Disappointing performance and memory issues M1 Macbook Air

[Tim S]

I have been over the top happy with my M1 MBA 16/516 8 core. Photo apps Affinity, Lightroom and some light PS all have been very responsive. I am using an Amazon 12 port hub with external ASUS ProArt monitor and I can’t see wanting much more for a few years. Except maybe more NAS space. In this configuration it is instant on. So I am wondering if some users above may have a bad board.

 

[nawnp]

8GB is still the same as the software is the same, it's not the iOS vs Android RAM management that we have come to know. The reason Apple was bragging about it being on a unified processor was that it saves physical space, but the caveat is they will certainly never bring back changeable RAM on the MacBooks, so you need to start out with what you need, and starting out with the described workload it is 16GB at least necessary, as 8GB is pretty much seen as internet only performance on PCs these days.

 

[Runs For Fun]

I think that people like John Gruber who perpetuate myths that 8 GBs on an M1 is all you'll ever need should be roundly ridiculed over their idiotic conclusions.

Ok so it's a different chip and macOS does great memory management, but if a program needs a certain amount of RAM then that's what it needs.. no chip has been made that shrinks the amount of RAM you need, but they are getting so efficient/fast it just LOOKS like there isn't mad page swapping; with hard drives, that's chiefly what made them wear out faster on 4/8 GB machines, constantly paging VM off to the disk.

I will agree with him that the unified memory architecture is more efficient, however the amount of efficiency is grossly over exagerated.

 

[robco74]

I love the Mac, but get the right tool for the job. If you rely on the Adobe suite, then get a Windows PC. Specifically, a Windows PC with an Intel processor and Nvidia GPU. That is what Adobe optimizes for, and will likely give you the most bang for your buck.

 

[Fred Zed]

Also the other thing worth noting is Apple trade in values , someone correct me if I am wrong. Apple doesn't give you more for your MacBook if it has more ram or storage. A bit like dirty car dealers.

 

[Runs For Fun]

Also the other thing worth noting is Apple trade in values , someone correct me if I am wrong. Apple doesn't give you more for your MacBook if it has more ram or storage. A bit like dirty car dealers.

I’m pretty sure that’s incorrect.

 

[Fred Zed]

I’m pretty sure that’s incorrect.

So Apple would offer an increased trade in value should one have extra ram or SSD for same machine type model?

 

[Runs For Fun]

So Apple would offer an increased trade in value should one extra ram or SSD for same machine type model?

Yes

 

[bobcomer]

The better practice is buying what you have need for today. And if that need should drastically change, then buy a product that meets the new current need.

That's a curious thing to say, at least with the way I think. I always buy for what I think I need a year from now at least. I must upgrade less often than you do. At work, I buy PC's/laptops with an expected life of 4 years, and even longer at home.

 

[Apple_Robert]

That's a curious thing to say, at least with the way I think. I always buy for what I think I need a year from now at least. I must upgrade less often than you do. At work, I buy PC's/laptops with an expected life of 4 years, and even longer at home.

And that is how a lot of people end up overbuying and spending more than they really need to spend. And that kind of thought process is ingrained in this forum and others like it.

 

[Jack Neill]

A Corvette won’t tow a trailer, but a Sliverado will.

As for the monitor, it does take a few seconds to connect to my LG UltraFine 5K through a Thunderbolt hub, but once connected it switches into and out of clamshell mode almost instantly.

I had a Sliverado once, thinnest truck I ever owned.

 

[Johnny907]

Also the other thing worth noting is Apple trade in values , someone correct me if I am wrong. Apple doesn't give you more for your MacBook if it has more ram or storage. A bit like dirty car dealers.

Not sure but that wouldn’t surprise me. They only offered me 920 bucks for a system I paid double that for five months ago. I don’t care who you are, that’s ridiculous, especially when you factor in what they charge on the refurb store. That same config is averaging 1400 on eBay, and even after commission that’s still 400 bucks more than Apple offered me for the exact same device. I know there’s a wholesale/retail argument there, but it still felt pretty lowball considering I was going to take that credit and spend it immediately on another Apple product anyway so the amount of money they “lost” in the exchange would have been negligible compared to what they’d make in the long run.

 

[beach bum]

I never buy a product for resale value. I buy because it meets my current needs. Apple will never give you a “fantastic, OMG!” value for a used product.

 

[Fred Zed]

I never buy a product for resale value. I buy because it meets my current needs. Apple will never give you a “fantastic, OMG!” value for a used product.

Indeed, however I have learned that spending on “ add ons ” yields little to no return when time comes to sell or trade in. My recent past example, iPhone XS Max 512GB , the free market as well as Apple didn’t offer me anything more than if it were 64GB model. Yet at the time of purchase that amount was substantial.

 

[Joelist]

So we have another corner use case on a base model M1? I use an 8GB MBA as a daily driver and run a variety of tools (Office, Visual Studio, Slack, Zoom) and the speed is tremendous. I also (in another thread) noted how that the Apple Silicon versions of some programs are showing smaller sizes in memory on M1. So behavior varies.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I never buy a product for resale value. I buy because it meets my current needs. Apple will never give you a “fantastic, OMG!” value for a used product.

Excellent point. Never buy for resale value. That mindset is also ingrained on the forum. Too many people buying more than they need for resale value.

 

[bobcomer]

And that is how a lot of people end up overbuying and spending more than they really need to spend. And that kind of thought process is ingrained in this forum and others like it.

And your way a lot of people under buy, and have to spend a LOT more on the next upgrade than the cost it is to get the original RAM upgrade to begin with. I don't know of anyone that has static needs, so the way is clear.

My Air isn't a good example as I knew that one was risky, but I also bought an Intel Mac Mini with 64G of RAM / i7 and two TB this last year too, and I expect to keep it at least 5 years. (I run VM's is why I have that much RAM, though I rarely peg the RAM *now*)

So that's $2700 for 5 years, and that works out to $540 a year.

How much do you spend in that 5 years for your main machine?

 

[Zazoh]

What I love about this place: scores of people speculating on what I need telling me to buy what they imagine they need.

You buy a computer because you have tasks to perform. You buy it now for the now. I bought a base model M1 Air because I had a base model that was working for me, but in a different form factor, Mini to Air.

I’m a programmer. I use all the base apps plus an a Text editor. I’ve been using this computer, no issues, since November.

Memory pressure runs 2GB.

If you need 3 browsers running every tab you’ve been to in a week, steaming music while watching Picture in Picture YouTube videos while you claim to be working in several Adobe products simultaneously, you have problems RAM can’t handle.

 

[Johnny907]

Excellent point. Never buy for resale value. That mindset is also ingrained on the forum. Too many people buying more than they need for resale value.

You never look at things like resale value when making a large purchase such as a vehicle or expensive equipment? You were both raised much, much differently than I was, clearly.
I view any purchase over 200 dollars as an investment, end resale value of that purchase does factor into the calculation.
Btw that was a nice attempt to sidestep the issue of Apple’s insulting trade in offers by going off on a tangent about resale values, Beach Bum. The resale value of Apple products is normally high, and for a reason. That wasn’t my point. The ridiculously lowball trade in value Apple offers on an item they are going to turn right back around and make a profit on, however, was.

 

[Zazoh]

A computer you purchase for work is an expense. Always. Ask your Accountant.

 

[bobcomer]

A computer you purchase for work is an expense. Always. Ask your Accountant.

Agreed. Some of the bigger servers are handled a bit differently using depreciation, but in the end there's no resale value.

 

[beach bum]

You never look at things like resale value when making a large purchase such as a vehicle or expensive equipment? You were both raised much, much differently than I was, clearly.
I view any purchase over 200 dollars as an investment, end resale value of that purchase does factor into the calculation.
Btw that was a nice attempt to sidestep the issue of Apple’s insulting trade in offers by going off on a tangent about resale values, Beach Bum. The resale value of Apple products is normally high, and for a reason. That wasn’t my point. The ridiculously lowball trade in value Apple offers on an item they are going to turn right back around and make a profit on, however, was.

Ok. Yes, typically resale values for Apple products command a high price... for anyone other than Apple. It is in Apple’s best interest to buy back their products, refurb, and then resell for more than what they shelled out to you. That’s business. Also, I mostly prefer handing down my unused Apple gear to family rather than trying to sell or trade in although I have traded in the old for new on an occasion. I was raised to think of how what I have might benefit someone else when I’m in a position to do so, and usually, I am in that position.

 

[Apple_Robert]

You never look at things like resale value when making a large purchase such as a vehicle or expensive equipment? You were both raised much, much differently than I was, clearly.
I view any purchase over 200 dollars as an investment, end resale value of that purchase does factor into the calculation.
Btw that was a nice attempt to sidestep the issue of Apple’s insulting trade in offers by going off on a tangent about resale values, Beach Bum. The resale value of Apple products is normally high, and for a reason. That wasn’t my point. The ridiculously lowball trade in value Apple offers on an item they are going to turn right back around and make a profit on, however, was.

Apple computers are not an investment. They are disposable items. I do not worry about resale value on disposables like computers, cars, and other such items.

The problem here is too many on this forum view Apple products as investments when they aren't. That is why so many throw good money away overbuying for resale.

 

[leman]

True.
However, nowadays there are basic tasks that are actually more RAM intensive than what people usually think (eg. tabbed browsing). A person might think his/her usage is light, but in reality he/she has dozens of tabs open, background streaming music, along with dozens of excel sheets open, clients for cloud syncing, messaging apps, zoom, all at the same time. That's actually a typical office use nowadays.

So it's no longer about "you only need 16GB if you do Photoshop or Premiere" anymore.

You are really overestimating the average needs. For the usage you describe 8 GB is more than enough.

 

[Argon_]

Apple computers are not an investment. They are disposable items. I do not worry about resale value on disposables like computers, cars, and other such items.

The problem here is too many on this forum view Apple products as investments when they aren't. That is why so many throw good money away overbuying for resale.

Agreed.

Given how quickly computers become obsolete, buying them as an investment makes little sense. Apple computers hold their value better than other brands, but still fade into uselessness as years turn into decades.

A $1300 computer used for two years comes out to <$2/day. Many individuals spend more on coffee.