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Upgrade to 16GB RAM to future proof?
- Thread starter Mojer
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He said "light" photo-editing and I see no reason to assume Photoshop. I've used GIMP for many years on my old MBA with Chrome, YouTube, MS Office, etc. open too and never had an issue with 4GB RAM. If you don't believe me, then oh well! Like I said, it doesn't hurt to have more, but to claim 16GB is "essential" for basic computing is just wrong.
For many Photoshop is the only one they've heard of and the established brand name makes it the easy go to for photo editing whether they will use it occasionally or full time. I personally use Pixelmator but not everyone has heard of it.
I don't do anything on my 16" MBP wit 16GB but internet stuff and there are times when I open a tab, I can really tell the page is struggling to open. It will just stutter and take 10 minutes to completely load. If I close all my tabs, the page opens instantly. There are times when I have 16-20 tabs open and I can tell.
@usagora One of my favorite phenomena on this forum is seeing people rave about the lightening speed of their 10 years+ old macbooks, where 4GB RAM is PLENTY, 2 cores, 1.8GHz is MORE THAN ENOUGH and lags DO NOT EXIST, but inexplicably their old laptops become overheating slow pieces of garbage the moment they touch a shiny new AS computer. I'll be awaiting your inevitable posts
Hmm, one of MY favorite phenomenons on forums is when people completely twist other people's posts like you just did here. I never said my 2012 MBA was "lightning fast" or never lagged. The OP said all his tasks consist of BASIC COMPUTING and that is precisely what the BASE model Macs are designed to handle and then some! I've done all the things the OP described on that 2012 MBA and never recall one crash or any other issue due to lack of memory.
Like I said, if you can and want to, by all means max our your RAM. But to claim 16GB is "necessary" for basic computing is simply false. Sorry!
P.S. Just realized I need to update my signature, but I just recently bought the base model M1 MBA. Not because my 2012 MBA was slow but because it can't be upgraded to Big Sur (when I have a Mac that can't be upgraded to the latest OS, that's usually when I'll buy a new one as my "daily driver"). I could have easily afforded to upgrade the RAM, but since I had no issues with the base config on my old MBA, I opted to save $200 and stick with the config that was already twice that of my current notebook that wasn't having any issues doing all the BASIC computing tasks I needed to do.
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I have have a hard time believing someone who is debating spending $200 to upgrade the RAM is going to spend $21/month for Photoshop for "light photo editing." Heck, you can even use Photos for the basic stuff.
I've had that happen occasionally on my iMac with 64GB RAM. Sometimes you'll have a webpage that's trying to load all kinds of junk or something and/or it could be a temporary network bottleneck. I don't think RAM is the issue (otherwise that would mean 64GB isn't enough for web-browsing, LOL!!!)
I'm sure it is, bro, maybe OP should buy it from you for his ""basic"" computing experience since it is so good and save some money .
Well, it varies from user case to user case. If there were a 32/64/128GB option for the Mac mini I would had gone with that. Without a doubt. I can run Gentoo Linux on 512MB RAM but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience
Exactly. Not having enough RAM doesn't mean your computer will burst into flames and stop working, most of the time it just means you will have a bad and slow experience.Well, it varies from user case to user case. If there were a 32/64/128GB option for the Mac mini I would had gone with that. Without a doubt. I can run Gentoo Linux on 512MB RAM but it wouldn't be a pleasant experience
Even if you don't use Photoshop for photo editing and you choose a different software, according to his daily tasks you need in any case at least 8 GB of RAM.
define "fine" by showing your activity monitor with open browser instead
If you’re on a limited budget then I would opt for the 8GB model as it’s sufficient for your current needs and likely to be that way for the next few years. You can always sell the device if it turns out that it’s no longer capable of doing what you want.
The main thing for me would be getting a good deal and, in my experience, that’s far easier on an 8GB model than a 16GB one. The amount you save can be used for a future upgrade, if necessary.
The main thing for me would be getting a good deal and, in my experience, that’s far easier on an 8GB model than a 16GB one. The amount you save can be used for a future upgrade, if necessary.
Look, and this goes for everyone giving me grief here: If it worked like crap, why the HELL would I not just say so? What's in it for me to LIE about it? Look at my signature - it's not like I can't afford higher-end Macs and thus am doing a sour-grapes routine to make myself feel better. I own what you see there PLUS a 2012 iMac and MBA (removed those from signature since it was getting too long and they're no longer my "main" desktop/laptop combo). I don't need to post a freaking activity monitor screenshot. I can simply tell you I've been using it with multiple Chrome tabs, GIMP, GarageBand, MS Office (including PowerPoints with TONS of animations, many simultaneous), QuickTime, etc. without ever feeling like it was choking or even starting too. Now, I don't normally do all those things at the same time (no need to), but I have done a FEW of those things at the same time and experience no perceivable issues. I guess maybe it helps that it has an SSD for memory swapping or something. I don't really know nor care what it's doing in the background because it just works.
That will be my final comment on the matter.
using pixelmator on m1 . even not full perfect like photoshop at least can do some minor editing like ts wanted .
It depend on usage, let see your graphic card tol 1.5gb ram and other usage will be 2.5gb . It is smooth on my old 2011 ssd on base model 4gb and basic activity
Answer :Yes
What if the poster have mutiple layer of photoshop and running spotify ?
Answer : yes and medium and extra heat
This answer are on old model, but you dont have to think much as m1 is
1. No heat
2. Performance not bad for base model 8gb( i purchase one )
3. Yeah, you can open mutiple apps one time .
Sometimes we need to think ahead as we dont know the real usage of ts and wanted to give peace of mind purchasing product which may dont have genius nearby .
I'm planning to order a MacBook Air sometime this month, and I've decided that I'll blow a couple hundred on upgrading to 16GB of RAM. I don't know what software I'll want to use in the future, so I think 16 GB will cover me. I just sold my 2013 MacBook Air that had 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The SSD never blinked. I'm pretty sure I'll stay with the 256 GB SSD on the new machine; I never filled more than 100 GB on the old MacBook Air, and I store my big photo and video files on an external drive. If what remains of my logic is wrong, please advise.
for me not wrong having external drive . Just have fun when your machine arrived .I'm planning to order a MacBook Air sometime this month, and I've decided that I'll blow a couple hundred on upgrading to 16GB of RAM. I don't know what software I'll want to use in the future, so I think 16 GB will cover me. I just sold my 2013 MacBook Air that had 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The SSD never blinked. I'm pretty sure I'll stay with the 256 GB SSD on the new machine; I never filled more than 100 GB on the old MacBook Air, and I store my big photo and video files on an external drive. If what remains of my logic is wrong, please advise.
.Dont forget to buy usb c hub yaThis is a really tricky one. I’d say that a computer in 2025 probably should have 16GB at a minimum. However, the Mac is becoming more iOS like with every release and I’d not be surprised if most Mac apps start to resemble iPadOS apps in their processor and memory requirements.
I’d still say to get more memory of you can afford it, but unless you’re doing serious content creation, it’s probably going to be ok with 8GB.
I’d still say to get more memory of you can afford it, but unless you’re doing serious content creation, it’s probably going to be ok with 8GB.
I'm planning to order a MacBook Air sometime this month, and I've decided that I'll blow a couple hundred on upgrading to 16GB of RAM. I don't know what software I'll want to use in the future, so I think 16 GB will cover me. I just sold my 2013 MacBook Air that had 8 GB of RAM and a 256 GB SSD. The SSD never blinked. I'm pretty sure I'll stay with the 256 GB SSD on the new machine; I never filled more than 100 GB on the old MacBook Air, and I store my big photo and video files on an external drive. If what remains of my logic is wrong, please advise.
Sounds like a plan. If you can use an external drive, then you save a lot of money over Apple Storage. I normally buy laptops with 512 GB of SSD. My daughter got the Air 16/1 because she thought that she could use the additional storage. I might go smaller in the future as I'm storing a lot of files on the home NAS these days. It works really great in lockdown mode though it might not be that great when we open up again.
People make interesting decisions. Just because you don’t see it as a normal occurrence doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen often. People will pay their money based on what they see makes sense to them. The same person who won’t cough up the cash to upgrade ram will gladly pay for software they are comfortable with. One good example is MS Office. I run a business and it’s done solely using Apple’s iWork suite. Communicates easily with Office. Other home users prefer to use MS Office even if it’s just for Word simply because they are comfortable with the brand name.
I’m on Pixelmator Pro. I would say it’s easily on par with Photoshop for a one-time price.