М1 8Gb vs 16Gb

[NJRonbo]

I think a lot of people have been convinced by marketing that they need more RAM. A lot of the tests have shown that additional RAM didn't make the M1 perform any better doing the same task. Not taking benchmarks here, talking actual usage. In fact, in some cases where memory did show to be a bottleneck, the system wasn't even utilizing all 8 lanes at the time.

There would need to be a test showing the same bottleneck test on both an 8GB and a 16GB configuration of the same machine to show whether that additional 8GBs of RAM really changes anything. The assumption is the RAM is insufficient when running at 8GBs. But since some tests have shown additional RAM to have little to no affect on the performance of the same test on the same hardware sans one having more RAM, it could be said that 8GBs may be all this chip really was designed to utilize optimally.

And, again, this is the big question that nobody is able to answer and certainly, Apple doesn't seem to want to answer.

Rene Richie of iMore told me this morning, "If you need more than 16GB, especially at the file level, you'll still need more."

That was followed up by this response from one of his readers:

"To be fair, reviewers have been saying 8GB now acts almost like 16GB because of unified memory/system on chip. Something to consider!"

So who do you believe?!

 

[pmiles]

And, again, this is the big question that nobody is able to answer and certainly, Apple doesn't seem to want to answer.

Rene Richie of iMore told me this morning, "If you need more than 16GB, especially at the file level, you'll still need more."

That was followed up by this response from one of his readers:

"To be fair, reviewers have been saying 8GB now acts almost like 16GB because of unified memory/system on chip. Something to consider!"

So who do you believe?!

I've watched a few YouTube videos and ran across one done by someone who was compiling projects on the Unity Engine. He was compiling a project that had 3D assets in a 3D world using a 8GB M1 Mac mini. In his test it showed that it was bottlenecking at the RAM, or as he said it, when he see's this happening it means it requires more RAM to compile the project and yet it didn't show all 8 lanes of memory being utilized at the time. The project did compile eventually, no idea if it really took longer than usual or just tasked the system.

Anyway, that would have been a beautiful time to test the same project with a M1 Mac mini with 16GBs... to see if it actually made any difference at all. I've seen videos showcasing games and systems with 16GBs of RAM didn't perform any better than those with 8GBs. Normally throwing more RAM at a problem results in better performance... at least as far as we have been conditioned to believe. In these tests (M1), more RAM doesn't necessarily equate to better performance... at least not the kind of gains we would normally expect to see.

This is why I think benchmark tests are a complete waste of time. They don't really tell the big picture of what is going on. Tests like the YouTuber that I ran across said a hell of a lot more about what these M1s can and cannot do than most of the shilling going on 99% of the other videos.

 

[whiteonline]

So, are you saying, if you absolutely needed 16GB or more on an Intel machine that 8GB won't cut it on an M1?

It all depends on the use case of course.
My point is that there is nothing special with regards to memory (8GB is not storing more data on M1 vs Intel). What is special is the speed of the architecture, which masks inadequate RAM capacity. If you can't tell the system is swapping to disk, then it's a non-issue.

edit: If someone is in dire need of RAM capacity, then of course the machine should be equipped as such. However, I can't imagine someone getting a first-generation product meant to replace the bottom-tier of a product line if the hardware needs are absolutely critical.

 

[yoak]

Check out max techs new video. They compare the mbp with 8 and 16gb ram side by side.
In final cut, there are almost no difference in export time for 4K material. It's not until they export .R3D (Red Raw) 8K to 4K that the 16gb pulls away (by a lot). 2.5 times faster export

Then you can decide for yourself instead of listening to all the people screaming: You Need More RAM ;-)

 

[theanimala]

I have a late 2012 i7 macmini that I upgraded to 16GB of ram. If I am logged in, along with my wife and daughter, the system because crazy unresponsive. Not crazy programs either, just lots of browser windows open. It’s stupid that the computer gets so slow that I have to force a hard reset by holding the power button. Since I’m someone who keeps his PC a long time I’m looking at the 16GB of ram as a safety net.

 

[JayCar]

Check out max techs new video. They compare the mbp with 8 and 16gb ram side by side.
In final cut, there are almost no difference in export time for 4K material. It's not until they export .R3D (Red Raw) 8K to 4K that the 16gb pulls away (by a lot). 2.5 times faster export

Then you can decide for yourself instead of listening to all the people screaming: You Need More RAM ;-)

This was surprising and not at all what I was expecting. For most everyday users, the difference isn't there.

 

[IngerMan]

In Short 8GB M1 = 16GB Intel and 16GB M1 = 32GB Intel

 

[IowaLynn]

Memory that was being used to buffer, cache and reduce latency may not be needed (large L2 cache too) to bring in what is needed, not what an app wants. Àny probably Big Sur. Don't lock or page fix memory. Let the system decide.

My Intel Mini 2020 has 16GB, mainly because my prior system was thrashing with 8GB. Now with more memory, and 5x faster SSD at 2500MB/sec reads it can pull data in faster. The m1 is faster yet. And more cores to do things with, GPUs and the neural engine. However that works.

 

[ronster22]

I don’t think its about what you need now, its more about what will be needed in the future.

In recent times, we were able to upgrade RAM on the fly. Now if you choose 8 or 16GB, you are “stuck”.

While currently the programs that would suck up 32GB of RAM are running fine on 8GB, what happens in the future?

Hasn’t the RAM increased in iPhones / iPads over time? I doubt Apple will release a pro-Sumer option with limited RAM.

 

[mlykke]

In Short 8GB M1 = 16GB Intel and 16GB M1 = 32GB Intel

No - 8 GB M1 = 8 GB Intel. The architecture of the M1 might cause you to feel swapping less than on the Intel, but your apps and data still has the same basic requirements. And even though you might not feel it, swapping should still be avoided. It puts unnecessary load on the SSD and will ALWAYS be slower than a workload that can be kept entirely in ram. With the shared nature of ram you only have around 6-6.5 GB usable ram on the 8 GB version, which is not a lot.

So if you are a casual user with some browsing, watching Youtube, office work and casual photo editing, then 8 GB is fine. But if you want to have multiple apps running at a time, loads of tab open in your browser or if you do more heavy image and video editing, 16 GB is a must have.

 

[opeter]

Why didn't they simply offer 16gb ram with an option for 32gb ram.
They could have made it 799 for the 699 model and a 256gb ssd

With option for 32gb at 999 and 256gb ssd.

Because they will do this with the next or third generation of these AS Macs. Why do everything at once, when you can give just a little, piece by piece? Like a piece of (rotten) meat, that attracts flies...

 

[opeter]

No - 8 GB M1 = 8 GB Intel. The architecture of the M1 might cause you to feel swapping less than on the Intel, but your apps and data still has the same basic requirements. And even though you might not feel it, swapping should still be avoided. It puts unnecessary load on the SSD and will ALWAYS be slower than a workload that can be kept entirely in ram. With the shared nature of ram you only have around 6-6.5 GB usable ram on the 8 GB version, which is not a lot.

So if you are a casual user with some browsing, watching Youtube, office work and casual photo editing, then 8 GB is fine. But if you want to have multiple apps running at a time, loads of tab open in your browser or if you do more heavy image and video editing, 16 GB is a must have.

Not to mention the life span of the soldered SSD drive. Every SSD has a write limit.

 

[chabig]

Every SSD has a write limit.

That will never be reached over the product's lifespan.

 

[IngerMan]

So if you are a casual user with some browsing, watching Youtube, office work and casual photo editing, then 8 GB is fine. But if you want to have multiple apps running at a time, loads of tab open in your browser or if you do more heavy image and video editing, 16 GB is a must have.

Opps I meant for this in the MBA thread, ?‍♂️

Yes, that is a very easy statement to understand.

 

[hagjohn]

Just ordered the 16GB / 256GB version with an insanely fast external SSD for thunderbolt

Just don't forget there are only 2 Thunderbolt ports on the new Mini's.

 

[OSX15]

Just don't forget there are only 2 Thunderbolt ports on the new Mini's.

Yes I am ware, I will probably buy a nice and fast TB3 dock or some other piece of TB3 extender hardware for my mini anyway.

 

[The_Interloper]

Very interesting post here from a real-world Mac Pro user in another thread. Found this bit particularly relevant to this thread:

“8 or 16GB RAM is not enough. Please do not fall in for the hype. If you are an average user you’ll be good. If your machine earns you money it’ll be frustrating as hell to work on these new M1’s”

 

[IngerMan]

Very interesting post here from a real-world Mac Pro user in another thread. Found this bit particularly relevant to this thread:

“8 or 16GB RAM is not enough. Please do not fall in for the hype. If you are an average user you’ll be good. If your machine earns you money it’ll be frustrating as hell to work on these new M1’s”

I agree, "if your machine earns you money" Why would you buy the entry level machines.

It's obvious that these first M1's are just entry level product. They are replacing prior entry level intel. It will be interesting to see what the next phase is for profesional users.

 

[Ursadorable]

I think a lot of people have been convinced by marketing that they need more RAM.

RAM requirements vary alot between users. If you only consume content, then yes, 8GB very well may be enough. If you're a content creator, 16GB is a bare minimum. Editing video, or large graphic files most certainly will be faster and make better use of RAM.

 

[pldelisle]

See a video here showing there’s virtually no difference between 8GB and 16GB for many benchmarks.

EDIT: oops. Already mentioned, sorry.

 

[The_Interloper]

I agree, "if your machine earns you money" Why would you buy the entry level machines.

Because reviewers everywhere are making out the entry level M1 is beating out everything else, even up to i9 level.

I’d also argue that not everyone who needs a computer to earn a living has a huge budget. Many freelancers don’t earn a fortune. A friend of mine is a graphic designer who replaced an ancient PowerMac with the mid-range 2014 Mac Mini. That cost her about £600 at the time and has served her well for the last six years. She would certainly be in the market for the £699 M1 model - I would even argue the 16Gb version at £899 may be a stretch as she would also have to update most of her software (she still uses a fully paid-for but 32-bit Adobe CS6 suite).

 

[The_Interloper]

 

[IngerMan]

If I was in the market to replace my 2018 MM i7 512SSD with 32GB ram I would definitely purchase the max 16GB for Mac Mini M1. I try to keep my desktops 5 + years. This 2018 MM is my 3rd Apple desktop since 2007.

I feel quite the opposite for a MBA or MBP M1, I would go 8GB of ram for those machines from what I have seen in reviews and tests. I really only expect 3+ years for laptops or iPads.

 

[pldelisle]

I really only expect 3+ years for laptops or iPads

You're wrong ?

Still rocking a Late-2013 MacBook Pro 15 maxed out as daily driver. Rock solid, even on Big Sur. It will soon be 7 years old.

 

[IngerMan]

You're wrong ?

Still rocking a Late-2013 MacBook Pro 15 maxed out as daily driver. Rock solid, even on Big Sur. He will soon be 7 years old.

How am I wrong? I said "I" only expect 3+ years. I could keep a car 7 years, but I don't . I could keep a laptop top 7 years, but I don't . It's my preference and I never owned a laptop or a iPad more than 4 years tops. They just seem dated at that point and there is enough upgrades for me to change.