aging computers, then 8gb is enough, sure.

"Memory is like an orgasm — it's lot better if you don't have to fake it"

 

[raythompsontn]

Problem is you’re paying $1500,

That is irrelevant. People can pay what they want for what they want. I purchased a fully loaded Highlander to commute to work. A base model Corolla would have done the same task. A person's vision of money spending is not the same as person spending the money. I know a person with a fully loaded MBP, maximum memory, maximum SSD. They just do email, web, some light word processing and spreadsheets. But they wanted that computer and that is what they paid. More power to them.

 

[Velli]

I decided to test your assertion. I have a word processor doc open, a spreadsheet, (both in LibreOffice 7.5.9) music playing, This web page in Safari, Activity Tracker, and Mactracker is still open from last time I used it. My Mac is a base M1 MacBook Air, so 8 GB RAM. Memory used is 5.8 GB. Swap used is zero.

I'm not seeing a problem here. I'm sure I would have an issue editing a 4k video, but I never do that. I don't even have a way to watch a 4k video.

My Linux box does have 16 GB for the "heavy" work (which is still not 4k videos). But for this laptop what matters is battery life, and RAM requires transistors which use power, so the fewer the better as long as I can get the work done.

So 8 GB in the Air is just fine. If you want to complain about 8 GB in a machine labeled Pro then you are on better ground. I'll even agree that no machine labeled Pro should have 8 GB as the base configuration.

Last year I tested navigating a very large powerpoint file on my 8GB Air, vs my 16GB Lenovo (which was more expensive than my Air). It was noticeably smoother on the Air.

 

[s2obed]

Enough for people not wanting to do "Pro" things on an MBA Air.

 

[cmWright]

if all one is doing is 'basic tasks' like surfing the web, checking email, then why get a Macbook at all? Go with an iPad and save some money - or admit you're just buying a Macbook to show people you have more money than sense

 

[Elyzien]

NO! All my staff get 8gb machines. Regardless of Win or Mac. The machines I can upgrade on my own to 16gbs I do and everyone says, WoW my computer is sooo fast now. Right, cuz 8gb is the minimum spec is BS.

 

[LeeW]

Turn off disk swapping, then see how quickly 8GB won't last.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

The fact it’s unified memory and open to the whole system to use 16-24GB should be standard. 8GB is used up opening a load of tabs in Safari.

Absolute joke of a company these days in its decision making.

 

[Fuzzball84]

Admittedly my phone has less ram, but I feel limited by ram a lot more often on my iPhone 13 Mini, than on my 8GB Macbook Air.

What seems logical is not always right.

iOS is very aggressive with Apps memory usage. But I have also seen differences in memory management between my iPhone and my iPads despite them having the same RAM, and ironically the iPhone refreshing tabs and apps a lot more than my iPads. Just my observation as a user... I have not benchmarked or investigated the RAM usage for a long time... 2015.

 

[Fuzzball84]

The fact it’s unified memory and open to the whole system to use 16-24GB should be standard. 8GB is used up opening a load of tabs in Safari.

Absolute joke of a company these days in its decision making.

What websites are you looking at using up 8 GB RAM? That must be some pretty heavy websites or you're keeping tens of tabs open for some reason. Most consumers would only have a few tabs open.

 

[UK-MacAddict]

Tim Cook is basically destroying Steve Jobs Legacy. Apple has always been a design led company.

Really hope he leaves the company soon.

 

[Fuzzball84]

if all one is doing is 'basic tasks' like surfing the web, checking email, then why get a Macbook at all? Go with an iPad and save some money - or admit you're just buying a Macbook to show people you have more money than sense

It's the coffee shop brigade. If you get an iPad out and the person sitting next to you gets out a MacBook Air M3... then the girl or guy sitting opposite is just going to overlook you.. it will be like you're not even there.

And then if a fourth person arrives and take out a MacBook Pro... well, they are gonna get lucky.

And if a fifth person comes along and is carrying AvP box... well, they are gonna get the prize for sure? are they?

That fifth person then puts AvP on face while at coffee shop... everyone starts laughing at them, and the person with MacBook Pro walks home happy.

Thats why it's MacBook Pro, the biggest selling MacBook in the old US of A.

 

[montuori]

But if Apple is fine with modern Macs being considered slow and aging computers, then 8gb is enough, sure.

An observation: In this thread there are broadly two types of posts: "I would never {buy, use, recommend} 8 GB" and "I use 8 GB and it's great." What's missing -- and if your assertion here had merit, I'd expect it -- are complaints about having a base model and it feeling slow.

 

[Fuzzball84]

An observation: In this thread there are broadly two types of posts: "I would never {buy, use, recommend} 8 GB" and "I use 8 GB and it's great." What's missing -- and if your assertion here had merit, I'd expect it -- are complaints about having a base model and it feeling slow.

Would be fun if there could be a blind test.... if you let a few people use Macs and tell them to guess which one was base model, and which was double base RAM spec. I suspect most wouldn't be able to tell the difference unless they were running some really heavy memory hungry processing tasks, which most consumers wouldn't be using anyhow.

 

[RenegadfeMonste]

I wonder how many of these people who say 8GB isn't enough have actual experience to back this up.

While I have never had 8 GB of in an ARM Mac to speak to real world experiences, I do have a M1 13" MBP with 16 GB of RAM.

16 GB of ram was more than what I needed in 2020 for 75% of my tasks and sufficient for everything else. In 2024 I'm finding more and more scenarios everyday where it isn't enough for me. So with that said, 8gb of RAM would be a nonstarter for me. I wouldn't even buy a 16GB config today knowing while it will run okay today and have some limitation, it for sure won't get me through 3 to 7 years of my needs.

I did buy an 21.5 iMac with 8GB of Ram back in 2013. And I did upgrade it to 16gb of RAM and an SSD myself (even though it was technically not user upgradable, it could be user upgraded). The same can't be said for ARM Macs. You can't buy third party parts, you can't replace/upgrade just the memory or SSD.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned much here, is in 2020 there was a silent boost in base memory. 16 GB in my M1 MacBook Pro went a lot further than it did in my i5 iMac thanks to how ARM works.


I'm looking to buy a M3 Mac Studio later this year as a desktop, and keep my M1 MacBook Pro as a mobile device. Use it as an actual laptop and not my workhorse.


Edit: Also forgot to include. I don't think you can make a case for 8gb isn't enough. As there will always be some people where it is. But as time progresses, it's not enough for more and more people. Not to mention, doesn't make sense at the $1,000+ price point.

 

[kiranmk2]

Without wading into the 8GB argument, I think this is a pretty poor article that comes across like a classic click-bait article. It sets a questions and then doesn't answer the question or give an opinion beyond "it depends". I would have hoped to see some analysis such as

• Here is a fresh out of the box M3 MBA - here's how much RAM the system takes up on boot
• Here is a 1 year old M2 MBA - here's how much RAM the system takes up on boot
• Here is an 8 GB MBA running Mail, Safari (6-8 tabs including YouTube streaming) with Apple Music, photos, Notes, Slack/Teams and a Document/Spreadsheet open - here's how much memory / swap this is using
• Here is an 8 GB MBA running Mail, Safari, Notes etc and iMovie doing a 4K export or editing a 48 MP photo - here's how much memory / swap this is using
• Here is an 8 GB MBA running Final Cut Pro/X code/Photoshop/other Pro level app etc

When actually considering the question, as many have pointed out there are actually several questions

• Is 8 GB enough?
  • Is 8 GB enough on a >$1000 machine?
• Is the price to get more memory acceptable?
• If 8 GB is enough today, will in be enough in 1-2 years?
  • If not, is this acceptable on a >$1000 machine?

My personal opinion has been that the answer to the first question is yes, but the answer to most of the others is no. To all those saying 8 GB is enough and Apple shouldn't force people onto 16 GB Macs (with the resulting price increase), I will always ask: why don't the M Pro and Max chips start at 8 GB and give users the choice of upspeccing to 16 GB?

 

[montuori]

Turn off disk swapping, then see how quickly 8GB won't last.

Should I turn off the WiFi and complain about internet connectivity too?