this post was submitted on 18 Oct 2023
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This. I'm already knocking on the limits of 16GB of RAM. Base mac with 8 is not even a contender for my needs.
The key part of that is that it’s not enough for your needs. For many people, 8gb is more than enough. It’s not for me, so I didn’t buy that config. It sounds like you just bought the wrong machine and now you’re looking for someone to pin your mistake on.
I don't even own a mac. My desktop has 64GB. I have no complaints. I frequently go over 32GB. I can definitely tell you from my years in managed IT services and having the data of hundreds of machines in front of me, 8GB was definitely not enough for a majority of the users.
So you’re just complaining that they’re selling a base machine that’s not specced to your needs?
Oh, and yes, 8gugs is plenty for a lot of people. Obviously not everyone, but for a bigger chunk of the population than most people think.
My complaint is that 8GB is not enough for anyone that uses a computer for more than 3 tabs of internet browsing and a few applications these days. And that the cost of 8GB of RAM right now is dirt cheap but apple wants to charge you a premium for it, like triple or quadruple the cost it actually is on the consumer market. And with many macs not having easily serviceable ram compartment, they're steering you towards hundreds of dollars more for a meager 8GB.
You’re definitely exaggerating about how limited an 8GB machine is. Until last year I used an 8GB intel MacBook Pro from 2016 and it handled all sorts of stuff simultaneously. Photoshop, figma, dozens of massive text document and 100+ page pdfs, several browser windows with upwards of 20 tabs each. Was it using swap? Probably, but that’s what it’s there for. The one thing that did bring it to a grinding halt was compiling/running stuff in Xcode, but that’s not exactly the kind of thing that every person needs to be able to do.
I know someone who uses a base M1 Air to record and produce music, do graphic design, and edit 4K video.
These machines are plenty capable. Maybe not for ultra heavy workloads, but for far more than you give them credit for.
And hey, you can always buy more ram if you think you’ll need it. It’s expensive but over the life of the machine it’s worth it. Or just don’t buy a Mac. If it’s really such a deal breaker, buy something that better fits your needs.
But don’t make sweeping statements about how perfectly capable machines are somehow unusable under a workload that wouldn’t have stressed a computer from nearly a decade ago. It’s simply not true.