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Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

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11–20 of 105 posts

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#11
post #2

Wow, if their marketing is anything to go by that's like 32gb on a Windows machine!

All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.

What is the effect on battery life vs keeping an actual 32GB or RAM powered?

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#12
post #9

I hope one day they can fix the engineering problems so I can buy a machine and keep it for more than two years without fear of some cheap components exploding. A purchased computer should work for a decade at least. If this sounds over the top, look at what the repair shop guys are saying... Edit: Thanks for the downvotes, its not popular but an unfortunate reality. These issues are related to 2016-present Apple lap…

My 2014 pro is still going strong

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#13
post #2

Wow, if their marketing is anything to go by that's like 32gb on a Windows machine!

All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.

My understanding is that the performance is based around Apple silicon being optimized for the NeXT/ObjC model of retain/release, which they got down from 30 nanoseconds on Intel to 6.5ns on M1 (14ns on emulated Intel).

https://singhkays.com/blog/apple-silicon-m1-black-magic/#is-...

IMO 8gb is still barely acceptable for most consumers in 2024, but not for any laptop that you'd expect to get more than say two years of usefulness out of, so… yeah it's about time.

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#14
post #2

Wow, if their marketing is anything to go by that's like 32gb on a Windows machine!

All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.

They're referring to these, when Apple said 8GB = 16GB elsewhere -

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40024631

https://9to5mac.com/2023/11/08/m3-macbook-pro-ram/

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#15
post #2

Wow, if their marketing is anything to go by that's like 32gb on a Windows machine!

All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.

I don't think Linux does by default. You need to enable it, via some moderately complex commands line commands.

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#16
post #12
post #9

I hope one day they can fix the engineering problems so I can buy a machine and keep it for more than two years without fear of some cheap components exploding. A purchased computer should work for a decade at least. If this sounds over the top, look at what the repair shop guys are saying... Edit: Thanks for the downvotes, its not popular but an unfortunate reality. These issues are related to 2016-present Apple lap…

My 2014 pro is still going strong

I knew I'd get downvoted, but there are known SSD / T2 chip issues with 2016+ macs. Still present in Mx mac laptops. 2012 Macbook Air was my favourite laptop ever. See Louis Rossman etc... if you get lucky you get lucky, but I don't like the odds, so Apple hardware for me is a subscription model...

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#18
post #16
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 2014 pro is still going strong

I knew I'd get downvoted, but there are known SSD / T2 chip issues with 2016+ macs. Still present in Mx mac laptops. 2012 Macbook Air was my favourite laptop ever. See Louis Rossman etc... if you get lucky you get lucky, but I don't like the odds, so Apple hardware for me is a subscription model...

I have not heard anything about SSD issues from my friends in the IT department who service hundreds of laptops…

Personally I’m still running an M1 MacBook Air which has been bulletproof for almost 4 years now. Before that I ran a 12” MacBook for 5 years. My last problem with a Mac laptop was in the 17” PowerBook days, circa 2010 (I suspect the case flexed and damaged the logic board)

Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models

#19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.

It's not just compression - also the unified memory architecture.

At the risk that I’ve missed a joke, the unified memory architecture reduces the amount of RAM you have available since “RAM” for any computer with discrete graphics doesn’t include VRAM.
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