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What to upgrade on M2 Air

m0nkeyb0y

m0nkeyb0y

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jun 16, 2009
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So, new laptop for my wife, in academia. She's not tech-oriented, but does complain a lot when beach balled, or things are unresponsive. She's using a 2016 MBA, only 200 or so of 256Gb occupied. Heavy usage of word (big documents), powerpoint, excel, lots of tabs, Spotify, a VPN, and videoconferencing. No video/image/music processing.

If I wanted to maximize snappiness, would I upgrade to 16Gb of RAM, or go up to 512Gb of SSD?
 
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I agree with what others have posted… I would upgrade both ram and storage to at least 16/512. I’m sure that your wife would appreciate having a lightweight laptop that is capable of seeing her through the next 3-5 years or so.
 
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8gb on the silicon chip is a lot more powerful that 8gb on an intel machine. if she's not doing video/music/etc, i would, at least, do 8gb & a 512gb drive. she's already using 4/5ths of her current drive, so storage seems more urgent, and i don't think the added ram will matter as much as storage.

but if you can do it, 16/512...
 
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M2 MBA *should* be better for videoconferencing with its upgraded camera than the M1 MBA.

OTOH, the tapered wedge of the M1 MBA will feel better for many academics who do lots of writing, especially for those who have larger hands. The M2's “problem” is its blunt, squared off, front edge of the M2, which would dig into their palms.
 
Saturn007 said:
M2 MBA *should* be better for videoconferencing with its upgraded camera than the M1 MBA.

OTOH, the tapered wedge of the M1 MBA will feel better for many academics who do lots of writing, especially for those who have larger hands. The M2's “problem” is its blunt, squared off, front edge of the M2, which would dig into their palms.
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you mean like the macbook pros? because lots of people write on macbook pros, and also.... no one has written on the new air yet.

let's see how it goes, for reviewers, forum ppl, etc etc.
 
Another vote for upgrading RAM and SSD space. Many times in Macs have I wished I could pay to upgrade the internals later on. It's always a tempting to have enough to "get by" but software has a way of getting more demanding over time, and files have a way of accumulating (at least for me).

And it's always good to have room to grow if your needs change. I bought a base model M1 Air (8GB RAM / 256 GB SSD) "just for writing and web use" and then found a year later I was using it for graphic design because my work needs had shifted. Now I'm constantly bumping up against the storage limit and pushing it to load big Illustrator files. Actually considering using this as an excuse to get the new M2 Air, but with more RAM and storage this time.
 
beach bum said:
I agree with what others have posted… I would upgrade both ram and storage to at least 16/512. I’m sure that your wife would appreciate having a lightweight laptop that is capable of seeing her through the next 3-5 years or so.
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I would go with this configuration as well.
 
I suggest upping the ram to 16gb with 256GB storage & buying an external ssd.

I saw a Kingston 1TB external ssd the size of a thumb, almost as fast as the internal ssd (I think? Usb c, gen 3.2, 2x2, around 2000MB/s read & write) for less than the price than for additional internal storage from apple
 
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ignatius345 said:
Another vote for upgrading RAM and SSD space. Many times in Macs have I wished I could pay to upgrade the internals later on. It's always a tempting to have enough to "get by" but software has a way of getting more demanding over time, and files have a way of accumulating (at least for me).

And it's always good to have room to grow if your needs change. I bought a base model M1 Air (8GB RAM / 256 GB SSD) "just for writing and web use" and then found a year later I was using it for graphic design because my work needs had shifted. Now I'm constantly bumping up against the storage limit and pushing it to load big Illustrator files. Actually considering using this as an excuse to get the new M2 Air, but with more RAM and storage this time.
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if you are doing that type of work i would think a pro would be better? its just more powerful/robust overall. But yeah i feel your pain!
 
m0nkeyb0y said:
So, new laptop for my wife, in academia. She's not tech-oriented, but does complain a lot when beach balled, or things are unresponsive. She's using a 2016 MBA, only 200 or so of 256Gb occupied. Heavy usage of word (big documents), powerpoint, excel, lots of tabs, Spotify, a VPN, and videoconferencing. No video/image/music processing.

If I wanted to maximize snappiness, would I upgrade to 16Gb of RAM, or go up to 512Gb of SSD?
Click to expand...
If you get anything else beyond the standard MBA, have a look at the 13" MBP. That said, if the MBA is beach balling it means that it is bingo on RAM and is Swapping excessively.

Should you get a MBA or MBP, try getting as much memory as your budget allows.
 
Same dilemma I'm in. I keep trying to convince myself that 8/256 is plenty good for my needs. I'll only keep it 2 years. M2 has bigger cache and RAM is faster.
When I use the M1 8/256 responsibly (close the million tabs unnecessarily running YT videos) it works just fine. My only memory pig application is Thinkorswim and Numbers takes up a lot too.

SO, if she is needing to run all those app at the same time, maybe 16/RAM is in order. I agree with using the external SSD in most cases.
 
m0nkeyb0y said:
So, new laptop for my wife, in academia. She's not tech-oriented, but does complain a lot when beach balled, or things are unresponsive. She's using a 2016 MBA, only 200 or so of 256Gb occupied. Heavy usage of word (big documents), powerpoint, excel, lots of tabs, Spotify, a VPN, and videoconferencing. No video/image/music processing.

If I wanted to maximize snappiness, would I upgrade to 16Gb of RAM, or go up to 512Gb of SSD?
Click to expand...
16Gb+512
My 8Gb intel MBA does fairly well
 
kp98077 said:
if you are doing that type of work i would think a pro would be better? its just more powerful/robust overall. But yeah i feel your pain!
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That could be true as well! Even the M1 Air I have is actually handling things decently. It only REALLY slows down when I'm running more than one user account at a time.* I bet a Pro would handle everything better, and I'm definitely lusting after that newer 14" one with the great display.

* I like to have one for work, one for my general personal stuff, and another "distraction free" account for writing. It's an atypical setup, but I get a lot of utility out of wearing my different "hats" in totally different working environments. Switching can tax the hell out of the Mac, though, if there's a lot running in a particular account. Once switched, it's pretty good at backgrounding the other accounts but there can be some real slowdowns immediately following Fast User Switching.
 
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ignatius345 said:
That could be true as well! Even the M1 Air I have is actually handling things decently. It only REALLY slows down when I'm running more than one user account at a time.* I bet a Pro would handle everything better, and I'm definitely lusting after that newer 14" one with the great display.

* I like to have one for work, one for my general personal stuff, and another "distraction free" account for writing. It's an atypical setup, but I get a lot of utility out of wearing my different "hats" in totally different working environments. Switching can tax the hell out of the Mac, though, if there's a lot running in a particular account. Once switched, it's pretty good at backgrounding the other accounts but there can be some real slowdowns immediately following Fast User Switching.
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yeah sounds like it... a pro for you!
 
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dodgywanker said:
I saw a Kingston 1TB external ssd the size of a thumb, almost as fast as the internal ssd (I think? Usb c, gen 3.2, 2x2, around 2000MB/s read & write) for less than the price than for additional internal storage from apple
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It would only run at 1000MB/s, because Macs do not support USB 3.2 gen2x2.
 
Monkey, given your SO's use pattern, I’ll cast another vote for the 16/512 combo, although the 8/512 could work well, too.

In the past, the 512 GB SSDs were substantially faster than the base 256 GBs, so that's a worthwhile upgrade.

Her “stuff” will continue to accumulate, semester by semester, year after year, so the larger drive makes sense for that reason, too. Plus, if students start turning in video projects, or she gets into photography and videos herself, more space will be useful, even necessary.

Weirdly, Apple's no longer giving an educational discount on the SSD upgrade, so that’s still $200 extra. But, spread over, say, another 6 years, that’s peanuts!

What I don't understand is the beach balling and slow downs on her 2016 MBA. I use a 2015 MBA with a somewhat similar use pattern and have no problems. Speedy, responsive, and still going strong. Is she using Chrome as her browser by any chance? Which OS is she on? Does she leave apps open and hardly ever reboot the MBA?

Maybe it's time for a complete backup and fresh install — and a switch to Safari and regularly quitting unused programs.

Still recommend a first-hand test of the typing experience of the M1 and M2 MBAs, when that comes out. She may be so used to the tapered edge that the front squared edge of the M2 will prove uncomfortable to her. Maybe, you have a MacBook Pro in the house she could try to get a feel for what the squared edge feels like to her!

OTOH, MagSafe can be a lifesaver, so that would point to the M2.
 
Saturn007 said:
Monkey, given your SO's use pattern, I’ll cast another vote for the 16/512 combo, although the 8/512 could work well, too.

In the past, the 512 GB SSDs were substantially faster than the base 256 GBs, so that's a worthwhile upgrade.

Her “stuff” will continue to accumulate, semester by semester, year after year, so the larger drive makes sense for that reason, too. Plus, if students start turning in video projects, or she gets into photography and videos herself, more space will be useful, even necessary.

Weirdly, Apple's no longer giving an educational discount on the SSD upgrade, so that’s still $200 extra. But, spread over, say, another 6 years, that’s peanuts!

What I don't understand is the beach balling and slow downs on her 2016 MBA. I use a 2015 MBA with a somewhat similar use pattern and have no problems. Speedy, responsive, and still going strong. Is she using Chrome as her browser by any chance? Which OS is she on? Does she leave apps open and hardly ever reboot the MBA?

Maybe it's time for a complete backup and fresh install — and a switch to Safari and regularly quitting unused programs.

Still recommend a first-hand test of the typing experience of the M1 and M2 MBAs, when that comes out. She may be so used to the tapered edge that the front squared edge of the M2 will prove uncomfortable to her. Maybe, you have a MacBook Pro in the house she could try to get a feel for what the squared edge feels like to her!

OTOH, MagSafe can be a lifesaver, so that would point to the M2.
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Yes, she prefers Chrome, tends not to close apps, etc.
And she insists on MagSafe, so it's really a new Air... or jumping up to a 14" Pro, which seems ridiculously overpowered.
 
m0nkeyb0y said:
So, new laptop for my wife, in academia. She's not tech-oriented, but does complain a lot when beach balled, or things are unresponsive. She's using a 2016 MBA, only 200 or so of 256Gb occupied. Heavy usage of word (big documents), powerpoint, excel, lots of tabs, Spotify, a VPN, and videoconferencing. No video/image/music processing.

If I wanted to maximize snappiness, would I upgrade to 16Gb of RAM, or go up to 512Gb of SSD?
Click to expand...
The move from Intel to Apple Silicon will make the biggest difference in resolving those things. Its night and day when you've been used to Intel Macs for so long.

The base model will be absolutely fine for everything she's doing, but if you want to spend some extra money, I'd go for RAM first then the SSD.
 
If you are using MS Teams / Zoom and are making media rich presentations I think you need the RAM (1st choice), but likely the bigger storage also makes sense. Now that MS Teams is compiled for Apple Silicon things are a lot better than they were.
 
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