Memory pressure of AS vs x86

[filterdecay]

Hey all,

So I am still working on a 2020 10 core intel imac. For software reasons I have stayed on x86 (dont want to be on the edge for a computer that pays my mortgage) I have 128gb of ram now and my memory pressure with a reasonable workload is 80gb. I am intrigued by the power of the m4pro mac mini but its limited to 64gb of ram. Are there any resources that talk about how memory pressure translates from x86 to as?

Thanks

p.s. I work in audio post so no need for graphics power.

 

[Gnattu]

They are comparable in most cases and if your workload has stable 80GB active working set you will want the 128GB version. Apple Silicon won't do magic, it just has an optimized swap implementation so that the system under high memory pressure will be still usable but that will not work well with active datasets and will hurt performance significantly.

 

[mcnallym]

Or in laymen’s terms, wait for the M4 Studio to launch with M4 Max.

if your Workflow requires 80Gb of RAM then you are going to need 80Gb of RAM on AS as well for your workflow.

when the M1 came out then want many people found was that they could use 8Gb as the system could swap from SSD to Memory quickly enough for what they were using the computer for. This led to the myth of 8Gb on AS was 16Gb on Intel. The computer wanted 16Gb still but could swap quickly enough for most people to not really notice it.

same as (dare I say it) when the M2 launched with single chip 256Gb SSD so slower then M1 SSD that used 2 x 128Gb peices. Was slower but still fast enough that many people outside of benchmarks didn’t really spot in their day to day workflow, but doesn’t stop people obsessing over it on specs.

if your Intel Mac was kitted out with 128Gb of RAM then unless your workflow reduces significantly or basically you never went above 64Gb and had wasted money buying the 128Gb then you are going to need 128Gb in your replacement machine as using 80Gb now.

you are one of those people that right now that if had to buy a new machine then would find that the M2 Studio would be the Mac to go for as need the Higher RAM levels of the Max SoC so even though is M2 vs M4 would be better for you.

 

[awsom82]

Take the maxed out MINI, it’s a jam

macOS always take 60% of free ram, if you have 192GB, you will consume 128GB in someday.

I have a 64Gb RAM on my Intel iMac and memory always in green 40GB allocated. I just ordered a M4 Pro with 24GB memory. I I know, it’s okay for me, even for my heavy workloads.

I recommend you try you typical workload on any new Mac at near store, try M2 mini with 16GB RAM. It should work very well. If you don’t need a too much GPU, go for regular M4

 

[filterdecay]

my workflow would take 12 hours to install on the machine so probably wont sit in the apple store doing that I did some snooping and am able to get my memory usage down to 55gigs. I feel a little safer going 64gig m4pro mini. I will probably try it out. If it runs bad ill just return it.

 

[awsom82]

my workflow would take 12 hours to install store doing that I did some snooping and am able to get my memory usage down to 55gigs. I feel a little safer going 64gig m4pro mini. I will probably try it out. If it runs bad ill just return it.

I was first misread your current setup as Mac 2013, wonder if MacPro has 128GB. But, you have a much newer machine.

because a lot of people on a forum and Reddit write what they need 48GB ram just for photoshop, for regular photo editing… I always sceptical. but your case looks different now. It may be really you need more than 64GB :/

Very interesting how mini will work for you!