Rookie Needs Help M1 w/ only 16mb memory?

[AskingTheExperts]

Hi All,
Apologies in advance if this has been discussed. I would assume it's an often asked question, but search wasn't helpful here, so I figured I'd ask for advice from the experts here. Thanks in advance for any help!

I am currently using MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) 2.9 GHz Core i5 w/ 8 GB DDR3 connected to a 27" (2560x1440) Apple Thunderbolt Display. The machine still works fine but is getting rather slow now that I am using Lightroom Classic nearly daily. I am also planning to start doing some light video stuff on Final Cut. So, I set out to buy a new machine and after some research I see that the M1 is all the rage. I don't need a laptop so I was considering the Mac Mini, but I'm told by those at Apple that my current monitor isn't compatible. Seems odd, but ok. Next up would be the 24" iMac (not thrilled about going down in screen size) but what I really don't understand is why it only comes in a max of 16MB RAM. Is this RAM in the new machines just that much more efficient that the old intel machines? Is Apple saying that 16MB of "unified memory" is just as good / fast as 128 GB of DDR4 Memory?

I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the "top of the line" 24" iMac which has to be an improvement over what I have right? I'm just dumbfounded about the RAM being limited to 16mb. Maybe this isn't a big deal? I'm also not sure I believe the sales consultant that told me my current monitor won't work with the mac mini - shouldn't there be a way to connect the two, or is it time to put the old monitor out to pasture?

Thanks in advance for any help that could be offered to this rookie who is truly lost!

 

[jaybar]

Hi All,
Apologies in advance if this has been discussed. I would assume it's an often asked question, but search wasn't helpful here, so I figured I'd ask for advice from the experts here. Thanks in advance for any help!

I am currently using MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) 2.9 GHz Core i5 w/ 8 GB DDR3 connected to a 27" (2560x1440) Apple Thunderbolt Display. The machine still works fine but is getting rather slow now that I am using Lightroom Classic nearly daily. I am also planning to start doing some light video stuff on Final Cut. So, I set out to buy a new machine and after some research I see that the M1 is all the rage. I don't need a laptop so I was considering the Mac Mini, but I'm told by those at Apple that my current monitor isn't compatible. Seems odd, but ok. Next up would be the 24" iMac (not thrilled about going down in screen size) but what I really don't understand is why it only comes in a max of 16MB RAM. Is this RAM in the new machines just that much more efficient that the old intel machines? Is Apple saying that 16MB of "unified memory" is just as good / fast as 128 GB of DDR4 Memory?

I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the "top of the line" 24" iMac which has to be an improvement over what I have right? I'm just dumbfounded about the RAM being limited to 16mb. Maybe this isn't a big deal? I'm also not sure I believe the sales consultant that told me my current monitor won't work with the mac mini - shouldn't there be a way to connect the two, or is it time to put the old monitor out to pasture?

Thanks in advance for any help that could be offered to this rookie who is truly lost!

The use of memory of an iMac with the M1 chip is completely different then an Intel iMac. Most people with average use cases, will not need more than 8GB of RAM. Assuming your use case does not change, the argument of future proofing for standard use, in my opinion is illusionary. You will be fine with 8GB and 16GB will just be an extra plus.

BTW, if you searched the desktop section of Macrumors, the issue of M1 and memory has been beaten to death.

People need to look at the M1 SOC differently then they do Intel based Macs.

 

[coso]

16GB will be plenty. But you might want to wait October for the supposedly new faster M chip able to supposedly drive more than 16GB of ram

 

[AskingTheExperts]

16GB will be plenty. But you might want to wait October for the supposedly new faster M chip able to supposedly drive more than 16GB of ram

Thanks! Given that if I ordered a new machine now I wouldn't have it till early August anyway, it certainly makes sense to hold off until October and see if something "bigger and better" comes around.

BTW, if you searched the desktop section of Macrumors, the issue of M1 and memory has been beaten to death.

People need to look at the M1 SOC differently then they do Intel based Macs.

Thanks for the replay, I appreciate it. Like I mentioned, I did do a search and didn't find much which was surprising. I assumed it would definitely be a topic that had been beaten to death. Apologies if I didn't use the search properly.

 

[ManitobaSky]

Why not just use a TB3 to TB2 adapter and use your Thunderbolt Display with a Mac Mini?

 

[bsamcash]

Why not just use a TB3 to TB2 adapter and use your Thunderbolt Display with a Mac Mini?

This. I’m not sure why they told you it wasn’t compatible. It is, you just need an adapter.

 

[Realityck]

Next up would be the 24" iMac (not thrilled about going down in screen size) but what I really don't understand is why it only comes in a max of 16MB RAM. Is this RAM in the new machines just that much more efficient that the old intel machines? Is Apple saying that 16MB of "unified memory" is just as good / fast as 128 GB of DDR4 Memory?

I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the "top of the line" 24" iMac which has to be an improvement over what I have right? I'm just dumbfounded about the RAM being limited to 16mb. Maybe this isn't a big deal? I'm also not sure I believe the sales consultant that told me my current monitor won't work with the mac mini - shouldn't there be a way to connect the two, or is it time to put the old monitor out to pasture?

Thanks in advance for any help that could be offered to this rookie who is truly lost!

I bought a 8/8/16Gb/1TB M1 24" iMac from the Apple store when I saw recently they got more in. (Blue or Silver). This is in addition to the usual 3 SKU's. If you configure the $1699 SKU, with those options, the pickup from local Apple stores will allow you to check store inventory for the ones closest to you.

As far as memory, the unified 4266 MT/s LPDDR4X SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) along with the SSD R/W speeds make for a very fast computer. It used to be your SSD was way slower, like SATA 3 (520 Mb/s), the internal SSD R/W speed is great see below.

I suggest you look at Den of Geek's article

How “Unified Memory” Speeds Up Apple’s M1 ARM Macs​

See also The Register article

How Apple's M1 uses high-bandwidth memory to run like the clappers​

 

[Ledgem]

I take issue with the commentary that M1 is some radical departure from standard computing. It's still using RAM, and it still has a swap file. Everything is faster and the unified architecture is arguably more efficient, but at the end of the day if you're doing something that requires more than 16 GB of RAM then you need more than 16 GB of RAM. Some singular tasks might get you there, and you can easily get there with heavy multitasking. That the swap file is running from a SSD and is thus much faster than it used to be in the olden days means nothing if you're already running your SSD hard and/or have limited free space on your SSD (which is a bad idea in general, but still happens). There's going to be a performance hit, and it's more wear and tear on your SSD. The significance of that really depends on what you do day in and day out. For most people, sure, it probably won't matter much. For the enthusiasts here? I won't write anyone off without hearing more.

I have 32 GB of RAM in my current Intel-based Mac, which has its own discrete graphics chip that has its own VRAM (which the M1 Macs do not - the RAM is shared with the GPU; my 4 GB of VRAM is often near- or fully maxed out, and while the M1's GPU is probably more efficient, that's still likely a few gigabytes taken away from your total). Thanks to macOS enhancements made a few generations ago, the majority of the RAM is always in use. I still occasionally hit the swap file, but it's rare. It has been a long, long time since I had to think about whether I needed to quit one program before running another, and I don't spend a fair amount of money on my computers to be forced into micromanaging them. For the average person checking email, reading web articles, and watching videos on YouTube, 8 GB is plenty. For me and those like me, running media projects, virtualizing, and arguably having more browser tabs open than we should, even the 16 GB option makes me nervous. The M1 is still a computer, and the unified memory architecture is not some never-before tried concept.

 

[AskingTheExperts]

I bought a 8/8/16Gb/1TB M1 24" iMac from the Apple store when I saw recently they got more in. (Blue or Silver). This is in addition to the usual 3 SKU's. If you configure the $1699 SKU, with those options, the pickup from local Apple stores will allow you to check store inventory for the ones closest to you.

As far as memory, the unified 4266 MT/s LPDDR4X SDRAM (synchronous DRAM) along with the SSD R/W speeds make for a very fast computer. It used to be your SSD was way slower, like SATA 3 (520 Mb/s), the internal SSD R/W speed is great see below.

View attachment 1798574

I suggest you look at Den of Geek's article

How “Unified Memory” Speeds Up Apple’s M1 ARM Macs​

See also The Register article

How Apple's M1 uses high-bandwidth memory to run like the clappers​

Thank you, I will absolutely read this article and hope for a better understand. Appreciate the effort and links!

I take issue with the commentary that M1 is some radical departure from standard computing. It's still using RAM, and it still has a swap file. Everything is faster and the unified architecture is arguably more efficient, but at the end of the day if you're doing something that requires more than 16 GB of RAM then you need more than 16 GB of RAM. Some singular tasks might get you there, and you can easily get there with heavy multitasking. That the swap file is running from a SSD and is thus much faster than it used to be in the olden days means nothing if you're already running your SSD hard and/or have limited free space on your SSD (which is a bad idea in general, but still happens). There's going to be a performance hit, and it's more wear and tear on your SSD. The significance of that really depends on what you do day in and day out. For most people, sure, it probably won't matter much. For the enthusiasts here? I won't write anyone off without hearing more.

I have 32 GB of RAM in my current Intel-based Mac, which has its own discrete graphics chip that has its own VRAM (which the M1 Macs do not - the RAM is shared with the GPU; my 4 GB of VRAM is often near- or fully maxed out, and while the M1's GPU is probably more efficient, that's still likely a few gigabytes taken away from your total). Thanks to macOS enhancements made a few generations ago, the majority of the RAM is always in use. I still occasionally hit the swap file, but it's rare. It has been a long, long time since I had to think about whether I needed to quit one program before running another, and I don't spend a fair amount of money on my computers to be forced into micromanaging them. For the average person checking email, reading web articles, and watching videos on YouTube, 8 GB is plenty. For me and those like me, running media projects, virtualizing, and arguably having more browser tabs open than we should, even the 16 GB option makes me nervous. The M1 is still a computer, and the unified memory architecture is not some never-before tried concept.

I'm sure your response is helpful to some, and I appreciate you took the time - but I was pretty clear that I was a rookie. I read this, and I may as well try to decipher cave drawings.

This. I’m not sure why they told you it wasn’t compatible. It is, you just need an adapter.

Thank you! I assume there must be some sort of adapter or something. When I was told it was simply not compatible, I was shocked. I appreciate your assistance, despite my obvious ignorance to most of this stuff. It's helpful.

 

[jdb8167]

Thank you! I assume there must be some sort of adapter or something. When I was told it was simply not compatible, I was shocked. I appreciate your assistance, despite my obvious ignorance to most of this stuff. It's helpful.

You need this: Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2

 

[nambuccaheadsau]

Actually ATE it is 16GB, not 16MB.

 

[Fishrrman]

"I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the "top of the line" 24" iMac which has to be an improvement over what I have right? I'm just dumbfounded about the RAM being limited to 16mb."

16gb seems to be "the limit" that the current 1st-generation m1 CPU can support.

If you "want more RAM", then WAIT for the upcoming Macs with the 2nd-generation m-series CPU. I reckon the "RAM ceiling" on these will get raised to 32gb at least.

 

[AskingTheExperts]

You need this: Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2

This would be perfect but seems to solve only half of my issue. For whatever reason, the cord coming from my monitor splits into two cables. One plugs into the thunderbolt on my laptop and one that goes to the power port on my laptop. (The monitor also has a separate power cable) If I unplug the cable going to the power port on the laptop (even with the thunderbolt cable plugged it, and the power cable for the monitor plugged in) the monitor doesn't work. So, would I be able to plug that power cable into the imac mini?

UPDATE: So it seems this is an issue with my laptop. It needs to be plugged in to AC power in order for the display to show up on the monitor, but it doesn't necessarily have to use the power from the cable coming from the monitor. I can plug it into power source independently and the monitor works with only the thunderbolt cable being plugged in. I learned this here:

https://www.macworld.com/article/23...display-to-a-new-mac-to-give-it-new-life.html

"I'm thinking of just biting the bullet and getting the "top of the line" 24" iMac which has to be an improvement over what I have right? I'm just dumbfounded about the RAM being limited to 16mb."

16gb seems to be "the limit" that the current 1st-generation m1 CPU can support.

If you "want more RAM", then WAIT for the upcoming Macs with the 2nd-generation m-series CPU. I reckon the "RAM ceiling" on these will get raised to 32gb at least.

This makes sense, and as one user offered it seems that might be available in October. As I've said I am pretty clueless on this stuff but it seems offering such an improvement less than a year after launching the new i mac would piss off alot of early buyers? But, maybe that's how Apple rolls?

 

[jdb8167]

This would be perfect but seems to solve only half of my issue. For whatever reason, the cord coming from my monitor splits into two cables. One plugs into the thunderbolt on my laptop and one that goes to the power port on my laptop. (The monitor also has a separate power cable) If I unplug the cable going to the power port on the laptop (even with the thunderbolt cable plugged it, and the power cable for the monitor plugged in) the monitor doesn't work. So, would I be able to plug that power cable into the imac mini?

UPDATE: So it seems this is an issue with my laptop. It needs to be plugged in to AC power in order for the display to show up on the monitor, but it doesn't necessarily have to use the power from the cable coming from the monitor. I can plug it into power source independently and the monitor works with only the thunderbolt cable being plugged in. I learned this here:

https://www.macworld.com/article/23...display-to-a-new-mac-to-give-it-new-life.html

Yeah, you can't use MagSafe with any recent MacBook. I'm not quite sure what you are asking about the Mac mini. It has its own power cord. The same for any new 24" M1 iMac. If you are using the TB3<->2 adapter, the MagSafe cord can just be ignored. Thunderbolt 2 doesn't supply power over the cable like TB3 does. If your laptop is closed, then it needs to be powered to use clamshell mode or it will just go to sleep.

 

[AskingTheExperts]

Yeah, you can't use MagSafe with any recent MacBook. I'm not quite sure what you are asking about the Mac mini. It has its own power cord. The same for any new 24" M1 iMac. If you are using the TB3<->2 adapter, the MagSafe cord can just be ignored. Thunderbolt 2 doesn't supply power over the cable like TB3 does. If your laptop is closed, then it needs to be powered to use clamshell mode or it will just go to sleep.

Thank you for explaining that, I wasn't aware the laptop would go to sleep when closed if not plugged into power. It makes perfect sense, I feel like an idiot now! lol Yesterday I was 98% sure I was just going to get the mac mini with 16mb RAM and use my current monitor, now I'm hearing the M1 chip is struggling with Lightroom because that program was optimized for the Intel chip. It’s always something!

 

[coso]

I'm hearing the M1 chip is struggling with Lightroom because that program was optimized for the Intel chip. It’s always something!

Well, if this is true it's still only temporary, I definitely won't get an intel machine nowadays, and I'm a designer/photographer. The new Adobe suite on M1 flies

 

[AskingTheExperts]

Well, if this is true it's still only temporary, I definitely won't get an intel machine nowadays, and I'm a designer/photographer. The new Adobe suite on M1 flies

I understand that Adobe has created a native version of some of their products for the M1, but the few YouTube vids I've seen don't really indicate the speed for import or export is all that faster than before. I think I'm best suited to sit and wait.

 

[portland-dude]

16GB will be plenty. But you might want to wait October for the supposedly new faster M chip able to supposedly drive more than 16GB of ram

Nah nah, wait until 4 years from now when "super duper insert name here Mac" is available. I don't get why people do this. They need a Mac. Go buy a Mac. Don't wait. Sheesh.

 

[MacPeasant123]

According to Max Tech, most people won't need 16GB ram on an M1 Mac:

8GB vs 16GB M1 MacBook Pro - How much RAM do you NEED?!

Apple M1 Macs 8GB vs 16GB RAM - Multitasking STRESS Test

 

[coso]

Nah nah, wait until 4 years from now when "super duper insert name here Mac" is available. I don't get why people do this. They need a Mac. Go buy a Mac. Don't wait. Sheesh.

It depends how much you need one. Did your old Mac die? Buy now. You just want something new? You can as well wait a couple months

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Thank you for explaining that, I wasn't aware the laptop would go to sleep when closed if not plugged into power. It makes perfect sense, I feel like an idiot now! lol Yesterday I was 98% sure I was just going to get the mac mini with 16mb RAM and use my current monitor, now I'm hearing the M1 chip is struggling with Lightroom because that program was optimized for the Intel chip. It’s always something!

Lightroom for the M1 was released on June 8.

 

[AskingTheExperts]

Lightroom for the M1 was released on June 8.

Thanks! I saw that yesterday and watched a couple of videos and it seems even the native version isn't operating much (if any) faster than the previous version. That said, there is little information available right now so maybe that changes in a few weeks as more reviews come in. Fingers crossed for sure.

It depends how much you need one. Did your old Mac die? Buy now. You just want something new? You can as well wait a couple months

Sounds advice. I think for now I am in the camp that my current machine still operates (slow for sure, but not dead) so I'm likely to hold off and see if October brings more RAM, etc. I tend to be impulsive so if there was a 16MB imac or mini available "today" I might just buy it, but given I have to wait for either of them anyway, I may as well just give it a few months. Thanks so much for your feedback!

 

[PBG4 Dude]

Thanks! I saw that yesterday and watched a couple of videos and it seems even the native version isn't operating much (if any) faster than the previous version. That said, there is little information available right now so maybe that changes in a few weeks as more reviews come in. Fingers crossed for sure.

I think what people are missing is the fact the Apple SoC is doing in 15-25W what intel CPU does in 120-160W. Performance per watt is incredible with the M1.

 

[4sallypat]

The use of memory of an iMac with the M1 chip is completely different then an Intel iMac. Most people with average use cases, will not need more than 8GB of RAM. Assuming your use case does not change, the argument of future proofing for standard use, in my opinion is illusionary. You will be fine with 8GB and 16GB will just be an extra plus.

BTW, if you searched the desktop section of Macrumors, the issue of M1 and memory has been beaten to death.

People need to look at the M1 SOC differently then they do Intel based Macs.

100% correct!

M1 Unified Memory is VERY different than your Intel DDR RAM.

I use a 2015 15" MBP with 16GB of DDR RAM and it is a slug compared to my M1 Mini and iMac w/ 8GB Unified Memory.

The M1 SOC runs all my apps and multiple tab browsers so quick without the Intel's hot chassis, awful battery life, thermal throttling, and fans spinning up...

My base (8GB) M1 Mini and iMac runs circles around the Intel Macs and stays cold and no fan spin ups!

 

[familychoice]

Sounds advice. I think for now I am in the camp that my current machine still operates (slow for sure, but not dead) so I'm likely to hold off and see if October brings more RAM, etc. I tend to be impulsive so if there was a 16MB imac or mini available "today" I might just buy it, but given I have to wait for either of them anyway, I may as well just give it a few months. Thanks so much for your feedback!

I bought an M1 Mini 16/512 a few weeks back, paired with a new 27” LG monitor. Best setup I’ve had in 30 years of doing design work on a computer - absolutely love it. Assuming the hardware holds up, I can’t see any reason why I’d need to upgrade for at least 5 years - absolutely flies.