Comments on: Macbook Air M1 8gb vs 16gb

By: John

John — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 15:47:53 +0000

The trouble with swap memory is you only get so many read/writes with an SSD. Sure, it may not affect your particular use but certainly its something to consider. Ram is soldered too so no chance of an upgrade on Mac’s. Definitely some planning needed in buying a Mac these days. How much ram do you need, how long do you need to future proof it. Days are gone when you buy less now and upgrade if needed. Now you have to plan ahead for what you need down the road.

By: Michele

Michele — Fri, 06 Aug 2021 15:37:58 +0000

Thanks for the great comparison.

By: Martina Nikolova

Martina Nikolova — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 09:14:57 +0000

In reply to Golam Mashfi. Hello Golam From what you have mentioned I would recommend the 16/256 model. Only because you are planning to use it for more then 5 years. Next year you might plan to edit 4K videos and use some more intensive apps. Your swap memory will be in use most of the time anyway. We just don't have enough information how these SSDs will perform in the long run.

By: Golam Mashfi

Golam Mashfi — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 16:01:55 +0000

My use is basic like taking classes in zoom, chatting in whatsapp, surfing the internet , youtube and playing online sites. I would be editing one video every week (around 30 min which will be i guess 1080p but just one video every week and watching movies from my ssd. I have an external ssd of 1tb and i plan on using my mac for 5+ years. i have two choices
Either a 8/256 Mac pro or a 16/256 Mac air
Could u suggest me which one i should go for?
Thank you

By: Martina Nikolova

Martina Nikolova — Wed, 19 May 2021 08:51:53 +0000

In reply to Michael Rashkin. Hi Michael If you are planning to hold your new computer for 5+ years i would recommend going for the 16 GB version.

By: Michael Rashkin

Michael Rashkin — Tue, 18 May 2021 23:37:57 +0000

Hi Martina,
Thank you for a very useful analysis. But I hope you can help me this problem.
I have several very large Microsoft Word documents each running over 1000 pages. If I have them open at the same time, would 8GB be sufficient. I am now using a 5 year old Mac Air and I see delays all the time when working in these documents and this is why I am thinking of upgrading. But I don’t know whether to go with the 8 or 16GB.
Thank you in advance.

Michael Rashki