You can’t upgrade the RAM or storage later and more RAM should mean less swapping which will be better for the life of the SSD.
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Do you think there will be 32 GB of RAM options and more for the new Mac Mini?
- Thread starter Silly John Fatty
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we’re agreeing with each other aren’t we? i.e. that the RAM ICs are separate to the main silicon die and connected to it via the channels
Hi people,
just wanted to check out if you have any new opinions in the mean time.
I'm still thinking of replacing my 12-core Mac Pro 5,1 with a Mac Mini, but I don't want to go for the 16 GB version of the M1. I also don't want to go with the (or any) Intel one.
I have 32 GB in my Mac Pro right now and according to Activity Monitor I am using around 9 GB of memory, but I'm really not doing anything (I'm here on Safari with several windows opened, have Mail and Notes opened as well and I'm running Little Snitch in the background to check all incoming/outgoing network connections).
I really hope they bring a 32 GB (or more) option for the M1 soon, as I would really like to change this Mac Pro now.
just wanted to check out if you have any new opinions in the mean time.
I'm still thinking of replacing my 12-core Mac Pro 5,1 with a Mac Mini, but I don't want to go for the 16 GB version of the M1. I also don't want to go with the (or any) Intel one.
I have 32 GB in my Mac Pro right now and according to Activity Monitor I am using around 9 GB of memory, but I'm really not doing anything (I'm here on Safari with several windows opened, have Mail and Notes opened as well and I'm running Little Snitch in the background to check all incoming/outgoing network connections).
I really hope they bring a 32 GB (or more) option for the M1 soon, as I would really like to change this Mac Pro now.
Mac mini gets updated about every two- three years. Probably this will be three since they are on a two year plan to update all macs. Would make sense to have that cycle since it just came out.
Last June Tim Cook said within two years all Macs will use AS. The current Mac Mini still uses the Intel chip for the two “higher end“ models. So it seems there should be new Mac Minis configurations by late Spring 2022 at the latest.
I switched from a 12 Core 5,1 to a i7 2018 Mini with 64GB and am pretty happy with the performance increase in single core applications.
Right now for my "work from home" set up I'm chewing through 25GB, thats just using browsers, communication applications, and iTunes. If you held onto your Pro for as long as I did, you most likely have some 32 Bit or GPU requirements which the M1 does not meet. Think carefully about your needs before jumping the M1 ship.
I wouldn't count on the current M1 mini getting a memory bump... ever. You will have to wait for the refreshed mini that will replace the high end Intel model (most likely in the fall 2021).
With the introduction of the "system on a chip" that the M1 brings, it might be time to revise the way we think about RAM, and other aspects computer hardware.
Maybe you should try the device before offering this well formed opinion. The M1 is a lot faster for native applications. It's great, but RAM works no differently. It chugs hard, and 16GB is just simply not enough. 32GB is the new 16GB. 64GB if you do things like illustration, and animation.
For now, you are much better off buying a 2018 Intel Mac Mini and putting 64GB in it unless you know exactly why you need the M1. It's much more repairable as well. Apple craps on independent repair, and when you spend $2,000+ per rig, you want it to last at least four years without issue, and to be serviceable in the future. The M1 is basically a throwaway computer like an iPhone as nice as the CPU advances are.
Apple is leaving the door open to competition here. The software side is where the profit lies, and locking down throwaway desktops with hobbled specs because they want to up-sell something most people can't afford is not going to win long term. The cycle will be compatibility capitulation again in the near future if they don't realize this.
I expect 32 GB soon, if only to piss off those of us who settled for 16 GB.
Apple has long liked doing stuff like that to us.
But with the demise of my 2005 mini, and the 2010 acting oddly, I fear I have no choice. There's no way I can transplant the Wife to Ubuntu yet.
Apple has long liked doing stuff like that to us.
But with the demise of my 2005 mini, and the 2010 acting oddly, I fear I have no choice. There's no way I can transplant the Wife to Ubuntu yet.
I gather you have tried the device......
Reviews suggest that M1 Macs with only 8GB of RAM out performs most Intel Macs, because of the way integrated way the "system on a chip" works.
Yes, the M1 Macs will be less repairable, but they are likely to be more reliable, with fewer individual components to go wrong.
Macs, especially Mac Minis have run for years, with minimal maintenance...... I'm using a 2009 Mac Mini at present, which has had nothing more done to it than installing an extra 4GB of RAM (required when I updated the operating system) and cleaning out the dust at about 4 year intervals. When it fails, as sooner or later it will) I will have no hesitation in replacing it with a M1 Mini. With everything backed up on Time Machine it should be fairly hassle free.... I experienced no problems when I got a MackBook Air to supplement the Mini, and replace it for a changed work situation.
Apple has blown away the competition with the M1 machines..... and has made the Mac Mini more affordable to boot.
Intel is a dinosaur today and can’t change with the times! They lost the hard core gamers and Apple dumped them for Arm is putting the crews to Intel! AMD is kicking their butts on Windows games and production so bad today dump many Intel’s stock you have any?
Not until the next iteration of the M series probably..
As soon as you add more RAM it gets less power efficient, and I think Apple really wanted to make a point that Apple Silicon could be powerful and power efficient at the same time.
As soon as you add more RAM it gets less power efficient, and I think Apple really wanted to make a point that Apple Silicon could be powerful and power efficient at the same time.
My interest is not in their stock price (no, I don't have any) but in running Windows and older Mac applications. In business you need something stable and running Windows on the M1 is still very much experimental.
The M1 is a nice new product but I think it needs some more time to mature and once there are iMacs with M1 (or newer) if not released alongside it'll only be a matter of time before there is an Apple Silicon Mini with better specs than what is available now.
This is exactly where I am headed right now. I just returned my M1 base Mini with 8GB RAM. My intention was to use it, for the time being, until higher end M1 Mac Minis are released. I didn't want to throw a lot of upgrade money at it, considering my intention was to use it only briefly and replace it. At that point, I was going to just use it to replace my file server.
I knew I was going to need more RAM, but figured I could rely a little on UMA and swap on the high speed internal drive, and that it would somewhat mask the effects of not having enough RAM.
My memory pressure was almost always in the yellow and often in the red. The M1 was fast, but there were perceivable slow downs when the memory pressure was at its worst. The amount of drive writes occurring on the small 256GB ssd, due to swap, was incredible. I'm talking several TB a day in swap usage.
My initial thought was I would maybe try out the 16GB RAM model and maybe also upgrade the storage size. In the end, though, I knew I would still not be happy - and really would still be waiting for the higher specced Mini, if and when it is released.
As a result, I am now planning on ordering an Intel Mini, and add 64GB RAM for about $200. I also have an eGPU that I was considering selling, but will keep to use with the Intel Mini.
When the better specced Minis are released, I might end up shipping this off to have hosted, where the 64GB RAM would come in handy. If I want to remote control the Mini, the Intel having a firmware password will also come in handy, so I do not need to enable FileVault and still have the capability of remotely accessing it after reboots.
Anyway, that has been my experience so far.
10 to 20 IDEs?!
I never use more than ... 1....at the time.
Docker containers are usually not very memory hungry and you rarely use more than 5-6 at the same time.
Developing software usually doesn’t require that much RAM. Crunching data does.
Haha.. Yeah. One to three IDEs simultaneously for me. I may have 10 or so in total but certainly don't use all during the same period.
And from looking at Activity Monitor, having Xcode -- no emulator -- a couple of browsers with several tabs, Mail, Messages, and some background processes only uses ~13 GB of RAM on my system. So, 16GB is sufficient, 32 GB would be plenty comfortable, even moving forward for the life of my next Mac.
Virtualation, i.e. running multiple OSs and such, that would consume a significant more memory. Still probably wouldn't get near 64GB.
Something for you guys to look at and give an opinion on...
My 16GB M1 Mini is due here Tuesday.
I am going to migrate everything from my 16" MBP with 64GB of ram
I am interested to see if the 16GB limited Mini can handle the memory usage of my 64GB intel laptop.
I keep over 2 dozen programs open at startup, all in the background.
Let me know if you think the Mini will handle all that...
My 16GB M1 Mini is due here Tuesday.
I am going to migrate everything from my 16" MBP with 64GB of ram
I am interested to see if the 16GB limited Mini can handle the memory usage of my 64GB intel laptop.
I keep over 2 dozen programs open at startup, all in the background.
Let me know if you think the Mini will handle all that...
@NJRonbo Based on those numbers, the mini err macOS will probably need to do utilize some swap files. Ignore the cached value. MacOS will utilize as much RAM as possible. For example, if you had 128GB of RAM and there were 100GB of files it could cache, it would. Anywho... Your workflow looks to need 32GB of RAM. However, one number is missing: compressed. Only certain files can be be compressed, but still, macOS may be able to compress more if it needs to. Therefore, your RAM footprint could decrease at least a bit.
i'm coming off a 2013 trashcan macpro, bought 1st release. Both my 2007 tower and my 2013 trashcan lasted 7+ years for me. i went with the M1 Mini b/c i refused to buy a pro for $5-6k, cost/benefit not enough for me. I am in with the understanding that this is a 1-3 year machine for me and at the price point, I'm fortunate that sub-1,500 isn't an issue for me in that timeframe. I like the rumors of a 'smaller' MacPro in the works, hopefully in the $2-3k range, might be tempted. I've been running new M1 with 16GB ram for 2 weeks now and haven't had an issue. Handbrake maxes CPU but it's built to do that. even my mac pro got to over 90% with HB. same conversion time, so I am thrilled.