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8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests (www.macrumors.com)
submitted 2 years ago by [M, B] to c/technology@lemmy.world
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8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests::Apple's new MacBook Pro models are powered by cutting-edge M3 Apple silicon, but the base configuration 14-inch model starting at $1,599...

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[–] 258 points 2 years ago (41 children)

The sheer idea of selling a 8gb machine in 2023 is kinda wild

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  • [–] 165 points 2 years ago (22 children)

    8 gigs of ram for some shitty laptop is fine. Like the air shipping with 8 gigs of ram is fine (not great, but fine)

    But for a "Pro" machine, let alone a 1600 dollar computer is insane.

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  • [–] 45 points 2 years ago* (5 children)

    MacBook Air is a $1000 computer too though :/ I bought a Thinkpad t480s with 8gb of (upgradable) ram for less than that back in 2019. currently running it with 24gb.

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  • [–] 10 points 2 years ago* (4 children)

    Even Lenovo is starting to drop upgradable ram from their machines. T480 was the last T*4 series with dual upgradeable ram slots. T490 and up all have at least 1 soldered stick, and the AMD machines now don't come with any upgradeable ram. Their prices to upgrade are at least reasonable unlike Apples.

    Shit I got a T16 gen 3(?) for my mom a few months ago and it came with only 8 gigs of soldered ram. That machine is even worse than Apple because AMD locks away 1.5 gigs of ram for just the APU. Intel at least only hard reserves like 256MB or something. Apple gives you the full 8 gigs of ram to play with, no duplicates in CPU memory and GPU memory, plus their really fast swap.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago* (2 children)

    AMD locks away 1.5 gigs of ram for just the APU

    You can change this allocation from the BIOS if you are so inclined. Not that it makes it any better. Sharing 8 gigs between cpu and iGPU is only acceptable when you are doing nothing but web browsing on the laptop/pc

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  • [–] 12 points 2 years ago (7 children)

    My kid grabbed an 8/256 M2 Air when they first launched last year, and is still overjoyed with its performance. He has a PS5 for gaming, so the Mac is for uni work and downloading shit. 8gb RAM isn't inherently bad.

    It's just as you said though; it's bad for a "Pro" machine.

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    $1000+ for basic word processing and web is bonkers to me.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    1000$+ for uni shit is the most astounding thing I've ever heard

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Man, you should watch new series of Planet Earth then, because there are some significantly more astounding things on that than someone spending their own money on a computer they wanted.

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  • [–] 7 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    What is someone likely to use a shitty laptop for? Open a web browser to run ~1080p video?

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    My exeperience is lot of people just want an ipad they can type on. The m2 air is basically the same size and weight as an ipad pro, and the screen is more protected if you carry it in a backpack. It's also probably cheaper, especially if you want any of the accessories that make it "pro" ipad.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    I have a Chromebook that I put Linux onto. It's got a Celeron and 4gb ram. It's fine for web browsing email, etc on the go. It can play a ton of older games just fine, too; half-life 2 and episodes run surprisingly well. Minecraft with sodium and all settings turned down works okay, too.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Maybe you’re not supposed to do any pro stuff with it. Just watch youtube videos and browse FB or whatever it is that grandmas do these days. Many apple products don’t really feel as pro as you’re lead to believe by the marketing team.

    Just today I ran into a strange issue with the iMovie on iOS. You literally can’t edit a vertical video in any sensible way. Either you shoot horizontal video or you don’t shoot at all. These are the only options Apple gives for you.

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  • [–] 5 points 2 years ago

    You can't use iMovie for 1:1 video either. You have to edit clips with fat borders at the edges, then export it to Photos in order to crop it square. It's such a weird thing to miss out.

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  • [–] 35 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    I've been using an 8GB laptop for a few years now and don't feel the need to have more. But if I'm paying that much I'd expect at least 16GB.

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    Yeah I have 8GB of RAM on my Macbook Air and it works fine, I just need to manage my browser tabs and restart Chrome sometimes. But if I was paying $1600 or more for a "Pro" laptop......the fuck?

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  • [–] 20 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (10 children)

    My company computer had 4 GBs of RAM... And an HDD with Windows 11, the worst fucking experience.

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  • [–] 18 points 2 years ago (7 children)

    HDD in 2023? Why?

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  • [–] 14 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    Meanwhile my i7 thinkpad with nvme somehow is not compatible with windows 11.

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago

    I think it's so you can write 1000GB on it and have be cheaper than a 256GB machine. My folks had a 2019 laptop with an HDD, I'm not even being figurative here, they literally could not use it, 10+ minutes to boot it and load a program. Constant 100% I/O usage. Stuck some RAM and and a SATA SSD in it, it's been a daily driver ever since.

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  • [–] 17 points 2 years ago

    No doubt. Even wilder to me is the idea of buying a Mac with 8GB in 2023, speaking as a long time Mac owner. Mine is from several years ago. I wonder if Apple execs ever pull their heads out of their asses. This feels like the late 90s all over again.

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago

    I bought a Dell 6core AMD laptop on some sale and it was little 345 after tax and shipping. Then I immediately replaced the nvme with a 1tb one for another 70? I think. Laptop is really nice for the price.

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