M2 Mac - 8GB vs 16GB RAM - Avoid This Costly Mistake!

Are you considering a new M2 or M1 Mac with 8GB of RAM, but unsure if it's enough? You may be surprised to know that 16GB of RAM is overkill for most Mac users.
Whether you're a casual user or power user, this video aims to help you make the right decision when buying a new Mac, ultimately saving you money. In this video, we dive into swap memory usage on the new Macs and its potential impact on your Macs internal SSD.
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Timestamps ⬇
Intro - 00:00
Swap Memory Usage- 0:26
Understanding RAM - 00:42
Understanding SSD - 01:07
Understanding Swap Memory Usage - 01:41
Recommendation - 02:52
Save Your Money - 03:28
Added Perspective - 03:38
Music generated by Mubert (mubert.com/render)
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#Macbook #RAM #8GB #16GB #MacbookAir #MacbookPro #Apps #Productivity #M1 #M2

[@Christomshack]

How much RAM / SSD do you need in a Mac for your workload? Timestamps ⬇ Intro - 00:00 Swap Memory Usage- 0:26 Understanding RAM - 00:42 Understanding SSD - 01:07 Understanding Swap Memory Usage - 01:41 Recommendation - 02:52 Save Your Money - 03:28 Added Perspective - 03:38

[@ShannonTomshack-ho9oj]

The time stamps are great, thank you!

[@nicholas-s-timelines]

64GB and 2TB if possible 🥲

[@nicholas-s-timelines]

As a software engineer, 64GB of ram and 1TB of SSD is the go to configuration for a work laptop from the companies I have worked for.

[@nicholas-s-timelines]

For my own Mac Studio, I got the 32GB, 512GB option because that's what was available at the time and a good enough config.

[@javierneri81]

For my web development workflow, the only time I feel the hit of 8GB of RAM is when I need to use Docker. But as you stated in your video, starting up dev servers and having my 10 - 20 Chrome tabs open, I have no problems so far. Although, I do use Neovim as my editor, so I don't think I would use as much RAM as with VS Code, but I think it should still be fine either way.

[@haziqshah3188]

No silly benchmarks, no blabber, just a chalkboard and straight to the point explanation. Great content! ❤

[@Christomshack]

Much appreciated! Cheers

[@editorkmanikhemmusicprod]

I still don’t understand benchmarks! Would be good to do a video on that . But this video is straight to the point

[@marcoschirrmeister]

Straight to the point explanation?

[@SomeRandomCanuck]

Calling benchmarks silly is hilariously stupid.

[@sebastiangudino9377]

"No silly benchmarks" and "To the point explaination" is such a contradictory statement when talking about the literla performacne of a computer under different conditions

[@Grzeroli1]

You forgot the 95% of the people, who have 65536 browser tabs open 😁

[@TempleMadeSimple]

I'm sorry to break it to you but that's not an accurate percentage.

[@onouphrios]

@@TempleMadeSimpleratio then 🤡

[@driftone-ti6qd]

Thanks kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHWqZZl_q7djfc0si=9F7m8ldTnlTsOm95

[@rabbithole8592]

​@@TempleMadeSimple 86% of percentages are made up on the spot

[@Carmen_Lapadat]

Me

[@mkaushikk]

These types of explanations and clarifications is what most people need, and not the benchmark comparisons - in order to make their decision. Love the way you explained the concept! 👍🏻

[@eliodecolli]

THANK YOU for this! First thing first, it’s straight to the point and concise, no bullshit hyping and stuff, and more importantly it’s pretty much the only video that actually describes the problem at hand and gives a perfectly reasonable solution that I’ve seen so far. Keep it up.

[@TheThaiLife]

The views don't reflect the quality of this video.Please hang in, you are doing a great job and I think you will become one of the top Apple channels. Thanks for the video!

[@Christomshack]

Much appreciated! I am focusing on quality over quantity content to deliver the most value with each video, so it is great to read compliments like this. Thanks

[@waylonnicholson371]

Agreed on the sentiment of this comment! Great quality video. One thought for consideration: A lot of KZbin reviewers are quick to recommend the M1 or M2 MacBook Air models for the majority of users as they offer good value for the price (especially the M1). While I believe their intent is good, and they’re trying to save their viewers money, it’s often forgotten to mention that the vanilla M chips only support a single external monitor. I bring this up because I’ve had a number of people in my family/friend circle purchase an Air model and are disappointed when they can’t use a dual monitor setup while they WFH.

[@Christomshack]

@@waylonnicholson371 Thanks Wayne! Yes, that's one of the largest downsides to the MBA, IMO. I figured since so many other videos mention the single display compatibility that I wouldn't beat the same drum by mentioning it again. Although come to think of it, maybe it would have been a beneficial 10sec. add to the video. Thanks for the comment

[@waylonnicholson371]

@@Christomshack Yeah man, not calling you out-I just typically have KZbin streaming while I work and the majority of reviewers that I see are quick to recommend the Air models, but forget to mention the display count issue. Thought I’d put my word in while you’re still relatively small and reading comments-and before you blow up and have too many comments to read through.

[@anmol3457]

I agree. With so many tech youtubers being excessive it's refreshing to see people who are realistic and do consider use cases and sensible spending instead of buying a 8tb/64gib M1 Max MacBook Pro in the name of some vague, poorly defined idea of 'future proofing'. Granted, the most popular creators don't explicitly recommend configs like this, but this is still what i consider an age of excess.

[@jamUSA24]

As a former software engineer and Data Architect, I’m impressed by how clearly you were able to articulate the memory management and it’s impact on the I/O write/read performance. Great explanation and use of graphics.

[@Christomshack]

Thanks, Joel! What are you doing these days?

[@jamUSA24]

@@Christomshack I’m an Enterprise Information/Data Architect at a bank. I focus in compliance and governance systems.

[@TheShogunOfHarlem]

This damaging your ssd because of writes has been debunked 1000 times. As with most KZbin videos more effort has been put into the quality of the video than the truth of the information

[@dfloper]

@@TheShogunOfHarlem kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZqLFo3-ffL5neck This says the opposite.

[@LoneSolo23]

@@jamUSA24 Data architect sounds like some kind of Batman villain lol.

[@owmegwoagm]

One of the best comparison videos I've ever seen. Straight to the point and simple to understand. Thank you

[@98noir94]

Wow dude.. I’ve finally grasped the idea of ram and ssd much better now. I know all the comments say the same thing but this concept can save a lot of people money and time. Thanks ! Great content and a new sub

[@RobotBoyRobb]

My dude… I know I’m late to the party here, but I gotta say that you absolutely killed it. You explain technology in such an elegant yet straight forward way. It’s like being asked to explain the Internet to a child or someone who knows nothing about how technology works. You seem to have taken the master class here in how you explain things. Now, I know how the Internet works. And I’m a programmer, infrastructure analyst and I always keep up to date on the latest technology trends. But I gotta say it’s sooo refreshing to watch a creator so eloquently describe technology in such a simple manner that is informative, but without assuming that your viewers aren’t tech-savvy or that they are. You explain things how they are. Man, I wrote a short story here but needless to say.. the view count doesn’t reflect the quality. Keep this up man. You’re gonna do big things! Your work here is evident of that.

[@tattooedpierre]

For Apple devices in particular, the most compelling reason I have to go with more RAM is the inability to change this later. As you say; external SSD is relatively cheap and easy to come by, so you can just buy more when needed. With RAM in the MacBook you're stuck with your initial choice, so I always go with the most I can.

[@Christomshack]

Totally agree. Although, with seasonal discounts pushing the M1 MBA down to

[@TranceFan05]

@@Christomshack I saw that 800 dollar deal and saw charts comparing the performance between the m1 and m2 base configurations and am now seriously considering the purchase of the m1.

[@Christomshack]

@@TranceFan05 The M1 chips outperform the M2 in several benchmark tests too. Max Tech have several videos on benchmark testing. Not only do I recommend the M1 models over the M2, I put my wallet where my mouth is and own both a base model M1 MBA and base model M1 MBP. If you want to support the channel, I linked the best prices available for new Macs in the description of the video 🤝

[@TranceFan05]

@@Christomshack Hello chris, I know what you mean and its such a juicy deal. As a remote worker despite building my own gaming pc I find myself with a stronger desire to leave the house so i have been considering a laptop. My dad and I are the last android hold outs in the family but he is considering switching with that in mind I have been pricing a apple conversion. M1 base + 12 Mini is only like 1240 dollars from BB so its very tempting. I Think whats holding me back is the closed system apple keeps trying to expand every year xD. Like for instance the apple card or the recent ( 1 month agoish ) tech support calls I had to take with peopel whose apple tv box would only let them sign the new terms and Cs with another apple device ( now patched). They have always made me a little suspicious about switching over cause I know its a slippery slope. The environments functionality is supreme though. With that in mind im gonna hold out longer and see how I feel. I did however watch your top m2 acessories video and purchase the anker 747 with the affiliate link. Thanks for the concise and detailed videos. Comparison videos are always 100 times more useful than solo reviews. You have earned a non apple user sub :D

[@Christomshack]

@@TranceFan05 Thanks for subscribing! Happy to hear you like the content. I'm interested to hear which model Mac you end up buying, so keep me in the loop!

[@Mrs.Fineapple]

It’s so refreshing to come across a video that gets right to the point. Thank you!

[@AT_ID]

Excellent straight forward video that actually helped me make my decision. Thank you!

[@ShannonTomshack-ho9oj]

Okay… this was the actual greatest explanation I’ve ever experienced regarding computers. It takes me so long to understand new concepts, let alone actually grasp it after 4 minutes. The online classroom was so supportive with my learning style. Seriously - This was wildly helpful. thank you so much!!!

[@Christomshack]

Hey, fancy seeing you here

[@Christomshack]

Glad to hear though, thanks! Hahaha

[@ShannonTomshack-ho9oj]

@@Christomshack how’d I even get here, I’m lost

[@adamrevello3241]

I like how you actually explain the concepts that tech reviewers throw out. Also first time I've seen the chalk board analogy to explain the potential pitfalls of swap memory on SSD. nice work

[@GaFeww]

Instant subscribe! I mean this is one of the best yet shortest explanations I’ve come across in videos of this kind. Hope your channel grows fast.

[@errorfive]

That is the best analogy I've ever seen for SSD wear and tear in my entire 10+ years as an IT professional. Kudos.

[@azndistiny]

can NOT be explained any simpler. Love this explanation and so easy to understand. Sharing this video for family and friends who are just about looking for their next apple upgrade

[@robertbaratheon305]

A content creator that wholly explains their point fast and effectively without droning over minute details to reach the 10 minute mark? Instant subscribe.

[@mikesmith4236]

8 minute mark* but good point

[@poojr1828]

Shutup

[@mikesmith4236]

@@poojr1828 it’s an important note

[@davidisraelii2694]

this was actually SO helpful. thank you for this. i now have much more confidence in my understanding of the mechanics. this makes me feel empowered. really grateful.

[@bricegiraud2001]

Chris, I’m new to the channel : just wanted to tell you that you have a very original an unique way of teaching / speaking about a thematic.and transmitting your thoughts. Never give up what you’re doing, no doubt, you’ll become a BEAST. Keep going man, never let the nesayer push you down. To the way of reaching out 500K (yes five hundred) subscribers. Good skill !

[@Christomshack]

The best comment I've read in a long time. Cheers!

[@secretsocialservice]

This is great! I haven't seen a single KZbinr go over this. They all talk specs. This is much more important. I also don't typically comment anywhere, but I think this video deserves more recognition. And thank you for not making it a 20-30 Minute video and getting straight to the point.

[@Christomshack]

It's comments like this that are the greatest day boosters. Really appreciate you taking the time to leave a comment and happy to hear your thoughts!

[@secretsocialservice]

@@Christomshack Anytime! Looking forward to seeing more of your content.

[@EvansAdam100]

How refreshing that a youtube stays in the real world and makes an honest recommendation like this!

[@DABUAS69]

Very important and always overlooked! Great explanation on memory swapping and management. Thank you!

[@Beetlejoocex3]

I’m trying to learn more about “under the hood” parts when it comes to mobile devices, computers, laptops, etc and make a career change. And I have to say this is the best video I’ve come across in easily explaining things to me. Thank you so much! I’m definitely subscribing and will be watching and learning more!

[@kerrydaniels8460]

If you have the budget I recommend building your own PC. That and/or use a PC builder simulator. You can learn this stuff in a week or two. The harder stuff is on the software/logical end. Knowing the physical does help though.

[@sixxnote]

This is a refreshingly pragmatic approach to giving this type of information. Many YT reviewers fall over themselves on the numbers but it's good to hear clear advice from someone with real software experience. Subscribed!

[@Rood67]

Hands-down, one of the best videos on a computer, memory, drive storage that I have ever seen! This is useful for both Mac users and PC users. As another comment states, no benchmarks, no complex explanation, just common sense was real world examples. Perfection!

[@Christomshack]

Love to read comments like this! Thanks 🤝

[@ThatWhiteKnight]

fantastic. Solely picked this video becasue it was short. Very helpful information. Thank you!

[@ailurophilely]

Thank you!! This exact spec was my pick too, but now I am more confident about it!

[@shannenmaligad4871]

Thank you for the simplified explanation for the SSD and RAM. These are the explanation that most of the tech vloggers miss since they focus more on the appearance of the macbooks.

[@Cldyefrog12]

Really great job of simplifying swap memory. Quick and to the point video. 👍

[@oakacc952]

Video ends abruptly (which is weird) but the way you've explained everything deserves a shoutout. Simple, objective and didactic! Congratulations! Apart from the end, your editing skills, lighting setup, sound quality, bgm choice (especially volume), screen composition and your thumbnails are also on point! I've seen a lot of "amateur" content on youtube (I mean no disrespect with the expression) and I'm really impressed with your video. Keep doing what you're doing!

[@montavio]

Video was perfect but no ending 😂

[@bidyo1365]

🤣🤣🤣@@montavio

[@charleskra]

He must have ran out of RAM! HA!

[@masterchief1342]

wow. its has been FOREVER since ive seen the popcorn time logo..your profile picture

[@GPDF]

​@@charleskra😂😂😂😂😂

[@patrickduchene3181]

This was a great video! Nice visual aid. That is really helpful to understand how the swap works. Thanks a lot. You’re a great teacher.

[@stephenvalente3296]

If it wasn’t for the closed architecture preventing user upgrades in terms of both memory and storage, think a lot of people would be happier to start off with a lower spec model. However, given Apple Silicon is locked upon production, I’d still go for a 16Gb/512Gb option with any discounts when purchasing. If Apple hadn’t nobbled the 256Gb SSD, staying external for additional storage would have been easier to opt for.

[@DaveDFX]

You can solve this problem by selling the old laptop and upgrading :) I got 8Gb MacBook Air and basic photoshop hit swap already. System and graphics uses around 3 to 4Gb leaving apps with very little. Back in the days we used to swap to HDD and old school users know the impact of swap.

[@nikknence]

Finally, a straightforward review without unnecessary fluff-straight to the point!

[@feliciasalgado597]

Excellent video! Beautifully done and the visuals were really helpful too. Thx!

[@robcor80]

Recently upgraded my 2011 iMac to a M2 mac mini, ended up going with the 16gb ram. Though I’m not a super heavy user or a content creator I do like editing photos, have a bunch of apps open, and occasionally do a little video editing, also been thinking about teaching myself how to code, so I feel like 16 was good fit for me. Nice job Chris explains ram 👍🏽

[@Christomshack]

Glad to hear you liked the explanation! How are you liking the new M2 mini?

[@robcor80]

@@Christomshack enjoying it man, it's been super fast so far. Though I'm used to the iMac already having a camera, using my iPhone as a camera been pretty good so far.

[@Christomshack]

@@robcor80 no webcam must be weird to get used to! Are you using one of the monitor mounts for the iPhone? I sent one to a friend and they love it

[@robcor80]

@@Christomshack you know what I totally forgot about those mounts, I've just been using my tablet/phone stand, it gets the job done and I don't mind the camera off to the side a little.

[@Burps___]

Hi Robert, I was in your same shoes but, despite already owning M1 Macbook Pro (16 GB RAM), I bought my M2 Mac Mini with 8 GB and gulped big hoping it’d be fine since, when I use my Macbook Pro my system often uses 12+ GB of RAM…I’m a 3-browser, 40 tabs each plus apps running guy. Lo and behold, the 8 GB Mac Mini works without a hitch! Can’t tell any difference at all…no lag, no beach balls. This supports Chris’s suggestion in the video. I sort of laugh when every other KZbinr says “you’ll want 16 GB to future-proof your machine”…they don’t seem to get that the $200 RAM upgrade is 40% the cost of a brand new Mac Mini…in the “future” I’ll just buy a new Mac Mini with the money I saved in RAM 😂

[@fabian98f]

Your are the first KZbinr I saw who recommend the base model for those people who just need a Macbook for basic tasks and don't want spend much money. Thanks for a clear and objective review and opinion! Great Video. New Subscriber! 😁

[@Christomshack]

Much appreciated! Glad to hear you liked the video - Thanks for the comment

[@haris_ahmad98]

Amazing Video, No BS cut straight to the point and answered all the questions I had. 👍🏼

[@blaken091]

Thank youuuu for making this understandable for the 90-95% of us that are not editing massive files! Greatly appreciate the short and to the point explanation!

[@chefTjay]

Like fr broo😂

[@ronb7105]

Amazing video, quick and without the fluff, really enjoyed the chalkboard analogy. Subbed and going to check out more of your channel. This is my first Mac and as tempting as it was to upgrade, I went the base M2 Air model. I am pleasantly surprised with the performance and the lack of constant updates. I can see this machine lasting me a few more years than my previous laptops, wish this video was up a few months ago when I was researching, it would've made the decision easier :)

[@Christomshack]

Much appreciated, Ron. I do my best to keep the videos as short as possible while still delivering the most value I can, so I appreciate your comment. Congrats on the new M2 MBA! How is it handling your workload so far?

[@ronb7105]

@@Christomshack I’m finding the ecosystem rather interesting, it’s fitting my needs and to date hasn’t let me down. Basic small business and accounting with a side of daily browsing streams etc, definitely happy with the performance.

[@Blair_chronicles]

This! This is the best explanation I’ve heard. As a person who has basic knowledge ONLY of computers and literally having no idea what these were you explained it very well for someone like me. Thank you! Definitely deserved getting a subscription!

[@gwgrote5]

Awesome video. Thank you so much. I just bought the M2 MBP and was worrying if I got enough storage. You explained it brilliantly.

[@coldheartcloud]

best shortest explanation ever without stupid talk around the problem - thank you!

[@Christomshack]

Glad to hear! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🤝🏼

[@derektorres6260]

This video is a great quick look at this conundrum. I work at Costco and do my fair share of Apple product sales. I do tend to recommend upgrading the SSD over more ram. But I am also quick to point out that we have external SSDs for 1tb/$80, and when they’re on sale 2tb/$130 (normally $190).

[@loganmedia1142]

Are those external SSDs the same speed as the internal one?

[@_NIck_B_]

Great way of explaining!! I am looking into getting the new iMac and the whole ram thing been so frustrating to decide.. thank you a lot for helping!!

[@nitrogen057]

So far - best video and overall explanation I’ve ever seen on such topic. Very very well done ! 😊

[@chriscasillas]

THANK YOU. I've had the base model M2 Air since launch almost a year ago. That thing is lightning quick, even with 8GB of RAM. I typically have 5-6 apps open at a time. Including apps like Photoshop and audio editing software. The Air breezes through all of it. I've always said that the base model has plenty of horsepower for 90-95% of users out there as well. Your take on this topic is spot on.

[@rafin8458]

What about storage tho?

[@chriscasillas]

@@rafin8458 I’ve got 10+ years of documents and graphics from our church on it and it’s a little over half full. 256GB of storage is totally fine for the average user.

[@priyankmehra532]

How's your experience been? Is it good enough? Especially for video editing, does slower SSD impact performance in comparison to M1 Air ? Planning to buy a Macbook Air very soon. Need a Lil guidance

[@priyankmehra532]

How's your experience been? Is it good enough? Especially for video editing, does slower SSD impact performance in comparison to M1 Air ? Planning to buy a Macbook Air very soon. Need a Lil guidance

[@skjoldgames]

Agreed, you can always find storage work arounds, like network storage or external drives, but you can't upgrade your RAM, and when you need it, you're really gonna need it.

[@Christomshack]

Totally agree!

[@elderguimaraes3333]

Really the best video I’ve seen on the subject! Congratulations!!! Keep it up!!! 💪🏾

[@bikerinside_tech]

Great video editing, explanation, voice and words usage. Subscribed!

[@chrispoor2017]

I have been in IT management for almost 30 years, and this is the best explanation for the difference between RAM and storage memory I have ever heard. Great job!

[@JM_2019]

Now finally even IT management can understand it. :)

[@peacewalker991]

Honestly this was such a fantastic breakdown with no nonsense and simple explanations. Great work

[@twosailz]

Thank you very much for an excellent presentation. I am looking at going to MAC from Windows and have been totally confused by the RAM requirements. I look forward to viewing many more of your presentations.

[@anthonythudium]

One of the best videos on tech period - that I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks!

[@Youba05]

I think it’s absolutely criminal from Apple to charge +$200 for 8gb of extra ram when ram prices have SIGNIFICANTLY dropped down (laptop 8gb ddr4 ram go for less than $25), they used to charge that in 2019, and they’re still charging the same amount.

[@twystedhumour]

I disagee. I think it's criminal to KEEP buying overpriced products when you don't like what the company is charging. Bottom line: they're not holding a gun to your head to buy.

[@minigiant8998]

apple is a premium company. it's not the dollar store so dont expect low prices. their polishing cloth is $19 and it was backordered for weeks.

[@gamerjamessss]

@@minigiant8998you say that like it's worth the price and many of the "dollar store" options aren't better and cheaper than what apple offers

[@mrsamot4677]

Is apple silicon unified memory?? And it’s apple?? Of course it’s gonna be expensive. This isn’t DDR4 bro.

[@Youba05]

@@mrsamot4677 ah yes, like it’s made out of different components. It’s almost the same shit, and yes they should charge more for it, but they’re charging the same amount they did in 2019 even tho it’s like thrice as cheap to make? Smh.

[@praveenstomp2471]

I feel higher RAM config is must needed (for Professional & Smalll Business Users) as we deal with Multiple active web tabs along with other resource hungry apps like (Whatsapp, MS Office Suite, Mailbox, Notes / Drafts, Reminders, Zoom / Teams). So 16gb is really needed even if ur not an editor, but a professional who uses multiple software suites to monitor ur business activity.

[@matthewwilliams7011]

Amazing explanation, I never knew about this despite watching so so many videos. No funny nonesense here when you said you were going to share something new and value add. Good job man!

[@Leyla_Aliyeva]

Such an amazing explanation. Thank you so much! ❤

[@thekittyspy]

Interesting video and great explanation but I think a good suggestion for the future in terms of RAM amount that you need is really to mention how many tabs you run on average either in Safari or other browser. If you run 30+ tabs in Safari on 8GB of ram you tend to start hitting swap pretty heavily, especially if you have 2-3 KZbin tabs open at the same time too.

[@len5499]

When I hear about someone with 30+ tabs open, it makes me think there’s a mismatch between their habits and their expectations. At work, I use 3 monitors but keep my applications to a minimum. If someone chooses to have a lot of tabs open, especially with videos, they should anticipate that it’ll demand a lot of resources. It’s not just about needing more RAM. It’s about understanding how our choices impact our tech’s performance. While everyone works differently, being mindful of how our habits affect what we expect from our devices can save us a lot of frustration.

[@GamingPIPI]

same, especially if you use chrome the RAM will get crazy lmao. And I use soooo many tabs when writing a thesis

[@user-ci3dm2jf1y]

I have 5 tabs open, and it's struggling to even write this comment (15" base model m2). It actually takes about 8 second for my text to display. Crazy.

[@GamingPIPI]

@@user-ci3dm2jf1y that’s really weird. Is something wrong maybe? I have never heard people reporting those issues. I chose for 16gb ☺️

[@GamingPIPI]

@@user-ci3dm2jf1y my ram is always at a minimum of 8-9gb in use but that’s because it uses more if the capacity is there 😅. Yours should optimise itself for 8gb setup

[@cakekomo]

I think you did a great job explaining what swap is and what it can be used for, but you definitely understated the potentially severe performance impact swap memory can have. Sure it’s not as bad as the HDD days, but you are still talking 100-200us compared to 50-150ns. Pretty big difference and definitely noticeable depending on what you are doing.

[@AlaskanFrost98]

I appreciate this video. You sir are a man who knows the right way to explain from all angles. Solid work 💪🏻

[@baekimin21]

Excellent explanation. I really need concise and straight to the point videos like this. Thank you so much

[@sggsquadpresents]

Swap memory works also on gaming desktops with descrete GPUS. This is known as the resizable bar option in the bios menu. Basicly when in a gaming desktop the GPU runs out of dedicated VRAM it starts using the system ram (much slower than VRAM). Then in the rare chance of you running out of system and gpu memory, the GPU and CPU start making swap files on the SSD. That is one of the reasons why on a cheap laptop with low ram you get slowdowns after a couple min of use. Keep in mind that there are different additional factors to this.

[@oakmen4604]

This is wrong. Resizable Bar just increases the PCIE bandwidth so the vRAM can be filled faster. A portion of the game is read from storage by the CPU and is written into RAM, then through the CPU into the GPU. Every time you load into a new area this happens, unless it's an open world and areas are streamed in. Streaming is the same process except there's no loading screen. The GPUs video memory will never be written to the SSD because, THAT'S WHERE THE INFORMATION CAME FROM TO BEGIN WITH.

[@alexandredanelon]

I have a MacBook Air M1 base model with 8GB of ram and 256 of SSD. Actually I’m using it to development with heavy tools like Rider IDE and Docker desktop. With this softwares running and some safari tabs the memory pressure keeps on 60%. Really the MacOS memory management is great. I guess is best to me upgrade the SSD to 512 in next Mac.

[@jutjub22]

I have the same setup Rider and Docker, Chrome and few other apps - strangly seems fine, even with two user accounts. I had 16GB model also, and so far I do not notice difference.

[@dpc316]

Chris excellent overview, thank you for breaking it down in terms of memory allocation. I work in software development and have not had any issues with 2019 MacBook Pro with 16 gigs memory.

[@smi_simplygg5857]

you dont know how much i was looking for this, I love you bro, I will edge to this for sure!

[@TheCaike08]

Great video, thanks for making it simple enough to understand :) I'm a web developer, and I'd say I'm on the fence between the refurbished 14 M1 Pro vs the 14 M2 Pro. I know that, in practice, even the M1 air would do the job gracefully. However, now with the M1 Pro refurbished, it's hard not to see it as the best deal. I'd say that the only "missing feature" that concerns me about M1 Pro vs M2 Pro is battery life. Though it might be just a FOMO situation. Since you mentioned you ended up purchasing a 14 M1 Pro, I'd like to ask you: how's your experience with that machine? What about its battery life?

[@Christomshack]

When available through Apple, the refurbished MBP 14" is an unbeatable value right now and is the same model I purchased. Highly recommend it. It will handle web development with ease and the battery life in most Macs are more than enough IMO.

[@GamingPIPI]

Do you think there’s a downside to getting a (third party) refurbished macbook?

[@HenriqueAraujoCunha]

I recently upgraded my MBP 13” Core i7+16Gb over to a MBP 14” M2 Pro+32Gb. My normal usage is not heavy, but considering long term usability+speed I believe that more RAM is the best upgrade possible.

[@Christomshack]

Totally agree!

[@stove.d]

I doubt you would notice a difference between the M2 with 16GB vs 32GB. The upgrade from i7 to M2 is massive and, as explained in the video, has benefits beyond those two upgrades "on paper". Though if you don't plan on upgrading again in 5 years or so you won't regret the extra ram

[@HenriqueAraujoCunha]

@@stove.d I choose to upgrade and have more RAM (32Gb), as I usually keep my MacBook during around 5 years. So this helps keeping him performing very fast. Plus when a resell it, this will be a differentiator.

[@bigdocus]

I'm a bit confused by this advice to be honest. I just opened up activity monitor on my Mac with 16GB of ram. I'm using over 13GB. I'm nothing like a heavy user. I have evernote open, MS Word and Excel, a VOIP app, and 2 web browsers. I had 8GB before and it was really laggy. Since upgrading (to a 2017 Macbook pro...) I've had no problems. I'm not in the 5-10% of heavy users but I definitely need more than 8GB.

[@maddyaalyah_]

This video is amazing. As someone looking into learning more, this helped so so much. Thank you!

[@kingsleygyekye8906]

My experience with the base M2 Air wasn't as pleasant though. It couldn't handle my full-stack development needs as well as I wanted. It would heat up so often causing it to lag. Sometimes when I had to present something I've worked on during a Google Meet call my laptop would be really slow and keep freezing. I eventually had no choice but to upgrade to the 14 inch M1 pro.

[@LIRichard-cv6hs]

what's full steck develop

[@MBmysterio]

Did you find that the 14-inch M1 pro is comfortable to use? I heard several people complaining about (1)how much their wrists hurt after using it and (2) how sharp the edges felt.

[@kingsleygyekye8906]

@@MBmysterio I personally haven't any such issue. It feels comfortable to use for me

[@wesswood1]

8 gigs will be fine for the majority of users I'd say...

[@KAravind-qt7wr]

Cse students??

[@fullbox4314]

Love the chalkboard analogy. Good visuals. Great content. Subd!

[@peggy_web]

Thanks so much for this great vid. Really helpful and insightful 😊

[@conorcurley6798]

While I agree getting more RAM is a good idea to reduce swapping, which can, in theory, cause damage to the SSD, I think there's a couple of practical things to consider first. Before assuming the SSD is damaged due to read/write, I'd wipe the system and reinstall MacOS. Don't restore a Time Machine backup, clone your system onto an external drive and start from scratch. With your data being consistently written around RAM swaps, fragmentation comes into play too, especially if your SSD gets full. SSD failure due to NAND failure is quite rare, some SSDs with SLC NAND (1 bit per cell) can withstand up to 10,000 write cycles before failure. Apple uses TLC NAND (3 bits per cell) as far as I'm aware, which is a bit lower at around 3000 write cycles. Think about how often you write enough data to fill your SSD, then remove all of it and start again. You'd have to do that 3000 times to see damage. This equates to a total write over the lifetime of your Mac of 3 petabytes. Or it equates to rendering 1TB of video every day for 3000 days (which is still 10 years...). Great video though, haven't heard of SSD write damage being described like that before, it's a great analogy.

[@yourmomsboyfriend3337]

Yeah, as a CS graduate this was the first time I’d ever heard of damaging your SSD as a consequence of swap memory. Usually, I’d just say you want to avoid using swap memory because is ungodly slow. Never really imagined damaging the SSD was an issue

[@lafemmedevastation]

The biggest problem with folks who're going the route of saving money on the storage is the way that Apple has baked-in the SSD bottleneck with lower NAND configurations, and graduates the performance based upon how many chips you config in your order. Apple knows _precisely_ how to structure the rollout of a product (down to the very SoC) to assure the most money possible comes from folks who're wanting to future-proof, and the unassuming *crucial* info that they know tech-heads will be looking for is what makes our wallets hurt the most.😿

[@paulmeyer1001]

Yeah I'm surprised he didn't mention the gimped SSD speeds on the base model.

[@krane15]

Absolutely. Its a science with they and nobody does it better. That's why they're a trillion dollar company. Just not by me.

[@whyzee007]

I don’t think the SSD speed’s actually matter for day to day tasks.

[@Ben21756]

@@whyzee007 It actually does matter. Faster SSD speeds equal less time required for a machine to do a certain task, which makes for a more responsive and faster overall user experience. The base model M1 is actually faster than the base model M2 by 75% in certain cases due to the superior NAND speed.

[@egbront1506]

​@@Ben21756For basic websurfing and office use, even the gimped M2 256GB config is plenty fast enough. Those who have higher performance demands are more likely to purchase better specified notebooks anyway

[@user-kr3le5ix2x]

truly excellent if only more youtubers was as direct yet simple as you!!! thank you

[@mykolashatkovskyi576]

Thanks, Chris - you've helped me to make a decision - liked and subscribed. Pls, keep going.

[@ikanfs3120]

I use M1 MBA 8/512 for full stack web development using Next JS + Prisma + Supabase + Typescript and it went very smooth. My senior at work said 8 GB won't be able to handle it but he was surprised when my mac can do all of those intellisense stuffs on a big project in an instant, it's just weird he said.

[@Christomshack]

Love to hear it! I'm a huge fan of that web dev stack as well 🤝

[@chokdeesam2365]

Do you think it’s enough for three.JS, animation JavaScript ?

[@jpadicecoffee9812]

Good job Chris in the memory and white board analogy. For myself, having 16GB RAM now is the most important component to prolong a laptop's life since everything else on a MAC\PC can't be upgraded later and is essential if you're doing the fun stuff like video edits, Adobe apps, and running IDEs. I keep my daily laptop for at least 4 years+.

[@jesselam5867]

Yeah was gonna say, his points are true if you are happy to use it for a few years, but even if you look at his workflow for the 16GB model it looks as if he is hitting 80% memory pressure. Give it a few years and he will definitely have to upgrade even though the rest of the computer perfectly works. Even for the average user, in theory you can save money by upgrading the ram to 16GB so you can hold it in for longer as typically the ram is the first thing to get outdated.

[@kerrydaniels8460]

​@jesselam5867 You're right on the money. I got the 16GB/512GB and saved $400 dollars by letting someone else pay for the upgrade. I went refurbed and it was a brand new laptop really in mint condition. I wasn't gonna pay the insane markups, but also wasn't gonna buy without 16GB of RAM, because I knkw better. Additionally, technically the bigger SSD's will overwhelmingly tend to last longer to if bigger (which is why Apple should allow you to upgrade your own instead of beings dicks tbh...). TBW way higher. I plan on keeping mime 5+ years. I run VM's on it so I'm not messing sound with only 8GB.

[@AngryMicrowavee]

Appreciate this, short and informative as ffff thank you brother

[@deniko17]

thank you! great content. all my questions answered

[@acsw]

So glad I found your channel! I'm currently debating trading my M1 MacBook Pro in for an M2 MacBook Air, simply because I'm a student & would prefer to pack around a lighter laptop, but I'm nervous at the idea of this "downgrade." I don't use any of the IO so going down to fewer doesn't bother me. The main things that concern me with this are the screen, sound, & battery life. The most I do on my computer is run multiple Chrome tabs/windows for research while writing essays. Do you think an M2 MacBook Air is sufficient for me? The base model? I do have over 100k photos so I would go for higher SSD, but do I really need to upgrade to 16gb of ram? Hope you see & respond to this comment!

[@dlofiasco]

No you won't need the higher amount of RAM unless you are planning to have like an extensive amount of tabs open...based off of what you have described you should be able to get by just fine. I'm assuming your photos are stored on the cloud?

[@priyankmehra532]

How's it going till now, and how's your experience with it? Do you do any video editing on it? If yes, how it is as compared to M1 MacBook Pro? I am planning to buy a mac soon!

[@acsw]

@@priyankmehra532 I traded it in a couple weeks after this comment for the Air & I am so glad I did! However, I will say that for the purposes of video editing, I would go with the Pro. My Air does lag every now & then, or freeze/stop responding. I tend to have multiple browser windows with multiple tabs open running at once, plus PowerPoint or Word, & sometimes Excel. I don't do any media on it because I do all that on my phone or iPad. The Air works well for me because of its size & weight, but the Pro was definitely faster, had a better screen, & more reliable when running multiple programs at once.

[@miketech1024]

As a senior-level systems engineer, I’d like to give my ringing endorsement of this information’s technical soundness. Fantastic video all around! Definitely earned my subscription. This channel is going places…

[@Christomshack]

Thanks for the support and comment, Mike! 🤝

[@3_pancakes767]

Maybe youtube is missing some super entry level videos that dumb down what computer components do instead of just assuming everyone knows how they work.

[@pietrokron5879]

Thanks for this amazing explanation! great content bro

[@vivalasexy]

I got a M2 Pro 14 inch to reply to emails and scroll the internet 😂

[@russ0659]

Really helpful video. I’m getting ready to trade in my 2015 macbook pro for a newer Air in the coming time. Your review of how memory works helped to decide whether or not to upgrade to 16GB. But I am curious as to how you actually use an external SSD with 256GB. That is, do you set your docs etc there? What about synchronisation with iCloud or back-ups of data on the external drive? After a few years on this mac (I bought it second hand), my 256 is getting closer to being full, not just because of sync with iCloud, but because of the size of the libraries some of my software (research oriented programs that work best when the entire system and all files are locally installed).

[@stevens6654]

Nicely stated...but there's also the unsaid issue of future-proofing a computer. Getting a unit with a somewhat larger capacity is frequently a good idea, because disk space gets filled pretty quickly in the best of conditions. Increasing the RAM, too, allows you to address the ever-increasing load on your computer. It's like a kind of insurance.

[@familymovie5799]

only that with all the past mac laptop issues weve seen, you cant even be sure that it will survive and so upgrading and future proofing means little if the machine is dead on arrival so to speak. In my case, my mbp 15 inch 16gigs 250ssd didnt last more than a year before it starte breaking down and become totally unusable, now it finally died and I need a new one, dont think ill fix it even if it may just be the battery and a fix for 200 dollars (cost me 2,5k). But that def left a deep traumatic experience and now i think going for the cheapest / best ratio money can get might be better than trying to think it will last 3-5 or more years. Even this guy here making the vid seemed to have changed his out 1,5 later because the ssd slowed down or died due to the swap memory which you have really no control over. In the past, you would have just swapped the ssd disk yourself, but apple made sure no one can do this alone. Cooperate greed like with all their latest machines, damn shame, they used to be a fine company or at least so it seemed!

[@peterw9006]

@familymovie5799 he swapped bc his demands increased, not bc the performance decreased

[@anlanther]

Also a software engineer here! I recently won a M2 MacAir for free with base specs (8gb RAM, 250gb SSD) and because most of my friends are non-tech, the amount of them saying I should just 'upgrade' my current M1 MacAir (16gb RAM, 500gb SSD) just don't get my dilemma. Thanks for making this video so that they can better understand what I've been trying to get at

[@RabianskiT]

Oh man 😅 I would probably stick to M1 with 16GB of RAM. 8GB of RAM might become a BOTTLENECK sooner. It’s AWFUL that Apple only offers 8GB of RAM for brand new M3 MacBook PRO 😬

[@extraordinaryfilmguy1412]

This video helped me out SO MUCH. Earned a sub bro. Well done.

[@Zyngawf9]

This was such a good video. Well made, and very helpful. Thank you

[@Etienne85]

I'm part of the 5% to 10% :) My current wish is upgrading the memory instead of the SSD. Also as software engineer, I use a lot of thing opened at the same time, especially browser tabs. I often find myself writing 40-80GB per day on my M1 base model even when trying to be reasonable. One thing I would like to be sure of is that the 16GB will indeed decrease swapping, as some seems to say they still observed SSD usage with the 16GB.

[@OShackHennessy]

I think 16/500 is the sweet spot

[@Etienne85]

@@OShackHennessy Ideally, but the price then is close to the M2 Pro 14" which is already 16Gb/500Gb by default.

[@OShackHennessy]

@@Etienne85 I think Apple's upgrade scam is ridiculous. And to answer your question yes 16 GB will indeed decrease your swapping. What I do not know is if your use case would require more RAM than 16GB. I don't care what the fanboys say about how special apple's SOC is with magical RAM because 8GB is still not enough for anyone other than grandma. My wife has an M1 Mac mini with 16/1TB and I still notice some small amount of swap occurring. For the record she is a very basic user who does cloud based work with maybe 6 Safari tabs and a document scanner app and a couple PDF's. If you want to keep your Mac for 6 plus years then go big, if you plan to upgrade in 2-3 then buy whatever. I am a PC user and my laptop has 32GB ang desktop 64GB. Overkill yes but I don't want to stay up at night worrying about whether I bought the right system and for mere pennies I can feel secure. I so much wanted an M2 Air but refuse to spend a fortune getting it up to spec.

[@Etienne85]

​@@OShackHennessy Before moving to mac, I would never have chosen less than 16GB but in order to keep price attractive I chose M1 base model. I was surprised not noticing the 8GB RAM but was at the price of swap madness. So I chose to run any heavy server tasks on remote Linux which is very suitable for that purpose and keep the mac for browsing/deving which was the main reason I chose it in first place: easy to carry around and unmatched user experience (touchpad, screen, sound, autonomy). My last concern now is the screen which I need a bit bigger and also more RAM to further reduce swapping. Let's hope 15" with 16GB RAM will be the right fit

[@nasastar]

I'm so happy I stumbled upon this video. Kudos to Chris for explaining things clearly and opening my eyes that no, I don't need a 16 gb RAM according to my use case. I really thought I needed a 16 RAM but thinking again, use case, I don't use my device for hardcore editing or rendering. Heck, I barely use Photoshop. I'm thankful this video gave me reassurance that yes, by purchasing the base model IS enough for what I need it to do. Thanks, Chris!

[@CRF250R1521]

You are getting scammed by being an apple user. My PC I built in 2016 has 16gigs of ram, currently worth $33 on amazon lol. More RAM is not required but makes the computer feel fast and smooth when you have more than one thing open. Yall are pathetic.

[@Bluemudphoenix]

@@CRF250R1521thank you for enlightening us. We all bow down to you.

[@ThePeanutWillEscape]

@@CRF250R1521 Congrats. How well does that PC tower fit in a backpack?

[@Bluemudphoenix]

Thank you. This is what I needed to hear.

[@shanejones8192]

Just order the new iMac M3 and was trying to figure out what if any upgrades I should get. Almost every other reviewer claimed 16GB and 512SSD was all but required which I thought was odd. You are the first reviewer that actually acknowledged that the vast majority of people like myself will just use their Macs for the basic tasks like watching videos reading the news etc. I wanted to get the upgrades, but the difference in price was $1300 base model compared to $1900 for 10 core GPU, 16 GB, and 512SSD, which was too much, the base model will work just fine for my needs.

[@sfisosg7904]

Alot of KZbinrs are also thinking of future proofing because 8GB and 256GB is good now but what about in 3-years time you will be low on storage and u can't upgrade it at all

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

Great video, it’s a bit crazy to think hard drive speeds have gotten so fast that they are no longer a huge bottleneck to system speed. Ssd technology has really been a huge game changer.

[@Christomshack]

Couldn't agree more 🤝

[@PSYCHOV3N0M]

Hard drives and solid state drives are two completely different things.

[@minigiant8998]

@@PSYCHOV3N0M ty captain obvious.

[@kerrydaniels8460]

They are still waaaaaay slower than RAM and shouldn't be seen as a decent alternative to RAM really. If you're using a lot of swap it is definitely detrimental to your overall system and especially on macs where once the internal SSD goes you're screwed. The majority of the system runs on RAM. If you were to run it on the SSD purely then it would not have the same performance. So essentially, no SSD have not caught up to RAM nor do modern SSD's prevent any issues in performance if you're using too much RAM. You still will take a performance hit or even crash. You may not mean it, but I want to make it clear that storage is no replacement for RAM. It's a last resort.

[@SeemsLikeSomething]

@@kerrydaniels8460 I definitely did not mean that, correct. I was just making a general remark about the shift from mechanical drives to ssd’s.

[@fractalelf7760]

Very good breakdown on the question. I do think to the point - if you use memory-intensive applications or several large apps at once, more RAM should be common sense. My only quibble here is SSDs have improved a lot on combatting the impact of swapping on degradation, but it’s still wear and tear.

[@BartekZubr]

I needed this video, thank you.

[@sergioguidi7294]

Thanks bro! nice to have a programmer's opinion in this matter. So, you have been working as a full stack developer on the m1 8gb ram without problems (having multiple tabs open, VS Code instances, etc). and you didn't notice a considerable impact on the swap memory usage, did you? I think that 8gb of RAM for the same workload on a Windows PC woudln't be enough, so, do you think that M1/M2 processors have better RAM management? or in other words, do you think they require less RAM compared to Windows laptops? Cheers!