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Wicked1

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Apr 13, 2009
3,283
14
New Jersey
Not doing anything intense, excepts some minor gaming, and maybe encoding a movie here and there, is the 8GB worth it?

I was looking on Apple's Refurb site and the 13" 2.0 cpu, with 512 and 8GB is close to $2000

I was thinking of the 13" with 4GB and 256 for $1200

Will there be a difference? I currently have a 2011 Base Mini with 8GB, but it was because I can do the Ram upgrade. I usually keep my machines for 3 years, so I figure by then the norm will be 8GB.

Just looking for opinions on those who have 4 and 8 GB
 

Sech

macrumors member
Mar 31, 2012
61
8
The 8GB model has access to slightly more VRAM, which may make a difference in your gaming (?). I have the 4GB model and I spend a lot of time coding, browsing, occasional Diablo 3, without any trouble. My next one will be 8GB, just cause.
 

Lindberg

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2010
126
4
Denmark, Aarhus
The 8GB model has access to slightly more VRAM, which may make a difference in your gaming (?). I have the 4GB model and I spend a lot of time coding, browsing, occasional Diablo 3, without any trouble. My next one will be 8GB, just cause.
No one has documented an in-game difference of 4 gb v 8 gb gb ram...
 

Calot

macrumors regular
Aug 6, 2012
153
0
4GB RAM = 380MB vRAM

8GB RAM = 512MB vRAM

35% more vRAM is not a "slight" improvement.

For 100 dollars, it seems like a no brainer.
 

RightMACatU

macrumors 65816
Jul 12, 2012
1,423
1,132
192.168.1.1
As an FYI: I'm glad I went with 8GB where I dedicate a full 4GB to my Win7 VMWare Fusion image. I tried 2GB but 4GB is much better.
 

Lukewarmwinner

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2012
338
4
My last Air had 4gb ram and didn't notice any lack of extra ram. Although I just ordered one with 8, just in case.
 

Lunfai

macrumors 68000
Nov 21, 2010
1,566
519
Sheffield
Depends on what you want to do with the machine. But to future proof the machine, get the 8GB, it's not that expensive.
 

TheRichboy247

macrumors member
Oct 7, 2012
61
0
If you're planning on futureproofing your machine, go for the 8GB's of RAM. I got 4GB because I got mine at a retail store while they were doing a special. I also have an iMac if I need extra power.
 

tiwizard

macrumors regular
Jul 12, 2010
233
0
If you can upgrade for $100, I'd strongly suggest getting the 8 GB of RAM. However if you're looking at returns and this is not an option, you may want to take your usage into account. It doesn't sound like you'd *need* it though.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
Not doing anything intense, excepts some minor gaming, and maybe encoding a movie here and there, is the 8GB worth it?

I was looking on Apple's Refurb site and the 13" 2.0 cpu, with 512 and 8GB is close to $2000

I was thinking of the 13" with 4GB and 256 for $1200

Will there be a difference? I currently have a 2011 Base Mini with 8GB, but it was because I can do the Ram upgrade. I usually keep my machines for 3 years, so I figure by then the norm will be 8GB.

Just looking for opinions on those who have 4 and 8 GB

$2000 is a pretty expensive machine to only use for three years. Why so short? You know these machines can last longer than that, right? (Usually 5-6 years.)

Otherwise, a MacBook Air with 512GB SSD and 8GB of RAM is the way to go. In general, in a computer where the RAM is un-upgradable, especially a Mac where most new versions of OS X up the RAM requirement incrementally, the more RAM you can stuff in there, the longer your machine will last.
 

xxcysxx

macrumors 6502
Oct 12, 2011
264
1
i built a video game system this summer with 32gb of ram, just specifically to play games. then i later learned that none of the games on the market uses more then 2gb of ram. some of them i literally have to modified to use 4gb, but that's it. and i only play one game at a time though i got about 10 games installed in my system.

though, the extra ram does make my system faster.
 

J&JPolangin

macrumors 68030
Jul 5, 2008
2,593
18
Close to a boarder, in Eu
I have a similar experience to share...an open box 2011 13" MBP for $806.40 and a open box 2012 13" MBA 4Gb/128SSD for $1070.10.

On the MBP I can slap in 8Gb of RAM that I have (from my 21" iMac) and using the MBP RAM both machines will then have 8Gb RAM for no additional cost, I can then put in the Crucial M4 512 SSD I got off Amazon for $349 shipped.

The trade off's are that the MBA is 1.5 lbs lighter, USB3, a slightly better integrated GPU and a higher resolution screen but with the MBP I'll have 8Gb RAM, 512 internal SSD, a more powerful CPU (and to me the MBP feels sturdier than the 13" MBA) and it will only cost me $85.30 more than the MBA.

With the Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge CPU/GPU platforms being so close together performance wise = I think the MBP is the better choice for me to keep for the next few years until Broadwell hits the MBA line = then maybe the 11" MBA will have battery life close to what the larger models get now:eek:
 

Agent-P

Contributor
Dec 5, 2009
2,502
23
The Tri-State Area
Since you said you plan to keep your computer for three years, I'd say go with the 8gb option. Since you can't upgrade it yourself, this is your only chance to increase it. It'll future proof it for newer versions of OSX and (as others have said) it'll give you more vRAM.

I used to have 4gb RAM in my MBP and I used to run low on RAM because I work on multiple things at once. So when I got my MBA this summer, I opted for 8gb RAM.
 
Last edited:

Dick Whitman

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2012
467
145
Ugh is 8 gb really necessary? When I get my Air I don't want to have to wait a week to get it and then have to wait another week if for any reason I would need to exchange it. There is something particularly more enticing about instant gratification and going into the Apple store and making a slight ordeal of purchasing a new laptop right then and there and on the spot.

Sure I multitask but I don't do anything really crazy. Plus I saw videos on YouTube of people streaming multiple videos while running programs in the background and everything worked fine at 4 gb.
 

Lindberg

macrumors regular
Jun 21, 2010
126
4
Denmark, Aarhus
Ugh is 8 gb really necessary? When I get my Air I don't want to have to wait a week to get it and then have to wait another week if for any reason I would need to exchange it. There is something particularly more enticing about instant gratification and going into the Apple store and making a slight ordeal of purchasing a new laptop right then and there and on the spot.

Sure I multitask but I don't do anything really crazy. Plus I saw videos on YouTube of people streaming multiple videos while running programs in the background and everything worked fine at 4 gb.

I think 8 gb is overkill unless you run Windows and OSX simultaneously or do heavy multi tasking. All that talk about future proofing is nonsens. No matter how many gb of ram you buy now you will stil be stocked with the same CPU and GPU and 4 gb or 8 gb ram is nowhere near as important in that picture.
 

Dick Whitman

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2012
467
145
I think 8 gb is overkill unless you run Windows and OSX simultaneously or do heavy multi tasking. All that talk about future proofing is nonsens. No matter how many gb of ram you buy now you will stil be stocked with the same CPU and GPU and 4 gb or 8 gb ram is nowhere near as important in that picture.

Plus it's already painful enough that I'm spending $1200 on a laptop. Do I really want to spend a $100 more? Not really.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
Ugh is 8 gb really necessary? When I get my Air I don't want to have to wait a week to get it and then have to wait another week if for any reason I would need to exchange it. There is something particularly more enticing about instant gratification and going into the Apple store and making a slight ordeal of purchasing a new laptop right then and there and on the spot.

Sure I multitask but I don't do anything really crazy. Plus I saw videos on YouTube of people streaming multiple videos while running programs in the background and everything worked fine at 4 gb.

Wait an extra week to get an extra year or two of life out of the machine...seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Also, ****ing awesome username by the way. That show is win.

I think 8 gb is overkill unless you run Windows and OSX simultaneously or do heavy multi tasking. All that talk about future proofing is nonsens. No matter how many gb of ram you buy now you will stil be stocked with the same CPU and GPU and 4 gb or 8 gb ram is nowhere near as important in that picture.

...Until a version of OS X comes out that supports that generation of Mac but requires a minimum of 8GB...

Not being able to run the latest version of OS X isn't a problem, but it's only a matter of time before you're two behind and at that point, you stop being able to receive updates to basic things like Safari and Adobe Flash Player. Being able to run the latest version of OS X forestalls that. Apple has been, with the exception of Mountain Lion, been doubling the minimum RAM requirement from 10.3 through 10.7. It's safe to say that, especially with Mountain Lion abandoning the 32-bit kernel, they wil up the RAM requirement again soon. So yeah, future proofing, it's a real consideration.



Plus it's already painful enough that I'm spending $1200 on a laptop. Do I really want to spend a $100 more? Not really.

Yes, it's an overpriced computer, and yes, it's a pricey RAM upgrade. If you want it to last you a year or two longer, quit whining and just get the upgrade.
 

Dick Whitman

macrumors 6502
Oct 16, 2012
467
145
Wait an extra week to get an extra year or two of life out of the machine...seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Also, ****ing awesome username by the way. That show is win.



...Until a version of OS X comes out that supports that generation of Mac but requires a minimum of 8GB...

Not being able to run the latest version of OS X isn't a problem, but it's only a matter of time before you're two behind and at that point, you stop being able to receive updates to basic things like Safari and Adobe Flash Player. Being able to run the latest version of OS X forestalls that. Apple has been, with the exception of Mountain Lion, been doubling the minimum RAM requirement from 10.3 through 10.7. It's safe to say that, especially with Mountain Lion abandoning the 32-bit kernel, they wil up the RAM requirement again soon. So yeah, future proofing, it's a real consideration.





Yes, it's an overpriced computer, and yes, it's a pricey RAM upgrade. If you want it to last you a year or two longer, quit whining and just get the upgrade.

Thanks and yeah guess I'll have to.
 
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