NEW APPLE MAC? Minimum Specs for Memory and Storage

Should you accept Apple's base configuration of 8GB memory and 256GB storage, if you're buying a new MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac or Mac Mini? Is this enough for modern computing workloads? How do you get the spec right and future proof your purchase?

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#apple #ssd #mac

[iancurrie]

8GB of ram and <1TB of storage is absolutely absurd in 2019...I mean, 2024.

[georgegonzalez]

The first computer I used cost the University about $40, 000. It had the maximum amount of RAM, 32K words. And the largest hard disk available, $4900 for the disk, $4800 for the disk controller. A whole 3 million words of disk. And we were very happy. Never ran out of memory or disk space. Well, until we recorded about a minute of audio.

[bryanmoraski]

Excellent advice. With my MacBook Air M1 I got the minimum specs and went with external drives. I have no complaints 3 or 4 years later. I do wish Apple would up the basic specs to 16g ram and 512 ssd. As always thanks for sharing your knowledge.

[agl]

Straight to the point and thorough at the same time. Great video, thanks!

[scratchanitch]

For development work I have 32GB on my M1 Pro which give me plenty of room for spinning up multiple docker containers and running some pretty big dev projects. But here's the issue - in the past I could pick up an older model for my home lab and add lots of cheap memory (I'm looking at you, you gorgeous trashcan), but the M[1234] approach changes that equation because models with lots of memory are still silly prices on the used market. It's not too disruptive/painful offloading those containers to a separate system (PC), but then I miss out on the M-chip power efficiency. Money can't buy happiness - something never said by a developer.

[marksaxon]

My use case is Logic Pro and I can tell you, get the 16GB memory version. Running a test on a 30 track project with about 25 plugins (EQ, compressors, mastering plugins, etc), Activity monitor was showing about 6-7 GB of RAM usage. If Apple makes 12GB the new minimum, that might be ok but if you want to have some headroom for Logic, you need 16GB minimally. Also, 256GB storage is kind of ridiculous for a laptop. My iPhone has 256GB of storage...lol. 512GB I think is the new minimum. Just my two cents for anyone using Macs for Logic Pro...

[PeterEmery]

Three years on from the purchase of a base model M1 MacBook Air it was no longer sufficient. I needed more than 8 GB of memory and may have been able to manage with 256 GB storage but when I upgraded four months ago to a 15-in M3 MacBook Air I opted for 16 GB memory with 512 GB storage. Another reason for this choice of configuration is the way my M1 Mac mini performs with 16/512. Memory pressure on the M1 MacBook Air was another consideration, it used swap memory too much, not a problem with 16 GB.

[djwalkerfemaledj]

I have a MacBook Mac M2 16 GB 1TB for my DJING thats good for me

[TokenTech]

I got the M1 air on discount a year and a half ago just for basic computing while I am at work (teacher) and grad school. I have a desktop for everything else

[Pai]

Got a basic M1 when they were released. Not gonna change in I would estimate 6 years minimum. Basic computing. Super happy.

[jonrittmann]

another great vid. I always look forward to them. I bought a trashcan about 6 months ago and love it

[andyH_England]

The way I look at it is that the 16GB/512GB MB Air is £1500 on Apple’s site. I then ask can I live with 8GB/256GB and save £400? As my workflow has not changed for 40 years and works with 8GB/256GB easily, then my answer is yes, save £400. But the reality is that the base model is discounted regularly and I can easily get another £150 off, so savings are £550, enough for an iPad Air!

That is why I love that Apple offers the base 8GB/256GB model. You don’t have to buy it, but if that is enough for you, we can buy a great laptop at a fantastic discount. No one should complain about having this choice.

The caveat is that if you need more RAM and storage then the prices of the higher SKUs are premium, similar to the expensive Intel XPS 14 and Surface Laptops.

[chriscasillas]

Very good and fair advice. My experience with the base M2 Air (I've had it since launch day over 2 years ago) is that it is quite a capable machine and would probably meet the needs of most users. I do all the basic tasks (web browsing, email, docs, etc). I also work in Photoshop and edit audio on a weekly basis. The laptop handles everything I throw at it without any slowdowns.

[andrewgrant]

Consider how much you need and then pad the number you come up with. Last Apple product I bought with the minimum spec was an iPhone 11 Pro. I still regret that decision. It will force me to upgrade to an iPone 16 this year.

[rogermuggleton]

Earlier this year I replaced my original basic MBA with a new 15 inch M3 model, as I needed the larger screen. So this topic came up, did I need more RAM and SSD? I have also been using an M1 Mac Studio as my main machine, and the Air when away from home, the Studio having four time the memory and twice the SSD. My main use for these machines is keeping business accounts and I also edit photographic images.
The M1 Air has performed perfectly for 3 years and I have barely used half the 256G SSD space. Financial spreadsheets and pdf files are quite small and I had over 3 years documentation on the Air. I don't keep more than a couple of months RAW files on my Studio SSD, after they've been edited and published I move them to an external SSD - there's no good reason to keep them on the computer.
What I feel is more important is a working backup process. I keep at least 3 copies of all the financial stuff as it would be a near disaster if any were lost. The Studio helps by having so many USB ports. I don't see much need for AI.
So in the end my newer Air has the same memory and storage as the original, and it works fine. For the future, I hope to spend more time away from my computers and out in the countryside around me.

[bryans]

My first Apple Silicon device was the base M1 mini when they released. I closely monitored the memory for pressure and swapping doing day-to-day tasks and never had a problem. However, I recently upgraded to the M3 Pro MBP Pro 14, the 18GB/512GB base model. I will be retiring in a few months and my computer budget will decrease significantly, so I decided to do some future-proofing while I could.

[geoffstrickler]

I would not recommend more than 512GB internal SSD for most users. Most users never use more than about 100GB, even it that doubles or triples over the life of the machine, 512GB is still plenty. 512GB also gives good speed. You can add plenty of external storage via USB/Thunderbolt, it won’t be quite as fast, but you can still get 800MB/s-3.2GB/s which is fast enough for pretty much anything.

Sure, there are users who need more than that much internal, and or benefit from the faster speeds possible on the Pro/Max chips with 1TB+ internal SSD. Those represent under 10% of the users, and certainly don’t represent typical or average users.

I agree that 12GB RAM needs to be the new minimum, preferably 16GB.

[adinnugroho]

Last year, when I bought new Windows Laptop (Lenovo Ideapad), I got the 8 Gigs RAM default (can be upgraded later) and 512 Gigs SSD (also can be upgraded later)

I maybe made right choose, although it's different

[sweealamak]

I fell for Apple's marketing hype and thought 8GB was enough for my needs. Bottlenecks appeared soon after a few weeks of use when I started to leave 5 or more apps opened at the same time. I've since gotten used to closing apps entirely to reduce multi-tasking. It's not a deal breaker but it falls short of the "Apple experience" you get on other devices like iPhone and iPad. Increasing to 12GB for the next gen would be an automatic uograde/trade-in for me.

[TorMeloe]

I bought 2 megabytes for my Macintosh lc. that took it up to a whopping 6 megs. wonderful.