Because the memory is accessible by both the CPU and GPU it can be allocated where it’s needed, and there is no performance hit because swapping from one to the other is instant and there is no need to copy data over as it’s instantly accessible. There are benefits to Unified Memory though. It’s why your new M1 or M2 Mac probably needs a cleaner app, options for which we will discuss below.

Instead, the memory is integrated into the same package that contains the chip.īecause of this you need to make sure you get enough memory when you buy your Mac because this memory cannot be upgraded. There’s no memory slot or slots on the motherboard, nor is there an area where a memory chip has been permanently soldered on. This means that in M1 and M2-series Macs the memory is a part of the architecture itself. Instead all Macs with Apple’s own silicon inside use Unified Memory which is shared among the hardware components. Now that Apple is producing its own processors – the M1 and M2-series of chips – the company no longer uses RAM in the traditional sense.

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