MBA M3 8 or 16gb, HEELP!!

[Porskrog]

I have just ordered a 13” MacBook Air M3 with 8gb Ram(?). I have no idea what it means, although I’ve tried to google it, but ended up here instead. The guy in a shop told me that I should get the upgraded version with 16gb if I wanted it to last. I want it to last. I am not gonna sell it and I won’t get another one before it dies. My last MBA was from 2015 (rip). I will use it for writing, studies, streaming, light entertainment, normal web surfing and every day stuff. Can someone please tell me that I should go for the cheap one, or upgrade it!?! I don’t want to pay more than I have to as I’m rather broke, yet it’d be worth it if it’d make it last longer. Anyone out there, please help me find the way…

 

[MacsBug]

Hopefully, you can cancel your order and order a MacBook Air with more RAM

Not sure where you ordered it from, but Apple doesn’t sell the M3 MacBook Air with less than 16GB of RAM anymore since its just not sufficient.

Some places have old stock, but I would say that the best thing to do is cancel your order and buy one with more RAM.

I usually recommend that people upgrade to the 24GB option on the MacBook Air so that you Wont run into any memory issues, especially if you were to use it with an external display.

 

[Lufbrarunner]

I would go for the 16gb or better to be on the safe side.

 

[Porskrog]

Hmmm, I do hear a lot of people, with the same limited needs as myself, say that 16gb is overkill and a waste of money. I appreciate your view but bear in mind that I will not play games or do heavy duty work. I do , however want it to last for as long as possible

 

[Lufbrarunner]

The problem is that there’s no upgrade path, once you have committed to it, you are stuck with that memory and storage.

 

[Rodananne]

Apple doesn’t sell the M3 MacBook Air with less than 16GB of RAM anymore

I'm just echoing what MacsBug said because that is completely true. If you have ordered an 8GB model it's either not what it claims to be or discontinued, old stock. I think I'd try and cancel. They cannot be upgraded, RAM demands will only increase over time and you're hoping to make it last.

 

[Porskrog]

Intriguing, here in Norway all the shops sell MBA m3 w 8gb ram. They all say the same thing: “ yeah, upgrade to 16gb if you can afford, it won’t hurt, but honestly, you probably won’t notice any difference “. Hmmm, leaning towards upgrading..

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome,

Apple updated the MacBook Air (13-inch, M3, 2024) to sell with a minimum of 16 GB of RAM in October 2024. The original release in March 2024 did have 8 GB as a minimum.

8 GB is enough for the light duty tasks that you had listed, but I personally would go with 16 GB to ease the load and make it more future-proof. As the shops and others have stated, I don't think you will experience any issues with 8 GB, but 16 GB is the sweet spot for the M3 model and Apple's own new minimum standard.

Hope that helps!

C

 

[Porskrog]

Cheers for the response, it’s helpful

 

[Porskrog]

How about 256gb vs 512?? I use iCloud with loads of storage

 

[Lufbrarunner]

if your budget stretches that far, go for 512, same reasons as the RAM, future proofing.
Better to have and not need than need and not have
When I was looking for a Mac mini I first thought I would go with 8gb RAM and 512 SSD, but in the end opted for 16gb RAM and 1tb SSD. I am very pleased that I did as this combination works very smooth and quick.

 

[Rodananne]

Don't forget for optimum performance it's suggested 20% of storage be kept free. 20% of 256 = 51.2GB leaving only 204.8. Approx 20GB of that will be taken by the system and native apps leaving only 184.8GB for all of your own apps, photos, music and data. I have more than that amount free on my 512GB 16 GB M1 14" MBP which is overkill but it's handy for file t/f.