🔥 curiositystream.com/reneritchie/ NO ADS + Bonus Videos! Get CuriosityStream + Nebula bundle for less than $15 a YEAR! 🚀 More on M2: kzfaq.info/sun/PL3XJJi5sAjD3TTKy3ix9NhdcSZLC5InQk 🤔 Are you getting 8GB, 16GB, or 24GB on your M2 Mac?

I have both a 8GB and a 16GB M1 Mac. My workload is simple consisting of just office apps and browsers (with lots of tabs). The 8GB suffers lots of frequent latency stutters due to frequent RAM/SSD swapping with this mix of apps but the 16GB computer is always buttery smooth. I would never get a 8GB version again.

For Mac mini, do not upgrade storage beyond a total of 512 GB internal. For $200, you can get a superfast 2TB external SSD and are unlikely to notice difference in transfer speeds.

In Canada you have pretty much just said get the 14” MBP. It is still a bit more, but for the additional cost you get a better display, more ports, and dual display support.

I really really agree with you, dongles will steal from the portable experience and also form the speed and convenience of getting a Macbook. I went 16G RAM and 1TB SSD on my MBP 14 unit, and it removes that fear of running out of space and speed. Mac's are a long term purchase so be prepared for the unexpected

Got the 24gb/1tb m2 MBA. Splurged for max RAM because I run VMs on my MBA. I went with 1TB because I’ve never actually been able to fill that up under my usual use cases, however I can easily fill up 512GB.

Is it still worth it to upgrade the ram from 8gb to 16gb for $350? There's no official apple store in my country and for upgrading the ram I need to spend more than the actual price on apple website

I just ordered the Macbook Air M2 with 24GB RAM and 2 TERA Harddrive. Do you know if the 2 Tera have the speed of the 256GB or the speed of the 512GB?

Something that no one is mentioning is that you actually get less RAM than you think because the RAM in an Apple Silicon Mac is also used for video memory. And each display reduces the available RAM in aggregate.

Would like to see someone do interviews and then analysis of real world industries that use the products you analyze and review (other than video content creators), as a means to see actual workflow issues, bottlenecks, how they solve tech issues. Like how writers use Apple computers is entirely different than Mac based architects doing CAD and 3D rendering - which is arguably closer to heavy commercial movie studio editing type computing. So those set ups, problems and solutions for architects would be interesting to see vs people who are on Twitch gaming or live streaming something else.

Very well said, sir. It is likely that they will test those machines with software that few are using and that most of us have never heard of let alone used. When the M3 comes out, I would personally like it to have 24GB/1TB of storage.

I bought M1 Pro base model, 16Gb ram and 512 Gb SSD as soon as it was released.. To be frank am soo happy about this purchase

I bought an M1 8x8 core 16GB RAM 512GB storage MacBook Air last year and love the thing. I chose to upgrade the RAM because I'm one of those that doesn't replace tech until it's either irreparably broken or will no longer perform my tasks. The M1 Air is so good I will probably keep it until Apple no longer supports it or it dies outside of my AppleCare term. It's such a high performance machine I could see myself keeping it for several years to come. I really think the 16GB of RAM was worth it because I very rarely see it use swap space at all, and the times I have, it's never been more than a few hundred megabytes. Astoundingly good machine for the price.

I have always needed to upgrade the RAM on every computer I have had over its life, except for my Raspberry Pi. A 4KB TRS-80 Model I went up to 16 KB. My Atari 600 went from 16 KB to 64 KB. My 486 PC went from 4 MB to 8 MB. My 16 MB Pentium went to 80 MB, while the Pentium III went from 256 MB to 768 MB. From the early things I heard about Apple Silicon run, it seems like the code uses a larger footprint than Intel does (CISC vs RISC instruction sets) which is why swapping on the 8 GB models with lower SSD sizes was an issue around the M1 MacBook Airs and 13” Pros. To me, it disqualified 8 GB for anyone doing much more than a minimum of tasks and closes apps out when switching to something else. 16 GB as a minimum for Macs would be sensible and I had hoped that the M2 would have come as 16 GB and 32 GB, the M2 Pro as 32 GB and 64 GB, Max at 64 GB and 128 GB, and Ultra as 128 GB and 256 GB. Maybe that will be the basis for the M3, and maybe that is massive overkill for iPad Pro and iPad Air. I do agree that with the lifespan of typical Apple computers, buyers should anticipate that equipment should be bought based on minimum usability needs five years from the date of purchase rather than what will “just do the job” at the time of purchase. I “may have” implemented preemptive multitasking on my 64 KB Atari 600, but that wasn’t useful for anything more than basic tasks. My 8 GB desktop PC running Linux works okay as my email server and various other tasks, but add in a breadth of productivity and maybe a game, and nah, it is no longer powerful enough. Same with 8 GB on a MacOS platform.

My 24gb m2 uses 7 GB of ram (5 GB app memory and 2 GB resident memory) with ONLY the activity monitor open. No browser, no program, nothing else. If I open ONE KZfaq tab in Safari it gets to over 9.5 GB usage. I feel that something is wrong?

If operating system doesn’t matter to you much because you use cross-platform tools, there are a ton of really good options in the 13” thin and light category this year. The fact that you can’t dual boot OS easily on Macs now has me seriously considering other options, especially given the price hike this year. The latest storage speed nerf on the 2022 13” MBP is just another reminder that upgradable parts are a good thing.

Extremely informative, thank you.

serious question, How does the macbook air 13 inch 16gb 256ssd 2022 m2 compare to Micrsoft surface 2017 16gb ram 500gb ssd?? Should i switch??

Came across your video today and it was pretty informative. I am stuck with the same question as I am planning to buy my first macbook. Macbook air m1 8gb and 256 gigs is what is available in the stores nearby my place. My use cases are - 1. Ms office and apples office suite 2. Spreadsheets 3. Research 4. Articles 5. Browsing 6. Content consumption 7. Music creation as a hobby 8. Occasional video and photo editing - nothing big time. But I do do it sometimes Have been doing all of these in my phones from the last few years and now I am planning to get my first macbook. What would you suggest- To get an M1 or M2. And will 8gb suffice or do I need to jump and go for 16gb Ram If I purchase it now I will be using it for the next 5-6 years. What would be the best bet???

So hard. I don’t need the pro love the lightness of the current and new air. Thinking of the new air (my current one is 7 years old). 16 gig and 512 he put $200 short of the MacBook Pro. Don’t want the extra weight but tough decision to move up more. Thanks.

M2 Mac Mini 16gb ran with 512SSD HD WILL be ample enough to use for home video editing ? Thanks

So I'm a vet student and I also game. I completely used up the 8gb memory on my '18 MBP. Idk what to choose now. I do a lot of power points, essays, videos, gaming, etc. I also have a lot of things running on the background and have to download apps for our courses. Which one would be worth it for me? Would 16gb & 1tb be enough? Should I do MacBook Air or MacBook Pro? Any input is much appreciated 😭😭. I need a new laptop asap.

If you can only upgrade one either ram or storage which one is better 16 gb ram or 512 ssd?

Thanks for sharing. I agree with your viewpoint on memory and storage. Blessings on your day.

I just hate how all the big box stores that have holiday discounts only stock the 8GB model, with no option to upgrade the RAM. Curiously enough though, you can get a version with the higher 10 core GPU and 512 GB SSD, but still only 8 GB RAM. 🤨

My 2012 macbook pro still works fine, I wonder if the newer macs are just as reliable.

Well spoken Sir, appreciated. Was a good listen, thanks.

So should I get a M2 Air 24GB or a base M1 pro?

Another way of looking at it is that 16 GB extends the useful lifetime of the computer by years, which eventually *lowers* your yearly cost of having a computer.

Please ,which is better a macbook m2 pro with 16 gb or a macbook m2 with 24 gb ram, dj use

I like the statement: 'If you know what memory pressure is, you pretty much just selected into the 16GB of ram group by default'. Made that easy for me!

Additional bonus with 16GB/24GB of RAM, less disk swapping on the SSD meaning less wear on the SSD.

Rene i currently have the MacBook Pro 13” 2017 16 GB Ram now 5 yeRs old. Still kicking asses but am planning to replace it with the new Air M2 15” if it really Hits the shelves of stores. Am not really a pro user so think it will be more than enough for my day to day workflow.

Very insightful video. Thank you for helping me to shoose a spec for MacBook Air M2

I’m thinking about buying the MacBook Air M2, but I’m wondering which option would be better overall: the base model with 16 Go of RAM or the more expensive model with 8 Go of RAM… Where should I put my money: more RAM or better CPU…? Thanks! 🙏

Even though I agree with the idea of getting more memory. (I have 16GB myself) For most users I think you are marking it sound worse than it actually is. Almost like 8GB should never be an option for buyers. For some people the base macbook is the limit of their budget. Yes 8GB is barely enough from a technical standpoint, but mac swaps between the disk so well you generally can’t tell unless you do something intensive or that it specifically demands ALL of the memory at once. Tasks like web browsing and general use don’t require that, and hence the performance difference between 8GB and 16GB is little to none. I think a better advice would be moreso in the lines of longevity. If you intend to use your mac longer than 4 years, then it is better to get more memory. Otherwise assuming your doing day to day tasks i really don’t see what’s wrong with the 8GB model.

I do agree, but when I upgrade the M2 air in The Netherlands with 16gb RAM and 512gb SSD its almost as expensive as the M1 pro 14 inch.. which has some other benefits. Besides size and weight that is but..

So the two Mac notebooks which make sense to buy… Are the M1 MacBook Air for education at $750, less if you have an Intel Mac to trade in, and the base model 14” MacBook Pro. I’m the super nerd with the 16” M1 Max, but the 14” at $1700-$1800 is really the machine to beat.

I’m running 16g of ram because of the os overhead and it was the right choice and with the 1T ssd my M1 MacBook Pro does the job.

MAXTECH has a GREAT in-depth, real world comparison of M2 Base vs M2 16GB RAM and 512SSD. Dropped six hours earlier today.

my current mac is a 2011 27" but cannot render anything i do and my business is changing. This is the issue I've been struggling with this issue.

What recommendation would be for a new user who wants to buy his first Apple computer? in my day, I only use and work with Office Apps (MS365)

My 2013 MBP 13” had 8/256 and I still use it. I bought the M1 8/256 7 months and I will likely buy the M2 8/256. The only application I run that stresses my system is Thinkorswim and only when I have multiple other apps open/running along with 2-3 desktops using safari with multiple tabs open with YT videos. I really shouldn’t and don’t need all that open at the same time, so I close them and the system runs just fine. 8/256 has been ok for almost 10 year and I think it will be ok for another 2 years. After that, maybe a M4 with 16/512. After having issues with the 2013 MBP, I’ve decided to never keep a laptop longer than 2 years. The people I give my laptop to have no need for more than 8/256.

When you reckon the next lift coming for Ram and storage minimums on base models?

Very delightful as usual. Thank you.

Love your videos Rene!

what about browsing, managing documents, but with a habit to have 100 safari tabs open and 50 pdf's in adobe viewer? On top of that run a zoom video call sharing the display. Obviously mail app, file manager, calendar, notes, messages, facebook messenger, etc are always open and run in background. Is this a heavy software? NO. Is this a heavy usage? Kind of. How would you comment this kind of daily routine? In this case would the 24GB option be the best? Or 16GB would be enough? Currently using the Intel macbook, so no experience with M1. Thinking of getting M2, but I'm not sure how much RAM to get.

I still use my 2012 Mac Mini. I put a 1TB SSD and bumped it up to 16 GB of RAM. Runs great but in know I’ll have to get the M chip by the end of this year.

I had an 8/256 M1 MBA for 11 months. Last month I sold it and upgraded to 16/512 M1 Pro MBP 14. Halfway through my ownage of the MBA, my job changed and it started to require more graphics power and more RAM. I got through 5 months with a Windows machine, but I just love how powerful and how efficient Apple Silicone is, I couldn’t stop myself from upgrading. The Windows work laptop is more powerful, but also takes off with a click of a button, so loud. And I can’t even put it to sleep without it overheating for no reason. With the Mac, I don’t even worry about running out of battery life when I go out to do my work at a cafe for several hours. I did get into big debt for it, but it was worth it for my job.

As someone who isn’t considered a prosumer do not get 8GB of RAM. I’ve encountering more and more events where it just feels sluggish and a powering down and back up solves it

Not sure which one to get M2 pro base version - more cores with 16gb RAM or M2 upgraded - less cores with 24gb ram. Use case Figma, Illustrator and Photoshop for professional day to day use. After effects - occasional. May dabble into 3D later if I take the M2 it will be 8 core CPU, 10 core GPU and 24GB ram. Can't afford the 32GB RAM upgrade in the M2 Pro. Would multiple cores aid the 16GB RAM and would that be enough?

I am using my m1 air 16GB and only use safari and I make the machine crawl by the end of the day. If I use what’s app desktop and facebook it will be screwed. Macs memory flushing is crap I think. I have many tabs and multiple sites. I don’t close the pages Imagine everyday I need to restart my 16GB m1 If there is a memory flushing app on mac please suggest

Little video and sound plugins ? 8 or 16 or 24 ?

I'm gonna go with 24GB and sneakily do DaVinci Resolve work on it :) Ultraportable resolve work! I prefer not getting the 14 inch chonk boi. I want the futuristic thin machine that still packs oomph enough for my caliber of projects.

Good video…… for professionals . These KZfaqrs forget about a lot of the customers who are students who just want a reliable laptop, if you don’t content create or make money of your laptop, then get the base model. Average student only needs base model .

As of today in the UK I can buy the base M1pro 14" brand new for less than the equivalent ram/ssd M2 Air. I get that the Air will eventually get the same discounts but I'm at a loss to figure out Apple's pricing.

Hi Rene, an comment on the best configuration for parallel/window environment. Keep up the good work.

The real question I think is what ssd size should you pick ? The 256gb with is now slower than the previous model or the 512gb ? After that, I think the ram option should be look at.

Perfect explanation. 😊 I hope to ask since iv just bought online and its still on its way, Mac Mini M2 with this specs 8 cpu 10 gpu 24gb ram. However i forgot to upgrade my storage got the 256gb baseline. Do you think it will still run smoothly for basic office work and a few video editing? Thanks alot ❤

I'm all for maxing out the ram, I have a M1 Max w/ 64GB of ram, but storage isn't as big of a consideration when we have cloud, NAS and external options. As a game dev, the amount of storage on I would need on device would be debilitatingly expensive.

If you had to pick an M2 Pro with 16gb unified memory and 12CPUs or 32gb unified memory and 10CPUs for productivity (tons of tabs with web apps running) - which would you go for?

I applaud your eloquence and your mastery of grammar. So refreshing to my old ears! Thanks for a great video!

DAMMIT. I have been trying to justify getting the 8GB/256ssd combo but in the back of my head knew I wouldn't be future-proofing myself and now I know for sure I have to upgrade both as yes, it's a lot of money, but +400 over the course of the life of the computer is clearly more than worth it. Great video as always my guy.

does Unity 3D work well in a MBA M2 512/8GB? I know 16 GB is the best option but it goes out of my current budget…

@rene I think what people are complaining about is that the options Apple offers are soo expensive yet greatly needed. Since we can't upgrade the RAM or storage after the fact and we can't get third party cheaper options, we are forced to pay hundreds if not over a thousand more in reasonable options. Just to do a 16GB RAM upgrade and a 1TB storage option because the whole point of a laptop is meant to hold your data in a mobile fashion without needing to carry extra external storage. Apple has soo many SKUs with these costly crazy options and it confuses and compounds the line up for the customer to choose from!

16GB upgrade for M1 Air for economy and 14" base for any other sounds much more reasonable product. M2 seems to be a confusing product for a confused user who either felt 14" was too expensive or M1 Air 8GB was too restrictive. Had they launched M2 pro 13 with just a16GB base variant, I think the tables would have completely turned against M2 air.

Will macbook air m2 have same ssd problem for base variant

Solid advice. I ordered 16gb 512gb M2 Air. Yes, RAM DOES bloat over time. I did 512gb to err on the side of safety if Apple does 1x256gb SSD vs 2x128gb like the M2 Pro. Anything more than that, yup just get a pro.

This was extremely well explained, especially the part debunking the myth of 8GB unified memory is equivalent to 16GB of non unified RAM

I have iMac M1 24" 16GB RAM and damn it's so slow when I open multiple tabs and apps.

Brilliant video!!

Even consider that previous models had a dedicated graphic that had additional memory.

Well said thanks for sharing :-) I agree depends on what you use it for right? THANKS FOR explaining.

I am thinking of going 24 cause I am recording for KZfaq (screen + external camera as webcam) and 16gb could get fairly close to getting maxed out I think in that scenario. Easily.

3 instances of Kontakt sampler with (3) 40GB Stratovarius violins and cello runs fine with other plugins and memory pressure stays in the yellow.

Spend the extra cash and get 16GB and 512GB. This is a laptop you can easily get a great five years out of. The resale value will be higher as well.

I disagree on the recommendation to just go to Mx Pro chipset when choosing 24GB. The price is still much higher on Mx Pro since when trying to have an a close RAM config(32GB), it will be more expensive. 24GB M2 Air is the budget option.

I agree, get as much RAM as you can afford. Also, knowing that the OS by itself uses 5gbs just to run idle. I'd rather spend money than waste time. Everyone has to choose which is more important to them. As always a great video Rene!

Very helpful video.

With unified memory, you should think of it as half. When I'm gaming on my 16gb ryzen laptop, the GPU will happily eat 7-8gb of ram.

You said that 8GB, on apple silicon, isn’t magically the same as 16GB. But is that compared to other macs, or pcs as well ? Because if I’m not mistaken, macs are more optimised compared to pcs

If you try to play crossy road on the Mac m2 it maxes out and heats up

Hi Rene, music producer here, thinking buy Mac Mini M2 Pro. Do you think, in my case 16gb is enough or should I consider extra $400 and get 32gb. I dont want to waste money, unless is necessary.

We just bought an M1 MacBook Air with 8Gb RAM. I wanted 16Gb but I couldn’t convince the one paying for it, especially due to the yen price in Japan.

big help, THANKS!!!

I just want to say if you are a programmer and often have Chrome and IntelliJ and Docker open at the same time, please go with as much RAM as possible.

I have 16 on my M1 MBA and 8 on my M1 Mac Mini - honestly can’t see the difference during usage.

Ordered a 16/512 yesterday, thinking about 24/512 just to be safe. Want it for video and photo editing.

Most of your advice is based and guided towards MacBooks, but what about Mac Mini, I mean when you don't need compactness or portability? What about RAM/ROM configuration then?

10 years ago people were saying the same thing. "Buy 16gb to future proof". Here we are today and 8gb is still enough for most people. Not to mention the fact that most people that care enough to watch these videos upgrade to the next best thing sooner than later. If you are going to upgrade to the newest MacBook Air in 2 years future proofing is irrelevant.

I ordered the 16GB M2 in Midnight, and got offered a polishing cloth for $25...

I opted for 24GB due to processing high resolution photos in Lightroom. I hope this can handle it.

M2 Airbook with 512 Storage and 16gb Ram is $2000 in the UK. You can get Windows laptops that have the same specs for $1250.

16 is starting to be the new minimum too. if u plan to hold it for more then 5 yrs id get as much ram as u can.

This was the video I’ve been looking for, but it’s still speculation until we actually get real benchmarks once mba2 comes out.

I currently have the M2 MBA 8/256 but after some thought I’m gonna return it and i purchased the 16/512. I look at this for the future and not just the here and now. I probably would never use it to it’s full potential but i rather future proof myself if and when Apple has OS updates for the next 7 years

16GBs is the spot for me for the last 10 years for everything including music production. I've never needed more. Most of the time I'm not using all of the 16GBs. 8GBs isn't bad for daily use. My dad has a PC with 8GBs in dual channel 2x 4GBs. And it's really smooth still. It's interesting that iPhone uses 4GB RAM. I was under the impression that wasn't useful for 64bit. But smart-phones are managed very differently. And the nerd in me loves the tight optimisation and efficiency of iPhones which is something that would be difficult for Android with all the different handsets. My philosophy with storage, has always been, small SSD, large external HDD. For me, all the things I need speed for can be on a 250GB SSD, which is mostly the apps themselves. But all the things I store are nothing that requires storage speed and I'm happy for them to stay on external HDDs.

I still rock a mid 2012 MacBook Pro with 16GB an ram. Insane that it’s still more ram than the base models offer 12 years later…

Best video on this felt so real and honest

Hi I’m about to replace my eight year old MacBook Pro and you answered all of my questions. Thank you so much for this video