8GB RAM is enough, right?

[xraydoc]

I run both OS X El Capitan and Windows 7 on my 8 GB 2010 MacBook Pro.

Windows 7 seems to use quite a bit less resources. It will even run quite well with 3 GB of RAM, while El Capitan will not.

The nice thing is this means it will have longer usable life since OS X is becoming unbearable on it. Windows 10 ran beautifully with the exception that the forced updates ate up my mobile data and battery life while on the go sometimes... so I went back to 7. It's nice that the machine will be usable for some years to come.

Of course, a nice lightweight distribution of Linux uses by far the least resources.

My personal experience is that I had no trouble using a 2011 11" MacBook Air i7 with 4GB of RAM running various versions of OS X up through El Capitan. Up until about 4 months ago, that machine was running perfectly fine for me until I re-aquired my daughter's 2013 rMBP i5 with 8GB of RAM (after we upgraded her to a 2015 i7 model with a bigger SSD that she needed for her Final Cut X use).

The 8GB in the new MBP feels super roomy for me, lol, for a laptop.

 

[skids929]

My personal experience is that I had no trouble using a 2011 11" MacBook Air i7 with 4GB of RAM running various versions of OS X up through El Capitan. Up until about 4 months ago, that machine was running perfectly fine for me until I re-aquired my daughter's 2013 rMBP i5 with 8GB of RAM (after we upgraded her to a 2015 i7 model with a bigger SSD that she needed for her Final Cut X use).

The 8GB in the new MBP feels super roomy for me, lol, for a laptop.

I don't know, maybe this is the wrong way to look at it. But I look at it from a "headroom" perspective. I want to at least have the option not to have to upgrade my MBP. I don't worry about all the other specs I have control over to change or manage through peripherals, but when it comes to RAM I think buy as much as they give the option to buy since you can't change it and it helps future proof your machine.

 

[ModusPwnin']

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a non-tb i5/16/512. I know that 8gb is enough for most of my needs, but I plan to use SolidWorks through Parallels once in a while. That's the reason I'm leaning towards 16gb.

Does anyone know if I need the 16gb to run SolidWorks? Can the i5 even handle SolidWorks?

 

[xraydoc]

I don't know, maybe this is the wrong way to look at it. But I look at it from a "headroom" perspective. I want to at least have the option not to have to upgrade my MBP. I don't worry about all the other specs I have control over to change or manage through peripherals, but when it comes to RAM I think buy as much as they give the option to buy since you can't change it and it helps future proof your machine.

Oh, I agree. It does help future proof. But... so many of us on the forum upgrade so frequently, I've come to be realistic. Since I upgrade every 2.5 yrs or so, I tend not to get to over do it since I know I'll be upgrading anyway before the machine really begins to show its age.

 

[skids929]

Oh, I agree. It does help future proof. But... so many of us on the forum upgrade so frequently, I've come to be realistic. Since I upgrade every 2.5 yrs or so, I tend not to get to over do it since I know I'll be upgrading anyway before the machine really begins to show its age.

Yeah in that case 8 makes more sense. Although if you sell that machine 16 might get you a few more $$. Maybe not though.

 

[ahoydecoy]

I just picked up a base 13" TB model from the Apple store. They only had stock configurations (most of the staff didn't actually realise they had any at all).

So I'll give the 8gb a go and for some reason I have until 8th January to make up my mind about returning it or not.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I just picked up a base 13" TB model from the Apple store. They only had stock configurations (most of the staff didn't actually realise they had any at all).

So I'll give the 8gb a go and for some reason I have until 8th January to make up my mind about returning it or not.

Good choice and that's because its Christmas you extended return...

 

[deliriumxy]

Here's a link I found posted elsewhere on the forum: http://www.macworld.com/article/203...ifications-of-additional-memory-on-a-mac.html

Here is another thread discussing more or less the same thing, but from 2015 (still relevant): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/will-i-regret-buying-a-13-mbpr-with-8gb-of-ram.1925317/

Did a stress test for my work flow yesterday: multiple browser tabs open, Hearthstone, Xcode, MS Word, Activity Monitor. Maxed out at 6-ish gb of RAM usage. I'm not convinced that 8 gb is too little. Closing RAM hogging applications is always an option. If it ain't enough in a couple of years I'll just sell it and buy a new one.

As for comments about resale value going up if you max out RAM today: you're also spending more upfront.

 

[iFoure]

"8GB or 16GB for a mac" discussion is the hot topic these days. It also made me unsure of my recent early 2015 MBP purchase (13", 2.9gHz, 512gb and "only" 8GB of ram). But only for a moment...

I had two choises for my new mac purchase:

1. Buy it from Apple day before the new Mac event with 16GB of memory 'cos your not gonna be able to buy it anymore on the next day... This choice would have cost 2289€ (2049€ for the Mac + 240€ for the 16GB ram)

2. Buy it from Apple authorized 3thrd party seller with 8GB ram. This choice costs 1895€ (save 154€ from the Apple price of the model w/ 8GB ram.)

I chose option number 2. Major factor was money: to have 16GB ram, I would had to buy my mac from Apple. With that, 16gb ram would have cost me +394€. Nope, not gonna pay that much for extra memory, I'm good with 8.

And I really am: currently using only 26% of the 8gb. I had 8gb ram on my previous 2010 MBP that lasted me for six years so I clearly don't need 16gb.

So, my advice is: think your situation thru. Don't pay the extra just because. If you know that your mac is gonna need that 16gb then get it. If not, save your money. Who knows, one day you may need that saved money more than your Mac needs 16gb of ram...