15’’ macbook air m2 16gb ram or 15’’macbook air m3 8gb?

[7877]

Hi,

Im looking to buy a new macbook to replace my old intel one. My budget is enough to buy a new m3 macbook air 15’’ with 8gb or a refurbished m2 one (from apple refurbished program) with 16gb.
Im a student and wont use the laptop for very heavy tasks, I’ll use it mostly for working on powerpoint, word, excel and browsing (maybe occasionally a bit of gaming, but thats not the main thing ill use the laptop for).
I usually have quite a bit of apps/tabs open at the same time, and usually work on multiple docs at one, so Im worried that 8gb may cut it a bit short. I currently work on a pc with 16gb of ram and never had any problems.
I do want to keep the laptop a decent amount of time (5+ years).

I googled a bit and found an impressive number of heated discussions about 8gb vs 16gb, but didnt quite see a consensus. Seeing as these 2 laptops are the same price, Im not sure which one would be the better deal.

 

[Basic75]

You'll just have to make the choice yourself as the only thing we can do here is chew through the same old arguments for the 100th time without coming to any conclusion. Or what response do you expect that you haven't seen in all the other discussions on the same subject?

 

[RobertPS]

If you want to keep it a long time then get the one with 16GB.
Even more so if you plan to use Chrome, which has a reputation for being a memory hog.

 

[Supermallet]

Get the M2 with 16 GB. The improvements from M2 to M3 will be minuscule for your purposes but the difference in RAM will help give you headroom and ensure longevity.

 

[kschendel]

Is the title correct? because if it is, the M3 16GB is a no-brainer.

If the choice is between an 8 GB M3 or a 16 GB M2, I'd probably take the 16 GB M2.

I have a 16 GB M2 15" Air, and it's more than enough for any office-like task. I could probably have got by with 8 GB, however I expect to have to do large compiles and tests on this laptop going forward, hence the 16 GB.

 

[7877]

Get the M2 with 16 GB. The improvements from M2 to M3 will be minuscule for your purposes but the difference in RAM will help give you headroom and ensure longevity.

Yeah, thats what I suspected. How long does it usually take for new macs to appear in apples refurbished store? I might wait a bit to see if by any chance I find a good deal

 

[7877]

Is the title correct? because if it is, the M3 16GB is a no-brainer.

If the choice is between an 8 GB M3 or a 16 GB M2, I'd probably take the 16 GB M2.

I have a 16 GB M2 15" Air, and it's more than enough for any office-like task. I could probably have got by with 8 GB, however I expect to have to do large compiles and tests on this laptop going forward, hence the 16 GB.

The title was wrong, thanks for pointing it out.
Ill probably go for the 16gb m2.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I usually have quite a bit of apps/tabs open at the same time, and usually work on multiple docs at once

This is the reason for more RAM.

 

[StoneJack]

to be honest there is not much difference in performance between 8 and 16GB of RAM. Mac manages internal memory so well that you will very rarely face any problems with 8GB, because when it needs memory it activates very fast internal SSD for memory swap and its access speeds are extremely fast. So, 8 and 16GB of RAM in every day use are very similar in performance. I know because I had both MBA Ms with 8 and 16GB of RAM.
however the difference between 13 and 15 inch display is huge.
Ergo, go for larger display.

 

[Saturn007]

My use pattern is virtually identical to yours and I’m still rocking a 2015 13” 8 GB MacBook Air, while a brand new 15” M2 8GB sits unused underneath our coffee table!

8GB will be just fine. Ignore the debates here over 8GB vs. 16GB — or, parse them carefully for use patterns. Remember that MR attracts many techies, tech workers, and high-end Mac aficionados, who are more likely to demand more, whose jobs, programming, or hobbies need more, and often advocate for 16GB. Mere mortals, regular folks, can get by easily with 8GB with uses such as yours.

Now that changes if you are in a processor heavy field or contemplate graduate school in technical field with intensive computing demands.

For me, the bigger issue is how much SSD storage space to get. I take lots of photos and that library becomes huge over the years. Large annotated PDFs for my research also are sizable. Would strongly urge you to get at least 512GB, especially as you want to keep this for 5 years+.

Still, having written all that, if you can afford well over a thousand dollars on a laptop, you should absolutely spend $200 more for 16GB rather 8GB on the M3!

You should be able to save that amount in a few months, borrow it, or get a loan or gift from parents or family members to cover it. (Or, work extra hours at a job.)

Still, your plan of waiting for a refurbished 16GB M3 may be the best one of all!

 

[Fishrrman]

DON'T buy ANY m-series Mac with only 8gb of RAM.
You will regret such a purchase sooner rather than later.

Say this to yourself:
16gb is "the new 8" ...

 

[jim0266]

16 is the correct answer.

 

[jdoyle]

I had the exact same dilemma. I settled on a refurb M2 15in Air with 16GB Ram and 1TB HD. Couldn't be happier with my decision. M3 is only 15 to 20% faster than M2 and a reckon M2 with 16GB will perform better than M3 with 8GB in a lot of situations. This is what I recommend you do.

 

[SRLMJ23]

16GB for sure!

I have the 15" M2 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM, and absolutely love it, and I am sure you will as well!

As someone said above, 16GB is the new 8GB, and I agree with that 100%. Plus, coming from Intel to Apple Silicon, you will be absolutely blown away!

 

[Isamilis]

Hi,

Im looking to buy a new macbook to replace my old intel one. My budget is enough to buy a new m3 macbook air 15’’ with 8gb or a refurbished m2 one (from apple refurbished program) with 16gb.
Im a student and wont use the laptop for very heavy tasks, I’ll use it mostly for working on powerpoint, word, excel and browsing (maybe occasionally a bit of gaming, but thats not the main thing ill use the laptop for).
I usually have quite a bit of apps/tabs open at the same time, and usually work on multiple docs at one, so Im worried that 8gb may cut it a bit short. I currently work on a pc with 16gb of ram and never had any problems.
I do want to keep the laptop a decent amount of time (5+ years).

I googled a bit and found an impressive number of heated discussions about 8gb vs 16gb, but didnt quite see a consensus. Seeing as these 2 laptops are the same price, Im not sure which one would be the better deal.

If 16gb is affordable then go for it. No doubt on that. Unless you have to choose between 512gb SSD vs 16gb ram, that’s where the argument was started, lol.
From various reviews, M3 doesn’t have significant improvement over M2, hence M2/16 is preferred (assuming both have same storage).

 

[7877]

Thanks for all the replies, how long does it usually take for a new mac to appear in apples refurbished program? I might just wait for a refurbished m3 macbook air.
I dont really believe I will need that much ram, but Id rather be on the safe side.
I also saw another post mentioning the M1 macbook pro m1 pro, which is similar in price and has 16gb/512gb, so I might look into that.