Looking to get a MacBook Air (M1) to use with Scrivener. Currently using a PC and an iPad (sync thru Dropbox). Works great, but time to replace the iPad.
My question has to do with Ram. I’m going to get the 1 TB storage, but am unsure about whether to get the 8 GB or 16 GB memory option.
My novels are LARGE (1,000 - 2,000 plus pages) if that makes a difference. So saving and compiling might be an issue (not sure). Or Scrivenings.
I don’t do videos (create or watch) and use general purpose productivity apps (MS Office and Libre Office). Got a PC for games (not that I have time for those anymore : )
I would like the option to run Parallels, although right now I can’t really see the need so maybe a moot issue.
Any input would be appreciated. I use a Mac for work (MacBook Pro) and pretty conversant with the OS side of things. If I’m undecided I’ll probably go with the 16 GB option.
Thanks,
GeoffW
You can never have too much money, too many friends … or too much memory.
2000 pages of just text is not particularly large. But memory for a laptop is generally easier to install at time of purchase than later. I’d get 16 GB.
With the Mac, you can’t upgrade the ram later. You have to decide that at the time of purchase. I recommend 16 GB. Not because of the 2000 pages. But if you want to have several apps open at the same time and many pages or many tabs when researching with the browser, 16 GB is simply better.
1 TB storage is a lot. If you need or want to save money, you can also buy a smaller internal hard drive and use external disks that are cheap to buy.
You’d need to check up whether you can run Parallels; I don’t think there’s an M1 native version, so you’d have to run it through Rosetta, if that’s possible. The processor is well up to it, but running an emulator within an emulator …
On April 14th 2021, the new update for Parallels was released and now features support for both Mac computers with Intel processor as well as Mac computers with Apple M1 chip.
I dug into this just a week ago, wondering if I could run Windows 10 on it. It’s important to note that only the ARM version of Windows will run as a guest OS on an M1 mac, and that x86 emulation for apps that aren’t compiled for ARM processors is imperfect.
If you’re going to try and run Parallels, definitely get 16G of ram though; the guest OS needs a big chunk of ram for itself.
Supported Guest Operating Systems (Mac with Apple M1 chip):
Only ARM versions of operating systems are supported.
Windows 11 on ARM (recommended)
Additional information on the M1 experience may be found in this article.
Windows ARM can run most of the regular Windows x86 applications. You can download the Parallels Desktop trial and install the application of your interest. If it doesn’t work, let us know at Parallels Forum.
I am with everyone here. You do not need 8 GB to run Scrivener, even with a large novel. The M1 are usually memory efficient. But, since you can not upgrade once you buy, to future proof your machine, I would get the 16 GB.
Hi everyone,
Appreciate all the feedback.
Agreed that the one TB storage seems large, but currently have a MacBook Pro with 500 GB storage that’s closer to full than I’m comfortable with. And it really doesn’t have that much installed (yes, I should do some house cleaning : )
I’ll probably go ahead and get the 16 GB option. Got the money to do it (hey, it’s just money, right?) and future proofing is as good excuse as any. And with what I’ve seen of Macs, I’ll probably be using the “Air” for a solid 4-5 years. And possibly 6-7 years. Or more. I’m writing this using the screen of a 27 inch iMac (attached to my MacBook Pro) that was purchased in 2011. It still boots up just fine and runs solid (if slow : ).
Anyway, thanks for the help.
GeoffW
FWIW, I just upgraded my own 2015 iMac, primarily because it’s approaching Apple’s end-of-life support cut off. If an extra 8GB of RAM lets you use the system for a couple more years, it’s worth it.
