bigguytf

I am asking for anyone with experience using the Mac Mini with the M1 chip and 8 gb of Ram.

I use both Photoshop and Lightroom. I have a 2012 Mac Mini with 16 gb of ram. I am looking to upgrade to a new version Mini. Most of the versions out that I see know only have 8 GB of ram. But people say the new Apple M1 chip handles Ram differently.

Any one have to experience with this?

Thanks in advance

User ID

My sister has found that quantity of ram has an entirely different meaning in the M1 world. You just cannot at all compare numbers across that boundary. It’s lIke comparing motorcycle horsepower to bulldozer horsepower.

Kevin.M Loc: Forked River, NJ

Hi bigguytf,

I'm not sure what a Mac Mini is but I just recently upgraded from using a 2013 MacBook Pro to a MacBook Air with the M1 chip, 16 GB of ram, 512GB hard drive, 7 core GPU, I use Lightroom, Photoshop & Topaz DeNoise, the machine is a joy to use, everything runs perfectly, the only accessory I purchased to go along with it is an Anker
8 port doc so I can plug in my external hard drive, and other accessories.

I hope this helps.

~Kevin

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

I just received my Mac Mini with M1 chip to replace my 2012 mini with I7 and 16gb ram. My wife bought a MacBook Air with M1 and 8 gb ram a few months ago and it’s performance convinced me it was time to upgrade. There are some good YouTube videos comparing the 8 vs 16GB RAM machines with M1 and the 8 looks like it will do the job as well as the 16 unless the machine is extremely tasked. However, I could not wrap my head around going from 16 on my current machine down to 8. So I spent the extra 200 on the 16. I just started setting it up last night so I can’t comment on the performance.

Sergey

I don't have Mac mini so I can't comment on that. But it looks like Adorama has Mac-mini with M1, 16 GB memory and 256GB SSD (Late 2020) for $799.

morkie Loc: Simi Valley CA

Previous postings have indicated 16gb ram is needed for extensive video editing but not for still photos.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Correct. The basic MacBook M1 is in a league of its own. It doesn't need a lot of memory or a fan to outperform most other laptops. Just look at the dozens of online reviews that rave about it. I foolishly paid more for extra RAM and a larger SSD, but I did get it at a discount. As you said above, numbers alone don't tell the whole story.

newvy

I have the first gen M1 Mac mini with 8gb ram. I recently started using Lightroom and photoshop and it works great. I got it as an upgrade for my son to use as his school machine but now find myself using it more than my laptop (M1 Mac book air) my wife uses a 2015 27” iMac and I haven’t run PS/LR on it but I’m certain it would do the job just fine. I would recommend 16gb as a future proofing but not needed for today’s work. The computer is a steal for the performance and price.

bigguytf

Yes this does help, I appreciate it.

bigguytf

Thanks I saw that but I was thinking I would need a 1TSB hard drive.

bigguytf

I understand this, but i also understand the hard drives also cannot be swapped out.

bigguytf

Thanks and I agree with the going from 16gb to 8 gb. Can't wrap my head around it.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

Since my current machine gave me 9 years, I am hoping the M1 will be close to the same. And is the 8 gonna be enough memory 6 years from now? That little extra speed (and it is little) that the 16 provides now may be more significant with more complicated software.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I don't have that Mini, but I do have an M1 MacBook Air with 16GB/1TB. My son has the same computer, but with 8GB/512GB. These are essentially the same machines as the 2020 M1 Mini, the 2021 24" M1 iMac, and the 2020 13" MacBook Pro. The Mini is a little faster than the MBA and the MBP, and about the same speed as the mid-tier iMac. That's due to the presence of its very efficient fan.

YES, the M1 family do use memory VERY differently from Intel machines. The "Unified" memory is used by all processing functions, without moving data unless a swap to the SSD happens. This is the way ALL Apple Silicon in iPhones and iPads has worked for the last decade. They've become very efficient about using data "in place" instead of bouncing it back and forth between graphic memory and RAM.

There are many reviews of the 8GB Mini on YouTube by people who use Lightroom, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, various software development and coding environments, ProTools and Logic Pro audio editing suites, and other heavy lifting software. Most of them say it is fine for YouTube content development and all but the most intensive work in the Adobe Photography apps. Adobe Premiere is the one app they don't like running on Macs, and never did like running on Macs, because it is better-tuned for Windows.

Depending on what you are doing, 8GB can be enough. It probably is for 95% of M1 Mac users.

My son has never complained about 8GB being too little. He is a media studies major at UNCG, and has done significant 4K video editing and graphics production on his MacBook Air. He HAS complained about 512GB SSD storage not being enough. I am working with him on strategies that make use of very fast external storage. Part of his issue is that he straddles the Mac/PC fence as I did for decades. The operating systems are just different. He's learning not to fight either one, but to use them as intended!

My recommendation for those buying M1 Macs is that unless you are making money with it on a daily basis, get the 8GB model with full processor cores and the most internal storage you can afford. Then attach FAST external drives via a Thunderbolt hub or dock.

My experience with the M1 is very satisfying. My system can export 30 – 16GB images from raw files in Lightroom in under 20 seconds. It can export a 20"x30" @ 240 PPI file for a poster print in four seconds. It does not stutter with 4K video with three effects and five audio channels. I've mixed more audio tracks than a normal person would want to use in a mix, with 4-6 processor plugins on each track, without any crashes, stutters, or other issues. Battery life does suffer when running Lightroom and the Negative Lab Pro plugin. But other than that, it can go all day without a charge when doing email, web browsing, and light office work.

The eerie thing about working with M1 Macs is near silence when running the MBP, iMac, or Mini. They just don't need to spin up the fans unless you work them to the brink of death. The Air just throttles back slightly under load, because it has NO fan. It is great to record audio on the Air, compared to my Intel iMac that made a lot of fan noise!

I'll add that you can save significant money by buying from Apple's online Refurbished store. You get a computer in a plain white box, but it is impeccable in every way and has the same exact warranty as a new machine.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

That's a good analogy!

Apple condensed the 8-core CPU, a 7- or 8-core GPU, 16 Neural Engine cores, and a whole bunch of dedicated processors *and* the DDR4 RAM into the same package. They have a system on a single chip, instead of a motherboard with parts scattered all over. The chip is built on a 5-nanometer architecture, compared with traditional 10 or 14 nm silicon in Intel processors. So it uses about a third of the power to do work faster.

It's amazing how a few inches of circuitry on a large motherboard can waste significant time when moving electrons. Getting everything into the same package eliminates a lot of travel time. (electrons take about a nanosecond to go around 11 inches...)

The other difference with Apple Silicon is Reduced Instruction Set Computing. Intel uses Complex Instruction Set Computing. RISC is more efficient for reasons I won't go into here.

So yeah, motorcycles and bulldozers!