I’ve decided to get 256 SSD, however I’m debating 16 GB of ram or a touch bar model, with 8 GB. Thoughts? I’m an engineering student running many programs including AutoCAD, MATLAB, Xcode, adobe creative suite, etc.
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16 GB of ram or 8 with touch bar?
- Thread starter alidstone
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I bought my last Macbook Pro with 8GB of RAM, so if I would buy a new one today it should definitely have at least 16GB of RAM. The Touch Bar is a nice feature, but I would prioritise RAM memory over it.
While i think you could use 16gb of RAM, 256gb of Ssd is not enough for all your apps stated plus storage for work and media, in your shoes I would for the upgrade to the 512gb ssd first then your ram.
Nah - storage can be purchased later (in the form of an external SSD with a USB-C connector). I would get the RAM because there’s no way to upgrade that later.
That is true but its a pain in the bottom to carry around and connect etc, unless you are unwilling to ever close anything there are very few uni courses that will require a computer with more than 8gb of ram, of course many of the apps mentioned will use as much ram as you throw at them but for a student it won't actually be necessary. Its about personal preference but its unlikely 8gb RAM will not be enough for the OP's use as a student engineer but any 4k footage, 3d modelling projects etc etc will fill up a 256 ssd in months.
Agreed - ideally I would upgrade both if there are enough funds.
Personally, I made the choice of RAM over SSD space just because I knew there were options for future storage expansion.
Currently there are no options on the ssd replacement on any mac notebook newer than 2015 as far as i can tell and even on those older machines the replacement parts were not nearly as fast or reliablle. I do agree that for the OP's use case both upgrades are the best bet. I wonder if they've looked at refurbs if price is an issue.
For me that sort of ruins a laptop as a portable computer, I want my work on the super fast ssd i bought from apple for a start, then I don't want to carry anything unnecessary either. Of course if this suits your use case then you can have a great set up with a dock and screen for working at home with external drives and keep the notebook free for on the go, actually that may well suit a student quite well.
Untrue: https://www.ifixit.com/Store/Mac/Ma...-Function-Keys-Late-2016-2017-SSD/IF123-079-3
Function key models have slotted SSDs, proprietary but slotted.
If you have decided for the 256GB size and are ok with using an external SSD setup in the future, then definitely get the RAM. For your stated use case, there are certainly benefits in going for 16GB, especially if you want to keep the machine around for several years.
As for the nTB vs TB: while I'm personally not crazy about the TB itself, with the latter model you'd get 2 additional ports, a 28W-class CPU (rather than 15W) and better cooling. Those are factors I wouldn't entirely discount, especially since you're into engineering applications. That said, the nTB is a perfectly fine machine for a student and will serve you very well.
As for the nTB vs TB: while I'm personally not crazy about the TB itself, with the latter model you'd get 2 additional ports, a 28W-class CPU (rather than 15W) and better cooling. Those are factors I wouldn't entirely discount, especially since you're into engineering applications. That said, the nTB is a perfectly fine machine for a student and will serve you very well.
Go with 16GB, But the Touch Bar version has a better CPU and cooling and runs quieter. Keep that in mind if you do a lot of intense work.
That is just one pulled from another mac, it is used and they only have 128gb and 256gb available if you are going to buy that you may as well just buy a mac with the storage you need in the first place for less. This may be useful if you have an ssd die out of warranty but it isn't an upgrade or a cheaper option in any way.
Could be - I just didn’t know if OP would want want or the other because of preference , price or something else
I picked up a refurbed 16GB TB machine. The reason for the extra RAM in my case was for running virtual machines. Having used a 2016 and 2017 machine with 8GB RAM, it took pretty much everything I could throw at it in its stride, but the VMs swung it for me.
The other killer feature with the TB machine are the four ports. It seemed like such a minor thing at the time, but its great to have two on either side and four in total.
The other killer feature with the TB machine are the four ports. It seemed like such a minor thing at the time, but its great to have two on either side and four in total.