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mattyjoe

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Oct 12, 2020
20
107
Los Angeles, CA
There is nothing inherently wrong with benchmarks. You have to have an understanding of what they mean, and how they might apply to what YOU will do with the machine. This is not impossible to do. It's not "you either run benchmarks or focus on real world use cases." You can use both to help paint a picture of what the machine is capable of.
 

Dnzilla

macrumors member
Sep 23, 2021
78
46
Hi,

I started a thread about M1 16gb vs M2 Base...

Interesting read here re the M2 Base being OK after all

Which one is therefore better?
I have it in the mail - waiting on 16gb M1

Should I also give the 8gb M2 a try? No money for any upgrades on it if I do.

My 2014 MBP w 8gb ram can't handle my office workload.. often laggy now.
Memory pressure rarely yellow, bit confusing as it doesn't help me know what is the bottleneck!!

1658640573618.png
 

Alex W.

macrumors 6502
Apr 18, 2020
353
190
Should keep the M1, skip the M2, M3 and wait for M4 - M5 Machines tbh.
M2 isnt really a upgrade.
 

MayaUser

macrumors 68040
Nov 22, 2021
3,182
7,208
Hi,

I started a thread about M1 16gb vs M2 Base...

Interesting read here re the M2 Base being OK after all

Which one is therefore better?
I have it in the mail - waiting on 16gb M1

Should I also give the 8gb M2 a try? No money for any upgrades on it if I do.

My 2014 MBP w 8gb ram can't handle my office workload.. often laggy now.
Memory pressure rarely yellow, bit confusing as it doesn't help me know what is the bottleneck!!

View attachment 2033824
waste of any money
If you can get an M2 for your M1 , same money, then yes...otherwise any extra cent for you and your used case is a wasted cent
You should wait for the 3nm architecture
 

Gelam

macrumors regular
Aug 31, 2021
189
65
I think the main problem is that the M1 MacBook Air didn't have this throttling problem but the M2 does. If it had happened with the M1 then we'd think nothing of it, because it still would have been way better than the intel MacBook Air it was replacing, and that would be the new baseline. If you didn't want the throttling, then you would get the M1 MacBook Pro with the fan.

But the M1 MacBook Air set the baseline for what is expected. It just looks bad to have a new design that is worse for the performance of the chip. The point that it is still faster than the M1 even with the throttling isn't the point. What you should be comparing is how fast the M2 would be if it were in the M1 MacBook Air's design. That's what has been lost.

The M1 Air also throttled.
Here is the evidence:
1658652913852.png


Compared to M2 Air's throttle:
1658652922620.png


Last year not a lot of people notice or talk about the M1 Air's throttling due to the crazy gains from intel. But from here on out there will not be a jump like that again until Apple jumps to the next architecture, maybe RISC-V which is at least 10+ years away I think.
 

Gelam

macrumors regular
Aug 31, 2021
189
65
waste of any money
If you can get an M2 for your M1 , same money, then yes...otherwise any extra cent for you and your used case is a wasted cent
You should wait for the 3nm architecture
I'd love to wait for 3nm architecture but I have been on the waiting game for many years now hahaha. My 2015 15" MBP becomes a space heater reading reddit.
 
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Love-hate 🍏 relationship

macrumors 68040
Sep 19, 2021
3,059
3,237
The Mac Book Air is basic device for simple web browsing and simple thing like that! It's for old and young kids and not for audio/video production! I still don't understand some of web so-called tech writers can't seem to understand that fact is making me not to trust them anymore!
It’s for old and young kids you say? Well that’s good ,I’m a an old kid
 
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unrigestered

Suspended
Jun 17, 2022
879
840
The Mac Book Air is basic device for simple web browsing and simple thing like that! It's for old and young kids and not for audio/video production! I still don't understand some of web so-called tech writers can't seem to understand that fact is making me not to trust them anymore!

the M series Apple Silicon MBAs are modern laptop design with performance you would have dreamed of a couple of years before with no fans, making them dead silent all the time and also much more portable, since you can also use these on the carpet, or in bed without having to fear to suffocate or fill it with dust in no time.
For me they are starting a new era of powerful, TRULY portable laptops that don't become jet engines in no time without having to compromise performance for battery when unplugged.
do you still need some more power? - get something with a fan. Do you need even more? get a desktop, since laptops are not meant for you then.

i could play your game even further and claim that everything below a 64 core AMD Thread Ripper CPU and a dual Nvidia 3090TI GPU setup is some pocket calculator toy for kids, but that's not true at all either
 

DavidChoux

Suspended
Jun 7, 2022
239
254
I'd love to wait for 3nm architecture but I have been on the waiting game for many years now hahaha. My 2015 15" MBP becomes a space heater reading reddit.

I'm waiting for the next chips too and have a 2016 MBP that also likes to run hot. However I just downloaded an app called Turbo Boost Switcher (link here) a few days ago that switches turbo boost off. I use it all the time now with the turbo boost off and no joke my battery life has gone up by more than 50% when using Youtube and Chrome. And obviously doesn't get hot now.
 

Gelam

macrumors regular
Aug 31, 2021
189
65
I'm waiting for the next chips too and have a 2016 MBP that also likes to run hot. However I just downloaded an app called Turbo Boost Switcher (link here) a few days ago that switches turbo boost off. I use it all the time now with the turbo boost off and no joke my battery life has gone up by more than 50% when using Youtube and Chrome. And obviously doesn't get hot now.
Thank you! That app is a good one! I will look into it.

Does your 2016 MBP not turn off turbo boost in low power mode in MacOS Monterey?
 

Sheepish-Lord

macrumors 68030
Oct 13, 2021
2,532
5,149
The biggest problem I see is people expecting Pro performance out of an Air.

It’s a MacBook Air for a reason! It’s lighter and smaller than a Pro. In my world, that’s the primary appeal, which is why I bought it.

Everything else is just icing on the cake. There is so much hate going around. Most of it coming from M1 Air owners. They are here to remind us that their SSD is faster in the 256 base form. Great. Congrats. Can we move on now?

I opted for 1 TB with 24 GB. Yes, I could have gotten a faster MacBook Pro 14” for that price. But guess what? - It’s not as lightweight and portable!

No regrets here preordering the new M2 Air because it’s the best looking, fastest, most portable MacBook there is when configured properly.
Jokes on you, everyone knows the more memory and storage you have the heavier something weighs! Ha.

Joking aside dropping premium money for a MBA when a real MBP only weighs a half pound more but has far more benefits is something my brain can’t comprehend. I’ve always been a believer of the MBA being a base model spec only device and especially now with the $200 price jump.
 

hans1972

Suspended
Apr 5, 2010
3,759
3,399
There is nothing inherently wrong with benchmarks. You have to have an understanding of what they mean, and how they might apply to what YOU will do with the machine. This is not impossible to do. It's not "you either run benchmarks or focus on real world use cases." You can use both to help paint a picture of what the machine is capable of.

So how are you going to translate those benchmarks when you don't do anything which is intensive on the CPU, GPU or ask over a period more than a few seconds?

Why are there no Excel spreadsheet benchmarks by these YouTubers?
 
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Blue Quark

macrumors regular
Oct 25, 2020
196
147
Probabilistic
I was watching a Snazzy Labs video about this, actually. He does a very good job exploring a lot of this stuff. He even did a comparison with the 2015 MBA.

Anyhow, all this does is make me really glad I bought my MBA in 2020 and not 2022. Not that I would have been affected by it in all probability, but nevertheless I'm glad it's not an issue for my little laptop.
 

satcomer

Suspended
Feb 19, 2008
9,115
1,977
The Finger Lakes Region
It’s for old and young kids you say? Well that’s good ,I’m a an old kid

I', going pick on you so laugh a little "when I was kid I played with things, as an adult I am responsible and logical" its the life this old man takes throughout life! I am a Vet that's been in South Pacific, the Middle East multiple Stateside places I can count! In other words I guess that's why I retired to small town that has high speed fiber!
 

Aenean144

macrumors member
Dec 16, 2017
50
100
Hi,

I started a thread about M1 16gb vs M2 Base...

Interesting read here re the M2 Base being OK after all

Which one is therefore better?
I have it in the mail - waiting on 16gb M1

Should I also give the 8gb M2 a try? No money for any upgrades on it if I do.

My 2014 MBP w 8gb ram can't handle my office workload.. often laggy now.
Memory pressure rarely yellow, bit confusing as it doesn't help me know what is the bottleneck!!
If you change machines every 1 to 2 years, it doesn't matter what you choose. The big thing there is making sure you have a good resell price. So, you are a bit free to get a more expensive machine with a quick buy-sell cycle, as long as your resell value is good. The M2 MBA will have a little bit better resell value going forward, imo. The shorter the cycle the better off you are.

If you plan to use it for 4 years or more, I think the priority order is 1) 512 GB storage, 2) 16 GB RAM, and 3) further GPU, RAM storage upgrades is up to you. Don't get an 8 GB RAM, 256 GB storage config for any kind of PC, especially non-upgradeable ones, let alone a Mac.

If you can only afford $1000, wait for $150 discount and get a M1 MBA 8GB with 512 GB. It's cascading. If you can only afford $1200, wait for a $150 discount and get an M1 MBA with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage. Once you get into being able to spend $1400 or more, that's all M2 MBA territory. The discounts will come, so wait.

16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage are just about the minimum amounts for a machine that you plan on using for 4, 5, 7+ years if you don't know your workflows. The storage before the RAM if you can only afford one, not both. If you do know what loads you will be putting on the machine, then 8 GB, 256 GB could be a great option if it fits, but since you are asking, that means you don't know, right?

Imo, it behooves you to spend more on a machine you are using for 5+ years. It will make the machine much more usable in years 4, 5, and 6, etc. That's what the $500 or so is buying. A more capable machine in the latter years of your ownership cycle.
 
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Zest28

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2022
2,588
3,952
the M series Apple Silicon MBAs are modern laptop design with performance you would have dreamed of a couple of years before with no fans, making them dead silent all the time and also much more portable, since you can also use these on the carpet, or in bed without having to fear to suffocate or fill it with dust in no time.
For me they are starting a new era of powerful, TRULY portable laptops that don't become jet engines in no time without having to compromise performance for battery when unplugged.
do you still need some more power? - get something with a fan. Do you need even more? get a desktop, since laptops are not meant for you then.

i could play your game even further and claim that everything below a 64 core AMD Thread Ripper CPU and a dual Nvidia 3090TI GPU setup is some pocket calculator toy for kids, but that's not true at all either

It is basically the performance you had in iPads for a long time already. It is nothing new.
 

bluecoast

macrumors 68020
Nov 7, 2017
2,256
2,673
I think that the typical ways that computers are reviewed nowadays is mostly really broken.

Firstly, there's an element of bragging about it. where - with the case of the MBA M2 - it's obvious that the reviewer has a M1P MBP and is comparing it unfavourably with that. The screen isn't as good obviously. And look: no fan.

Secondly, reviewers either seem to think - or I suspect, are showing off - that every reader/viewer is routinely editing 6k video and doing lot of processor intensive audio/video post production and therefore, the MBA M2 isn't that great. Ditto gaming (here's a clue - it's a fanless ultrabook).

My solution - if we can't have professional reviewers who are trying to be objective and cannot put themselves in the shoes of prospective buyers anymore, I think that we should have this solution:

Reviews from people who are upgrading from older MBA's giving their opinion.
 
Last edited:
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Zest28

macrumors 68030
Jul 11, 2022
2,588
3,952
I think that the typical ways that computers are reviewed is really broken.

Firstly, there's an element of bragging about it where - with the case of the MBA M2 - it's obvious that the reviewer has a M1P MBP and is

It is a problem created by Apple by jacking up the price.

If the M2 MBA stayed at $999, then the conversations about the M1 MBA and M1 Pro MBP being better machines might not be there.
 

danielgrieff

macrumors newbie
Oct 20, 2008
7
8
It is a problem created by Apple by jacking up the price.

If the M2 MBA stayed at $999, then the conversations about the M1 MBA and M1 Pro MBP being better machines might not be there.
I agree, but I’m betting that the refreshed mbp, whenever it comes, will see a price increase.
The timing is just a case of apple feeling like they can get away with it.
 
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