How are you all Getting by with 8gigs?

[getmac]

A little over a month ago I needed a computer ASAP. I have had several variations of the 15 in pro going back to when it was a PowerBook. My last several MacBook Pros all have had 16GBs. As a Media Arts teacher doing graphic design, photography, video editing, etc., and also lots of tabs open, the Pro has been vital. Anyhow, my most recent MacBook Pro is 2017 which is always hot, with fans running nonstop, battery on its last legs, etc.

I couldn't find a MacBook Pro at the time and needed a personal computer ASAP, so I bought the base M1 MacBook Air at Costco for $849. I figured with the 90-day return policy it would hold me over until Pros were back in stock. I watched all these YouTube videos and read threads on MR about how efficient the M1 is and 8GB would be plenty for average (non-pro) use. Either my Air is jacked or people are lying. For the past month, all I have used the computer for is to browse the Internet, listen to Apple Music, use Google Docs, and play a really old RPG game Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition.

With around 10 tabs open in Safari and listening to Apple Music, I keep getting spinning beach balls, and everything freezes, music hiccups, stop playing, etc. I have to keep Activity Monitor open to force quit processes. Currently, I have 12 tabs and Apple Music playing. That's it. 175GB HD space free. I am using 7.5GB RAM and 8 GBs of swap. Several times a day music freezes and I have to close some tabs. Sometimes even force restart.

What am I doing wrong? I know it is a base model, but I am not doing anything. If I was under normal workload with two browsers, 2-3 dozen tabs, Adobe open, Music, Slack, etc., I'd get it. But ... browsing the web, typing a document, and listening to Music? I am also only getting like 7-8 hours on the battery. No video editing, no photo editing, no Adobe.

 

[BeatCrazy]

Dunno about the beach balls, but have you considered your Wi-Fi might be part of the problem?

I currently have a 8GB M1 Air, and for over a year used a 8GB M1 mini. Zero problems with freezing or hiccups. It really doesn't matter that Activity Monitor shows you're using 7.5GB, because macOS will fill up the RAM and swap/close things as needed. You could have the same 10 programs opened up on a 32GB machine and it will be using 22GB of memory vs. 7.5GB on your base model.

 

[fisherking]

am running a 2016 12" macbook with 8 gigs, with a sad processor. i currently have open: 20 tabs in safari. mail. notes. calendar. stickies. messages. and i can open a website in rapidweaver, or a doc in pages... or work on a photo in affinity photo, all at the same time.

i have never had a memory issue. in comparison, your M1 air is a monster, and should be killing it.

i know adobe is a hog, but still. it's worth looking into (try calling apple, perhaps). or see what ppl here suggest.

 

[getmac]

Dunno about the beach balls, but have you considered your Wi-Fi might be part of the problem?

I currently have a 8GB M1 Air, and for over a year used a 8GB M1 mini. Zero problems with freezing or hiccups. It really doesn't matter that Activity Monitor shows you're using 7.5GB, because macOS will fill up the RAM and swap/close things as needed. You could have the same 10 programs opened up on a 32GB machine and it will be using 22GB of memory vs. 7.5GB on your base model.

WiFi isn't an issue. I have 300Mbs down. Nice router. My iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, and old MacBook Pro no problem. Besides, WiFi wouldn't cause everything to freeze and memory pressure to go into Red. It has been struggling more than my 5 year 32GB 5th gen iPad.

With only 12 tabs and Apple Music, Memory Pressure is constantly showing yellow. Granted Music by itself says it is using 2.5 GB, Amazon tab 2GB, Google Docs tab 2.5GB, LinkedIn 1.5, Grammarly 1.8, etc. Those definitely seem a bit excessive. Also, something draining the battery, but I am wondering if that is because of the heavy memory pressure in yellow and red?

I ran a hardware test, says no issue. I have three more weeks to return to Costco. I wish they carried the 16GB models. I like the discount and extra warranty from Costco.

 

[chabig]

I think your particular use is taxing the hardware you have. You can't just say that you have "tabs" open in Safari. A lot depends on what it in those tabs. I think you mentioned some taxing stuff–Amazon, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Adobe, Slack. All of those businesses are known surveillance companies that run lots of trackers. If you ran a content blocker in Safari it might help.

 

[fisherking]

or reboot, and open only what you need. have you rebooted recently? it can definitely help (plus what chabig says about the tabs)...

 

[Dealmans]

Would never buy another Apple Mac with 8gb, have a 24" iMac it's ok but v my 14" 16/1TB it's slow.

 

[fisherking]

Would never buy another Apple Mac with 8gb, have a 24" iMac it's ok but v my 14" 16/1TB it's slow.

if your 14" macbook is slow, you should look into why...

more ram isn't always a 'fix', just as less ram isn't always an issue. what you do, the apps you use... so many other things can affect performance.

 

[BeatCrazy]

WiFi isn't an issue. I have 300Mbs down. Nice router. My iPad, iPhone, Apple TV, and old MacBook Pro no problem. Besides, WiFi wouldn't cause everything to freeze and memory pressure to go into Red. It has been struggling more than my 5 year 32GB 5th gen iPad.

With only 12 tabs and Apple Music, Memory Pressure is constantly showing yellow. Granted Music by itself says it is using 2.5 GB, Amazon tab 2GB, Google Docs tab 2.5GB, LinkedIn 1.5, Grammarly 1.8, etc. Those definitely seem a bit excessive. Also, something draining the battery, but I am wondering if that is because of the heavy memory pressure in yellow and red?

I ran a hardware test, says no issue. I have three more weeks to return to Costco. I wish they carried the 16GB models. I like the discount and extra warranty from Costco.

With that extra detail, yeah you got a lot going on Seems like you're about 2-3 apps/tabs over what probably provides a good experience with 8GB.

 

[getmac]

With that extra detail, yeah you got a lot going on Seems like you're about 2-3 apps/tabs over what probably provides a good experience with 8GB.

That's a lot? This is the lightest workload I have had on a computer in a dozen years. What is everybody else doing on their computers when people say average or light load? I have three apps open: Safari, Music, and Activity Monitor. And at the moment 8 tabs in Safari: Amazon, Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn, MacRumors (2 tabs), and Apple Store.

When at work (2017 15in Macbook Pro 16GB) I'll typically have music, mail, slack, ARD, 2-3 Adobe programs, Safari (12-24 tabs), Chrome (12+ tabs), Google Drive, Google Docs, and some other misc. stuff with no issues.

I am going to try to reset the Pram and see if that will fix it. I am thinking it has to be hardware issue. I have watched the YouTube videos with people opening several programs, multiple tabs, exporting a video, etc. on 8GB. Any other tricks to try besides reset Pram? Maybe SMC?

 

[Dealmans]

if your 14" macbook is slow, you should look into why...

more ram isn't always a 'fix', just as less ram isn't always an issue. what you do, the apps you use... so many other things can affect performance.

read again

 

[BeatCrazy]

That's a lot? This is the lightest workload I have had on a computer in a dozen years. What is everybody else doing on their computers when people say average or light load? I have three apps open: Safari, Music, and Activity Monitor. And at the moment 8 tabs in Safari: Amazon, Gmail, Google Docs, LinkedIn, MacRumors (2 tabs), and Apple Store.

When at work (2017 15in Macbook Pro 16GB) I'll typically have music, mail, slack, ARD, 2-3 Adobe programs, Safari (12-24 tabs), Chrome (12+ tabs), Google Drive, Google Docs, and some other misc. stuff with no issues.

I am going to try to reset the Pram and see if that will fix it. I am thinking it has to be hardware issue. I have watched the YouTube videos with people opening several programs, multiple tabs, exporting a video, etc. on 8GB. Any other tricks to try besides reset Pram? Maybe SMC?

As mentioned above - it's not the number of tabs/apps, but "what" is going on inside them. LinkedIn, Reddit, and lots of other sites (especially with heavy ads) really suck up RAM.

I doubt it's a hardware issue. Try running your laptop for a few hours with half the things you just described. Does it behave the same?

 

[fisherking]

read again

is 'v' supposed to be 'vs' or 'versus'? thought that was a typo; anyway it was not very clear...

 

[Dealmans]

is 'v' supposed to be 'vs' or 'versus'? thought that was a typo; anyway it was not very clear...

14" is near twice as fast using black magic speed test

 

[fisherking]

14" is near twice as fast using black magic speed test

makes sense 👍

 

[Shirasaki]

Even my 16GB 1TB M1 MacBook Pro beach balls here and there at times with 2+ GB on swap when I start to actually use it. Granted, my tab count is like 20, and I open things like discord, remote control software, music, mail, photos, sometimes photoshop, among other things open. Background application is like 7 constantly running.

With that being said, I’d also suggest you restart, choose not to reopen programs opened before closing, and see how your system RAM goes. If your startup Ram is in yellow, consider removing programs that uses up a lot unless it is mission critical.

 

[bradl]

I think your particular use is taxing the hardware you have. You can't just say that you have "tabs" open in Safari. A lot depends on what it in those tabs. I think you mentioned some taxing stuff–Amazon, Google Docs, LinkedIn, Adobe, Slack. All of those businesses are known surveillance companies that run lots of trackers. If you ran a content blocker in Safari it might help.

I'd have to agree with this. See below for why.

Would never buy another Apple Mac with 8gb, have a 24" iMac it's ok but v my 14" 16/1TB it's slow.

Makes me wonder what your first Mac was. After being away from Apple for 15 years, I picked up the mid-2011 13" MBA, 1.7Ghz Sandy Bridge, 512GB drive, 4GB memory. That MBA still screams for its age, as I didn't get anything new until 4 months ago, with the 16" MBP M1 Pro 10/16/16, 2TB. But on that MBA, I had Chrome running with a good 30 tabs open, ad blockers included, no Youtube or anything memory sucking, MS Office (2007), two password managers, and cloud drive access to my NAS, and it still screamed. It even booted faster than my Core I5-3570K windows desktop, which is saying something for it being nearly 10 years old at that time. I bet if I pulled it out now, it would boot faster than my current Windows desktop, which is Ryzen 5.

My point: It doesn't come down to how much is in the Mac, because Apple has really figured out memory management. It boils down to what you do with it and how that affects memory management. If you bog it down with memory sucking applications (yes, I'm even looking at you, Electron), it's going to perform poorly. But if you use it to its abilities, it will last you. My MBA is 11 years old and still going. If anything, the only thing I might need to replace in it is the battery; but seeing that I have the M1 Pro, I'm perfectly happy with letting it retire and pull it back out when/if I need it in a pinch.

BL.

 

[Dealmans]

Makes me wonder what your first Mac was.

iMacs with 16 and 24gb ram added myself

 

[aevan]

A little over a month ago I needed a computer ASAP. I have had several variations of the 15 in pro going back to when it was a PowerBook. My last several MacBook Pros all have had 16GBs. As a Media Arts teacher doing graphic design, photography, video editing, etc., and also lots of tabs open, the Pro has been vital. Anyhow, my most recent MacBook Pro is 2017 which is always hot, with fans running nonstop, battery on its last legs, etc.

I couldn't find a MacBook Pro at the time and needed a personal computer ASAP, so I bought the base M1 MacBook Air at Costco for $849. I figured with the 90-day return policy it would hold me over until Pros were back in stock. I watched all these YouTube videos and read threads on MR about how efficient the M1 is and 8GB would be plenty for average (non-pro) use. Either my Air is jacked or people are lying. For the past month, all I have used the computer for is to browse the Internet, listen to Apple Music, use Google Docs, and play a really old RPG game Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition.

With around 10 tabs open in Safari and listening to Apple Music, I keep getting spinning beach balls, and everything freezes, music hiccups, stop playing, etc. I have to keep Activity Monitor open to force quit processes. Currently, I have 12 tabs and Apple Music playing. That's it. 175GB HD space free. I am using 7.5GB RAM and 8 GBs of swap. Several times a day music freezes and I have to close some tabs. Sometimes even force restart.

What am I doing wrong? I know it is a base model, but I am not doing anything. If I was under normal workload with two browsers, 2-3 dozen tabs, Adobe open, Music, Slack, etc., I'd get it. But ... browsing the web, typing a document, and listening to Music? I am also only getting like 7-8 hours on the battery. No video editing, no photo editing, no Adobe.

I don't think the problems you're having are related to 8Gb RAM. Having such low battery life and beachballs with the usage you mention is weird, it seems you have some problems with your Mac - or something malicious running in the background.

 

[ian87w]

I would try several things first.
1. Update the system until the latest Monterey, fully patched. I have read that some versions of Big Sur had memory issues. So update the Mac u til there are no more updates.
2. Install an ad blocker for safari.

Do those, and monitor again the RAM on your usage.

I agree that your usage shouldn't be slowing down the machine.

 

[1@@@]

Yeah, are you doing much to defend against the hordes of trackers and intrusive ads that every website is trying to run on your Mac? Because I have the exact same computer you do, OP, and I can have 40 tabs open before my memory pressure starts getting interesting.

Between 1blocker and StopTheMadness, though, I'm only running what I intend to run on my computer, not what google wants me to run.

 

[evertjr]

Im doing web development on my M1 Air 8gb and its works fantastically well. I usually have 2-3 react/node applications running, 3-4 VSCode windows, MS Teams, mysql server, insomnia, Safari, lots of tabs in Chrome and other small apps. My swap usage is constantly around 4gb but I rarely get a frame drop. The secret is having a very aggressive memory saving setting in the browser... MS Edge and Opera GX have built in tab discarding feature and I set it to be very aggressive, if I stay out of a tab for a few minutes it will get "unloaded", like on smartphones. You can get the same behavior on Google Chrome using the Marvelous Suspender extension. Chromium browsers allocate lots of ram for helper and gpu processes and I believe the GPU process can't be put on swap, so the more tabs you have open less ram you leave for everything else.

I think 32gb ram is the minimum to let web browsers allocate memory freely while doing any sort of "pro" work. 8gb is all I could afford at the time but for my next Mac I'll definitely prioritize ram.

 

[Krypton Deer]

With around 10 tabs open in Safari and listening to Apple Music, I keep getting spinning beach balls, and everything freezes, music hiccups, stop playing, etc. I have to keep Activity Monitor open to force quit processes. Currently, I have 12 tabs and Apple Music playing. That's it. 175GB HD space free. I am using 7.5GB RAM and 8 GBs of swap. Several times a day music freezes and I have to close some tabs. Sometimes even force restart.

Activity Monitor shows you individual tab ram usage and you should reboot/update/restore your system. There may be memory leak. I'm using a 2017 MBP (8/256) for personal use and it barely swaps with below opened:
1. 11 tabs (5 Safari/ 6 Edge)
2. Mail
3. Notes
4. Apple Music (playing music)
5. Messages
6. Numbers (3 files opened)

When at work (2017 15in Macbook Pro 16GB) I'll typically have music, mail, slack, ARD, 2-3 Adobe programs, Safari (12-24 tabs), Chrome (12+ tabs), Google Drive, Google Docs, and some other misc. stuff with no issues.

Yes this sounds like 16-32GB ram, but your light workflow above should be fine on base model.

 

[ArkSingularity]

8GB of swap usage for light web browsing loads is definitely very unusual. I'm running about 20 tabs, multiple IDE windows, NodeJS in the background, Slack, among other things, and I'm under 7GB of usage with about 20MB of swap (compressed memory wasn't so lucky, about 3GB compressed). But my system remains very responsible and fast as always.

Others have alluded to this already, but it definitely sounds like there is a memory leak somewhere. That kind of memory usage for your workload is very abnormal. More recent Mac OS versions are notorious for this unfortunately, but each update seems to be making the situation at least a little better.

 

[getmac]

Thanks, everybody. It was seeming unusual after all the praise of the M1 and efficiency. I was getting frustrated because I hadn't had a Mac run this poorly with minimal load in a decade. I knew a base M1 Air was just a placeholder, but I was expecting to run on par with the inefficient 2017 intel Macbook Pro even if it had twice the memory.

I have AdBlockerPlus running. I am not even running Chrome which is always a memory hog on MacBook Pro at work.

On a side note, I thought the 13.6 screen would be too small after having 15in forever, but it hasn't been too bad. Granted I haven't done any Photoshop or video editing, but day-to-day stuff it is good. If I go with a MacBook Pro in the future for a personal machine, I have learned the 14 will be more than fine. Before using the Air I would have automatically assumed to go with the 16.