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Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

macworld.com

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Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#321

Post by mrguyorama »

aurareturn wrote: post #80
Osiris wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife’s computer was getting slow so I stuck another 16GB of RAM in it for like $30. that upgraded added years to its life. I have a stack of old MacBooks I can’t use because they only have 256GB SSDs that can’t be upgraded and I was constantly running out of space on them. There is something to be said for being able to upgrade a machine to lengthen its usable life.

> My wife’s computer was getting slow so I stuck another 16GB of RAM in it for like $30. that upgraded added years to its life. Not disputing this. But the vast majority people don't upgrade their laptops. They just buy a new one when it's slow. I can't find it right now but there's been studies done showing that most people never upgrade their RAM/storage even though they could. They just buy a new computer.

And then I buy their used laptop on ebay for dirt cheap, buy a cheap stick of RAM, and have a really useful server.

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#323

Post by krsdcbl »

aurareturn wrote: post #8

8GB is still good enough for office workers and students. Heck, I used an M1 8GB Air for 1 year as a dev. Although I wish I had more RAM, it still served me well. For $899 (on sale sometimes), the 8GB M2 Air is absolutely a steal. The screen quality, thinness, battery life, build quality, SoC, quietness, coolness, metal enclosure, touchpad, and speakers are simply unmatched by anything in the PC world at that price -…

I'll never understand the Apple effect. Neglecting core components of their hardware that would not hurt their margin to spec acceptably from the start, ripping off their customers to upgrade to bare minimum ... and their customers keep defending them for that?

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#324

Post by cma »

Zanfa wrote: post #51
Osiris wrote: post #11

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…

I prefer my 8GB M1 Air to my 64GB Intel iMac for basically all of my Node/Rails/Swift development, with Docker running almost 100% of the time. The only time I’ve seen the iMac be “better”, was when I had a Java project that had around 20 different packages that you needed to have open IDEs for.

How many silicon process nodes ahead is the M1 vs your intel iMac?

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#325

Post by Our_Benefactors »

mrguyorama wrote: post #315
aurareturn wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I was in college, I interned as IT support at a large corporation. We were buying $1200 Lenovos for normal office workers and $2000 laptop workstations for the design engineers. You'd be surprised at how much money enterprises spend on each laptop. I happen to think that the enterprise is an untapped market for Macs. Not tech offices. Other industries that run on Lenovos and Dells. If I'm a small business, I sti…

> I'd buy $750 M1 Airs. They last longer, "just work", and have fewer support issues. As an employee of a company that runs macbook fleets, hell no they don't. Every other year we have had to replace half our inventory because of the 2015 macbooks having faulty batteries that want to explode, and then the next generations being that terrible keyboard, where every single employee needed their entire top cover replaced…

Nobody considers the final-gen intel MBPs with touchbar and stupid-ass keyboard to be reliable. M-series machines however, I have not heard of any issues with those aside from flaky MagSafe connectors.

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#327

Post by pornel »

3np wrote: post #21

Counter to title, as a non-mac-user I probably benefit from entry-level Macs having 8GB vs 16GB RAM - it increases pressure on devs to actually try to reign in their ballooning web/Electron apps when resource waste becomes noticable on modern hardware. 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.

I don’t think it will work:

• Devs and their managers don’t use the 8GB version.

• Electron is used because it’s cheap to develop for. You can hate its RAM-eating guts all you want, but for cross-platform UIs there’s no competition. Nobody wants to pay for maintenance of 5 separate front ends in 3 languages.

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#328

Post by clouddrover »

> In Apple’s case, you have no choice. You can’t upgrade later. You can’t pay anyone else’s price. You have to pay Apple’s exorbitant $200-for-8GB upgrade cost.

Of course you have a choice. If the price isn't right then don't buy it.

> This is pure corporate greed from the world’s biggest and richest technology company, and as Apple customers, we shouldn’t stand for it.

A company is only useful to you if its interests align with yours and if it is producing something worth the money. If a company is not worth your time or money then put your time and money toward something else.

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#329

Post by cpncrunch »

someNameIG wrote: post #298
cpncrunch wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a 2016 Macbook pro, and I don't think I've ever seen it use more than 8GB (I have 16GB RAM). Just testing now with chrome tabs open including weather radar, libreoffice, and firefox, and still using just under 8GB RAM and 1GB swap.

I'm on a 2019 MacBook Pro and currently using 13Gb RAM. About 10 safari tabs open, books app, and a lightweight IDE.

What's the breakdown in memory usage?

Re: Apple has a memory problem and we're all paying for it

#330

Post by greedo »

lpapez wrote: post #84
aurareturn wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> No it's not. A ton of programs used by regular people (Chrome etc.) are RAM hogs, if you are a dev, then Docker is also an egregious example. If you happen to play games (a big thing for average people), that 8GB will be shared between the CPU and the GPU. Even the Steam Deck, admittedly a budget device, comes with 16GB. That's why I said normal office workers and students. I never said 8GB is enough for devs. It w…

> That's why I said normal office workers and students. Costing 9 hundos a piece, Air is not something a regular company would buy for their employees. They're more likely to buy a budget laptop in the 400-500 range which you can bet will do just fine for office work, and you can always upgrade it if necessary. If a company really does need their employees to work a Mac, they will have to cough out a lot more for the…

Sounds like you're just guessing what "a regular company" would do. The company I work for, as boring as any "regular" company, was buying M1 MBPs with 16GB and 512GB two years ago. For anyone who preferred a Mac to a PC laptop. I personally know of three companies that just buy a MBP for anyone asking. They're not cheaping out on some Latitude or Inspiron pos.
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