I had thought the new 24 GB Macs used two 12 GB chips, but I don't know for sure.
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How much RAM are you going to get in your new MacBook Air?
- Thread starter EugW
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It's good to know they don't have to be matched chips - though does that affect performance? It does however appear that they are now using a 6GB LPDDR5 chip for the iPhone, though, so they definitely have access to them:
iPhone 14 Pro Max Chip ID
If you're curious about all the chips in the new iPhone 14 Pro Max, you've come to the right place. These board shots are taken using a US iPhone...
www.ifixit.com
It's good to know they don't have to be matched chips - though does that affect performance? It does however appear that they are now using a 6GB LPDDR5 chip for the iPhone, though, so they definitely have access to them:
iPhone 14 Pro Max Chip ID
If you're curious about all the chips in the new iPhone 14 Pro Max, you've come to the right place. These board shots are taken using a US iPhone...
I am sure the memory is different in iphones and M series devices. Probably custom manufactured so old numbers regarding ram that I quoted are most likely obsolete or just don't apply.
I am sure Apple could put whatever amount of ram they want as long as the chip can use it.
I like the idea of a $100 upgrade to 12gb but I have a strong feeling that Apple will continue the current 8 as base for a while and only offer a $200 upgrade to 16gb.
Who knows, they probably would get a lot more people upgrading the ram to 12gb if it was an option though.
As far as performance I am pretty sure that the cpu basically treats the uneven pairs the same as even pairs and you get essentially the same performance but there might be a very very small difference?
Samsung does make 12 GB DRAM chips in volume. Micron does too. This 12 GB size started with LPDDR4X but has continued on with LPDDR5.
I had just assumed Apple had commissioned large volumes of this stuff for the MacBook Airs, but I could be wrong.
LPDDR5
Micron LPDDR5 DRAM handles the intensive memory needs of AI and 5G in mobile phones, with 50% faster data speeds and 20% more power efficiency than previous LPDDR generations.
www.micron.com
Micron designed LPDDR5 DRAM to address the growing demand for higher memory performance and lower energy consumption across a wide array of markets, including automotive, client PCs and networking systems built for 5G and AI applications.
Key LPDDR5 Performance Features
Maximum DRAM bandwidth of up to 6400 Mbps (50% more compared to LPDDR4x) to enable full 5G support
20% more power efficient compared to LPDDR4x for increased battery life
Supporting max density of 12GB
I've been looking into this further. As you may already know, there are only two DRAM chips on board. Volume production at the time maxed out a 12 GB per DRAM chip for some companies, so it couldn't really be 16+8, because the 16 GB chips weren't widely available in high volume. The biggest was effectively 12, so to get 24 GB RAM it has to be 12+12. 16 GB does exist, but I suspect it's not well-priced as volume production of 16 GB DRAM chips is likely more difficult. In fact, Micron just says it maxes out at 12 GB.
M2 is LPDDR5-6400. M1 was LPDDR4X. While technically 12 GB chips were available for LPDDR4X too, IIRC some were saying that true high volume production for DRAM chips would wait for LPDDR5. That, along with marketing choices, probably is why Apple waited until M2 to introduce the 24 GB option.
The question now is whether or not they bring this to the M2 Pro and M2 Max line, because if they do, the M2 Pros could max out at 48 GB RAM, the Max at 96 GB RAM, and the Ultra at 192 GB RAM. The Mac Pro Ultrax2 would thus be able to hit 384 GB RAM (unless they choose a different memory architecture for the Mac Pro, but I don't think they will). However, even with the availability of 12 GB chips in the M2 MacBook Pro and Mac Studio line, there is no guarantee they'd offer the 24 GB RAM option. They may choose to stick with multiples of 16.
tl;dr:
24 GB RAM in the M2 MacBook Air is very likely 12+12, because there are only two DRAM chips, and it seems the effective maximum for high volume price competitive mobile DRAM manufacturing is 12 GB per chip.
This also suggests the possibility the M2 series MacBook Pros and Mac Studios will get an increase in maximum RAM configurations.
Why can't it be 16+8 gb? I think mac engineers can make it work in dual channel mode. I know Intel has something like this called "flex" mode for RAM.
Err… The reasons are right in the post you quoted.
There is even a tl;dr summary for your convenience.This idea is relevant to the 'buy now or wait?' discussion. There may well be price increase for the base configuration. And if the RAM ceiling increases as well then that's another price increase too. If a prospective buyer would be happy with 32GB/64GB (as opposed to 48GB/96GB) then there's an argument to be made that it's risky--pricewise--to wait for the MBP refresh
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Actually my suggestion would be that the M1 Pro would have 16/32/48 options, and the Max would have 32/64/96 GB options.
There isn’t really any good reason to remove the 32 GB base option for the M2 Max. Similarly, there isn’t really any good reason to remove the 16 GB base option for the M2 Pro. At least not in 2023 anyway.
The M2 MacBooks use two 12 GB chips. There is no such thing as mixing two different size LPDDR5 chips.
The problem with peoples opinions on RAM is apple silicon is still in its early days, pretty much everyone’s opinion on what RAM to get comes from experience on an Intel machine not apple silicon, it’s like advising someone what car to buy when you have only driven one type of car your whole life.
From what we have seen so far these new macs handle swap extremely well to the point it’s barely noticeable unless your really pushing your machine, but if that’s what your going to do your probably far better off going with a 14” MBP…
Let’s be honest with the sales everywhere on of the 14” Base MBP’s at the moment, just upgrading one single component of the M2 Air enters you into MBP pricing now.
From what we have seen so far these new macs handle swap extremely well to the point it’s barely noticeable unless your really pushing your machine, but if that’s what your going to do your probably far better off going with a 14” MBP…
Let’s be honest with the sales everywhere on of the 14” Base MBP’s at the moment, just upgrading one single component of the M2 Air enters you into MBP pricing now.
Reason being?
What wasnt up to task with 8GB of RAM and how exactly you use your laptop?
Memory pressure still not in the red though, must be fine
Haha. Truth be told, despite the insane amount of memory usage, the machine was actually still usable. However, it was definitely slow.
I'm not sure how Apple categorizes memory pressure, but with that experience I'd say I'd prefer never to hit yellow memory pressure.
Same here. I opted for 16GB, 512GB and the additional GPU cores. System is super fast and does not break a sweat in my daily use. Could not be happier!
That’s the rub for sure. ~$1600 right now nets you the entry MBP 14” or a tricked out M2 MBA w/ 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD.
One has the better screen and speakers along with additional ports and a little more screen real estate. The other is lighter, sans fan, and in benchmarks has proven to run standard applications faster.
Personally I’m waiting to see what Apple’s Black Friday holiday promo is going to end up being for the M2 MBA.
Even if they were the same price out where I lived, I still would take the m2 air over the pro any day of the week. Some of us very much value the fan-less design and portability far more. This thing is already overkill for my needs in terms of power and a 500 nit QHD screen is also much better than most other laptops out there.
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Could not agree more. The Air M2 is so much lighter and more compact than the Pro.
I'm not getting an M2 MacBook Air, but I just picked up an M1 Mac mini. I was going to get a 16 or 24 GB M2 Mac mini next year, but a decent deal popped up for the 16 GB M1 so I bought it. I think I should be fine with 16 GB, even though I already have 24 GB on my other machine, a 2017 iMac. My previous Mac mini (which the M1 replaces) is a 2014 with only 8 GB RAM and for business app use it's been fine, but I bought that 2014 just for this specific use with no plan on video editing or whatever. The M1 Mac mini will be used for more than the 2014 was.
Yup, agreed.
BTW, last year I bought a 2015 13" MacBook Pro with 8 GB for my older kid and it's been great all around. Now my other kid wants a computer. Since I just bought an inexpensive used 16 GB M1 Mac mini, I'm passing down my 8 GB 2014 i5 Mac mini to the second kid. However, I've also been keeping an eye on Apple Silicon MacBook Airs in the used market.
It's too early for used M2 MacBook Airs, but there are plenty of M1 models. Interestingly (to me) is that for every 10 M1 MBAs listed, I'd guess only 1 or maybe even less are 16 GB. The vast, vast majority are 8 GB models. Part of it may be people growing out of 8 GB RAM, but I suspect the main reason is because there are just so many out there. 8 GB models are the default configs sold everywhere, so that's what everyone buys. And for the mainstream consumer market, 8 GB usually performs just fine. Now that M2 models are out, with a completely new form factor and design, some people with M1 models are upgrading to those. Personally though, I think upgrading from M1 to M2 is crazy for most people, unless they absolutely must have 24 GB RAM or ProRes acceleration. Otherwise, the performance of M1 is excellent. However, I do wonder how many are going from 8 GB M1 to 16 GB M2.
Meanwhile I've been using my 16 GB M1 Mac mini as my daily work driver, and I've been very pleased. With my moderate business type multi-tasking, it hasn't skipped a beat. Very responsive in Ventura. Although 8 GB on my old Mac mini was usually fine, it was occasionally restrictive if I pushed it hard. In contrast, 16 GB on the new Mac mini has been just great. Activity Monitor confirms that with 16 GB, I've consistently had low compressed memory and low swap. (I almost always get a bit of swap even if the memory usage isn't high. This is true even with my 24 GB iMac. However, with this small amount of swap, it's completely unnoticeable.) I haven't done any multimedia creation type stuff on it yet though but given my multimedia needs are relatively light, I'm sure its 16 GB would do very well with that too.
There are also M2 Airs in Apple's Refurbished section now. Pretty solid discounts there. Got my eye on this guy, myself:
Refurbished 13-inch MacBook Air Apple M2 Chip with 8‑Core CPU and 10‑Core GPU - Midnight - Apple
Originally released July 2022|13.6-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit display with IPS technology1|16GB unified memory|512GB SSD 2|1080p FaceTime HD camera|Two Thunderbolt / USB 4 ports
www.apple.com