21–30 of 409 posts
Accounting for second-order effects over longer timeframes it could be a net benefit for desktop users.
8GB should be plenty. That it isn't is a software problem.
Having an 8GB version makes it more accessible. Apple could just stop selling it and the complaint about there being a $200 upgrade would no longer be valid.
8GB of LPDDR5X does not cost Apple $200. Its... Maybe $20?[1][2] Its so cheap that it probably costs Apple more to manufacture the extra Macbook/CPU SKU, test it, support it and so on than to just sell 16GB as the baseline. Its literally, purely just to upsell the 16GB version. There is effectively no savings for the consumer even if 8GB is "enough." 1: https://www.dramexchange.com/ 2: https://www.mouser.com/c/semico…
It’s market segmentation. Memory isn’t the only difference between those models.
When I started my current job they gave me an M1 Mac with 8GB because it’s what they had on hand. I could barely run my IDE and a web browser. At least 1GB was for video memory, and it was swapping constantly. I couldn’t run docker containers because of how much input lag I would get. 8GB is barely usable and shouldn’t even be an option for a Pro machine. I used it for a week before switching to a personal desktop wi…
Having an 8GB version makes it more accessible. Apple could just stop selling it and the complaint about there being a $200 upgrade would no longer be valid.
8GB of LPDDR5X does not cost Apple $200. Its... Maybe $20?[1][2] Its so cheap that it probably costs Apple more to manufacture the extra Macbook/CPU SKU, test it, support it and so on than to just sell 16GB as the baseline. Its literally, purely just to upsell the 16GB version. There is effectively no savings for the consumer even if 8GB is "enough." 1: https://www.dramexchange.com/ 2: https://www.mouser.com/c/semico…
It’s market segmentation. Memory isn’t generally going to be the only configured difference.
When I started my current job they gave me an M1 Mac with 8GB because it’s what they had on hand. I could barely run my IDE and a web browser. At least 1GB was for video memory, and it was swapping constantly. I couldn’t run docker containers because of how much input lag I would get. 8GB is barely usable and shouldn’t even be an option for a Pro machine. I used it for a week before switching to a personal desktop wi…
Imo 8gb is not enough as baseline, today's 8gb is 16.
I remember 4GB being good in 2015.
The machine still works well for development, running VMs, etc. It's no longer my main machine, but it works great for when I have to travel.
Having an 8GB version makes it more accessible. Apple could just stop selling it and the complaint about there being a $200 upgrade would no longer be valid.
8GB of LPDDR5X does not cost Apple $200. Its... Maybe $20?[1][2] Its so cheap that it probably costs Apple more to manufacture the extra Macbook/CPU SKU, test it, support it and so on than to just sell 16GB as the baseline. Its literally, purely just to upsell the 16GB version. There is effectively no savings for the consumer even if 8GB is "enough." 1: https://www.dramexchange.com/ 2: https://www.mouser.com/c/semico…
So maybe $30?
It’s clear to be that the 8GB isn’t intended to sell in volume. It’s just there so they can advertise a lower “Starting at “ price. It’s literally just for marketing.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Eh, if you give more Ram developers will just take advantage of it. Realistically perf headroom just gets eaten up on shitty code and abstraction layers. Ever notice how word is always the same slow-ish speeds. Never really faster.
You’re arguing that we should all be using 10-20 year old computers and that computers should never get faster because it makes us write less efficient code? That’s an asinine argument.
Good that that isn't the actual argument made by GP, but just a pretty strawman you managed to think up.
This will excerbate the problem with electronic waste by shortening the useful life Apple should be more serious about their environmental commitments
The average Mac is in use for far longer than your average upgradeable windows laptop from Walmart/Costco. One strong evidence for this is that macOS market share is actually 20% on desktop/laptops despite Macs selling only about ~8-10% of total PCs worldwide. [0] So yes, on average, Macs are significantly better for the environment. Having less RAM does not mean people replace their Macs more often than Windows comp…
When I started my current job they gave me an M1 Mac with 8GB because it’s what they had on hand. I could barely run my IDE and a web browser. At least 1GB was for video memory, and it was swapping constantly. I couldn’t run docker containers because of how much input lag I would get. 8GB is barely usable and shouldn’t even be an option for a Pro machine. I used it for a week before switching to a personal desktop wi…
What kind of comparison is that 8 to 64. 8 GB for windows also sucks as well or Linux (save with tiling manager), software just bloats over time. Imo 8gb is not enough as baseline, today's 8gb is 16. I remember 4GB being good in 2015.
Personally I won't use a computer (as a daily driver) without 64gb of RAM today. Everything eats memory like it's going out of style.