Apple

Had the 8gb of RAM. Never had any issues.

I have a M1 mac air with 16 gb and it was worth it. I’ve never once had an issue with things being slow except for SOME video games on high graphics (I now have a proper gaming pc, so not using it to game anymore)

Ofc I never had 8gb ram so I can’t tell you if its significantly better, but iirc its only like 200 or so extra? and I enjoy it lol

Depends what you're doing with it...

Photo editing may need a bit more. I'm doing some light development with mine on some side projects and haven't hit anything that needed more than 8GB yet.

If photo editing is your line of work and not just a hobby, go for the 16GB and I'd also bump up the storage to 512GB.

Yes, you do, and should pay the extra cash for longevity's sake. With how much memory apps use nowadays, 8GB shouldn't even be offered any longer.

8GB is a good for those basic clerical roles that use email/web apps/notepad/etc.

You’ll be fine with 8gb. These new macs deal with memory is a great way.

People on here love to hype 16for everyone. $200 isn’t chump change for most students.

I would do 16gb just for longevity sake. Unless you plan to upgrade in a couple years.

Wait for m3 with 12gb of ram of you still confused

The answer is yes. The instant you said "gaming and photo editing" the conversation is over. You're going to see less swap by having more available RAM. That has an impact on performance when doing these kind of activities.

Bite the bullet and get the 16gb. You can’t upgrade after you buy your Mac. But for storage, you still can attach SSD over USB.

Tech enthusiast here and I can say for regular/light use. The base configuration works just great.

I have a souped up pc at home and a light macbook air for classes.

I rarely use my PC because the M2 air works great for most of my uses.

Also, M3 macbooks are coming out in a week. I suggest waiting for those to release so you can get a better price on the M2 air.

I max specd an m2 air and it’s nice for majorly multitasking tons of apps but it’s really unnecessary tbh

If you gonna do video editing or image (photoshop etc)... or music production, you should go for 16.

i bought the 2019 mac pro with 8 ram and it was horrible. memory was constantly used up. couldnt even scroll on a shopping website. i made sure i got the 16 ram to avoid this

Another student here. I have the base model M1 Air and I have had 0 issues with the 8gb. I use Teams, Word, Safari, Discord, PyCharm (for my python projects), and even the UTM virtual machine for my linux stuff. I will usually have a good few virtual desktops open aswell so I can navigate to things quickly.

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Of course it always useful to have 16gb nowadays, but I would only recommend it if you have the extra money - good for future proofing your machine.

The classic question never goes out of fashion in this sub.

I have a full print and design business and the base m2 work incredible for backup designers, using photoshop, illustrator and corel at the same time.. Time to stop with the ram questions... Base model will work perfect for years

I need at least 64Gb. How much do YOU need tho?

I don’t have an M2 air, but I do have the M1 air 8GB. For the most part, it’s enough for my schoolwork and browsing. Maybe some quick light editing here and there. However, when I have to have multiple applications, tabs, music, and windows open it’ll stutter. I often have activity monitor open so I can quit anything that isn’t really important at that moment. I’m currently working on a home video regarding a family pet we lost recently. I like to edit while listening to music or watching a show/movie in PIP. I’ve been consistently pushing the 8GB ram to the limits and have to quit even the smallest basic things. Every 100MB of RAM counts 🥲. Just get the 16GB so your chances of running into RAM issues are low.

You can also breath with 1 lung but… it’s not the best

If you’re doing basic stuff then no. Future proof and doing heavier stuff? Yes.

I think it's better to go up to 16GB of ram based on your purpose and you can definitely use that in the future work related purposes. That means it can save you money.

8gb is fine, it’s not a windows machine.

I regret getting 16… wish I had more. Next laptop will be the pro just to get even more. Laptop is still a monster though.

The way macOS utilised RAM is different from Windows. Apple silicon is using System on a Chip (SoC) like in the smartphone, more efficient as it's a single component now, and the memory work is taken from the SSD (swap). The drawback is that your SSD will wear down at a faster rate, and once it fails, you'll need to replace the whole motherboard (expensive).

So, yes, you might not need 16GB of RAM, but your SSD will wear down faster.

Maybe.

YOOO THIS IS SICK

If you're asking this question you don't need 16.

Getting just 8 would be cutting it too close, if you're planning to use this for the foreseeable future, get the option. Also if you ever need to sell it, you'll get a good return on it

actually having good success m2 mb air, 8/256, 1tb ext nvme. memory pressure decent.. running vmware too🤓

If you intend to use it for more than you'd use an iPad for, than yes I think 16gb is probably needed.

Yes, if you can afford it go for it, another benefit some people forget is that it increases your machine lifespan, as having only 8GB of RAM will cause lots of SSD writes due to swap usage, that degrades the SSD faster, and replacing it is very expensive because it’s soldered on.

Gaming lol? Ok buddy, idk what a MacBook is good for other than my current mousepad. But to each their own I guess

You might need the extra RAM for gaming. I have an 8 year old MBP with 8 GB RAM, and the only time it overheats is when I do video editing.

Yes.

Yep even 16gb is not enough when you work with it For example if you go 8 / 256 let's say for photo editing macos will be laggy real fast because of the swapping

Have you looked into Apple's certified refurbished section? They have the 16gb ram model at a cheaper price than a new 8gb model. I've purchased a 2019 refurbished iMac and it still works amazing. We've purchased refurbished Macs for our company with no problems. They look brand new. We would only from apple if it's a refurbished purchase.

I would get 16gb if you can. I have a 2020 M1 8/256 and that's the only thing I wish I did different. My phone has more RAM. Come on apple!

I would go for the 16 over 8, but also understand that MacOS doesn't manage RAM the same way Windows does. You could give yourself unneeded anxiety if you're one of those Activity Monitor hawks without understanding the difference between the two.