Who's Happy They Went with a Base MacBook Air M1 (7 CORE, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB Storage)?

[Macrumorsss]

Hi, I went with a MacBook Air Base M1 machine and after having having read articles and seen so many videos about pros and cons regarding going with a 16GB RAM and 512+ GB of storage and what not, I have come to the conclusion that I am happy with my purchase. Are there any users who are happy with their base purchase and find that the specs for this base machine are more than enough to try out these new M1 chips or do you still feel the base is not a long term investment?

 

[Abazigal]

Hi, I went with a MacBook Air Base M1 machine and after having having read articles and seen so many videos about pros and cons regarding going with a 16GB RAM and 512+ GB of storage and what not, I have come to the conclusion that I am happy with my purchase. Are there any users who are happy with their base purchase and find that the specs for this base machine are more than enough to try out these new M1 chips or do you still feel the base is not a long term investment?

Using the base model and it’s working great for me so far. I don’t think I will need the extra ram or storage and an upgraded model was an extra 2-3 week wait.

 

[thatsthequy]

I am thrilled with mine. My Early 2020 MBA i5/16GB/256GB was doing great up until I attached it to a 4K monitor. Fans, stuttering, and could barely handle movie playback without staying quiet.

With the new Mac, I don't notice the lack of RAM. It is silent. Doesn't get hot on your lap. Can handle my 4K monitor like butter. Battery life is yet to be seen since I will be WFH for the next while, but from what others have said it seems I will be able to leave my charger at home from now on.

The performance ceiling being pushed so high for the cheapest Apple laptop is nuts, and although Pro Apple Silicon chips are going to come over the next two years, I don't think I will feel the need to upgrade for a much longer time than before.

 

[The Game 161]

Working great for me, glad I went for base as it’s enough for me

 

[MrEcted]

I don't have the base Air, but I do have the base Mini, which is basically the same thing except +1 GPU core. I'm super happy with it. Yeah it does do a lot of swapping but no matter how hard I try I simply cannot bring this computer to its knees. I ran Logic with 70+ complex tracks while loading every single program I have on this machine and it doesn't do so much as blink.

I imagine that running a crazy number of apps and doing something like exporting 4K video will start to show its limitations, but for my usage pattern this thing is absolutely perfect! Degradation on SSDs due to swapping is way exaggerated, especially if you plan on upgrading to a new computer within the next decade.

 

[1240766]

I thought it was ok. I did find the 8c GPU was performing better with my 4K monitor and zoom....but I only noticed that once I tried the 8c, the 7c was ok.

 

[jerryk]

I have been round and round on which system to order. In the end, I ordered the base Air M1. My rationale is (in no particular order):

• M1 is gen 1. There will be M1x, ...., M2, etc. Better to cheaply find out if there are any showstoppers.
• All software does not run on Apple Silicon yet. So things are somewhat experimental.
• I likely will want something a little stronger and with a bigger screen like a 14" MBP with mini-LED, 1 TB drive, 32/16 GB memory... So no use spending too much on this machine
• I can justify moving the $999 MB Air into my recording booth when I get a replacement system and only using it when I record (<15% of the year). I would feel worse if I was moving a $1400-1700 MBP 13" with 512 GB SSD and 16 GB of memory

 

[MBHockey]

Hi, I went with a MacBook Air Base M1 machine and after having having read articles and seen so many videos about pros and cons regarding going with a 16GB RAM and 512+ GB of storage and what not, I have come to the conclusion that I am happy with my purchase. Are there any users who are happy with their base purchase and find that the specs for this base machine are more than enough to try out these new M1 chips or do you still feel the base is not a long term investment?

Glad you got the right tool for your work. I was able to find a 1TB/16GB MBA in stock at my local store, and since i keep my computers for around 5 years, i wanted this configuration for longevity.

 

[Kiimora]

The base model is adequate for my use case, anything more would have been an overkill for my immediate requirement. As a stop gap device until the re-designed iMac 27" is released, it's nothing short of perfection.

Oh dear 🤭 I should probably detach myself from it and get some shut eye; I have tried to give it a rest since it arrived this morning to no avail, I guess its the M1 effect as well as my first foray into the Macs

 

[Zazoh]

I always buy base. I don’t have any problems.

 

[brig2221]

I’m ecstatic! Mine has chewed up and spit out everything I’ve thrown at it, so it would have been a waste (for me anyway) to get anything more. I don’t need the extra SSD space as I use a cloud service for my photos.

if I was buying with the intention of keeping my computer for 5 or more years, I would have upgraded to 16gb of RAM (more for peace of mind than anything), but as it is, I’ll probably be upgrading to a refreshed model here in 2-3 years.