So my anecdotal data point is that I don't see this problem at all. But I was careful in sizing and in how I run programs to minimize or eliminate SWAP. This is my standard practice on all of my systems. If this mini did do excessive swapping, then I'd move programs to my Windows desktop or just add another Mac to the desktop and run some programs on that system. I have done this in the past with much slower systems but the mini seems like it can run all of my office stuff just fine. I do look forward to a 32 GB M1X mini when we can then put this matter to rest.
I remember all the troubleshooting across the forums over the years with the 15" MBP's overheating/throttling & noise. Similar people needed to disclose detailed HW, SW and usage or offering advice was difficult in the extreme without such information.
The excessive writes to some members SSD's is more complex again as it's unlikely to be related to the design of the hardware. The issue is clearly related to software and the usage of the systems hence the wide variance of data being written to the SSD. I've looked at my M1 MBP's usage via Activity Monitor & Terminal, as far as I can ascertain data written to the SSD is nominal; no spikes or excessive writes just what I would expect from a base 13" MBP with 8GB RAM.
I could compare directly with another older 8GB Intel Mac that is also on 11.4, TBH it seems a waste of time as any variance is likely to be irrelevant given neither are shredding the SSD. I use my systems profeshially as a rule, although the pandemic is doing it's level best to shutter work. I only install what I know works without issue, I avoid problematic SW frequently opting for Open Source if possible. In the case of M1 simply had to go back to the drawing board and research what may or may not present issue, an ongoing exercise...
Overall I find the M1 MBP to be very capable, as said it's not going to replace the 17" W10 notebooks, potentially nor will the upcoming Apple Silicon 16" MBP. After looking into the capabilities of the M1 MBP I reset the computer and set it up as I would any other 13" ultraportable with no complaints in operation. I don't care for the lack of ports and variation, Touchbar brings both positives & negatives. Overall it's the experience, very fluid with the M1 just getting on with the task at hand with impressive computational performance in a 13" format. If I don't need or use SW I don't install it and if only Intel, I'll wait or replace unless is a critical application.
Memory management in both macOS & Windows has significantly matured, yet even this W10 notebook with 32GB pages data (Swap) to the SSD as that's how the applications are written, same occurs in macOS likely more with Intel binaries.
All this reminds of a conversation with a far wiser man; he would only purchase a new Mac at the end of Apple's design cycle, he would generally run OSX a generation or two behind the latest release. When I said but your missing out, he simply said "I get a new Mac with tried & proven hardware and a solid OS evetime and leave the Beta testing to the rest" difficult to argue with that
🙂
Potentially a point in fact, I bought very late in the cycle one of the ill fated Mid 2011 15" MBP's with the auto destruct Radeon dGPU. It's been used as; a portable workstation, passed around the family, a gaming platform, abandoned in a box for 2 years, never clean installed. Cleaned up the OS. Starting to think it may outlive me LOL...
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