Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Mac Mini 8gb is it an upgrade or not?
- Thread starter andy5898
- Start date
-
- Tags
- intel mac mini m1 windows 10
- Sort by reaction score
M1 8gb here, works nice, I don´t do a whole lot on the computer, most background tasks like downloads, media and etc.. are done on my home server and media comsuption on my AppleTV, so 8gb has been working fine for me. That said, purchased the 8gb one because price, it would cost almost a 1/3 more on an already expensive machine in my country, so it was 8gb or nothing and I don't plan on keeping this machine for too long (1-2years at most), but if I had the chance (and money) and would keep this machine for longer I would pick the 16gb for peace of mind.
I have a base 8GB Air that I use as my main laptop in my classroom. A couple Safari tabs, a couple Edge tabs, Outlook, a few PowerPoints, Word, Teams, and a Lego Robotics IDE or two are all usually open on it at once and it has yet to choke handling it all. I would have liked the 16GB version but given that I’m a teacher and this one was on sale at Costco, it was a no brainer.
FWIW I’ve been using it quite happily for over a year now with no regrets
FWIW I’ve been using it quite happily for over a year now with no regrets
I completely understand the 8GB happy users. Well not completely, but for their use it seems to hold up for them. For me, the 8GB really choked up even just doing Safari with a few windows and tabs. Then, if I tried to add Main with my 2 accounts, that was not really usable, it slowed to a very very slow crawl.
BUT that was also the first weeks that the M1s and Mini was released. I believe we were using Big Sur, not sure the version. But at least a few more Big Sur updates came out after that as well as Monterey now, which is even more optimized for these systems I think.
So maybe now, with Monterey, the experience on an 8GB is not as bad as it first was? Yes, if you need to do a "lot" of things at once, I'd save for the 16GB version, or if you have the extra cash, I would just go for it as you will be very happy.
But if you are at the max budget with the 8GB price, I would say go for it and at least give it a run. Just be sure to try everything out that you'd normally use it for within the first couple weeks so you can return it if needed. I think Apple's return policy is normally 14 days? if someone could correct that if I'm wrong?
Then at least you know how it's going to be running for you for the foreseeable future. If it runs too slow for you to handle (it could be as simple as just the right or wrong combo of apps being used that cause it to work for you or not). As some have mentioned, if you say use lots of web browsing with lots of windows/tabs and then also want say Slack and from what I hear, MS Teams (which I don't use but hear is very bad still on the Mac, though it works, just lots of memory and resource consumption from it), then you might think of things and go for 16GB.
If none of that really applies to you, and you'll be using this new Mac for things like light or it sounds like even normal web browsing, running something like Pages or Numbers (or MS Word/Office though I don't have experience with them in the past few years so I can't comment how optimized they run) then I think you'd be fine with 8GB. But I have to just add that if you can spring for 16GB without breaking the bank, it's still worth it
Also just to make sure we aren't confusing you, I don't think any of us in this thread have mentioned going up further to something with the M1Max or Ultra or anything like that. From what you've said, those are way above your needs. Of course you'd love those systems (I would too!) but you definitely shouldn't need one at all unless you now tell us that you do video editing in 4K while encoding or such. Just wanted to clear that up if there was any confusion.
At the end of the day, I know this thread is split with many happy with their 8GB version while others like me say to get the 16GB. But it really does mostly come down to how you'll be using this machine and to do what. If you can give us some more details into the work/tasks and also any apps that you definitely plan on using (even generals like just web browsing and email) then we could help steer you better. Without more info though, I would feel bad if I didn't post to test that 8GB machine thoroughly in the first 10 days or so. If it is sluggish for something you do all the time, then if you can afford it try returning for the 16GB version and I'm sure it would solve most of the problems, if you encountered any.
But maybe the more optimized macOS that is out now is a lot more efficient than when a lot of us 16GB users originally tried the 8GB models and it makes a world of difference. Possible for sure. So buy and try!
And please let us know how it goes. This forum is obviously made up mostly of Mac users. Most of us love to help others out, like we've tried to do here. It's always great though to be able to hear followups after the original poster has tried any of the recommendations mentioned or something else completely. I for one, would love to hear your experience if you go for the Mac switch from your old Dell machine. I also hope this thread hasn't scared you away completely, most of us just have strong opinions due to past experience, like my own 8 and 16GB usage trials. You'll love the Mac and whatever version you get, you'll be happy with I think.
BUT that was also the first weeks that the M1s and Mini was released. I believe we were using Big Sur, not sure the version. But at least a few more Big Sur updates came out after that as well as Monterey now, which is even more optimized for these systems I think.
So maybe now, with Monterey, the experience on an 8GB is not as bad as it first was? Yes, if you need to do a "lot" of things at once, I'd save for the 16GB version, or if you have the extra cash, I would just go for it as you will be very happy.
But if you are at the max budget with the 8GB price, I would say go for it and at least give it a run. Just be sure to try everything out that you'd normally use it for within the first couple weeks so you can return it if needed. I think Apple's return policy is normally 14 days? if someone could correct that if I'm wrong?
Then at least you know how it's going to be running for you for the foreseeable future. If it runs too slow for you to handle (it could be as simple as just the right or wrong combo of apps being used that cause it to work for you or not). As some have mentioned, if you say use lots of web browsing with lots of windows/tabs and then also want say Slack and from what I hear, MS Teams (which I don't use but hear is very bad still on the Mac, though it works, just lots of memory and resource consumption from it), then you might think of things and go for 16GB.
If none of that really applies to you, and you'll be using this new Mac for things like light or it sounds like even normal web browsing, running something like Pages or Numbers (or MS Word/Office though I don't have experience with them in the past few years so I can't comment how optimized they run) then I think you'd be fine with 8GB. But I have to just add that if you can spring for 16GB without breaking the bank, it's still worth it
Also just to make sure we aren't confusing you, I don't think any of us in this thread have mentioned going up further to something with the M1Max or Ultra or anything like that. From what you've said, those are way above your needs. Of course you'd love those systems (I would too!) but you definitely shouldn't need one at all unless you now tell us that you do video editing in 4K while encoding or such. Just wanted to clear that up if there was any confusion.
At the end of the day, I know this thread is split with many happy with their 8GB version while others like me say to get the 16GB. But it really does mostly come down to how you'll be using this machine and to do what. If you can give us some more details into the work/tasks and also any apps that you definitely plan on using (even generals like just web browsing and email) then we could help steer you better. Without more info though, I would feel bad if I didn't post to test that 8GB machine thoroughly in the first 10 days or so. If it is sluggish for something you do all the time, then if you can afford it try returning for the 16GB version and I'm sure it would solve most of the problems, if you encountered any.
But maybe the more optimized macOS that is out now is a lot more efficient than when a lot of us 16GB users originally tried the 8GB models and it makes a world of difference. Possible for sure. So buy and try!
And please let us know how it goes. This forum is obviously made up mostly of Mac users. Most of us love to help others out, like we've tried to do here. It's always great though to be able to hear followups after the original poster has tried any of the recommendations mentioned or something else completely. I for one, would love to hear your experience if you go for the Mac switch from your old Dell machine. I also hope this thread hasn't scared you away completely, most of us just have strong opinions due to past experience, like my own 8 and 16GB usage trials. You'll love the Mac and whatever version you get, you'll be happy with I think.
IMO, if you are getting 8GB RAM you should get at least the 512GB drive. I say this because if your drive is cluttered with apps, media, and documents, it will impact how well the OS can use the SSD for swap memory. Also, the 256GB drive is 20-30% slower than the larger ones. I think that 16/512 is the minimum computer you should buy if you are keeping it for several years.
Last edited:
If you plan on keeping it long term (3+ years) definitely get 16GB RAM. Since the RAM is not upgradeable you may find a future OS release may require more RAM to operate "smoothly".
Another vote for 16 GB RAM. You can somehow overcome the small internal 256 GB SSD (if you choose the basic 16 GB model) with external drive(s), but not the RAM.
And no, 8 GB of RAM in macOS is not magically 16 GB... and that will show it teeths in the future upgrade and the internet services in the future. So, if you want to keep that machine, you are planning to invest for a longer time, than look no less, than for the 16 GB model.
There is a saying in my country (I will try to write it in an understandable form): buy the kind of thing you can afford, but make sure you don't throw your money out of the window.
And 16GB does not magically guarantee your computer will run better today, nor in the future.
But it will allow you to have open more applications, bigger documents and pictures at the same time...
Not to speak of the internet and web services, that is/are getting more and more demanding year after year.
While I know OSX handles RAM differently than Windows, it is always best, if possible, to get as much RAM initially.
I mentioned that with the 8GB model, when I tried, just browsing with a few windows and multiple tabs could bring it to a near-halt. Again, maybe this has improved a bit, but likely not enough for most people.
And I completely agree and you make a good point regarding Web services/apps that are increasingly being used and wrapped as "apps". My main offender would be Electron based apps, which are basically an app built with web code and will spawn numerous and always-expanding sub processes that will really eat away at your RAM.
This alone, is part of why I went with 16GB to fix my 8GB mistake. Web apps are being released as the only source of a service/app and again this is just going to be more common in the future. Sadly Electron and similarly built apps are here to stay, and are memory hogs.