So.... no new hardware?

[deeddawg]

Thanks for checking - I can push the Affinity apps well above 8gb on my 16” MBP, maybe the M1 is doing something different.

.. and maybe it'd be okay on an 8GB M1 with your workflow too.

Tough to tell from afar the details of what stuff folks are running on their systems when they encounter slowdowns.

Someone might say that Affinity Photo is the "only app they have open" but neglect to mention they always have Spotify running plus thirty-five Chrome browser tabs, MS Outlook, and half a dozen other other things in the background at all times. Or their "just one photo" might have twenty layers and be a composite sourced from six different images.

Point being - it might work for you. Or it might not.

The Affinity staff poster recommended 16gb, which is why I thought I’d need it: https://forum.affinity.serif.com/in...oor-performance-on-macos-and-apple-m1/page/2/

I’m tossing up between an 8gb short-term fix, vs 16gb longer term.

Definitely considering a refurb too...

I've bought several refurbs from Apple over the years here in the US. All were perfect, completely indistinguishable from brand new except for the box they came in. If I were in the market for something and it was available in Apple's refurb store, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Haven't read the thread but I'd expect Serif to recommend 16GB if for no reason other than what I wrote above; they can't control what other stuff people have active nor the details of what they're doing.

If the price difference is a significant barrier, then maybe buy from a retailer with generous return policy so you can get the system settled in for a week and then see if it will handle your workload adequately.

 

[deeddawg]

What happens if you open 10 images? 20? If you have a possibility, please try it out, I'd be very curious about the result.

With 20 raw files open in Affinity Photo (Olympus 20MP), the app has 17.24GB memory allocated. Closing ten of them brings it down to 11.84GB, though memory pressure remains yellow. I also have Safari, Mail, and Messages open.

 

[familychoice]

.. and maybe it'd be okay on an 8GB M1 with your workflow too.

Tough to tell from afar the details of what stuff folks are running on their systems when they encounter slowdowns.

Someone might say that Affinity Photo is the "only app they have open" but neglect to mention they always have Spotify running plus thirty-five Chrome browser tabs, MS Outlook, and half a dozen other other things in the background at all times. Or their "just one photo" might have twenty layers and be a composite sourced from six different images.

Point being - it might work for you. Or it might not.



I've bought several refurbs from Apple over the years here in the US Every one has been perfect, completely indistinguishable from brand new except for the box it came in. If I were in the market for something and it was available in Apple's refurb store, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it.

Haven't read the thread but I'd expect Serif to recommend 16GB if for no reason other than what I wrote above; they can't control what other stuff people have active nor the details of what they're doing.

If the price difference is a significant barrier, then maybe buy from a retailer with generous return policy so you can get the system settled in for a week and then see if it will handle your workload adequately.

It’s such a shame Amazon don’t stock 16gb Mini’s - having to buy a 16gb via Apple adds three hundred quid to the price just for the extra 8gb RAM, as we lose the Amazon discount as well.

I think for peace of mind I’ll go for the 16gb, but thanks for the feedback - if refurb have a 16/512 M1 available I might grab one from there.

 

[deeddawg]

It’s such a shame Amazon don’t stock 16gb Mini’s - having to buy a 16gb via Apple adds three hundred quid to the price just for the extra 8gb RAM, as we lose the Amazon discount as well.

I think for peace of mind I’ll go for the 16gb, but thanks for the feedback - if refurb have a 16/512 M1 available I might grab one from there.

Glad I've been a help.

As for refurbs - stock is real-time. So there are sites like refurb.me and refurb-tracker.com to alert you when a desired configuration becomes available. I don't know if those sites track the Apple UK refurb stock though or if there is some other site which does so.

 

[deeddawg]

What happens if you open 10 images? 20? If you have a possibility, please try it out, I'd be very curious about the result.

Decided to try Photoshop 2021 (22.4.1) Opened the same 20 raw files.

Substantially lower memory usage. I'm frankly quite surprised, I'd expected the complete opposite.

 

[familychoice]

Glad I've been a help.

As for refurbs - stock is real-time. So there are sites like refurb.me and refurb-tracker.com to alert you when a desired configuration becomes available. I don't know if those sites track the Apple UK refurb stock though or if there is some other site which does so.

I’m looking to put in an order tomorrow, so will check the refurb store first, but otherwise will buy a new Mini 16/512 via Apple. To be honest £1099 is a lot less painful than the amount I spent on my 16” MBP! That’s a 16/512 spec as well, and seems to be a sweet spot using an external SSD for extra file storage.

 

[deeddawg]

I’m looking to put in an order tomorrow, so will check the refurb store first, but otherwise will buy a new Mini 16/512 via Apple. To be honest £1099 is a lot less painful than the amount I spent on my 16” MBP! That’s a 16/512 spec as well, and seems to be a sweet spot using an external SSD for extra file storage.

Enjoy!

 

[4sallypat]

Are you using any graphic apps on the 8gb Mini?

Happy with my 16” MBP, no intention of getting a new one, but planning on an M1 Mini for desktop use.

Just Adobe PS CC.
No gaming on Macs (I use a custom flight simulator setup on my W10 machine).

This base M1 Mini is amazing - just does not seem to care about RAM that the Intel machines relied on so heavily...

M1's 8GB Unified Memory runs like a 32GB+ Intel Mac and the M1 does it without the fan spinning up, heating up like crazy and throttling....

 

[familychoice]

Just Adobe PS CC.
No gaming on Macs (I use a custom flight simulator setup on my W10 machine).

This base M1 Mini is amazing - just does not seem to care about RAM that the Intel machines relied on so heavily...

M1's 8GB Unified Memory runs like a 32GB+ Intel Mac and the M1 does it without the fan spinning up, heating up like crazy and throttling....

Thanks for the feedback!

I’ve just ordered the 16/512 anyway, it’s £280 more than the 8/512 via Amazon but it’ll give me a bit more legroom if I need it, and I’m more likely to keep it longer.

They do sound like good machines, so looking forward to getting my hands on it, and great to hear it’s working well even with the 8gb.

 

[applesed]

will the current machines support dual monitors natively with software updates or is that limitation--only dual with displaylink--integral to the chip/design/arch?

 

[deeddawg]

will the current machines support dual monitors natively with software updates or is that limitation--only dual with displaylink--integral to the chip/design/arch?

I wouldn't expect the current machine capabilities to change, regardless of whether it is a design limitation in hardware or an artificial limitation in software.

Future Apple Silicon models may well support multiple external monitors - it's not uncommon to differentiate higher/lower tier models with different capabilities.