Coincidentally Intel is bumping up base RAM to 16 GB also.
Only for Copilot+ branded ones.
Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
91–100 of 105 posts
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#92Earlier quoted context omitted.
All modern operating systems compress inactive pages.
It's not just compression - also the unified memory architecture.
https://x.com/LinaAsahi/status/1820947147312820497
"Sooo apparently there's this myth that only Apple has "unified memory"...?
Every single modern integrated graphics system works the same way. They even share the MM code in Linux.
I just had a reply guy try to argue otherwise with me even when I told him I wrote the driver"
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#93Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#94I hate to say it but their minimum configs feel like a pricing scam. Like the price of a hotel room before taxes & fees. Even store employees will tell you that you really have to go one level up.
Exactly, and I feel this is true American marketing, and what makes Apple a real California company.
Just like American subway, or airfare, or greyhound buses, or even healthcare: at a high, advertised price, it gives you a standard, but miserable, bare minimum, and unsustainable way of living, and pushing you to pay for a high premium to upgrade to make it bearable, at a price a lot of people can’t afford. It’s why Apple is an American company at heart.
Europe doesn’t do that.
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#95Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Sadly Apple seem hell bent on ripping us off. Did you mean "Fortunately, Apple are laser-focused on maximizing shareholder value"?
While some customers will end up paying a lot for more RAM, I have to wonder if Apple really has a good idea about how many potential sales they're losing at the same time, too. They've lost several Mac purchases I would have otherwise made over the last decade, thanks solely to the unjustifiable cost of getting a reasonable amount of RAM for my needs. Yet, as far as I know, Apple has no way of tracking those lost sa…
I assume that they do take this into account and come to the conclusion that the real existing profits from the outrageous prices on RAM and SSD storage outweigh the potential profits from people who don't buy their hardware b/c the refuse to pay the hefty markup.
I totally bought a MacBook Pro with Apple Silicon, fully knowing that I'm getting ripped off big time with added RAM and storage. Yet, it's still the least painful platform for me, and the hardware is really nice, even a few years on. In the end, I expect get a meaningful lifespan of 5+ years of daily use out of the machine. I wouldn't know any other laptop which could provide this kind of service life while constantly being a joy to work with.
Apple know that their user base consists of many people like myself, and milk them accordingly.
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#96Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Sadly Apple seem hell bent on ripping us off. Did you mean "Fortunately, Apple are laser-focused on maximizing shareholder value"?
While some customers will end up paying a lot for more RAM, I have to wonder if Apple really has a good idea about how many potential sales they're losing at the same time, too. They've lost several Mac purchases I would have otherwise made over the last decade, thanks solely to the unjustifiable cost of getting a reasonable amount of RAM for my needs. Yet, as far as I know, Apple has no way of tracking those lost sa…
100% - almost bought a mac mini, but the RAM was a deal breaker.
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
Both the memory controllers and RAM on the Mx are on die components. The number of controllers (binned) count here. I should have been more specific in what I was saying. "The 14-core M3 Max only enables 24 out of the 32 controllers, therefore it has 300 GB/sec vs. the 400 GB/sec for all models of the M1 and M2 Max, while the 16-core M3 Max has the same 400 GB/sec as the prior M1 and M2 Max models."
The DRAM is not on die.
Okay, in looking at tear downs I agree. The point about the on die memory controller is still valid. Cheers!
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
The DRAM is not on die.
Okay, in looking at tear downs I agree. The point about the on die memory controller is still valid. Cheers!
FWIW, almost every x86 computer made in the past 10 years has an on-die memory controller. The only exception is a handful of decade-old machines with "Northbridge" chips inside.
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Sadly Apple seem hell bent on ripping us off. Did you mean "Fortunately, Apple are laser-focused on maximizing shareholder value"?
While some customers will end up paying a lot for more RAM, I have to wonder if Apple really has a good idea about how many potential sales they're losing at the same time, too. They've lost several Mac purchases I would have otherwise made over the last decade, thanks solely to the unjustifiable cost of getting a reasonable amount of RAM for my needs. Yet, as far as I know, Apple has no way of tracking those lost sa…
I have to agree. In an alternate reality where their RAM upgrade pricing is in line with normal market prices, I'm probably a Mac user for the past 10+ years.
Every couple of years I take a good look at their machines and I always reach the same conclusion. Even though I could afford any specification of MBP, their upgrade pricing always feels like a rip-off and I don't enjoy feeling ripped off, so I buy something else.
Re: Apple to upgrade base Macs to 16GB RAM, starting from Apple M4 models
#100I think the one thing people are missing about Apple is that they silently aren't a PC parts maker anymore. They make the high performance competitor to something like the Raspberry Pi, not a traditional PC. This bump is largely going to be keeping their system specs good enough for AI specs while also supporting someone's normal workload. It's a great upgrade if you're never going to use AI. Apple has made something special with tight specs that the average user doesn't fully understand yet.