m1 Is 8GB of RAM REALLY enough? - Apple MacBook M1

[gal-m]

Budget (including currency): $1000 preferred, $1500 is possible

Country: Slovenia, EU

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Light productivity and content consumption

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): My old 2015 MacBook Pro is still working FLAWLESSLY, except for the battery. I can only get around 2-3 hrs of battery of it. This type of performance is completely unacceptable in reference to my current work/study situation. I'd also prefer a smaller form factor laptop, aka. the MacBook Air/Pro 13".

 

The main question I have been asking myself is: is 8GB of RAM in the newest Apple M1 machines REALLY enough for what I'm trying to do, which is writing, online videos, music, etc. Since I don't render, edit, etc. I'd have normally said yes, absolutely, however I am a Chrome tab hoarder, meaning I like to keep as many Chrome tabs open as humanly possible. I am wondering if anyone like myself has any real world experience with the base version of the MacBook. I would like to keep this purchase as cost effective as possible, since I, like I mentioned, don't plan on using this thing for ANYTHING "heavy".

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[adarw]

are you a horder as bad as me?

 

[gal-m]

1 minute ago, adarw said:

are you a horder as bad as me?

Probably even worse (today is a good day) @adarw:

[RONOTHAN##]

2 minutes ago, adarw said:

are you a horder as bad as me?

 

I've seen worse

 

7 minutes ago, gal-m said:

is 8GB of RAM in the newest Apple M1 machines REALLY enough for what I'm trying to do,

Probably, but I wouldn't say anything for the future. Given you still have a 2015 macbook, you like to keep your laptops for many years, and I don't know if I could see 8GB being that practical in 4-5 years.

[RockSolid1106]

Go for 16. You'll be more future-proof, and you will find it useful. 

And obviously, you cannot upgrade the memory down the line, because it's non user-upgradable.

 

PS: And with those many tabs open, you better go for 16GB, 8 is nowhere near enough.

 

EDIT: Also, I think the Apple event is around the corner, so why not wait till October if you can and see what they announce?

Edited September 26, 2021 by RockSolid1106

[adarw]

Just now, RONOTHAN## said:

I've seen worse

 

this isnt the worst of me, but do keep in mind its on 4gb of ram with a celery as a cpu

[komar]

Look at it a bit like reverse psychology.

Given your current use cases, go for the 8GB since that will limit your tab hoarding and cure you slowly but surely from this bad habit XD.

 

If you don't wanna be cured - at least 16

[gal-m]

1 minute ago, RONOTHAN## said:

Probably, but I wouldn't say anything for the future. Given you still have a 2015 macbook, you like to keep your laptops for many years, and I don't know if I could see 8GB being that practical in 4-5 years

Yeah @RONOTHAN## I agree. I do like to keep my laptops for a long time. In fact I keep most of my computers for 6+ years. I actually wasn't planning on purchasing a new computer, but I am on the move quite a lot and need to have a laptop on-hand at all times.
The issue is there are usually not a lot of (convenient) places to charge my old laptop. This is why I am searching for a solution. The problem is that here, in Slovenia, MacBook Airs are automatically more expensive and that there are almost no 16GB models with a Slovenian keyboard available, which I unfortunately do need. I could buy an international version and engrave it.. Nonetheless, upgraded 16GB models cost from $1500 onward here, which is quite a lot for the not-a-lot I'm trying to do with it (apart from Chrome).

[gal-m]

6 minutes ago, RockSolid1106 said:

And with those many tabs open, you better go for 16GB, 8 is nowhere near enough

The strange thing is @RockSolid1106 that I have seen MULTIPLE reviews saying that they haven't noticed ANY difference between the 8GB and 16GB models in doing daily tasks, including Chrome. This is the reason why I have decided to pose this question.

Is there a possibility that Apples new M1 architecture handles "RAM and Chrome" differently?

8 minutes ago, RockSolid1106 said:

Also, I think the Apple event is around the corner, so why not wait till October if you can and see what they announce?

I know. I also know there's some hype around the possibility of an overhauled 14" model. HOWEVER, I simply cannot afford to wait as my current setup is hindering my work. Meaning: I have to do 1/2 of my work when I come home, even though I could have already done it before, with a decent battery - I am therefore forced to resort to pen and paper.
Also, we get don't get apple products here as quickly as (I'm presuming) you do in the US. If they announce it in October and it starts shipping to you by the start/end of November that means we shall be receiving it somewhere in January or more likely February. I simply cannot afford to wait that long

[gal-m]

8 minutes ago, komar said:

Look at it a bit like reverse psychology.

Given your current use cases, go for the 8GB since that will limit your tab hoarding and cure you slowly but surely from this bad habit XD

See, now that is some GREAT advice @komar. I can then also say that I have saved quite a lot of money. 8GB seems like a win-win 

[RONOTHAN##]

1 minute ago, gal-m said:

Yeah @RONOTHAN## I agree. I do like to keep my laptops for a long time. In fact I keep most of my computers for 6+ years. I actually wasn't planning on purchasing a new computer, but I am on the move quite a lot and need to have a laptop on-hand at all times.
The issue is there are usually not a lot of (convenient) places to charge my old laptop. This is why I am searching for a solution. The problem is that here, in Slovenia, MacBook Airs are automatically more expensive and that there are almost no 16GB models with a Slovenian keyboard available, which I unfortunately do need. I could buy an international version and engrave it.. Nonetheless, upgraded 16GB models cost from $1500 onward here, which is quite a lot for the not-a-lot I'm trying to do with it (apart from Chrome).

8GB is pretty darn limited now with Chrome. My current laptop has 8GB as well, for a similar reason, I got it for $300 used instead of the $1200 I would've spent new with 16GB. At this current moment, I'm using 5GB of RAM with 5 Chrome tabs open and Discord, with 2GB of the swap partition being used (Linux version of the page-file). I don't really regret it, but I've also been looking into if it's possible to remove the memory chips and put on larger ones and if there are any shops willing to do it. 

[Ferrum]

3 minutes ago, gal-m said:

See, now that is some GREAT advice @komar. I can then also say that I have saved quite a lot of money. 8GB seems like a win-win 

you may keep your "habbit" if you switch to safari which uses much less ram compared to chorome. 

 

https://www.macsparky.com/blog/2021/3/safari-vs-chrome-ram-usage

[gal-m]

26 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

8GB is pretty darn limited now with Chrome. My current laptop has 8GB as well, for a similar reason

Looks like we're in the same boat @RONOTHAN##

27 minutes ago, RONOTHAN## said:

At this current moment, I'm using 5GB of RAM with 5 Chrome tabs open and Discord, with 2GB of the swap partition being used (Linux version of the page-file)

Guessing you're using a non-Apple machine, right?

[gal-m]

22 minutes ago, Ferrum said:

you may keep your "habbit" if you switch to safari which uses much less ram compared to chorome

Wow, that is REALLY interesting... didn't know Chrome was THAT bad @Ferrum. Okay, so, here's the real question: is it possible to have Safari and Chrome kind of synced up? I apologize in advance if I'm being dumb, but I truly don't know that much about browsers..

[RONOTHAN##]

Just now, gal-m said:

Guessing you're using a non-Apple machine, right?

Thinkpad L13 Yoga Gen 2 to be precise. It's great for everything I do on a laptop, and I didn't think I needed the 2 in 1 functionality until I had it. The 8GB of RAM almost caused me to not buy it, and while it's probably fine for what I do now, I think it'll last me 2-3 years before I'll need to upgrade rather than the 5-6 I'd get if I went for 16.

[RockSolid1106]

35 minutes ago, gal-m said:

The strange thing is @RockSolid1106 that I have seen MULTIPLE reviews saying that they haven't noticed ANY difference between the 8GB and 16GB models in doing daily tasks, including Chrome. This is the reason why I have decided to pose this question.

While 8GB is fine for most tasks, I'd still recommend going 16. And, considering you will be keeping this laptop for 6+ years, I will strongly recommend the 16GB variant. 

 

I use Linux(Ubuntu 21.04) and Chrome is using about 2.3GB of my RAM at the moment with about 15 tabs open(half of which are just PDFs). I'd expect yours to be around 4-5GB, which definitely pushes some stuff onto the disk and is no longer on the RAM.

 

At the end, it's your choice. It depends on the availability and price in your region. Go for 8 if you just can't afford to spend more with the keyboard problem, you're having no other choice.

[Ferrum]

1 hour ago, gal-m said:

Wow, that is REALLY interesting... didn't know Chrome was THAT bad @Ferrum. Okay, so, here's the real question: is it possible to have Safari and Chrome kind of synced up? I apologize in advance if I'm being dumb, but I truly don't know that much about browsers..

 It will be better to export chrome data to Safari one time and not look back. in my opinion this is the most cost saving solution for you.

 

furthermore If I were in your shoes i would invest in SSD not RAM. since most of the time you are not using all tabs simultaneously they will be moved to swap file  rather then being kept in RAM. Larger SSD better longevity and more room to breath. 

[gal-m]

11 hours ago, RockSolid1106 said:

While 8GB is fine for most tasks, I'd still recommend going 16. And, considering you will be keeping this laptop for 6+ years, I will strongly recommend the 16GB variant

@RockSolid1106 I would have agreed, but then I stumbled upon this video, which I think is a FANTASTIC representation of the real world: 

I am therefore almost forced to conclude that 8GB of RAM actually IS enough for I'd say, 80-90% of people in the market for a laptop such as this one.

 

10 hours ago, Ferrum said:

furthermore If I were in your shoes i would invest in SSD not RAM. since most of the time you are not using all tabs simultaneously they will be moved to swap file  rather then being kept in RAM

After doing quite a lot of research, which included browsing the forums and analysing quite a lot of YouTube video reviews I think I have to agree with you here @Ferrum.

 

To add to that I have also seen other people complain that only the 8GB models are in stock in their areas.