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Which M1 MBA Config Do You Have?


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dizmonk

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Nov 26, 2010
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As I continue to waffle about which configuration to get and keep I'm curious what people have... Thanks in advance.
 
My M1 MBA is the 16GB/1TB. I would have preferred the 16GB/512GB but that configuration was only available online as CTO so I went with the 1TB because I could pick it up at an Apple store. Not really regretting not waiting for the 512. I currently only have about 300 GB of free space though I could probably clean up a lot and get back under 512 GB pretty easily.
 
My M1 MBA is the 16GB/1TB. I would have preferred the 16GB/512GB but that configuration was only available online as CTO so I went with the 1TB because I could pick it up at an Apple store. Not really regretting not waiting for the 512. I currently only have about 300 GB of free space though I could probably clean up a lot and get back under 512 GB pretty easily.
So you have ~700GB in use? For optimal performance with 512GB you need to be under 0.7*512GB. You are at the limit for a 1TB drive at where SSD performance starts to get impacted.
 
So you have ~700GB in use? For optimal performance with 512GB you need to be under 0.7*512GB. You are at the limit for a 1TB drive at where SSD performance starts to get impacted.
Sounds about right. I haven’t noticed any slowdowns yet. I have a lot of stuff loaded on my 1TB that is already archived on other drives that I could easily clean up. With all the extra space I have available, I just haven’t bothered.
 
I caved and went for the 16gb/1tb. I know it's overkill but I want to keep this thing for at least 5 years, probably more.
 
base model - less risk

(since m1 is a gen 1 product and we don't know how these nice little computers will age)
 
Mine is the entry level Air but I got such a good deal in the U.K. at £500 for a brand new Air I figured I would use this one for a few months and then see what the specs will be on the new Pro’s and Air’s when they come out and should be able to easily sell my M1 for what I paid for it.
 
16GB/1TB for me. I'm really glad I can get a 1TB Mac laptop without having to spend above $2000. I use it for Logic Pro, and I can get by with 256GB and external storage... and 512GB is enough... but just barely. So 1TB is a great size for me. I can store everything I need on it, with a good amount of headroom.

The performance/screen/battery life/size is at a point where I don't need, or really even want, anything more. I'll use this until it breaks, so I didn't mind spending for the higher configurations. The ONLY thing that is missing is the number of ports, otherwise it's a computer I don't ever have to think about.
 
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8c/7c/16/512 refurbished from the apple store.

I do programming on it, so needed more RAM. The extra storage was so I’d have some headroom just in case I need to store more stuff on it.

No regrets here (cept getting the wrong color). I really think I needed it with VS Code + over a dozen tabs + java programs that take over a gig of RAM.

the battery life is not as good as advertised, but I’m certain it’s because VSC drains battery like nobody’s business.
 
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Got the 8/256 base model, as happy as pig in it. I then got a 2TB Samsung T7 SSD external with USB-C to USB-C cable (no dongle required) I think this drive is as fast as an internal, but costs a whole lot less than a 2TB internal. It is also the size of a credit card, the thickness of a pencil and weighs in at a whopping 50 grams.
 
the battery life is not as good as advertised, but I’m certain it’s because VSC drains battery like nobody’s business.

Like you say, it's probably because of what you're doing with it. I can binge Netflix an entire day with a few hours of web browsing thrown in between and my battery still won't be near dead. On the other hand, I was copying a few TB's of stuff between 2 externals without mains plugged in. Bad idea. Lucky a realised mains wasn't in, or the copy might have gone wrong.
 
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I just bought the 512 GB/8 GB model tonight. The 8 GB is plenty for what I do which is supposed to just Internet stuff. I still have my 1 TB 16 inch MacBook Pro that I'm keeping for a while but eventually I might end up selling it.
 
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