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I would have liked to have seen a closer match up here. Say both 512’s but one with 8gb vs 16gb. This video shows 2 variables and it messes up the entire comparison.
@@jamespong6588 I was going to go with the base Macbook Pro 14” as there was only a $350 difference after upgrading to 16gb and a 512gb SSD on the Air (in Canada). I am holding off though to see what happens this spring. Apple is supposed to be coming out with a bigger Macbook Air…. maybe they’ll have improved their combos a bit
I'm a photographer and use the base model. I regularly use LRC and export files ranging from 200 to 800 images on average. If I export 200 photos it usually takes around 5-6 minutes with additional tabs open so not sure why exporting 50 images should take that long. I also do not have any slowness in browsing so not sure but thats my experience and really happy with the base model.
@@4l3kisyes. I have a seven-year-old Intel Mac air with 8 gigs of RAM. I run a medium-sized and two small businesses from it including social media and web design and development. I'll get around 6 gig of used Ram with all of those things running at once including over 30 open Chrome tabs
Great eye opening comparison. Now we need another comparison between M1 and M2 both having 16GB/512GB then we will come to know the actual performance of the M2 processor.
Would love to see a 8gb 256 vs 16gb 256 to see how much does the swap affect in real world with chrome 5/10 tabs + 2-3 intel apps. I am running 2 intel app consistently + multiple tabs and it takes up a ton of CPU at average 14gb memory use. had to give up my m1 Mac mini as it beach ball me consistently.
Good suggestion. Ram is faster than any SSD swap, even with 2x NAND chips. My guess would be unless you need to R/W to the SSD in your workflow, and routinely transfer > 100 gigs of files, the 16gb 256 will be fine.
@@Bambotb meh. Not as interesting. The m1 256 is way faster than the m2 256 on huge data transfer tasks. No reason to think the m2 512 would be much different from the m1 256
I ordered the 16gb of RAM 256gb SSD M2 Air myself in Midnight. I think it’ll be perfectly fine for daily use and non-heavy tasks. The biggest problems with these reviews is how heavy they test them and the intensity of the tests. Most of them are tests that someone buying a MBP would care about, not a MBA.
I think for ram there isnt any problem since apple's ram management with its ram swap is working tremendously well WHICH really needs that high speed SSDs If u only compare the ram size, it only make some natural-usual-size difference, while the main problem is the SSD speed that WAY SLOWER than its predecessor My main point is: its better to upgrade to 8/512, than the 16/256 (Additional edit: since its not about storage space alone, its about the speed and the snappy feel when multitask with the ram swap)
I would be interested to see a comparison between the following models: 8 GB RAM/256 GB SSD - 16 GB RAM/256 GB SSD - 8 GB RAM/512 SSD - 16 GB RAM/512 GB SSD. That would really help to tease out the differences between RAM and SSD in a variety of scenarios. Still, the amount of testing you guys do is amazing, and I really appreciate the effort to help others make good decisions.
You can easily read between the lines to extrapolate any missing data. What you need to know is at 8:03 If the CPU is not running at 100% when its being asked to and it's not overheating/throttling, it points to a serious problem with memory and i/o. Basically it can't grab data fast enough and so is skipping cycles. SSDs, while solid state aren't exactly the same as old mechanical hard drives, they function similarly in that there is a specific number of blocks of data that it can manipulate at once and shove to the southbridge. If it's too low, the cpu simply idles until the next chunk comes in. We saw this ALL THE TIME with old mechanical drives 10 years ago. Incredibly fast computers simply spinning their wheels waiting ages for the weakest link in the chain. This feels similar.
@@matisan100 It's the SSD. We know this based on the controller chip that it's using combined with the way the memory is set up. It's just a huge cost-cutting measure that basically limits the SSD interface to nearly SATA 1.0 speeds.
Agreed, this test really needs to be done. For anyone who is wondering which upgrade would be better for performance, the RAM is absolutely the better choice if you can only get one. Swap (even on the fastest SSDs) is orders of magnitude slower than RAM due to significantly higher access latency, so memory bound workloads will face significant slowdowns on both the 512GB and the 256GB models. By upgrading your RAM, you significantly reduce how much the system has to swap to begin with (which, in turn, negates the slower SSD's impact on swap performance).
@@MaxTechOfficial I think I just saw a scam trying to tell me that I had won a prize from you. Someone named "Max_tech01". I assume this is not you, right?
i wish this was a 8gb vs 16gb but both with 256gb ssd. lots of us can only afford to upgrade either the ram or the ssd. plus that would show a fairer comparison between the two ram options without being affected by the ssd situation.
I’m sorry, but this actual comparison is not about the storage, it’s actually a ‘hand-to-hand’ combat between RAMs. So it doesn’t matter which STORAGE would you pick, since the latest M2 lineups were only applying a single NAND SSD. The only thing that matters for STORAGE is the ‘Write/ Read’ speed and that’s it.
last year when i went to buy the mac mini m1 i thought i would regret getting only 8gb, but it never let me down. I work with adobe illustrator and photoshop at the same time, lots of safari tabs, infinite finder windows, and I had no problems. Of course everything has a limit, but for now it's been perfect
@@Adrianobolado I just bought m3 8gb and I have 40gb ram 5800h in my windows laptop. I can easily open 40 tabs with db and docker open with 2 vscode. on Mac if I open one db, and docker I can only open 2-3 tabs. also alt tab is fucking so slow on Mac. on windows nearly everything is instant. the good thing about Mac is the battery and lightweight. Anyone who says Mac is faster than windows is delusional. multi tasking is so much faster on windows.
Honestly it was MacOS’s dependency on swap memory that pushed me to get the 512GB variant of the M1 over the 16GB of RAM. I felt like, if it’s going to use swap as a primary function, I want more SSD space so that it can functionally tolerate the swap for a few years longer than a 256GB variant would. Making the M2 base version have an SSD that is half as fast as the M1’s, while still relying heavily on swap at the OS level, is a lethal combination. Thank you guys for proving that with this test.
By the time the SSD hits R/W limits, you’ll be long gone, the SSD will be heavily corroded, or you’ll be 10 generations of MacBook behind. Heck, we all might even be in the VR matrix already by the time your SSD hits it’s write limit.
@@Android-nv7gu I know all of that now, but at the time M1 was new, a lot of creators and consumers were pointing out that their TBW was significantly higher than what was to usually be expected. I remember one horror story where a user had achieved almost 17% of their TBW in just a couple of months of use. That was about the time I decided to spring for the 512GB just to be safe. In addition to the peace of mind, having double storage was also super cool, which was just another reason I opted for storage over RAM.
Thanks for the vid! In your 2020 M1 Macbook tests, we saw that upgrading from 8gb to 16gb RAM yielded negligible performance boosts. I wonder what an M2 MBA with 8gb RAM and 512gb storage would look like.
16:16 Nope. If you have to choose only one, go with the RAM upgrade, guys. You'll be kicking yourself later if you chose the SSD upgrade. Just go watch this vid- ruclips.net/video/hLSZ72_ZHYY/видео.html&ab_channel=ArtIsRight
@@Polyfusia That's an awful comparison.. You know iPhone 13 Pro has 6 GB of RAM and equivalent Samsung has double that because Android isn't optimised? More RAM doesn't mean better performance lol.
this is what I am thinking, id like to see a comparison between the 8gb 512gb vs 16gb 512gb to see if theres a major difference in performance since you have the fast ssd for swap.
@@usnpinoy not with the price of NVME’s today. You can get a 2TB external with good (enough) speed for lower than apple charges for the upgrade. But the 512gb would be essential for those write speeds.
A different RUclips channel did a comparison between the MBP M2 8GB 512 and MBP M2 16GB 256, to answer the question which upgrade is better: RAM or SSD. I know it's about the MBP (better cooling) but based upon importing/exporting tasks in apps like Lightroom/FinalCut/CaptureOne and processing large files in Photoshop, the M2 16GB 256GB was mostly faster. Obviously the 16GB 512 will be even faster, it's no rocket science. If you can spare 400USD on upgrades, I would buy the Pro.
I have the base one. It’s my portable, light laptop. Happy with the price i paid for it. To get the 16gb/512gb, i would have spent an additional $500 CDN. I don’t use it for any photo/video/code processing, just fairly normal use like most people, email, web, etc, so these use cases mean nothing to me. You’d think from RUclips vids EVERYONE wants to make 4K vids. I have made the mistake of many upgrades from new before, but in reality, I’ll prob use this for a few years, sell it for a good amount or pass onto a family member, then get whatever the newest tech apple has, M4,M5, etc.
Wow, literally shocked at how the slower SSD took 6 times longer to transfer the 114GB file, definitely not twice as slow like you could be forgiven for expecting!
how does the performance improve when you just upgrade the storage to 512gb? or just the ram to 16gb? can you test those. Then we'll be able isolate each variable sepeeately and figure out exactly how much performance impact each one (the ram and the storage) has
would love to see a comparisson where you upgrade only the SSD and only the RAM in another and compare wich one is more cost efficiency if you can only upgrade one.
Great comparison as always Max, would be great to also see a 8GB/512GB vs 16GB/256GB comparison for those that can only afford one of the upgrade options.
RAM is 1000x faster and more important for CPU than SSD. - so I would definitely go for 16 GB option - 16 GB RAM will help with future OS upgrades (hungry for memory) - as long as you don't overload those 16 GB RAM you will have performance of 16/512 one - in heavy swapping situations could be 512GB SSD faster than 16 GB RAM option however both unusable/annoying, so big question-mark - possible future upgrade via external SSD drive for large drive space (cannot do that with RAM) Yeah, I'd like to see this test if my theory is right or wrong though.
I'm going for the 24 GB version. Counting on 6-8 GB gone for the OS and background agents, that leaves a decent 16 GB. Enough to do multitasking and keeping all these apps open when I need to do heavier graphic stuff.
Seems to me that unless the base model works for you, Apple's pricing structure quickly makes the MBP 14 (base) seem like the best choice. Would have to really want the color/size to pay for the MBA M2 512/16
“Quickly” as in $400 more to jump from from the MBA M2 512/16 at $1599 to the base model MBP 14 at $1999? Depends on how easily you can scrounge up those 4 Benjamins.
In the Uk the MacBook Pro 14 is sufficiently discounted that it is almost at price parity with a MacBook Air M2 512/16gb. It really does come down to how much people value portability over power. The MB Pro 14 has a better screen, bigger screen, brighter screen, 120 hz, better speakers, more ports and is faster...But how much do you want to lug it around? It is a real head scratcher...of course once the supply chain picks up then the MBA M2 will be discounted too.
@@JonathanAcierto Many of us got a 14" MBP for $1799. I got mine from B&H Photo, using their Payboo credit card. They paid the shipping and sales tax too. That $200 got me a lot more performance.
@@nickshay82 look at the size/weight side by side. The 14" is not that much bigger/heavier. I had a 2011 17" MBP and then a 2012 13" MBP. That was a big difference. The 14" MBP is slightly smaller/lighter than my 2012 13" MBP.
specially on that file transfer. basically a shot in the knee if you bought the base ssd version of it :O and further they say 8 gb ram will just do fine ( rofl)
@@skeche so would 16/256 suffice? I’m a student on a budget and want the M2 but don’t want to spend £400 for 16/512 if I don’t have to. I have a 1T external hardrive for storage.
That is a crazy difference in performance, especially with the transfer speed. That is insanely unexpected for such a minimal difference of what should be affecting performance. I wonder if it's a result of how the M-chips perform, where hardware increases can perform exponentially better in ways that aren't very noticeable for PC and non-M chip Macs.
@@Neko_Nugget I agree upgrading the storage is the best value. 256GB isn't enough for a laptop these days even if there wasn't the speed issue - I currently own a 512GB M1 Air. But still wonder how much more extra ram was helping the 512GB model - there was a lot of swap file usage with the 8GB model.
8GB ram is nowadays AT BEST (!!!) ok for cheap, entry level netbooks or super small PCs for children/office, nothing more.... midclass smartphones have more RAM... isnt that enough facts?
I am so appreciative that you are doing these test and exposing Apple’s shortcomings on the base M2 MBA model. Where’s the integrity of Apple providing some indication of performance expectations on the different models of the M2 MBA. I’m a bit disappointed with Apple.
If youre going to showcase the Storage or Ram, keep one of the variables the same. 8gb vs 16gb w/ 512 or 256. Think its known at this point that the 256 is single chipped meaning its definitely going to be slower than the 512 dual chips.
We need to see a comparison of M1 16 GB / 512 GB compared to the M2 16 GB / 512 GB. I believe this will really show the difference between the difference between M1 and M2.
This is the comparison I've been waiting for. Now I'm curious to see comparison between M2 MBA 16/512 with MPB 14 Inch base model, is it better to upgrade to the M2 or saving $200 more to buy the 14 Inch MBP? 🤔
It should not be about saving $200, almost the only reason you would want to buy an M2 Air with this configuration as opposed to just getting the base 14’ pro is because you want the absolute thinnest lightest and quietest MacBook that is 13’ or bigger
@@wocaomade 100%. I got the 14" after using M1 Air for a year as my main system, and returned it, as I found the fan annoying. Got a 16" and never heard the fan again, but still grieve for the lost portability.
The air is just for normal use. And for that, it is more than enough. But for productivity, I personally would choose the $2000 M1 pro 14" than charging $400 + on the base model air ( $1600 ).
In India they are offering only with 8gb ram configurations. Now the 8gb/512 air comes close to the new Mbp 14. They want to sell the the MacBook Pro more it seems with such pricing.
Hands down, the best comparison I have seen of the impact of the base model compared to a better spec machine. Really useful for anyone deciding on a new MBA. M2 is a great chip, but Apple really hobbled it with this spec. People are better off getting the cheaper M1 variant if they can’t afford to bump the specs on the base model M2.
Great comparison video! This is really making the decision between M2 MBA vs 14-inch M1 Pro even harder. I’m tempted to get the 24GB MBA since my 32GB intel MBP often only has ~5GB free. As a developer, running both Android Studio and Xcode with their respective emulator/simulators open (along with 50 or 100 tabs, etc) doesn’t make me think 16GB would be enough, even if the M series is more efficient with memory than intel. The compile test in the video is great to see, but isn’t indicative of real world developer usage given the other dependencies a dev might have open that’s consuming memory (i.e. docker). Sure, I should probably go 14-inch MBP, but if the 24GB air gets me most (or all) of the way there, that MBA form factor is super appealing! I wish there were more comparisons about the size/weight differences between the 14-inch pro and the M2 MBA in day-to-day use.
@@eyesc I think you’re right. I’m leaning more towards the 14”. I was on a zoom call tonight for 2 hours with my 2019 Intel 16” MBP on my lap, and at the end of it I realized the thing was making me so hot I was sweating, lol. The thermals on the 8 core 14” seem to be pretty cool based on reviews, which is a plus for me. I wonder what a 2 hour zoom call would do to the thermals on the M2 MBA (or even if compiling a few successive changes relatively quickly back to back). I wonder how hot it’ll get on the lap 🤔
8:13 you forgot to look at the SSD indicator. I mean you mention the swap, but the indicator is telling. The 8GB version is using the SSD non stop, and it's quite slow compared to RAM, so the CPU and GPU cannot get fed anymore.
Keep up the impartial testing and reporting Max Tech! You're one of the best around. Even for an almost 20 year Mac user like myself (my first Mac was the 2003 iBook G4), you consistently share what I need to know, and it helps me when deciding on purchases for my needs and budget. Thank you!
I hope to see the MBA M2 with 16GB ram and 512GB disk compare with MBP 14" M1 with same config. since the price is pretty close after upgrading the MBA.
Enjoying this series of videos, and definitely agree that more ram is definitely needed. All modern OS's have become such resource hogs that 8gbs is the absolute bare minimum they can even get away with now.
@@DJDTHTRP Absolute bare minimum, and acceptable are completely different. It's obvious that Apple is trying to cut corners where they can with this anyway. Not to mention they haven't properly optimized their OS in forever.
look I get it its better but unless you transfer extremely large files or stress test to the extreme you’re not gonna notice a difference, why try to make the base model look useless when its not
It's the price that really hinders me from going for the upper tiered specs. For low to medium income earners like I, even the US$300 difference from the 256gb (1-Nand) to the 512gb (multi-nand) is unjustifiable. Had it only been a US$100 difference, then it would certainly be a different story. So the M1 base should be the most appropriate for me I suppose.
@@Joshokitty , Yes. However, I'm still using (hopefully you won't take this condescendingly) a Mid 2012 MBP13" Core i5 MD101ZP/A model. It's over five years old & I'll likely be upgrading its HD to an SSD drive soon. Only when it dies that I'll be looking into an MBA. Perhaps, by that time, the M3 would've been released already. In anyway, my line of work with occasional video editing tells me that base models may just be the perfect fit for my needs. Thank you.
@@nathanielngosy if you are low income earner then i think you are looking at the wrong laptop, there are way cheaper laptops that will give you okaish performance. If your work is PURELY based on performance like hardcore video editing (or really hardcore photo editing) where you really notice the advantage of an apple M1/2 then the price diff between 256 and 512 pays off very quick. In your case i think your comment is anecdotal, with occasional video editing i hardly doubt M1/M2 is the laptop for a low earner in 2022, maybe they are in 2 years when they are below 700 dol.
@@xeon2k8 Ah. It's because I've already used cheap laptops (Windows OS) wherein they were compromised by some viruses which required me to wipe the contents out and re-install everything. Sorry, but I wouldn't want to ever go into such a trouble again and utilizing base modeled Apple laptops would be the most feasible for me. Thank you for your advice.
I feel like the M1 MacBook Air is the best portable laptop now. You don’t have to worry about slow SSD on 256GB base model, 8GB is enough (for now), battery life is great and the price is superb. I don’t regret buying the M1 Air just before the M2 Air came out at all.
Great review and thanks for looking out for us consumers with your insightful reviews! It would be interesting to have an M2 8gb/256 vs 16gb/256 comparison
I noticed from 13:24 onwards, it looks like the 16GB MacBook is plugged in while the 8GB model is not. You weren’t actually comparing performance with that difference were you?
It’s crazy to see how much of a difference there is in performance by just upgrading SSD and RAM. Are you going to announce the specs of the model you are giving away? After seeing your comparison videos, I hope it’s not the base model 😀
Very good review, I suggest to compare a MBA M2 with 8 RAM and 512 SSD vs 16 RAM and 256 SSD. On both cases you would invest $200 more. Some youtubers are recommending the second option.
This is really not expected, 6 times faster in some cases. It was a really surprise to me, I wasn’t expecting that much difference between the 2 configurations 😱
Great comparison, as always. It would be interesting to see the comparison of the 512GB model with 8GB of RAM to see just the effect of the SSD in this M2 version.
Absolutely love that you guys do true apples to apples comparisons they’re super helpful and eye opening, and love how you do and show true real world tests rather than just describing what that may look like. Curious to see if the difference in gpu for the 16g ram & 512ssd especially on the more graphic intensive tasks. Also the larger ram configurations, do those make a true difference (cuz I be a MAAAAAAAJOR multitasker)
It would have been really great if you guys had also done a test with 8GB/512GB configuration. Those additional SSD channels influence swap performance greatly, so not sure if 16 GB RAM upgrade is as consequential as the storage upgrade.
Holy crap - the 512gb difference makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE. I was thinking that just that amount of disk space would be useful, but had no idea how much faster it would be. Is the 512 the same performance as a 1tb ssd internal and 32gb ram? Or will we see faster speeds with that config? Thanks for the reviews... love launch week.
If you’re on a budget and want a good computer at a good price, just get the M1 air. That’s what I have for standard daily use and it flies. I don’t do video processing or play any serious games on it. Just for business/personal uses.
Now after watching your reviews I am convinced that I made the right choice By considering the 16gb and 512 GB model over the base Thanks for the great info you confidently give us with each of your reviews Thanks again
I have the base M1 MBA and was prepared to trade it in for a base M2 MBA… After watching all your excellent videos, I confess, I’m actually “pissed off” with Apple!! Instead of giving us a brilliant upgrade to the old M1 MBA base model, they are happy to sell a “crippled” base M2 MBA to us all knowing buyers will buy additional RAM or additional SSD (or both) to really benefit from the new M2 chip!
I think it's very likely that the M1 Air will also have its SSD speed reduced, since they're producing a new batch that will go in stock along with the M2 Air
I also feel 16gb ram and 512gb is the best option if you are looking for long term usage even for a basic user like emailing or watching videos if you are planning for long term usage like 8 to 10 yesrs
This is surprising to me. If the performance really takes that much of a hit, at that point it would be better to get the M1 Air, instead of the base model M2 if upgrading the storage is not within your budget.
Thats what people are saying in other videos and comments on those videos. The M1 8gb 256SSD is faster than the M2. So spend the money on getting an M1 with 16gb RAM which will be the same price as the M2 with only 8gb.
Looks like the SSDs are really having an impact on performance. So from the base model, If I can only choose 1 upgrade for my budget 16GB of ram or 512GB of storage which should I go for? based on these tests seems that the 512GB storage upgrade is the logical choice
Do the 16gb ram as well , if u do a lot of multitasking and your have only 8gb ram your Mac will make use of the SSD for ram and this would eventually slow down and reduce the life of your ssd
Gotta say, I didn't expect that much of a difference between the 2. It would have been nice for the M2 to follow M1's example with RAM usage, optimization and SSD speed. These 2 Mac look more like totally different machines.
They are, quite literally, different machines. The comparison is almost pointless. It's a powerful MBP vs. a basic MBA. 0 surprise there are big performance differences.
Starting at the 13:25 mark, the base model is running on battery while the 512GB is plugged in. It's a little awkward to keep comparing side by side in that situation.
16GB should be the default, relying on the swap feature you greatly reduces the lifespan of the SSD and since it’s not upgradable you better take care of it
The difference in performance compared to the base model aside, the M2 16Gb/512Gb model seems to be a powerful machine, with great performance. Yes, at that price point the 14” Pro might be an alternative, but the latter does not come in that gorgeous midnight color! Choices, choices…
I think it will be interesting to test the middle models as well - 512SSD/8GB, and 256SSD/16GB. With the 512SSD/8GB we can expect still high use of swap, but at much better performance, which means it should perform at least as well as the M1. With the 256SSD/16GB - the disk will still be slow, but more memory will require substantial less swapping. They are each 200$ upgrade, so maybe it's enough to spend 200$ rather than 400 $ to get to decent performance.
I’m going to buy macbook air m2 and I just can upgrade one of this (or Ram or Disk) because of my low budget ! I’m a graphic designer, which one you consider?
I initially purchased the base model, but returned it, in favor of the 16gb/512gb based on my research, which included your very informative video. I was able to get a Black Friday deal , so got both upgrades for $200.00 more. So, thank you.
Thanks for another great review! Never imagined SSD could have such big impact! So, effectively, M2 base model is somewhat a ‘downgrade’ compared to M1 base model - but expensive? Interesting to see their comparison…
I dont even know what's the intent to even talk about 8GB nowadays to try to justify 8gb is enough. my macbook thats new and is just simply opening one or two safari, and doing backujp to an external hard disk, the ram is at 8.50GB. Any youtuber Trying to justify 8GB is enough is insane. if 8gb is enough for you, you dont even need a macbook. just get a windows 8gb ram laptop with half the price, and change new one three years later, will be sufficient
The file transfer speed difference really surprised me and along with the other tests. Well truth to be told even if I do decide to get an M2 MBA I'll only do some light note-taking, minor multitasking and not heavy-usage, however I do picture myself with a 14" MBP, but funding for that will take quite some time due to necessities needed.
Can you make a video with a M2 MBA 16GB / 256GB ? Comparing it to the base model and comparing it to the 8GB / 512GB I wonder if upgrading the ram only is better than upgrading the ssd
Great video again. It would be nice to see the differences between the M1 Air 16GB + 512GB version and the same M2. Do you planning to do it? I mean, I would be glad to see which would be better for my workload… and of course for my wallet in this case :)
Wow! Great comparison. Apple did a great job on setting huge differences between 2 variants. Something they did not do with the M1 Macbook Air. That old model was and maybe still is the best laptop overall for almost 2 years now and probably will still be for another year. Thanks for this comparison video.
It is fascinating how far we expect the base model needs to go for the tier that apple designed it for. Though the 8gb model makes me worry for its useful life
dont forget 256gb ssd would wear out rather quickly due to having only one nand chip soldered on the logicboard...and on top of that you write to swap alot more too with 8gb ram config!
This really shows just how important it is on this new Macbook air to upgrade the SSD. I have been wondering if they might have reduced the SSD chips on the base M1 Air too after they launched the M2. Would be strange for them to keep ordering chips in two different configurations rather.
That’s just crazy. It made me happier with my m1 air base model. I can’t believe that there’s such a difference. Also I don’t understand people who say that 5 or 10 tabs is a lot, I constantly have between 50 to 100 tabs open while coding and other applications like teams, discord and Apple Music opened in the background.
@@artusclay3329 not really. If you do a lot of multitasking you should expect the memory pressure being on yellow most of the time but I don’t find it to be limiting me in any way. Also the new Ventura update should help it, as I found that after a major update, like Monterey or Ventura, my Mac is running a lot snappier.
@@troywalt4834 With the added RAM, you avoid many of the slowdowns and the inevitable default to swap memory. The extra 8gb makes a difference. Doubling the size of the SSD is certainly beneficial, but it's not the whole story. If you have the spare $400, do both. And yeah, I watched the video.
It is well understood that Macbook Air M2 base model is for casual user who wants to primarily browse and consume media and for some entertainment or mild gaming. No point rubbishing it by running memory intensive applications since it is not meant for it anyways.
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Fantastic video 😁👍🏻
I m obsessed with your video ! I don't miss any of them ! Keep up the good work max and team 🫶🏻 Enjoy your videos
I need MacBook Air m2 with 16 gm ram and 512 gb 10 core gpu
Please make a full comparison between the 14" MacBook Pro and the m2 MacBook Air. Would help allot!
Great video!! Really enjoying this series of MacBook Air comparisons
I would have liked to have seen a closer match up here. Say both 512’s but one with 8gb vs 16gb. This video shows 2 variables and it messes up the entire comparison.
very need
You should get the 16gb to avoid RAM swap
@@jamespong6588 I was going to go with the base Macbook Pro 14” as there was only a $350 difference after upgrading to 16gb and a 512gb SSD on the Air (in Canada). I am holding off though to see what happens this spring. Apple is supposed to be coming out with a bigger Macbook Air…. maybe they’ll have improved their combos a bit
Please do this Max Tech
Agreed cause I just ordered a air with 16gb but only the base SSD. I might return it tbh. I dont like this SSD issue at all.
I'm a photographer and use the base model. I regularly use LRC and export files ranging from 200 to 800 images on average. If I export 200 photos it usually takes around 5-6 minutes with additional tabs open so not sure why exporting 50 images should take that long. I also do not have any slowness in browsing so not sure but thats my experience and really happy with the base model.
is 8 gb enough for your regullar use?
@@4l3kisyes. I have a seven-year-old Intel Mac air with 8 gigs of RAM. I run a medium-sized and two small businesses from it including social media and web design and development. I'll get around 6 gig of used Ram with all of those things running at once including over 30 open Chrome tabs
Great eye opening comparison. Now we need another comparison between M1 and M2 both having 16GB/512GB then we will come to know the actual performance of the M2 processor.
Bruh, M2 definitely will be faster because of the 10 GPU cores.
@@mainaksanyal9515 you can have an 8 core GPU even with 16+512 with the M2 macbook air
ruclips.net/video/bwE7UUEYgcg/видео.html According to this video, the 512GB SSD on M2 MacBook Pro is slower than the 512GB SSD on M1 MacBook Air.
You’re better off just buying the M1 to save $200 if you need the 16GB RAM/512GB Storage.
I would want to watch that for sure.
I was hoping to see the RAM difference with the same amount of storage. Preferably the 512.
Please do this Max Tech
Would be nice to see dual 512GB computers comparing the 8GB and 16GB of ram. But this is very insightful regardless. Great work as always.
ow is 16GB+258GB vs 16GB+512GB is that 512 worth it if im already upgrading to 16GB ram
Would love to see a 8gb 256 vs 16gb 256 to see how much does the swap affect in real world with chrome 5/10 tabs + 2-3 intel apps.
I am running 2 intel app consistently + multiple tabs and it takes up a ton of CPU at average 14gb memory use. had to give up my m1 Mac mini as it beach ball me consistently.
Good suggestion. Ram is faster than any SSD swap, even with 2x NAND chips. My guess would be unless you need to R/W to the SSD in your workflow, and routinely transfer > 100 gigs of files, the 16gb 256 will be fine.
No forst let's try 8go 256 vs 8go 512
@@Bambotb meh. Not as interesting. The m1 256 is way faster than the m2 256 on huge data transfer tasks. No reason to think the m2 512 would be much different from the m1 256
@@Bambotb - Agreed - given 8Gb 512 is likely the lowest end M2 MacBook Air that can be recommended.
I ordered the 16gb of RAM 256gb SSD M2 Air myself in Midnight. I think it’ll be perfectly fine for daily use and non-heavy tasks. The biggest problems with these reviews is how heavy they test them and the intensity of the tests. Most of them are tests that someone buying a MBP would care about, not a MBA.
Would be nice to see a closer comparison: 8 vs 16 and SSD remains the same, or 256 vs 516 and RAM stays the same
Based on their M2 MacBook pros test, I think we can imagine the outcome of such tests.
agree. 8+256 vs 16+512 comparison is too wide
@@shiro_tube look at their other M2 tests, between the 13" M2 MBP and MBA they have it covered.
This is what I'm waiting for, as well.
I think for ram there isnt any problem since apple's ram management with its ram swap is working tremendously well WHICH really needs that high speed SSDs
If u only compare the ram size, it only make some natural-usual-size difference, while the main problem is the SSD speed that WAY SLOWER than its predecessor
My main point is: its better to upgrade to 8/512, than the 16/256
(Additional edit: since its not about storage space alone, its about the speed and the snappy feel when multitask with the ram swap)
I would be interested to see a comparison between the following models: 8 GB RAM/256 GB SSD - 16 GB RAM/256 GB SSD - 8 GB RAM/512 SSD - 16 GB RAM/512 GB SSD. That would really help to tease out the differences between RAM and SSD in a variety of scenarios. Still, the amount of testing you guys do is amazing, and I really appreciate the effort to help others make good decisions.
Yes he will not review this test for sure
You can easily read between the lines to extrapolate any missing data.
What you need to know is at 8:03
If the CPU is not running at 100% when its being asked to and it's not overheating/throttling, it points to a serious problem with memory and i/o. Basically it can't grab data fast enough and so is skipping cycles. SSDs, while solid state aren't exactly the same as old mechanical hard drives, they function similarly in that there is a specific number of blocks of data that it can manipulate at once and shove to the southbridge. If it's too low, the cpu simply idles until the next chunk comes in. We saw this ALL THE TIME with old mechanical drives 10 years ago. Incredibly fast computers simply spinning their wheels waiting ages for the weakest link in the chain. This feels similar.
@@plektosgaming but we cannot determine if the cap is on Memory BW or SSD BW ...exactly. Right?
@@matisan100 It's the SSD. We know this based on the controller chip that it's using combined with the way the memory is set up. It's just a huge cost-cutting measure that basically limits the SSD interface to nearly SATA 1.0 speeds.
Agreed, this test really needs to be done. For anyone who is wondering which upgrade would be better for performance, the RAM is absolutely the better choice if you can only get one. Swap (even on the fastest SSDs) is orders of magnitude slower than RAM due to significantly higher access latency, so memory bound workloads will face significant slowdowns on both the 512GB and the 256GB models.
By upgrading your RAM, you significantly reduce how much the system has to swap to begin with (which, in turn, negates the slower SSD's impact on swap performance).
10:26 Spotted a familiar face.😅 Great video as always! 🙌🏻
Of course, man! You make great videos :)
Cheers!
@@MaxTechOfficial You to make great vídeos, both make Nice vídeos. Thanks to both, learn só much
10:30 to be exact :D
@@MaxTechOfficial I think I just saw a scam trying to tell me that I had won a prize from you. Someone named "Max_tech01". I assume this is not you, right?
@@jeffshaw3595 that is a scammer, just report these guys, of course, that scammer isn’t max tech
i wish this was a 8gb vs 16gb but both with 256gb ssd. lots of us can only afford to upgrade either the ram or the ssd. plus that would show a fairer comparison between the two ram options without being affected by the ssd situation.
yeah he really has to do a video on that too with the same examples. WE HAVE TO SEE THAT!!
Exaclty. Cuz I’ll either upgrade RAM or SSD but not both. Whatever will provide me with the most upgrade for 200 bucks
@@christianhammod5259 200 bucks isn't enough for both? xD I am glad that I don't even know how expancive the base model is^^
If you have to choose one get the sad upgrade
Upgrade ram and use external ssd.
I'd love to see a comparison between 512GB/8GB vs 256GB/16GB.
me too
That would be interesting, but I think they would have to buy more laptops, which I don’t know if they would actually do.
I’m sorry, but this actual comparison is not about the storage, it’s actually a ‘hand-to-hand’ combat between RAMs.
So it doesn’t matter which STORAGE would you pick, since the latest M2 lineups were only applying a single NAND SSD.
The only thing that matters for STORAGE is the ‘Write/ Read’ speed and that’s it.
@@TheBlackbird132 As far as I understood, only the 256GB SSD is a single NAND SSD.
last year when i went to buy the mac mini m1 i thought i would regret getting only 8gb, but it never let me down. I work with adobe illustrator and photoshop at the same time, lots of safari tabs, infinite finder windows, and I had no problems. Of course everything has a limit, but for now it's been perfect
Any update on your base Mac experience ?
How your Mac is doing nowadays?
@@Adrianobolado I just bought m3 8gb and I have 40gb ram 5800h in my windows laptop. I can easily open 40
tabs with db and docker open with 2 vscode. on Mac if I open one db, and docker I can only open 2-3 tabs. also alt tab is fucking so slow on Mac. on windows nearly everything is instant. the good thing about Mac is the battery and lightweight. Anyone who says Mac is faster than windows is delusional. multi tasking is so much faster on windows.
@@Adrianobolado I bought 8gb ram one because my company paid for it. if it was my own money I would go 16gb 512 for sure.
Would be curious to compare the performance change by downgrading the RAM to 8GB from 16GB, while keeping SSD the same at 512GB. Thanks for the video.
Omg yes 😊
No can do...Apple soldered the tal to the board and cant be changed
Honestly it was MacOS’s dependency on swap memory that pushed me to get the 512GB variant of the M1 over the 16GB of RAM. I felt like, if it’s going to use swap as a primary function, I want more SSD space so that it can functionally tolerate the swap for a few years longer than a 256GB variant would. Making the M2 base version have an SSD that is half as fast as the M1’s, while still relying heavily on swap at the OS level, is a lethal combination. Thank you guys for proving that with this test.
By the time the SSD hits R/W limits, you’ll be long gone, the SSD will be heavily corroded, or you’ll be 10 generations of MacBook behind. Heck, we all might even be in the VR matrix already by the time your SSD hits it’s write limit.
@@Android-nv7gu I know all of that now, but at the time M1 was new, a lot of creators and consumers were pointing out that their TBW was significantly higher than what was to usually be expected. I remember one horror story where a user had achieved almost 17% of their TBW in just a couple of months of use. That was about the time I decided to spring for the 512GB just to be safe. In addition to the peace of mind, having double storage was also super cool, which was just another reason I opted for storage over RAM.
@@jordanr.4856 I can see that. Swap is also negatively impacted if you fill up the available storage space.
Thanks for the vid! In your 2020 M1 Macbook tests, we saw that upgrading from 8gb to 16gb RAM yielded negligible performance boosts. I wonder what an M2 MBA with 8gb RAM and 512gb storage would look like.
This!!! Absolutely loved my base model M1 Air, but thinking of getting the M2 Air with 8gb and 512 SSD
Go to their channel and look at their other M2 videos. They have it covered.
@@nicolasramirez9408 You're not getting much moving from the M1 MBA. Look at their other videos, they have done that test.
16:16 Nope. If you have to choose only one, go with the RAM upgrade, guys. You'll be kicking yourself later if you chose the SSD upgrade. Just go watch this vid- ruclips.net/video/hLSZ72_ZHYY/видео.html&ab_channel=ArtIsRight
Wish both had the 8GB RAM so the comparison would be more “real” with the SSD issue, or being both configurations that apple offers
Totally. Everyone knows when doing experiments you only change one variable at a time
My PHONE has 12gb of RAM. Apple are clowns for even offering an 8gb RAM Macbook in 2022. Absurd.
@@Polyfusia That's an awful comparison.. You know iPhone 13 Pro has 6 GB of RAM and equivalent Samsung has double that because Android isn't optimised? More RAM doesn't mean better performance lol.
@@Krankschwesterbest thing to do is install custom android rom but anyways Samsung and google both are optimized roms
I’m wondering if the 512gb storage 8gb memory is the sweet spot of performance and value. I’d love a test sometime this week!
Same bc that’s what I ordered
this is what I am thinking, id like to see a comparison between the 8gb 512gb vs 16gb 512gb to see if theres a major difference in performance since you have the fast ssd for swap.
I think it is definitely good for your casual user. For content creators and the like, a larger SSD would likely be necessary.
@@usnpinoy not with the price of NVME’s today. You can get a 2TB external with good (enough) speed for lower than apple charges for the upgrade.
But the 512gb would be essential for those write speeds.
If I was to upgrade my M2 Air, I would probably save a bit more and simply get the 14 Pro. Better value overall.
Very eye opening! Would be curious to see the 256 vs 512 with both 8 GB of RAM
That is the perfect comparison.
A different RUclips channel did a comparison between the MBP M2 8GB 512 and MBP M2 16GB 256, to answer the question which upgrade is better: RAM or SSD. I know it's about the MBP (better cooling) but based upon importing/exporting tasks in apps like Lightroom/FinalCut/CaptureOne and processing large files in Photoshop, the M2 16GB 256GB was mostly faster. Obviously the 16GB 512 will be even faster, it's no rocket science. If you can spare 400USD on upgrades, I would buy the Pro.
I have the base one. It’s my portable, light laptop. Happy with the price i paid for it. To get the 16gb/512gb, i would have spent an additional $500 CDN. I don’t use it for any photo/video/code processing, just fairly normal use like most people, email, web, etc, so these use cases mean nothing to me. You’d think from RUclips vids EVERYONE wants to make 4K vids. I have made the mistake of many upgrades from new before, but in reality, I’ll prob use this for a few years, sell it for a good amount or pass onto a family member, then get whatever the newest tech apple has, M4,M5, etc.
Wow, literally shocked at how the slower SSD took 6 times longer to transfer the 114GB file, definitely not twice as slow like you could be forgiven for expecting!
how does the performance improve when you just upgrade the storage to 512gb? or just the ram to 16gb? can you test those. Then we'll be able isolate each variable sepeeately and figure out exactly how much performance impact each one (the ram and the storage) has
Crazy how much influence the dual-SSD configuration has versus the amount of RAM.
crazy
2:56 I would choose the base because my new Chromebook takes 8 hours to transfer 100 GB file
would love to see a comparisson where you upgrade only the SSD and only the RAM in another and compare wich one is more cost efficiency if you can only upgrade one.
Would love to see a comparison between a 16/512 GB M2 Air vs a base 14“ M1 Pro MBP.
Keep up the great work!
Great comparison as always Max, would be great to also see a 8GB/512GB vs 16GB/256GB comparison for those that can only afford one of the upgrade options.
For multitasking workflows, always choose RAM. Simple.
@@leebeeskee yeah but 256gb is just ridiculous
It’s not a simple choice
@@kingdelledroghe1957 you can always buy an external drive as a last resort cant do that with ram.
RAM is 1000x faster and more important for CPU than SSD.
- so I would definitely go for 16 GB option
- 16 GB RAM will help with future OS upgrades (hungry for memory)
- as long as you don't overload those 16 GB RAM you will have performance of 16/512 one
- in heavy swapping situations could be 512GB SSD faster than 16 GB RAM option however both unusable/annoying, so big question-mark
- possible future upgrade via external SSD drive for large drive space (cannot do that with RAM)
Yeah, I'd like to see this test if my theory is right or wrong though.
@@nooneknows19 external drives cant hold applications right? That's the main thing for me, I dont want to have to remove apps to fit new ones
I'm going for the 24 GB version. Counting on 6-8 GB gone for the OS and background agents, that leaves a decent 16 GB. Enough to do multitasking and keeping all these apps open when I need to do heavier graphic stuff.
Seems to me that unless the base model works for you, Apple's pricing structure quickly makes the MBP 14 (base) seem like the best choice. Would have to really want the color/size to pay for the MBA M2 512/16
That's what I did - I got the MBP 14 for $1799 at Best Buy the other week.
“Quickly” as in $400 more to jump from from the MBA M2 512/16 at $1599 to the base model MBP 14 at $1999? Depends on how easily you can scrounge up those 4 Benjamins.
In the Uk the MacBook Pro 14 is sufficiently discounted that it is almost at price parity with a MacBook Air M2 512/16gb. It really does come down to how much people value portability over power. The MB Pro 14 has a better screen, bigger screen, brighter screen, 120 hz, better speakers, more ports and is faster...But how much do you want to lug it around? It is a real head scratcher...of course once the supply chain picks up then the MBA M2 will be discounted too.
@@JonathanAcierto Many of us got a 14" MBP for $1799. I got mine from B&H Photo, using their Payboo credit card. They paid the shipping and sales tax too. That $200 got me a lot more performance.
@@nickshay82 look at the size/weight side by side. The 14" is not that much bigger/heavier. I had a 2011 17" MBP and then a 2012 13" MBP. That was a big difference. The 14" MBP is slightly smaller/lighter than my 2012 13" MBP.
Woah, I didn’t expect such a huge difference
It makes it even more upsetting that Apple didn’t opt for a 512GB base model
Think you’ve missed the point of the video, it was the RAM that helped
specially on that file transfer. basically a shot in the knee if you bought the base ssd version of it :O
and further they say 8 gb ram will just do fine ( rofl)
@@skeche Either will help. If you dont have much RAM you need a fast SSD. If you dont have a fast SSD you need more RAM.
@@skeche so would 16/256 suffice? I’m a student on a budget and want the M2 but don’t want to spend £400 for 16/512 if I don’t have to. I have a 1T external hardrive for storage.
Ether way you going to pay with apple so does it really matter 1100 for a base model or 1400 for base
The ssd speeds differences are so huge! We’ll basically pay for the speed more than the extra storage on the 512GB model.
Assuming that 256GB storage is enough, which it isn’t today for most users.
And the worst thing is that... It was intended by the manufacturer
512GB should be default on this day and age , classic apple ofcourse
That is a crazy difference in performance, especially with the transfer speed. That is insanely unexpected for such a minimal difference of what should be affecting performance. I wonder if it's a result of how the M-chips perform, where hardware increases can perform exponentially better in ways that aren't very noticeable for PC and non-M chip Macs.
I'd love to see a 256G M2 and a 512G M2 both with 8G RAM to see how much difference just the drive makes...
I agree! This comparison makes more sense since consumers will end up buying one or the other model and not usually do a custom order.
We all know the problem is the ssd and not the ram. In the end upgrading the storage to 512+ is top priority. Ram won’t do much with 256
@@Neko_Nugget I agree upgrading the storage is the best value. 256GB isn't enough for a laptop these days even if there wasn't the speed issue - I currently own a 512GB M1 Air. But still wonder how much more extra ram was helping the 512GB model - there was a lot of swap file usage with the 8GB model.
It's great to see that 16Gb smashed 8Gb in some tests. I consider 8Gb as too low rAM in 2022 in a laptop with price tag of over £1000
Pm me ⬆️ have something for you,,
8GB ram is nowadays AT BEST (!!!) ok for cheap, entry level netbooks or super small PCs for children/office, nothing more....
midclass smartphones have more RAM... isnt that enough facts?
I am so appreciative that you are doing these test and exposing Apple’s shortcomings on the base M2 MBA model. Where’s the integrity of Apple providing some indication of performance expectations on the different models of the M2 MBA. I’m a bit disappointed with Apple.
If youre going to showcase the Storage or Ram, keep one of the variables the same. 8gb vs 16gb w/ 512 or 256. Think its known at this point that the 256 is single chipped meaning its definitely going to be slower than the 512 dual chips.
We need to see a comparison of M1 16 GB / 512 GB compared to the M2 16 GB / 512 GB. I believe this will really show the difference between the difference between M1 and M2.
This is the comparison I've been waiting for. Now I'm curious to see comparison between M2 MBA 16/512 with MPB 14 Inch base model, is it better to upgrade to the M2 or saving $200 more to buy the 14 Inch MBP? 🤔
The 14" has two fans and two more performance cores. It's always going to outcompete the M2
Me going for AIR. As I want light weight Laptop. Didn't like my windows gaming laptop weight to carry
It should not be about saving $200, almost the only reason you would want to buy an M2 Air with this configuration as opposed to just getting the base 14’ pro is because you want the absolute thinnest lightest and quietest MacBook that is 13’ or bigger
@@wocaomade 100%. I got the 14" after using M1 Air for a year as my main system, and returned it, as I found the fan annoying. Got a 16" and never heard the fan again, but still grieve for the lost portability.
I would choose 16/512 air for portability and battery life. 14 would be overkill and bulky to move around.
The air is just for normal use. And for that, it is more than enough.
But for productivity, I personally would choose the $2000 M1 pro 14" than charging $400 + on the base model air ( $1600 ).
In India they are offering only with 8gb ram configurations. Now the 8gb/512 air comes close to the new Mbp 14.
They want to sell the the MacBook Pro more it seems with such pricing.
Hands down, the best comparison I have seen of the impact of the base model compared to a better spec machine. Really useful for anyone deciding on a new MBA. M2 is a great chip, but Apple really hobbled it with this spec. People are better off getting the cheaper M1 variant if they can’t afford to bump the specs on the base model M2.
Great comparison video! This is really making the decision between M2 MBA vs 14-inch M1 Pro even harder.
I’m tempted to get the 24GB MBA since my 32GB intel MBP often only has ~5GB free. As a developer, running both Android Studio and Xcode with their respective emulator/simulators open (along with 50 or 100 tabs, etc) doesn’t make me think 16GB would be enough, even if the M series is more efficient with memory than intel. The compile test in the video is great to see, but isn’t indicative of real world developer usage given the other dependencies a dev might have open that’s consuming memory (i.e. docker).
Sure, I should probably go 14-inch MBP, but if the 24GB air gets me most (or all) of the way there, that MBA form factor is super appealing! I wish there were more comparisons about the size/weight differences between the 14-inch pro and the M2 MBA in day-to-day use.
@@eyesc I think you’re right. I’m leaning more towards the 14”. I was on a zoom call tonight for 2 hours with my 2019 Intel 16” MBP on my lap, and at the end of it I realized the thing was making me so hot I was sweating, lol. The thermals on the 8 core 14” seem to be pretty cool based on reviews, which is a plus for me. I wonder what a 2 hour zoom call would do to the thermals on the M2 MBA (or even if compiling a few successive changes relatively quickly back to back). I wonder how hot it’ll get on the lap 🤔
Hope you can have a 8gb vs 16gb with the same 256gb SSD. 😊
Does it make sense to do that kind of testing?
Seems pretty obvious how that test will turn out.
The speed is due to one NaN so even if RAM was bumped up, the speed will be very similar between 8gb, 16gb will be slightly faster
Of coz the 16gb will do better. The bottleneck is the single nand on the base model.
8:13 you forgot to look at the SSD indicator. I mean you mention the swap, but the indicator is telling. The 8GB version is using the SSD non stop, and it's quite slow compared to RAM, so the CPU and GPU cannot get fed anymore.
Keep up the impartial testing and reporting Max Tech! You're one of the best around. Even for an almost 20 year Mac user like myself (my first Mac was the 2003 iBook G4), you consistently share what I need to know, and it helps me when deciding on purchases for my needs and budget. Thank you!
I hope to see the MBA M2 with 16GB ram and 512GB disk compare with MBP 14" M1 with same config. since the price is pretty close after upgrading the MBA.
Enjoying this series of videos, and definitely agree that more ram is definitely needed. All modern OS's have become such resource hogs that 8gbs is the absolute bare minimum they can even get away with now.
I would not even say that 8GB is an acceptable minimum now.
@@DJDTHTRP Absolute bare minimum, and acceptable are completely different. It's obvious that Apple is trying to cut corners where they can with this anyway. Not to mention they haven't properly optimized their OS in forever.
@@gus_bz No you still need more ram. The faster SSD helps, but it doesn't replace it. That isn't the way swap files work.
look I get it its better but unless you transfer extremely large files or stress test to the extreme you’re not gonna notice a difference, why try to make the base model look useless when its not
It's the price that really hinders me from going for the upper tiered specs. For low to medium income earners like I, even the US$300 difference from the 256gb (1-Nand) to the 512gb (multi-nand) is unjustifiable. Had it only been a US$100 difference, then it would certainly be a different story. So the M1 base should be the most appropriate for me I suppose.
which is a really really great choice! honestly even if you ordered apple refurbished you’re going to get such a great product man :)
@@Joshokitty , Yes. However, I'm still using (hopefully you won't take this condescendingly) a Mid 2012 MBP13" Core i5 MD101ZP/A model. It's over five years old & I'll likely be upgrading its HD to an SSD drive soon. Only when it dies that I'll be looking into an MBA. Perhaps, by that time, the M3 would've been released already. In anyway, my line of work with occasional video editing tells me that base models may just be the perfect fit for my needs. Thank you.
@@nathanielngosy if you are low income earner then i think you are looking at the wrong laptop, there are way cheaper laptops that will give you okaish performance. If your work is PURELY based on performance like hardcore video editing (or really hardcore photo editing) where you really notice the advantage of an apple M1/2 then the price diff between 256 and 512 pays off very quick. In your case i think your comment is anecdotal, with occasional video editing i hardly doubt M1/M2 is the laptop for a low earner in 2022, maybe they are in 2 years when they are below 700 dol.
@@xeon2k8 Ah. It's because I've already used cheap laptops (Windows OS) wherein they were compromised by some viruses which required me to wipe the contents out and re-install everything. Sorry, but I wouldn't want to ever go into such a trouble again and utilizing base modeled Apple laptops would be the most feasible for me. Thank you for your advice.
I feel like the M1 MacBook Air is the best portable laptop now. You don’t have to worry about slow SSD on 256GB base model, 8GB is enough (for now), battery life is great and the price is superb. I don’t regret buying the M1 Air just before the M2 Air came out at all.
Just bought GF a refurbished M1 for $850, crazy deal.
@@NathanHedglin Agreed. Incredible laptop with great value.
Great review and thanks for looking out for us consumers with your insightful reviews! It would be interesting to have an M2 8gb/256 vs 16gb/256 comparison
I noticed from 13:24 onwards, it looks like the 16GB MacBook is plugged in while the 8GB model is not. You weren’t actually comparing performance with that difference were you?
The performance stays the same whether its plugged in or not for MacBooks
It’s crazy to see how much of a difference there is in performance by just upgrading SSD and RAM. Are you going to announce the specs of the model you are giving away? After seeing your comparison videos, I hope it’s not the base model 😀
😅
Very good review, I suggest to compare a MBA M2 with 8 RAM and 512 SSD vs 16 RAM and 256 SSD. On both cases you would invest $200 more. Some youtubers are recommending the second option.
This is really not expected, 6 times faster in some cases. It was a really surprise to me, I wasn’t expecting that much difference between the 2 configurations 😱
Great video. I ordered my M2 Air a few days ago. Ordered the 512/16 model. After seeing this video, I'm glad I splurged for the upgraded laptop.
How’s it working for you so far?
Great comparison, as always. It would be interesting to see the comparison of the 512GB model with 8GB of RAM to see just the effect of the SSD in this M2 version.
Exactly.. really wonder. Is it better to upgrade the ssd or the ram?
It's crazy to see how good of an option last year's M1 Macbook Air due to its cheaper starting price and better ssd configuration.
And that’s where the new form factor comes in. It plays with you.
Absolutely love that you guys do true apples to apples comparisons they’re super helpful and eye opening, and love how you do and show true real world tests rather than just describing what that may look like. Curious to see if the difference in gpu for the 16g ram & 512ssd especially on the more graphic intensive tasks. Also the larger ram configurations, do those make a true difference (cuz I be a MAAAAAAAJOR multitasker)
Apple to Apple comparisons, I like how you put it!
I think 16Gb needs to be the base model !!
Great and informative content guys ✨️
It would have been really great if you guys had also done a test with 8GB/512GB configuration. Those additional SSD channels influence swap performance greatly, so not sure if 16 GB RAM upgrade is as consequential as the storage upgrade.
Pm me ⬆️ have something for you,,
Thank you for doing the tests and keeping Apple honest and in-check. A great service to consumers.
Holy crap - the 512gb difference makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE. I was thinking that just that amount of disk space would be useful, but had no idea how much faster it would be. Is the 512 the same performance as a 1tb ssd internal and 32gb ram? Or will we see faster speeds with that config? Thanks for the reviews... love launch week.
If you’re on a budget and want a good computer at a good price, just get the M1 air. That’s what I have for standard daily use and it flies. I don’t do video processing or play any serious games on it. Just for business/personal uses.
Now after watching your reviews I am convinced that I made the right choice
By considering the 16gb and 512 GB model over the base
Thanks for the great info you confidently give us with each of your reviews
Thanks again
I have the base M1 MBA and was prepared to trade it in for a base M2 MBA… After watching all your excellent videos, I confess, I’m actually “pissed off” with Apple!! Instead of giving us a brilliant upgrade to the old M1 MBA base model, they are happy to sell a “crippled” base M2 MBA to us all knowing buyers will buy additional RAM or additional SSD (or both) to really benefit from the new M2 chip!
I think it's very likely that the M1 Air will also have its SSD speed reduced, since they're producing a new batch that will go in stock along with the M2 Air
Upgrading both makes mo sense because then You are obly hair below price of MBP14 base which is much better machine
The option with M2, 512 GB ssd and 16 GB ram is definitely the way to go.
I also feel 16gb ram and 512gb is the best option if you are looking for long term usage even for a basic user like emailing or watching videos if you are planning for long term usage like 8 to 10 yesrs
It's shocking how bad the SSD is in the base model. Thanks for the insights, helps a lot in deciding which variant to go for
Don't think it's true, my M1 with 256 scores 2347w / 2891r
@@mauriziodelucia This is the M2 and the SSD is different on the M1
If a person's doing the kind of work where that SSD slowness would be an issue, I'm amazed they'd ever consider getting 256 GB to begin with.
@@lolwhat5487 True, sorry, now i see that the ssd has only one memory chip while the 256 m1 has two of 128.
@@mauriziodelucia its fine
This is surprising to me. If the performance really takes that much of a hit, at that point it would be better to get the M1 Air, instead of the base model M2 if upgrading the storage is not within your budget.
Thats what people are saying in other videos and comments on those videos. The M1 8gb 256SSD is faster than the M2. So spend the money on getting an M1 with 16gb RAM which will be the same price as the M2 with only 8gb.
512/16 seems like the sweet spot. Curious if 24GB of unified memory help performance any more than the 16GB 🤔
For $100 more you can get the 14" pro model, so this config is basically pointless
@@johnysmith1375 weight and slimmer form factor might be a deciding factor to a customer 🤷♂️
I saw he compared M2 MBA vs MBP, right???
I thought he would compare both MBA, right???
Looks like the SSDs are really having an impact on performance. So from the base model, If I can only choose 1 upgrade for my budget 16GB of ram or 512GB of storage which should I go for? based on these tests seems that the 512GB storage upgrade is the logical choice
Do the 16gb ram as well , if u do a lot of multitasking and your have only 8gb ram your Mac will make use of the SSD for ram and this would eventually slow down and reduce the life of your ssd
let me know if you find an answer. I did 16gb ram and 256gb storage, not for any particular reasoning.
I think SSD is less important (apart from loading a file initially) if you have sufficient RAM to work with.
Gotta say, I didn't expect that much of a difference between the 2. It would have been nice for the M2 to follow M1's example with RAM usage, optimization and SSD speed. These 2 Mac look more like totally different machines.
They are, quite literally, different machines. The comparison is almost pointless. It's a powerful MBP vs. a basic MBA. 0 surprise there are big performance differences.
Starting at the 13:25 mark, the base model is running on battery while the 512GB is plugged in. It's a little awkward to keep comparing side by side in that situation.
16GB should be the default, relying on the swap feature you greatly reduces the lifespan of the SSD and since it’s not upgradable you better take care of it
The difference in performance compared to the base model aside, the M2 16Gb/512Gb model seems to be a powerful machine, with great performance. Yes, at that price point the 14” Pro might be an alternative, but the latter does not come in that gorgeous midnight color! Choices, choices…
No brainer. Lots to gain with the 14 pro. Mini led, 120hz, in built fan.
I think it will be interesting to test the middle models as well - 512SSD/8GB, and 256SSD/16GB. With the 512SSD/8GB we can expect still high use of swap, but at much better performance, which means it should perform at least as well as the M1. With the 256SSD/16GB - the disk will still be slow, but more memory will require substantial less swapping. They are each 200$ upgrade, so maybe it's enough to spend 200$ rather than 400 $ to get to decent performance.
I’m going to buy macbook air m2 and I just can upgrade one of this (or Ram or Disk) because of my low budget ! I’m a graphic designer, which one you consider?
Love the fact that you have created multiple reviews that help eliminate the issue methodically rather than doing the guesswork!
I initially purchased the base model, but returned it, in favor of the 16gb/512gb based on my research, which included your very informative video. I was able to get a Black Friday deal , so got both upgrades for $200.00 more. So, thank you.
How’s it working for you so far? Any issues with throttling and heating?
@@sunitjoshi3573 , None whatsoever. Great laptop if you double the SSD, and very fast with the extra RAM
@@katseverino1085 Thanks
As some have already said, a comparison where you only upgrade one spec would be nice to see where you lose the most performance with the base model.
Thanks for another great review! Never imagined SSD could have such big impact!
So, effectively, M2 base model is somewhat a ‘downgrade’ compared to M1 base model - but expensive? Interesting to see their comparison…
I dont even know what's the intent to even talk about 8GB nowadays to try to justify 8gb is enough. my macbook thats new and is just simply opening one or two safari, and doing backujp to an external hard disk, the ram is at 8.50GB. Any youtuber Trying to justify 8GB is enough is insane. if 8gb is enough for you, you dont even need a macbook. just get a windows 8gb ram laptop with half the price, and change new one three years later, will be sufficient
The file transfer speed difference really surprised me and along with the other tests. Well truth to be told even if I do decide to get an M2 MBA I'll only do some light note-taking, minor multitasking and not heavy-usage, however I do picture myself with a 14" MBP, but funding for that will take quite some time due to necessities needed.
16GB and 512GB SSD are definitely the way to go even though it is kind of expensive.
At 5:13 the scrolling is much smoother in the 8gb ram 😮 what a hell is going on???
Can you make a video with a M2 MBA 16GB / 256GB ? Comparing it to the base model and comparing it to the 8GB / 512GB
I wonder if upgrading the ram only is better than upgrading the ssd
Great video again. It would be nice to see the differences between the M1 Air 16GB + 512GB version and the same M2. Do you planning to do it? I mean, I would be glad to see which would be better for my workload… and of course for my wallet in this case :)
Wow! Great comparison. Apple did a great job on setting huge differences between 2 variants. Something they did not do with the M1 Macbook Air. That old model was and maybe still is the best laptop overall for almost 2 years now and probably will still be for another year. Thanks for this comparison video.
It is fascinating how far we expect the base model needs to go for the tier that apple designed it for. Though the 8gb model makes me worry for its useful life
dont forget 256gb ssd would wear out rather quickly due to having only one nand chip soldered on the logicboard...and on top of that you write to swap alot more too with 8gb ram config!
I missed out on your free computer but thanks for the information very very helpfull
I wish to see the MBA M2 with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD compared with MBP 14" M1 with same config, since the prices there are pretty similar.
Ditto. I'd like to see that.
Wow, that’s a tremendous difference between those 2 configs.
Now I’d love to see a comparison between the 16GB/512GB and 24GB/1TB config.
This really shows just how important it is on this new Macbook air to upgrade the SSD. I have been wondering if they might have reduced the SSD chips on the base M1 Air too after they launched the M2. Would be strange for them to keep ordering chips in two different configurations rather.
I was about to buy a base model, but this video 'saved' me, thanks for sharing...
That’s just crazy. It made me happier with my m1 air base model. I can’t believe that there’s such a difference. Also I don’t understand people who say that 5 or 10 tabs is a lot, I constantly have between 50 to 100 tabs open while coding and other applications like teams, discord and Apple Music opened in the background.
Does the base M1 work fine? Is the 8 GB limiting it much?
@@artusclay3329 not really. If you do a lot of multitasking you should expect the memory pressure being on yellow most of the time but I don’t find it to be limiting me in any way. Also the new Ventura update should help it, as I found that after a major update, like Monterey or Ventura, my Mac is running a lot snappier.
@@alexsimedrea Do you think 8 GB will be fine in 3-4 years?
@@artusclay3329 For the long term I would recommend the 16gb model, given the fact that most software already starts to need more than 8 gb of ram.
That's an eye-opening comparison. I can't recall seeing anything come off that way, with just a difference of 8gb RAM.
its not about the RAM, have you even watched the video, the 256 gb SSD is two times slower than the 512 gb SSD
@@troywalt4834 With the added RAM, you avoid many of the slowdowns and the inevitable default to swap memory. The extra 8gb makes a difference. Doubling the size of the SSD is certainly beneficial, but it's not the whole story. If you have the spare $400, do both. And yeah, I watched the video.
It is well understood that Macbook Air M2 base model is for casual user who wants to primarily browse and consume media and for some entertainment or mild gaming. No point rubbishing it by running memory intensive applications since it is not meant for it anyways.
It meant to suck??? Place 8 gb in 2022-2023 and charge 5-10 times more for what memory costs if buy seperetly?!