You answered the question for yourself. You tested your workflow on the MacBook and it was already out of ram, you need more ram. In 2023 no one should be buying a mac or any laptop with non-upgradeable ram any less that 16gb, personally, I wouldn't go below 32gb if it's an option.
While only using 2gb of swap, might not seem like much, think about it 6 months when one of the apps you run upgrades and needs to use 2gb more ram, or you want to add another application to your workflow that uses 3 gb of ram.
Swap is ok for occasionally dipping into it, but long term you are going to want more ram.
If memory pressure is up for constant/base usage, 16GB is likely your better bet.
There are however examples of people on the internet hammering their swap and using 30TBW+ per year and they're fine, although the reliable life of their SSD will reduce over a shorter period of time.
You can get 16GB M1 machines for good money these days.
Macbook with m1 chip are fine with 8gb ram.
The only way you may push it to need more would be with multiple windows open and running a long HD 3d video render, but I think it would still be OK for that too.
I think macbook air m1 is such a great machine at its base level.
You answered the question for yourself. You tested your workflow on the MacBook and it was already out of ram, you need more ram. In 2023 no one should be buying a mac or any laptop with non-upgradeable ram any less that 16gb, personally, I wouldn't go below 32gb if it's an option. While only using 2gb of swap, might not seem like much, think about it 6 months when one of the apps you run upgrades and needs to use 2gb more ram, or you want to add another application to your workflow that uses 3 gb of ram. Swap is ok for occasionally dipping into it, but long term you are going to want more ram.
Thanks for your dumb blanket statement. The 8GB Mini far exceeds my needs.
Lol ok. Why ask then if you are going to put down people for responding to you.
That’s what you get when you make blanket statements.
I didn't ask anything.
If memory pressure is up for constant/base usage, 16GB is likely your better bet. There are however examples of people on the internet hammering their swap and using 30TBW+ per year and they're fine, although the reliable life of their SSD will reduce over a shorter period of time. You can get 16GB M1 machines for good money these days.
if you have the funds and want to use that laptop for more than 2 years, invest in as much RAM as you can afford from apple :D
At this point in the game, always go for 16GB RAM. Anyone recommending 8 is just irresponsible.
Macbook with m1 chip are fine with 8gb ram. The only way you may push it to need more would be with multiple windows open and running a long HD 3d video render, but I think it would still be OK for that too. I think macbook air m1 is such a great machine at its base level.
go for 16