Dare I say 32GB Intel = 16GB M1?

[NJRonbo]

I am now 12 hours into usage with the 16GB Mini.

My initial impressions...

First, just beside myself that Apple addressed monitor issues with Big Sur Beta 11.2 (to be released mainstream shortly). My 46" Samsung CRG9 monitor works beautifully with this Mini. That was the absolute worst fear I had about this purchase...

...well actually not the worst...

16GB was the biggest concern.

Although I did not go as absolutely crazy with startup programs as I have on my 64GB MBP, I did load quite a bit.

This 16GB M1 seems to give me the memory performance of a 32GB Intel.

I have a wealth of startup programs running and I still have memory left with no swap usage. In fact, as I type this I am still adding startup programs and the available memory and zero swap usage aren't changing at all.

Apps definitely launch much faster. Instantaneously in fact.

This desktop Mini M1 is pretty remarkable. I greatly feared I would be buying a substandard computer since I have always been using a top-of-the-line Mac device. This doesn't feel substandard. I honestly feel as if I am using a premium desktop. To think that 16GB is sufficient to allow me to run what I need to in the background with memory to spare is completely amazing.

 

[ItWasNotMe]

You can argue this every which way, there are already loads of threads on this

E.g on my 8GB Intel Mini Lightroom Classic ran in 2.5-2.7 GB, on the M1 as I write its 3.71. Photoshop runs in about 2GB on my Intel, on the M1 it's 5.06. This is doing the same operations on similarly sized image using the same external disks.

Does this mean 8GB Intel = 16GB M1? No

 

[NJRonbo]

You can argue this every which way, there are already loads of threads on this

E.g on my 8GB Into Mini Lightroom Classic ran in 2.5-2.7 GB, on the M1 as I write its 3.71. Photoshop runs in about 2GB on my Intel, on the M1 it's 5.06. This is doing the same operations on similarly sized image using the same external disks.

Does this mean 8GB Intel = 16GB M1? No

Well, there is some kind of magic going on as this kind of setup I am using would choke a 16GB Intel counterpart. I used to have a 16GB Macbook Pro and I could never put this many startup programs into its memory.

 

[MacCheetah3]

It's nice to read the M1 mini is working well.

Back on topic... Your comparison isn't great. Foremost, you say you aren't comparing similar setups, software or hardware. Also, you don't show the memory details on your MBP.

As to the "magic"... The SSD in the newest mini is fast, internally as well as directly interfaces with the CPU err SoC. Therefore, if the system does need to utilize swap files, the negative effect on performance is much less than older systems, negligible if only a small swap file is needed.

But again, it's 👍 the new system is satisfactory, and that's what ultimately matters.

 

[LeeW]

No. Ram is Ram, it works the same way no matter what machine it is in. What you may see is more efficiency, that is intel takes some off the top and reserves it for GPU operations, the M1 does not do that and assigns memory as it is needed. The OS and/or Apps may be better optimized and so on.

Look back at some that make the claim 8GB M1 = 16GB Intel and what their screenshots show is that their swap file is as high as 8GB. So the device is OOM (Out of Memory) All of the 8GB is in use and the machine is having to call on the SSD to keep going (swap file or cache). The SSD in these and previous machines is so fast you don't actually notice that the machine is out of memory.

 

[Fishrrman]

Like Ayn Rand wrote in Atlas Shrugged, "A=A".
16gb of RAM is not 32gb of RAM.
It's 16gb of RAM.

The m1 CPU looks to be designed to access RAM more efficiently than the Intel CPUs used previously.
Also, the internal SSDs are now fast enough so that "VM swapping" is more transparent.

I reckon that's where the "speed boosts" are coming from.

 

[NJRonbo]

Listen, I understand the science.

I am just saying that the kind of load I am putting on this 16GB Mini would choke an i5 Intel machine. I am not talking CPU but actual memory with hardly any swapping.

I am not arguing the answers. I am simply saying I can see a difference in memory capacity and/or how it is being handled.

 

[ivnj]

I just upgraded my self new m1 mini 8gb ram 256 ssd. Picking it up tomorrow. I am only browsing internet and email. And maybe some youtube. I am not doing photoshop or video edit. I know more is better but 200 extra is too.much for if I dnt need it.

8gb will be more than enough? And its soldered like 2014s?

 

[calstanford]

You certainly dare say it. Still doesn’t make it true. A 4GB PSD is a 4GB PSD. Memory doesn’t magically gets consumed less.

If anything one could argue about the graphic memory. We’re talking hundreds of megabytes here. Not 16GB