Hi, using Sharpen v 4.1.0 on a Macbook Pro (2019, Intel i5) with 8GB, which is probably on the cusp of minimum hardware requirements. Savings files can take several minutes, my CPU is running at over 80 degrees C (sometimes creeping into the low 90s), but tends not to throttle, and multitasking is a no-go. So, would upgrading to an M1 Macbook (Air or Pro) speed things up/cool my CPU significantly, and would 8GB be enough? Thanks 
Check out ArtisRight. He has done YouTube videos testing various Topaz products on M1 Macs.
For myself, I can say that now I have the Mac mini, processing takes just a matter of seconds compared with much slower speeds on my 2017 MacBook Pro. However, I do recommend getting at least 16 GB of RAM.
Thanks very much for that - I will check him out 
And yes, I suspect 16GB would be preferable.
