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8gb or 16gb ram for 2014 rMBP 13"?

K

karatekidk

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 30, 2008
243
69
Pacific Northwest, USA
Hi all. I am considering getting a new laptop as the one I have been using (mid-2010 13" MBP, 4gb ram, 512gb 7200rpm HDD) is showing its' age and lags when multitasking. I have been looking at a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" to save some money, but can't decide between 8gb and 16gb ram even after reading multiple forum threads. I use my computer for:

1) lots of word processing
2) web browsing including watching hulu and netflix
3) powerpoint presentation
4) iphoto and some imovie (viewing and editing movies)
5) quicktime movies - I'm a school teacher, and my students use those old flip cameras to record their presentations. I often convert movie files, and it takes time with my current machine.

Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/16gb ram/512 SSD = $1599
Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/8gb ram/512 SSD = $1399

I know the 16gb ram model goes pretty quickly... but do you think it's worth it? I'd appreciate your input.
 
karatekidk said:
Hi all. I am considering getting a new laptop as the one I have been using (mid-2010 13" MBP, 4gb ram, 512gb 7200rpm HDD) is showing its' age and lags when multitasking. I have been looking at a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" to save some money, but can't decide between 8gb and 16gb ram even after reading multiple forum threads. I use my computer for:

1) lots of word processing
2) web browsing including watching hulu and netflix
3) powerpoint presentation
4) iphoto and some imovie (viewing and editing movies)
5) quicktime movies - I'm a school teacher, and my students use those old flip cameras to record their presentations. I often convert movie files, and it takes time with my current machine.

Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/16gb ram/512 SSD = $1599
Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/8gb ram/512 SSD = $1399

I know the 16gb ram model goes pretty quickly... but do you think it's worth it? I'd appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

For your uses, you'd be okay with 8gb.

The only thing you must remember is you can NEVER upgrade it.
 
karatekidk said:
Right, that's the thing. If only ram is upgradable...
Click to expand...

When I recently bought a new 2015 13" rMBP, I went with the RAM upgrade. It's just $200, and I'd rather have it than not.

The fact of the matter is that you(and I) probably won't ever need it.
 
I also went with the RAM upgrade since it's not user upgradable while the SSD is...
 
Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

----------
karatekidk said:
Hi all. I am considering getting a new laptop as the one I have been using (mid-2010 13" MBP, 4gb ram, 512gb 7200rpm HDD) is showing its' age and lags when multitasking. I have been looking at a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" to save some money, but can't decide between 8gb and 16gb ram even after reading multiple forum threads. I use my computer for:

1) lots of word processing
2) web browsing including watching hulu and netflix
3) powerpoint presentation
4) iphoto and some imovie (viewing and editing movies)
5) quicktime movies - I'm a school teacher, and my students use those old flip cameras to record their presentations. I often convert movie files, and it takes time with my current machine.

Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/16gb ram/512 SSD = $1599
Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/8gb ram/512 SSD = $1399

I know the 16gb ram model goes pretty quickly... but do you think it's worth it? I'd appreciate your input.
Click to expand...
What does "goes pretty quickly" mean.

What you are describing can easily be done with 4gb RAM.
 
Meister said:
Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

----------

What does "goes pretty quickly" mean.

What you are describing can easily be done with 4gb RAM.
Click to expand...
It's always funny when people say things like "lots of word processing or heavy web-browsing" when trying to decide how much RAM to get. Either way OP, it would be best for you to buy whatever you feel won't have you thinking down the line: "Maybe I should have went for..." If you want my input, save the $200 and get AppleCare instead.
 
karatekidk said:
Hi all. I am considering getting a new laptop as the one I have been using (mid-2010 13" MBP, 4gb ram, 512gb 7200rpm HDD) is showing its' age and lags when multitasking. I have been looking at a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" to save some money, but can't decide between 8gb and 16gb ram even after reading multiple forum threads. I use my computer for:

1) lots of word processing
2) web browsing including watching hulu and netflix
3) powerpoint presentation
4) iphoto and some imovie (viewing and editing movies)
5) quicktime movies - I'm a school teacher, and my students use those old flip cameras to record their presentations. I often convert movie files, and it takes time with my current machine.

Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/16gb ram/512 SSD = $1599
Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/8gb ram/512 SSD = $1399

I know the 16gb ram model goes pretty quickly... but do you think it's worth it? I'd appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

Anything with a HDD as a system storage "lags" these days. Maybe they still lagged in 2010, but we didn't care. A rMBP will seem faster to you mostly by the influence of a SSD. If you want saving $1299,00-1499,00, just buy a $100 SSD and keep your Macbook.

But if you want some pretext to buy new gear, I'd go ahead with the 16GB model. If it's just consumerism, get the best you can. I also find myself looking for pretexts, so I can't condemn you.
 
brdeveloper said:
Anything with a HDD as a system storage "lags" these days. Maybe they still lagged in 2010, but we didn't care. As rMBP will seem faster to you mostly by the influence of a SSD. If you want saving $1299,00-1499,00, just buy a $100 SSD and keep your Macbook.

But if you want some pretext to buy new gear, I'd go ahead with the 16GB model. If it's just consumerism, get the best you can. I also find myself looking for pretexts, so I can't condemn you.
Click to expand...
You are right. As usual I overlooked that. OP could just get an ssd and save a ton.
 
karatekidk said:
Hi all. I am considering getting a new laptop as the one I have been using (mid-2010 13" MBP, 4gb ram, 512gb 7200rpm HDD) is showing its' age and lags when multitasking. I have been looking at a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" to save some money, but can't decide between 8gb and 16gb ram even after reading multiple forum threads. I use my computer for:

1) lots of word processing
2) web browsing including watching hulu and netflix
3) powerpoint presentation
4) iphoto and some imovie (viewing and editing movies)
5) quicktime movies - I'm a school teacher, and my students use those old flip cameras to record their presentations. I often convert movie files, and it takes time with my current machine.

Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/16gb ram/512 SSD = $1599
Refurb 2014 13" rMBP i5/8gb ram/512 SSD = $1399

I know the 16gb ram model goes pretty quickly... but do you think it's worth it? I'd appreciate your input.
Click to expand...

You can shovel 16gb into a 13" 2010 MBP. Why not do that and crowbar an SSD in there while you're at it? Get another 5 years from your legacy hardware.

----------
Meister said:
Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

----------

What does "goes pretty quickly" mean.

What you are describing can easily be done with 4gb RAM.
Click to expand...

The poster means that the 16gb 2014 MBP refurbs go within minutes of being posted.
 
Meister said:
Look here: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1756865/

----------

What does "goes pretty quickly" mean.

What you are describing can easily be done with 4gb RAM.
Click to expand...

Thank you, Meister, for the link. Very informative.

dogslobber said:
You can shovel 16gb into a 13" 2010 MBP. Why not do that and crowbar an SSD in there while you're at it? Get another 5 years from your legacy hardware.

----------



The poster means that the 16gb 2014 MBP refurbs go within minutes of being posted.
Click to expand...

As you might have already noticed, English is my second language. Thank you for clarifying what I meant.

Also, the 2010 MBP I've been using is not mine - it belongs to the school district. If it was mine, I'd definitely consider ram and ssd upgrade. I did it for my late 2009 C2D mini with 8gb ram and a samsung evo 512gb ssd last year and have been happy about the performance.

----------
TheEnthusiast said:
It's always funny when people say things like "lots of word processing or heavy web-browsing" when trying to decide how much RAM to get. Either way OP, it would be best for you to buy whatever you feel won't have you thinking down the line: "Maybe I should have went for..." If you want my input, save the $200 and get AppleCare instead.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the input, that's what I'm leaning toward.
 
I think 16 si better if you plan on keeping it more than 3 years.
But it also depends on the kind of person you are: do you prefer to do 1 thing at a time, closing every app once you're finished? Or are you messy like me and like to jump from one thing to another, then back to what you were doing previously, with stuff running in the background? If so, 8Gb will get frustrating
 
Thank you all for your input. I just placed an order for a refurb 2014 rMBP 13" 16/512 for $1599.

The other ones I considered are

refurb 2014 rMBP 13" 8/512 = $1399
new 2015 rMBP 13" 8/512 = $1699 (with Education discount)
new 2015 rMB 12" 8/512 = $1549 (w/ Ed. discount)

I won't explain the whole story, but I will probably end up selling my machine after a year and half, so I decided to go for 16gb one hoping to get more future resale value. I hope I made a right decision...
 
I had the same dilemma but I ended up going with 8GB. $200 is an insane price to pay for the upgrade and I couldn't see myself spending that much. But if you have the money or really need it, then 16GB is fine. So far my new rMBP 13" is running everything I throw at it. I had Premiere, Photoshop, After Effects, Lightroom, Safari, iTunes, and a VM with windows 10 and it was flipping through everything perfectly.
 
I am also in this situation. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro with 4gb ram and it seems like just about anything makes the computer lag. I would like a new MacBook Pro but have been debating buying an ssd and installing 8gb on my macbook and see what that does. It seems like my biggest limit now is the 4gb. Safari alone with a few tabs open eventually takes up a little over 2gb of ram
 
jev425 said:
I am also in this situation. I have a 2010 MacBook Pro with 4gb ram and it seems like just about anything makes the computer lag. I would like a new MacBook Pro but have been debating buying an ssd and installing 8gb on my macbook and see what that does. It seems like my biggest limit now is the 4gb.
Click to expand...
Reason?
 
Meister said:
Reason?
Click to expand...

Reason for what? Buying a new MacBook? It would be nice to have the 8gb ram and ssd with the most recent processor. Adding an ssd and 8gb ram to my 2010 macbook? To hopefully help with the lag and the higher "page out" to the hdd and save myself a grand on a new macbook
 
jev425 said:
Reason for what? Buying a new MacBook? It would be nice to have the 8gb ram and ssd with the most recent processor. Adding an ssd and 8gb ram to my 2010 macbook? To hopefully help with the lag and the higher "page out" to the hdd and save myself a grand on a new macbook
Click to expand...

Upgrading to 8 GB is fine, but I would prioritize an SSD over 8 GB RAM since the HDD is likely what's causing your slowdown. You can check for sure by going into Activity Monitor during your usage and seeing if the graph under Memory Pressure is green. The slowness in Yosemite on my 2008 MBA is not caused by the 2 GB RAM, and for that machine an SSD is on its way.
 
redheeler said:
Upgrading to 8 GB is fine, but I would prioritize an SSD over 8 GB RAM since the HDD is likely what's causing your slowdown. You can check for sure by going into Activity Monitor during your usage and seeing if the graph under Memory Pressure is green. The slowness in Yosemite on my 2008 MBA is not caused by the 2 GB RAM, and for that machine an SSD is on its way.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the suggestion! I will likely get the ssd soon and the ram at some point. I wish I could try a computer with those upgrades in person but it seems like everyone on here that does that seems to notice a big improvement.

Meister said:
Seems like that why?
Click to expand...

My "free ram" ends up in the 300-100mb range and my "page out" numbers fluctuate from 500mb-1gb range. I know its a 2010 computer and I shouldn't expect it to be blazing fast anymore but if a ssd and ram upgrade help, i'm all for it.
 
jev425 said:
Thank you for the suggestion! I will likely get the ssd soon and the ram at some point. I wish I could try a computer with those upgrades in person but it seems like everyone on here that does that seems to notice a big improvement.



My "free ram" ends up in the 300-100mb range and my "page out" numbers fluctuate from 500mb-1gb range. I know its a 2010 computer and I shouldn't expect it to be blazing fast anymore but if a ssd and ram upgrade help, i'm all for it.
Click to expand...
Memory pressure green=fine

Listen to redheeler and get an ssd first
 
redheeler said:
Upgrading to 8 GB is fine, but I would prioritize an SSD over 8 GB RAM since the HDD is likely what's causing your slowdown. You can check for sure by going into Activity Monitor during your usage and seeing if the graph under Memory Pressure is green. The slowness in Yosemite on my 2008 MBA is not caused by the 2 GB RAM, and for that machine an SSD is on its way.
Click to expand...

Memory choice is forever. Most SSDs are still upgradable. Choose memory over SSD always.
 
Nowadays, HDD is pretty much the reason for slow downs 9/10 times.

I have never heard anyone complain about RAM on an SSD equipped machine. 64GB of RAM isn't going to make a computer faster if you aren't using it.

Countless threads of people complaining about lack of RAM with a HDD but when you ask for a screenshot of activity monitor, the memory pressure is green and at the bottom of the graph.
 
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