Does macbook air with 8 gig of ram work well?
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Does macbook air with 8 gig of ram work well?
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HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
...and only you can decide what "work well" means.
Does it work? Yes. Well for some? Yes. So does it work well? Depends on what you want to do with it. Any implication of "into the future" in that question? You may need more than minimum specs in the future, and no way to add more to Silicon Macs.
Silicon Macs will use what is called SWAP when more RAM is needed than available. SWAP leans on faux RAM by using space on the SSD. Some argue that this has potential to wear out the SSD faster. Others argue that the SSD- even in heavy SWAP usage- will outlive the rest of the Mac. The only way we know for sure arrives in a few more years where, after years of this being put to the test in real world usage, none-to-many minimum spec Mac buyers start reporting worn out SSDs... or not.
The objective crowd (not fan extremists nor anti-fan extremists) seem to generally agree that 8GB is not enough for life of device. Many will write that Apple should up baseline specs... and there are strong rumors that M3 Macs will do that by going to 12GB (and 12GB multiples for additional RAM too).
Whether 8GB or 12GB, the general (objective) recommendation is step up at least one tier (to 16GB or 24GB) unless you present and future needs are relatively modest. Unlike when Macs were based on Intel, there's no updating hardware later if you need more. Instead, it is a "buy a whole new Mac" proposition with any such need.
The question to ask is not "can 8GB work for me now?" but "will 8GB be enough 5-7 years from now if I still own this Mac?" Because the best answer to this type of question is realized by applying peak load to this Mac, not today load.
Does it work? Yes. Well for some? Yes. So does it work well? Depends on what you want to do with it. Any implication of "into the future" in that question? You may need more than minimum specs in the future, and no way to add more to Silicon Macs.
Silicon Macs will use what is called SWAP when more RAM is needed than available. SWAP leans on faux RAM by using space on the SSD. Some argue that this has potential to wear out the SSD faster. Others argue that the SSD- even in heavy SWAP usage- will outlive the rest of the Mac. The only way we know for sure arrives in a few more years where, after years of this being put to the test in real world usage, none-to-many minimum spec Mac buyers start reporting worn out SSDs... or not.
The objective crowd (not fan extremists nor anti-fan extremists) seem to generally agree that 8GB is not enough for life of device. Many will write that Apple should up baseline specs... and there are strong rumors that M3 Macs will do that by going to 12GB (and 12GB multiples for additional RAM too).
Whether 8GB or 12GB, the general (objective) recommendation is step up at least one tier (to 16GB or 24GB) unless you present and future needs are relatively modest. Unlike when Macs were based on Intel, there's no updating hardware later if you need more. Instead, it is a "buy a whole new Mac" proposition with any such need.
The question to ask is not "can 8GB work for me now?" but "will 8GB be enough 5-7 years from now if I still own this Mac?" Because the best answer to this type of question is realized by applying peak load to this Mac, not today load.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
There's no blanket answers to such questions. For some people, more cores may matter more than additional RAM. For others, more RAM will matter more. It's all in the specific usage. Example...
So hammers are more important than screwdrivers? It's hard to drive in many nails with screwdrivers and it's hard to turn many screws with hammers.
If you think of RAM as brain-like memory... and cores as brain processing, which is more important to your brain? Again, no blanket answer fits. In one situation, recalling things in memory may be much more important. In another instance, processing may be much more important. A person with total amnesia will likely still be able to walk down a street. A person with no cerebral cortex will not only fall flat on their face but be dead.
So hammers are more important than screwdrivers? It's hard to drive in many nails with screwdrivers and it's hard to turn many screws with hammers.
If you think of RAM as brain-like memory... and cores as brain processing, which is more important to your brain? Again, no blanket answer fits. In one situation, recalling things in memory may be much more important. In another instance, processing may be much more important. A person with total amnesia will likely still be able to walk down a street. A person with no cerebral cortex will not only fall flat on their face but be dead.
I have no slowdowns or spinning ball on my MBA m1 8GB which get a nice workout at times.
since I do not use Final Cut anymore to video edit, but make videos via iMovie
which does not slow down the MacBook Air when that program is running with other apps.
so yes, 8 GB is enough depending on what you intend to use that for.
since I do not use Final Cut anymore to video edit, but make videos via iMovie
which does not slow down the MacBook Air when that program is running with other apps.
so yes, 8 GB is enough depending on what you intend to use that for.
Yes the base version works very well and you'll be totally happy with it -- if you allow yourself to be.
So what you are saying is 'it depends' and the ever popular 'it gets harder to predict for the future, but the danger of getting it wrong is higher.'
Not that I disagree. However, the objective crowd maintains that baseline computers tend to hold their value more in resale (don't fall as far) and so the third consideration is 'enjoy today, sell tomorrow if your needs grow.'
but yeah, I guess we can look forward to this question another 8000 times.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
Given OPs question without any qualifications about how they want to use it, what else can be said but "it depends?" Perhaps instead of adding six zeros to the first post, OP could put some detail to the question so that we could offer very tangible and specific feedback?
Apple fans are going to always tout whatever Apple has for sale now. Recall passionate cases for years for 3.5" and 4" phone screens as "perfect" while phablet-sized phones were "abominations." Apple has 8GB RAM Macs for sale, so 8GB is (up to) "perfect" for OP.
Apple Anti-Fans are going to always fault whatever Apple has for sale now. There is no pleasing some people because anti-fans are not even actually interested in solutions but just finding something to gripe about. I presume they hang here mostly to stir the pot.
We can twist OPs intentions into being about "investment" and "ROI" to argue FOR 8GB RAM if we want... but OP said nothing about such things. Might as well assume OP only wants to check email and do modest browsing for which 8GB will be just fine... as would an A-series iPad with much less than 8GB RAM.
On the other hand, we can assume OP is an aspiring filmmaker and/or astronomer wanting to push FCP-X or gigantic datasets to the limit. Then 80GB RAM, 8TB and/or even this particular Mac may not be enough.
Like the 8000 times this question will be asked again, OP needs to identify what they want to do with this purchase. And with Silicon that's both TODAY and into the future. With good detail, they could get better answers than very generic ones like "it depends" and very general extrapolation... or wild guesses by having some of us making up their uses for them.
Apple fans are going to always tout whatever Apple has for sale now. Recall passionate cases for years for 3.5" and 4" phone screens as "perfect" while phablet-sized phones were "abominations." Apple has 8GB RAM Macs for sale, so 8GB is (up to) "perfect" for OP.
Apple Anti-Fans are going to always fault whatever Apple has for sale now. There is no pleasing some people because anti-fans are not even actually interested in solutions but just finding something to gripe about. I presume they hang here mostly to stir the pot.
We can twist OPs intentions into being about "investment" and "ROI" to argue FOR 8GB RAM if we want... but OP said nothing about such things. Might as well assume OP only wants to check email and do modest browsing for which 8GB will be just fine... as would an A-series iPad with much less than 8GB RAM.
On the other hand, we can assume OP is an aspiring filmmaker and/or astronomer wanting to push FCP-X or gigantic datasets to the limit. Then 80GB RAM, 8TB and/or even this particular Mac may not be enough.
Like the 8000 times this question will be asked again, OP needs to identify what they want to do with this purchase. And with Silicon that's both TODAY and into the future. With good detail, they could get better answers than very generic ones like "it depends" and very general extrapolation... or wild guesses by having some of us making up their uses for them.
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If you want to know, save yourself some time and just Google it because there are countless threads about it all over the internet. You can also use Google to search results from a single website such as this one for example.
If you do post a question instead, at least give the information that's required to answer your question, namely how you intend to use it.
Basic stuff, come on.
If you do post a question instead, at least give the information that's required to answer your question, namely how you intend to use it.
Basic stuff, come on.
Finde someone who has a use case similar to yours. It really depends so much on what you do.
There are many blanket statements about how 8 GB just can't be enough, often by people who have never used an M1 or M2 Mac with 8 GB of RAM. Then there are people who think you can only do "light work" with it – also often with no indication how they acquired this wisdom. (The source are often forum discussions, YouTube videos or just conjecture.) And then there are people who do actual and serious work on their M1 Macs with 8 GB of RAM and are completely happy with it.
There are application that by themselves need more RAM. If that's the case for you, you already answered your question.
Otherwise, as stated above: Look for opinions by people with a) a similar use case and b) actual real-life experience.
There are many blanket statements about how 8 GB just can't be enough, often by people who have never used an M1 or M2 Mac with 8 GB of RAM. Then there are people who think you can only do "light work" with it – also often with no indication how they acquired this wisdom. (The source are often forum discussions, YouTube videos or just conjecture.) And then there are people who do actual and serious work on their M1 Macs with 8 GB of RAM and are completely happy with it.
There are application that by themselves need more RAM. If that's the case for you, you already answered your question.
Otherwise, as stated above: Look for opinions by people with a) a similar use case and b) actual real-life experience.
The only question with a unanimously accepted answer would be "is it annoying that Apple still offers 8GB as a base model instead of 16GB for the same price?" The answer would be yes. Otherwise, it always depends on your needs and plans for the machine. Will you just do basic web browsing, email, and word processing? You'll be fine. Heavier use may benefit from more ram, more storage space, or a faster processor. Will you keep the machine for a long time, i.e. 5-7+ years, or will you sell it in 2-3 years and purchase another base model of whatever's new at that time?
My personal strategy has always been to avoid the hassle of selling my Mac and setting up a new one too often by making them last. I get about 8 years out of each of my Mac laptops, on average, by buying a higher specced machine either mid-cycle (when they start getting discounted) or after the next refresh has already been released. Most recently, I replaced my 2016 MBP with a 14" M1 Max MBP with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD. This thing's a beast, but I spent about the same on it as I did for my 2016 back in 2017, and it was the mid-range model at the time with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. I expect I'll get a very long life out of this new machine, and it won't feel slow enough to need to replace it until we're in the 2030s.
My personal strategy has always been to avoid the hassle of selling my Mac and setting up a new one too often by making them last. I get about 8 years out of each of my Mac laptops, on average, by buying a higher specced machine either mid-cycle (when they start getting discounted) or after the next refresh has already been released. Most recently, I replaced my 2016 MBP with a 14" M1 Max MBP with 64GB RAM and 2TB SSD. This thing's a beast, but I spent about the same on it as I did for my 2016 back in 2017, and it was the mid-range model at the time with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. I expect I'll get a very long life out of this new machine, and it won't feel slow enough to need to replace it until we're in the 2030s.