Advice needed from the community on RAM.

[iPhone4UK]

I am thinking of getting a new rMBP.

Having spend roughly 2 days reviewing all the specs and considering my options I still have one major question to ask.

Should I get 8gb RAM or 16gb?

Just can't work out which I should get?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Macman45]

It really depends on what you use your Mac for. Since you have an SSD which greatly enhances speed anyway, 8GB is probably enough for most tasks.

I use a 13" rMBP with the 500GB SSD and 8GB and I've never had it beach ball on me yet.

If you plan on doing intensive rendering or video work, or use applications that are resource hungry, then 16GB would be a better choice.

The one thing I really hate is the fact that you have to choose this at purchase time....Unlike the older cMBP's where you could upgrade later.

I'd get hands on with one using it the way you would normally and see what suits you best.

 

[myxomatosis]

Are you editing/rendering heavy videos/images?
Are you using VMware / Parallel Desktops / VirtualBox a lot?

Personally I use Photoshop, Final Cut Pro and VMware a lot, so I got the 16 GB rMBP and I've never regretted it, but for most people 8GB or RAM is more than enough, and they will never use all this memory entirely


What are your needs, and what do you plan to do with your computer?

 

[raptor402]

Well, as noted above, it entirely depends on your usage and on how long you plan to keep the laptop.

Unless you plan to use the MBP for anything that requires much memory (i.e. video / photo / music processing, designing, virtual machines, etc.), 8GB should last you a good 4-5 years. If you do plan to grind the MBP, 8GB will be inadequate after a year or two. It's your call.

All in all, the value of a 16GB model will depreciate slower than that of an 8GB model.

I hope this helps.

Regards
Raptor

 

[Tears Apart]

Can you afford the 16GB?

If you don't get it, will you have regrets? (For real or imaginary reasons)

If both answer yes, then go for it.

 

[maflynn]

I'd opt for 16GB is you plan on keeping it more then 3 years, and/or you'll regret the decision down the road.

I think 8GB is sufficient for most people for now but we don't know what the future will bring so 16GB is a safe bet

 

[maplingstorie]

As a rMBP 13" owner, 8GB is enough for normal usage but if you want to go into video editing and opening a lot of applications at once, go for 16GB. Mavericks consumes a lot of ram ,ironically. I get page outs when I have more than 10 tabs opened and that is just with Safari active only.

 

[Tears Apart]

Mavericks consumes a lot of ram ,ironically.

No it doesn't. It manages the unused RAM so that it's used for other tasks.

 

[tmoerel]

RAM is like money.....if you run out it causes discomfort.

What you need today might not be your need for next year. As you cannot upgrade later get as much as you can afford now!!!

Even if you never need it, it will make your resale value better in the future!

 

[myxomatosis]

As a rMBP 13" owner, 8GB is enough for normal usage but if you want to go into video editing and opening a lot of applications at once, go for 16GB. Mavericks consumes a lot of ram ,ironically. I get page outs when I have more than 10 tabs opened and that is just with Safari active only.

Mavericks simply manages the RAM differently and does a lot of "caching" and "preloads" apps you use regularly. (Windows Vista/7/8 works the same way by the way)

And in my opinion, that's how it should be. Unused RAM is wasted RAM.

 

[Paapaa]

Most people are just fine with 4GB when doing web browsing, email, simple photo editing, using Word etc. 8GB is enough for almost all cases. Only in special cases would anyone need 16GB and even then 8GB should be enough to get the job done.

Unless you specifically know you need 16GB, I can assure that 8GB is enough. Now and after 4 years. Mavericks needs less ram than before. It can compress memory even after you exceed the limit - without resorting to swap. And even if you have to resort to swap, it is very fast with PCIe SSD. See what can be done with 8GB.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4IuYCaKOfY

Just save the money for the next computer.

 

[maplingstorie]

Mavericks simply manages the RAM differently and does a lot of "caching" and "preloads" apps you use regularly. (Windows Vista/7/8 works the same way by the way)

And in my opinion, that's how it should be. Unused RAM is wasted RAM.

agreed. i'm fine if with it except when it starts paging out.. that's a nono

 

[john123]

I'm glad you asked this question. It hasn't gotten nearly enough attention or discussion yet.

 

[tlink91]

Genuine question - if it manages it better, then why is it that then when out of 8GB I have over 6GB used whilst only having 3 tabs open in Safari, and already getting several hundred Megabytes in swap and several hundred more in compression? If its of any relevance I am watching Netflix in one tab.