Posted by: Mmick
« on: December 12, 2020, 19:21:52 »NO! The only reason that the ram difference does not make a difference to performance is because the SSD swaps the memory when the memory gets full. You will use basically just as much memory in any app as on an intel mac, it just won't be as noticeable, because of how fast swap memory is. The one thing you will notice, is that swap memory tends to degrade the SSD if used over a long period of time. So, if you tend to need more than 8gb, get more than 8gb.I'm also trying to decide whether to spend an extra $200 for 8 more GB of RAM. For me it is more a case of future-proofing (I know, I know) so the decision comes down to how much the extra RAM reduces battery life
On these Apple-silicon machines, 8GB = 16GB Intel devices; 16GB = 32GB Intel.
If you won´t use too much Adobe apps and not too much apps at same time, the 8 GB RAM version will work fine;
if you plan using Adobe apps frequently and many at same time, or 8K video, or many Office apps etc. then the 16 GB RAM.
I opted to buy the 8GB version (= 16GB Intel) as I don't do too much heavy work with many apps simultaneously, then I saved 200€. Perhaps in 2-3 years I replace for the M3 and perhaps by then it will come with 512 GB SSD / 16 GB RAM as default and only then I use the 200€ I saved now.
I have my Mac mini M1 8GB connected to an 8K monitor and everything runs very smoothly.
All reviewers tested the amount vs. swap and every single version had swap, even the 16 GB RAM had more swap, as Mac OS is always backing up the RAM as swap. So the 16 GB even had bigger and more writing than the 8 GB RAM. So on the 8 GB RAM version the OS just releases more RAM (closes background Apps / Data) for the main App. Then it loads again the Apps / Processes, but as the SSD is so quick it *reads* very fast. At the end no issues with writing cycles.
I have the Mac mini M1 8GB and the writing processes are minimal, so I am fine with it.