Is the stock 8GB RAM configuration going to be enough for the new Apple Silicon M1 MacBook Pro or should you be specifying 16GB RAM? If you are a media creative using Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro X , you will find this video invaluable in helping you to evaluate the issues of memory pressure. Mark uses real benchmarks running FCP on both 8BG and 16GB M1 Systems.

0:00 Intro
0:37 Scope of This Session
0:55 Virtual Memory Theory
3:08 Benchmarking a 16GB M1 with Logic Pro
6:00 Benchmarking the 8GB M1 System with Logic Pro
6:23 How to Build and Populate a RAM Drive
8:01 Running Logic Pro during Memory Pressure
9:08 Pile on the Memory Pressure in a 8GB System
9:59 Conclusions

Notes:

It is surprising just how capable the base 8GB RAM Apple Mac Book Pro M1 actually is. I think a lot of this is down to how close coupled the memory is to the CPU cores in the SOC (System On Chip) architechture at the heart of M1.

Memory pressure is a function of comparing current free memory resources to the anticipated need for memory growth. If a system is not under memory pressure then there is no reason to expect an 16GB system to outperform a 8GB system.

However, modern media programs like Logic Pro X create large memory structures and shared buffers. In this session I show that Logic alone can pretty much use most of the resources of the 8GB system. Such a system is still very comfortable but we see that adding office productivity tools like MS Outlook, Teams, Work and Excel together with Zoom and Safari will push the Virtual Memory system over the line into memory pressure.

The M1 cores are so advanced in allocation of CPU resources, it would be such a shame to be short on RAM. For this reason, I would highly recommend purchasing the M1 system with 16GB of system memory. Remember also that the 8 GPU's on chip also share the same unified memory.

I can already feel that this MacBook Pro M1 Apple Silicon machine may well be the best computer I have ever owned (and I have owned a few!). The extra memory upgrade from 8GB to 16GB will cost around £200 GBP (or $200 USD). When you come to sell the MacBook on in the future you will see half of this back!

These M1 systems are going to hold their value. The battery life means that we are subjecting the lithium cells to probably half the number of cycles for any given time period. This will only help the longevity of the machines and their resale value.

It matters not what a thing costs.. Cost of ownership = (The Price You Pay The Price You Sell At) ... Don't buy a thing cheap, only to buy it twice.

If you are reading this then I think you are a creative, audio head or "Vidiot" or similar. The guys and girls running MS Teams, Office and Zoom will be fine on 8GB. We are worth so much more ;)

Love and Peace
Mark