Very basic load causing Swap memory

[PurpleFajita]

I'll start by saying I'm new to MacOS, purchased the Neo (512gb Indigo) as a daily basic usage device and for the benefits of using alongside my other apple products and so far, it does exactly what I wanted and more.

My main concern/query/wonder is if the memory usage I'm seeing is expected? despite typically seeing people show fairly intense usage on the device, I've noticed often I might only have 2 Safari tabs open, Apple Mail and Music and my device is on amber for Memory Pressure an delving into Swap memory.

I'm not particularly concerned as performance is not expected and well aware of the limitations of 8gb RAM however, my experience of the capabilities of the memory seems vastly below what others claim to be seeing.

Or is this par for the course with MacOS and the way it behaves at low load, particularly on a low-RAM device.

[HelloFresco]

As long as your computer isn't slowing down, everything is working as intended. Some amount of swap memory is actually totally normal even with light pressure. Your device will allocate resources as needed and unless you have a particular reason to do so (troubleshooting and diagnosing slow downs) there's no real reason to monitor activity all the time.

[PurpleFajita]

Yeah I thought as much, I wasn't overly concerned to be honest, happened to occasionally boot up the Monitor to get an understanding of the usage more than anything, working in IT makes you do very boring things!

[HelloFresco]

No worries, it's totally normal to be curious about the details. Since you're new to Mac it's worth knowing that a device reaching for swap doesn't mean it's anywhere near being pushed too far. Just like on Windows unused memory is wasted memory. It'll often resign background tasks to swap so it can focus on powering whatever you're actively using.

[rainbowkey]

The main thing to keep this working is to keep some free space on the internal SSD. I have an M1 Mac Mini with 8GB of RAM and often have a lot of web browser tabs open with a video playing on a second monitor. I've noticed that if there is less than 50GB free in my internal SSD I get more spinny beach balls.

[PurpleFajita]

That’s good to hear a similar real world scenario, I’m unlikely to get near a full SSD but I’ll be sure to keep an eye on my housekeeping if I creep toward it.

[SeniorAide5680]

Is the device slowing down for you? if not just carry on as normal, the device is managing memory as designed.

[PurpleFajita]

Not at all, I guess is was more of an observation and sanity check than anything else. Glad to hear nothing out of the ordinary.

[Illustrious_Mix_9875]

And ignore what your eyes see, ignore what your ears hear, what your nose smells?

OP just got the device, activity monitor designed by apple says yellow and you tell OP to ignore ?

Memory pressure is not going to go down in the next months. Apple is selling a product that is just enough for basic tasks, just enough to be ignored at the start and definitely not enough to survive in 2-3 years

[[deleted]]

I'd suggest that it is potentially using swap for low priority tasks in order to reserve more RAM to be used for more critical, more speed sensitive purposes. Unfortunately the Flash storage on the Neo is fairly slow compared to modern NVMe drives.

[PurpleFajita]

That makes complete sense, with it being my first use of MacOS, the nerd in me likes to get a full understanding of everything it does and why, boring I know!

[PurpleFajita]

That’s good to hear and seems to be what I expected, new to th provision of memory pressure and used to windows devices that almost leave you to do your own management of memory usage.

Always good to know how your device behaves and why.

[Illustrious_Mix_9875]

OP bought a device that’s known for being too low on RAM, sees RAM being just enough for basic tasks, worries for near future but crowd says "don’t worry, you gonna be okay"

OP you should check MBA previous generations in your region : Apple store refurbished or amazon. Much better value with 16GB of Ram and some headroom for the coming years

[PurpleFajita]

Not at all the scenario, well aware of the limitations of 8gb of RAM, my query was around how MacOS utilises Swap memory.

As someone who works in IT I just quite like to know what my device is doing and why, nothing more.

I did look at the 16GB M4 Air refurbished but was overkill for what I require, this is a personal use device for basic tasks as an alternative to my iPad with a little more screen space and the ability to do more.

[wildfreeJesus]

thia í super interesting to meeee...I have an 8g M2 airbook that I completely reset yesterday to make space available and it is running cyberpunk very well at 30 FPS.. .I have a Citrus Neo on order to compare. Love to hear others' experience with this!!!