MacBook Air 13.3" Laptop: 2560x1600, M1 Chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

SelfPropelledFive

Oct 19, 2022 3:37 AM

1.3K Comments

Joined Feb 2019

SelfPropelledFiveOct 19, 2022 3:37 AM

1.3K Comments

Quote from NikoZ

:

Not on macOS it doesn't… this is an arm64 architecture chip and macOS is extremely efficient at allocating system resources.

I'm speaking from experience. 8GB is the bottleneck.

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LovelyStep957

Oct 19, 2022 3:55 AM

56 Comments

Joined May 2020

LovelyStep957Oct 19, 2022 3:55 AM

56 Comments

Quote from SelfPropelledFive

:

Nope, since you asked. I had the m1 MacBook air for about a year, mostly for mobile work since I have desktop at home, bought November last year. At first things were doing great, I have twenty or thirty tabs open and no problem. Ram is about 5gb and computer stays cool, no fan so no noise either. Great. As time passed, various updates and daily usage. The ram take continues to grow. I am running latest version m1 chrome with youtube AdBlock, honey plugin and bypass paywall. If I am running my normal workload of around ten to twenty tabs, between Google doc, Google sheet, stock, slickdeals, and other miscellaneous websites the computer ram is at full load with 4 to 5 gb swap memory. The computer also heats up significantly if running for a few hours. While the CPU usage is only around 30%. of course we all know chrome ram optimization has never been great but since I use chrome on a daily basis I have no choice but to accept it. Therefore I have concluded the bottleneck to this machine is ram and heat. Which is why 16gb and active fan is what I want in my next laptop.

I would say the Air (either 2020's M1 or this year's M2) is more geared towards average users. Given how many tabs you typically have open, I would say you're probably better suited with a MacBook Pro model. And those have additional memory and fan that address your needs/concerns.

4

94c107ea-869c-45a5-becd-c6b552

Oct 19, 2022 4:00 AM

3.7K Comments

Joined Jul 2019

94c107ea-869c-45a5-becd-c6b552Oct 19, 2022 4:00 AM

3.7K Comments

Quote from abstraxion

:

I bought this as a "student" from Best Buy over a year ago at $749, insane it hasn't come down below that since

How could it, they got rid of gold and the newest iteration is very incremental to down right regressive.

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cheshirecat

Oct 19, 2022 4:28 AM

1.2K Comments

Joined Feb 2007

cheshirecatOct 19, 2022 4:28 AM

1.2K Comments

Quote from BuddyLove99

:

Can you expand the RAM?

No.
Both RAM and SSD are soldered to the motherboard. You are stuck with what you get.
Apple doesn't want you to be able to upgrade anything without paying them $$$.

6

flex360

Oct 19, 2022 4:41 AM

339 Comments

Joined Jul 2014

flex360Oct 19, 2022 4:41 AM

339 Comments

What joke specs for that kinda money. Sheep will still buy it

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2

dealslicker8000

Oct 19, 2022 4:42 AM

184 Comments

Joined May 2010

dealslicker8000Oct 19, 2022 4:42 AM

184 Comments

Quote from AmusedPlastic6071

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Apps + updates will eat up all your storage. Ran out of space for my files. My iPhone backup alone is 200Gb.

The apple pricing of hard drives/memory upgrades is insane. Instead of upgrading to 1tb and 16gm ram, you can just put that money away and buy a brand new base model in a few years

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1

flex360

Oct 19, 2022 4:43 AM

339 Comments

Joined Jul 2014

flex360Oct 19, 2022 4:43 AM

339 Comments

Quote from edwinparker

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Who is storing 256 GB worth of files locally these days? Cloud storage is relatively cheap to offload what you aren't immediately using or needing.

You have no clue about anything. The OS alone will fill up 25% of the drive. Lots of apps cache files for faster loading, just like the photos app does too. I work in IT and Mac users only problem include them running out of space. Outlook app alone can take up 20gb with the data file. You have zero clue about anything

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StraightCashHomie

Oct 19, 2022 4:52 AM

355 Comments

Joined Dec 2014

StraightCashHomieOct 19, 2022 4:52 AM

355 Comments

This is amazing laptop guys i am typing from it right now. Have had it for almost 2 years cant say enough positive things about it.

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1

CTRL-ALT-DEALS

Oct 19, 2022 5:00 AM

7.6K Comments

Joined Sep 2014

CTRL-ALT-DEALSOct 19, 2022 5:00 AM

7.6K Comments

Quote from mail4asim

:

The 2012 iMac came with 8GB... and apple still thinks in 2022... 8GB is enough memory. This is called planned obsolesce.

Exactly why apple products in general are not "slick deals." They also deliberately nerf their phones to make them feel slow with the software update when new phones come out. Shady ass company.

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JollyJuice3134

Oct 19, 2022 5:12 AM

413 Comments

Joined Nov 2021

JollyJuice3134Oct 19, 2022 5:12 AM

413 Comments

Quote from edwinparker

:

Who is storing 256 GB worth of files locally these days? Cloud storage is relatively cheap to offload what you aren't immediately using or needing.

How do you use cloud storage when you can't connect to it, huh genius?

1

HapShaughnessy

Oct 19, 2022 5:15 AM

14.5K Comments

Joined Sep 2005

HapShaughnessyOct 19, 2022 5:15 AM

14.5K Comments

Apple sure is suckering a lot of people here lately with their crap 8GB 256 computers.

"8GB Is Enough, but 16GB Might Still Be Worth the Extra Cost"
Especially if you're into data science, digital cinema, or other data-heavy use like video and photo editing with pro apps.

And resale values will suffer greatly percentage-wise compared to a 16GB/512 unit (or better). Unlike with 2015 and earlier Macs with replaceable and upgradable storage and RAM, you're stuck with what came with it.

The rule: buy as much Mac as you can afford. And consider a Windows PC that can be upgraded and grow with you. And that's a decades-old Mac guy saying this.

https://www.macbookproslow.com/is...am-enough/

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1

HapShaughnessy

Oct 19, 2022 5:18 AM

14.5K Comments

Joined Sep 2005

HapShaughnessyOct 19, 2022 5:18 AM

14.5K Comments

Quote from mohammadsp

:

I always have 10-20 tabs open on Chrome with a 2015 base MacBook Pro with no issues.

Have you checked Swap File use while doing so via Activity Monitor? Note that Chromium-based browsers are resource hogs, especially Chrome.

For those with M1 and later, swap usage will greatly exceed that of Intel units without people seeing much operational difference. These underpowered Macs' longevity of excessive swap files on 256 GB of flash storage does not bode well IMHO. They're non-repairable throwaways, anyway.

https://mac-optimization.bestrevi...-and-more/

Last edited by MrSkeptic October 18, 2022 at 10:25 PM.

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Spaceman6969

Oct 19, 2022 5:24 AM

15.4K Comments

Joined Dec 2015

Spaceman6969Oct 19, 2022 5:24 AM

15.4K Comments

Quote from SlickSmiles

:

Exactly why apple products in general are not "slick deals." They also deliberately nerf their phones to make them feel slow with the software update when new phones come out. Shady ass company.

Interesting. If it plan obsolescence, then let me ask you this then?

Then how come my iPhone SE 2016 is still being supported on iOS 15.4 today? I mean I know it won't be getting iOS 16 but some of the apps are still supporting it.

Maybe I'm just living in borrow time? Curious to hear your input.

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frugalbrutus

Oct 19, 2022 5:27 AM

2.7K Comments

Joined Jan 2004

frugalbrutusOct 19, 2022 5:27 AM

2.7K Comments

Quote from dkendric

:

What happened?

For me, it was Xcode. It takes up a LOT of space, and insists on being on the boot drive. So if you have just a couple of apps, you have it filled up! Crazy town. 256 is only enough if you do everything on the web. A few "horsepower" type apps and it is full. What a royal pain. They should put that in the ad somewhere. "Not recommended for more than 1 app, and def not Xcode"

MacBook Air 13.3" Laptop: 2560x1600, M1 Chip, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD

$799

$999

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