MBP M1 - 8GB vs 16GB Need some advise ..

[harleymhs]

Hey Guys, I know this has been discussed but each person is different ... I am ready to purchase a 13 MBP M1 ... It is not my main computer... My wife may use it until the new Imacs come out but other than that just normal use.. No video editing ... My question is for $180 upgrade to 16GB , would that help me in a trade in or sale in the future... Would you see a difference in surfing the web, photos , and loading some safari tabs? Some people are saying the New M1 Chip and Memory are 8gb M1 = 16Gb on an intel machine... If thats the case Ill be fine with the 8gb... I wouldnt need 16gb = 32gb .. Thanks in advance.

 

[phl92]

short answer: NOOOOO

 

[NJRonbo]

You should be fine with the 8G MBP for your simple needs.

Don't spend more on memory just to get slightly more on trade-in (which won't balance out in the extra nearly $200 you are paying).

 

[DrSarah]

working all day today on a M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and it is doing fantastic.
Screen is on 40% brightness and working all day,, battery says 6 hours used, 8 hours to go.

What does my work mean:
- general webbrowsing
- Gmail constantly (2 mail boxes)
- databases
- downloading files like pictures / video's
- Teamviewer with Windows Computer
- playing music trough Apple Music
- Browsing Reddit trough Apollo

It does not slow down. The machine is amazingly fast, super cool to the touch, screen is great and typing is amazing.
IMO, you do not need 16GB of RAM unless you really think you are going to be a codemaster, super mega video editor or anything like that.

 

[NJRonbo]

working all day today on a M1 MacBook Air with 8GB of RAM and it is doing fantastic.
Screen is on 40% brightness and working all day,, battery says 6 hours used, 8 hours to go.

What does my work mean:
- general webbrowsing
- Gmail constantly (2 mail boxes)
- databases
- downloading files like pictures / video's
- Teamviewer with Windows Computer
- playing music trough Apple Music
- Browsing Reddit trough Apollo

It does not slow down. The machine is amazingly fast, super cool to the touch, screen is great and typing is amazing.
IMO, you do not need 16GB of RAM unless you really think you are going to be a codemaster, super mega video editor or anything like that.

That is very encouraging. Thanks for reporting that.

I am in a different situation than some people should be aware of but probably won't apply for.

I have tons of startup programs working in the background. With normal usage on top of that, a 16GB intel machine would choke. I normally need 32GB just to support all the running software.

Still trying to figure out for software load (not performance) if 8GB is the new 16GB and 16GB is the new 32GB. In other words, is M1 ram equal to Intel ram for software load?

 

[DrSarah]

That is very encouraging. Thanks for reporting that.

I am in a different situation than some people should be aware of but probably won't apply for.

I have tons of startup programs working in the background. With normal usage on top of that, a 16GB intel machine would choke. I normally need 32GB just to support all the running software.

Still trying to figure out for software load (not performance) if 8GB is the new 16GB and 16GB is the new 32GB. In other words, is M1 ram equal to Intel ram for software load?

I used a i5 10th gen/16GB RAM/1TB SSD machine before this one (I sold it for the M1) and this one feels a lot faster
where the intel machine would hang sometimes. It used 11GB of RAM constantly.

 

[wytwolf]

From all the reviews and benchmarks I've seen unless you are doing content creating (its more important with video than photo) then the 8GB will be fine. If you want to keep the MBP as long as possible and doing content creating then you could look at maxing out the ram.

 

[harleymhs]

short answer: NOOOOO

No meaning > Dont need the 16Gb lol

 

[harleymhs]

From all the reviews and benchmarks I've seen unless you are doing content creating (its more important with video than photo) then the 8GB will be fine. If you want to keep the MBP as long as possible and doing content creating then you could look at maxing out the ram.

Im looking to keep this Laptop for at least 6 years or more... We are coming out of MBP early 2015 and they still are going GOOD! So the long haul I think I may be better off with the 16GB

 

[wytwolf]

Same here. I'm coming from a 2012 15" MBP and I"m hoping to keep mine at least 5-6 so maxed out the Ram and SSD. The one thing I loved about the 2012 was the ability to upgrade the RAM and storage.

 

[DrSarah]

btw guys,, this is crazy. I worked all day.
I just can not believe it.

 

[kp98077]

just get an air

 

[delsoul]

Think about it...a base MBP with the 8gb of ram is basically on par with the 'trashcan' (the Mac Pro) and any other top of the line computer that apple has every put out. If those computers were more performance than you ever needed before, surely the base MBP is going to be enough for you, as well.

 

[uiterlix]

Some people are saying the New M1 Chip and Memory are 8gb M1 = 16Gb on an intel machine...

Please, don't blindly accept what some people say but read up on computer architecture instead. After you've done so review your usage scenarios and decide based on that.

8GB = 8GB and 16GB = 16GB, there's no magic CPU that's going to change that.

 

[radus]

just take 16 GB version

 

[harleymhs]

Ordered the 16GB to play it safe and future proof for the years to come. thank u guys