M2 Air help - 8 or 16 GB?

[GabbiDB]

So, I've been eagerly awaiting the new MacBook Air, and now the time is soon here.

But then comes the question of how much RAM to get? I'm a writer and mainly use web based apps for work (Google Docs, Arcweave, Google Drive) via Safari and Chrome, plus your general chat apps (Google Chats, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Facebook Messenger) and Spotify for my daily driving, plus streaming via YouTube or Netflix.

I don't really do any video editing, but some light image editing in Affinity when needed. The most demanding software I use is Logic, as I am a musician. I'm also hoping to be able to game some via CrossOver, though the only game I'm really gonna be running is GTA V (which I've seen run fine on 8GB M1 Airs), possibly Battlefield 1 if I can get it to work.

Technically it feels like 8GB shouldn't be an issue for me, but what makes me worried is that I had a late 2018 MacBook Air with 8GB and it had so many issues where it would bottleneck, both when editing in web apps and in Logic, where it had issues running drum machine plugins and it became close to impossible to make music… though the new M2 are miles ahead of even my current computer. I'm currently on a mid-2020 MacBook Pro 2.0 i7 with 16 GB, which runs fine most of the time, though it can get overloaded on very heavy Logic projects (but that's more on me for not bouncing enough when using a lot of plugins).

 

[T'hain Esh Kelch]

It seems like that 16GB should be a no brainer.

 

[russell_314]

If you just said you were browsing the web and playing with Google docs I would say 8 GB is enough. Photo editing, Logic, games make me want to say 16 GB... IMO 8 GB is great for light use but for your case pay the extra $200... Just my opinion. I haven't tested them side by side so take that for what it's worth. I have family that love their M1 Air in 8GB but they just go on the web and work with a few office docs.

 

[ian87w]

16GB should be the standard today for premium computers.
And no, you don't need to do anything fancy to need 16GB. Opening a bunch of tabs in a browser can already do it as many websites today are very complex and take quite a bit of RAM. Many websites are actually web "apps". They're websites, but they behave more like applications, taking up resources as they see fit. So "internet browsing" imo can no longer be considered as "light use" as even regular websites are getting more complex than ever.

8GB should only be considered if you don't have the budget to go 16GB. Besides, we already see Apple using RAM amount as an excuse to cut off features on older models.

 

[Shirasaki]

Get 16GB. 8GB nowadays only suitable for very light workload. My MacBook Pro has 16GB and it runs out memory all the time.

 

[Bodhitree]

8 GB might be just enough today, but for that big Logic project you were planning a couple of years down the road you’ll wish you had gotten 16 GB. I think 16 GB is the wiser choice.

 

[ian87w]

8 GB might be just enough today, but for that big Logic project you were planning a couple of years down the road you’ll wish you had gotten 16 GB. I think 16 GB is the wiser choice.

Getting just enough RAM was a decent recommendations in the olden days where we can upgrade the RAM later ourselves. But now, when everything is fixed and soldered in, unfortunately we cannot have that mindset anymore.

And Apple capitalize on this by charging people handsomely for those upgrades... 😂

 

[DHagan4755]

16GB hands down.

 

[GabbiDB]

The overwhelming cries of 16GB makes the choice easy then!

 

[goro123]

My XP with an M1 Air with 8GB. I though having a fast SSD and CPU, low memory would not be an issue.
But :
- Browser pages can quickly use 500MB.
- Shared memory means there is no dedicated RAM for the GPU.
- Most app, even Messages take about 400MB or RAM.

This means that the RAM gets filled VERY quickly, which has a huge impact on the GPU performance. I have to close apps otherwise the display refresh rate is slowed to something like 20fps. Very choppy ; to me it looks like a bug.

I believe 8GB SHOULD be enough, but it's not. Seems like macOS is not optimised for 8GB.

 

[casperes1996]

So, I've been eagerly awaiting the new MacBook Air, and now the time is soon here.

But then comes the question of how much RAM to get? I'm a writer and mainly use web based apps for work (Google Docs, Arcweave, Google Drive) via Safari and Chrome, plus your general chat apps (Google Chats, Microsoft Teams, Discord, Facebook Messenger) and Spotify for my daily driving, plus streaming via YouTube or Netflix.

I don't really do any video editing, but some light image editing in Affinity when needed. The most demanding software I use is Logic, as I am a musician. I'm also hoping to be able to game some via CrossOver, though the only game I'm really gonna be running is GTA V (which I've seen run fine on 8GB M1 Airs), possibly Battlefield 1 if I can get it to work.

Technically it feels like 8GB shouldn't be an issue for me, but what makes me worried is that I had a late 2018 MacBook Air with 8GB and it had so many issues where it would bottleneck, both when editing in web apps and in Logic, where it had issues running drum machine plugins and it became close to impossible to make music… though the new M2 are miles ahead of even my current computer. I'm currently on a mid-2020 MacBook Pro 2.0 i7 with 16 GB, which runs fine most of the time, though it can get overloaded on very heavy Logic projects (but that's more on me for not bouncing enough when using a lot of plugins).

My advice; Load up you current 2020 MBP with the most demanding type of work you expect to throw at the M2. Open Activity Monitor, go to the memory section and look at the pressure graph. Low green, 8GB is near the middle of the graph you definitely want the 16GB on the Air too. Mid green; It'd probably be nice to have 16 there too but you won't die on 8

 

[Dealmans]

Get a pro, I know 2 excellent musos that use logic one my son, both use pro’s

 

[ucfgrad93]

I’d get 16 GB.

 

[exoticSpice]

16GB for your use case.

 

[exoticSpice]

My XP with an M1 Air with 8GB. I though having a fast SSD and CPU, low memory would not be an issue.
But :
- Browser pages can quickly use 500MB.
- Shared memory means there is no dedicated RAM for the GPU.
- Most app, even Messages take about 400MB or RAM.

This means that the RAM gets filled VERY quickly, which has a huge impact on the GPU performance. I have to close apps otherwise the display refresh rate is slowed to something like 20fps. Very choppy ; to me it looks like a bug.

I believe 8GB SHOULD be enough, but it's not. Seems like macOS is not optimised for 8GB.

8GB is fine but ONLY if just use it as a chromebook or as a media server.
16GB is the sweet spot.

 

[GabbiDB]

My advice; Load up you current 2020 MBP with the most demanding type of work you expect to throw at the M2. Open Activity Monitor, go to the memory section and look at the pressure graph. Low green, 8GB is near the middle of the graph you definitely want the 16GB on the Air too. Mid green; It'd probably be nice to have 16 there too but you won't die on 8

Jeez, why didn't I think of this! After a quick check, I see it'll definitely be worth getting the 16GB!

Get a pro, I know 2 excellent musos that use logic one my son, both use pro’s

Can't really justify the price, plus I want the portability of the new Air. I don't use Logic as regularly to be able to taylor my computer completely behind it, but I'm often on the go, so the portability of the new Air and charger will make it more worth for me.

 

[AdamJohnG]

In my opinion, if the cost is a significant reason, I would go with a 16GB M1 before a 8GB M2. The M1 is well discounted now and will be cheaper than an 8GB M2. Memory will be more of a limiting factor with your use, rather than processing power, of which the M1 has plenty.

 

[playtech1]

16GB is the way to go unless the budget really can't stretch to it.

In fact, if the budget didn't stretch to a 16GB M2, I would seriously consider a 16GB M1 for a bit less than the base M2 price.

 

[GabbiDB]

Part was budget, but part is honestly availability. 8GB is much easier to get a hold of.

But I do want to stick with the M2, there are some features I want, like the larger screen estate and the better webcam.

 

[Captain_Mac]

16GB! Future proof yourself for future macOS releases and app demands!

 

[Apple_Robert]

8GB is fine but ONLY if just use it as a chromebook or as a media server.
16GB is the sweet spot.

That is not entirely accurate. I have a M1 MBA that I use with 15-20 Safari tabs open at once, along with having several instances of 4K video running, 1080p encoding at times, Jump Desktop, along with the usual internet use and mine does just fine. I haven’t seen any memory pressure problems.

OP,

You can’t compare your older MBA to the new one. The new MBA is an different tech animal. You shouldn’t have a problem with any bottlenecks.

 

[geta]

For Logic with many plug-ins and instruments, minimum 16GB if not 24GB.

 

[Cognizant.]

If you're a musician and use Logic, then get at least 16 GB. The plug-ins and layers of tracks will start to add up quickly on 8 GB and you'll start being restricted with what you can do, and that would defeat the purpose.

 

[jav6454]

Get 16GB, you'll be grateful later that you have it as webpages can easily cache between 600-800 MB and some active pages will hover in the 400MB range. Youtube? More so. That's just internet.

 

[kiwi-5]

+1 on 16GB.

Hobby musician here - I use a MBA M1/8GB.
I thought, I wouldn‘t need 16GB when I bought it.
My experience with 8GB by now is that it runs fine mostly with about 35-40 Tracks (in Ableton, using Rosetta with some external Plugins)
I had to quit that project once because it stuttered. Opening again then worked alright.
Other than that there were a few problems with Kontakt for M1 - larger samples do not seem to fit completely into the RAM.
But all in all, this didn‘t happen so often, and it felt rather like luxury problems.

I still ended up getting an MBP 14“ with 16GB - and I am even happier now.