Anybody get a 2019" 16gb RAM MacBook Pro and find it's not enough?

[Rizvi1]

I gotta replace my 2014 MacBook Pro and I'm trying to figure out which 2019 16" MacBook Pro to get. I've read through many discussions on 16gb of ram vs 32gb ram and the debate is mostly around future proofing, being on the safe side, etc. But I wanted to hear from anyone with hands on experience with 16gb not being enough.

Preferably someone who's a user like me who's a heavy laptop user but not for things like gaming, video editing, photo editing, music production, etc. Mainly I'll have multiple browser apps open with tons of windows. Often I'm watching streaming shows and movies + downloaded HD movies. I do video editing a few times a year just on iMovie

For the past year I've been using a 15" 2014 MBP w/ 16gb of RAM and also a 2015 13" MBP w/ 8gb and the 16gb one can definitely handle more. I feel very limited by the 8gb one.

Trying to make sure I don't fall into a similar situation opting for the 16gb instead of upgrading to the 32gb. That's also the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I've seen some posts where someone talks about different stats on memory usage, but from my understanding, the computer will fill up as much RAM as possible anyways so that doesn't necessarily mean you'll need it.

If it was a simple price diff I'd just go for it and call it a day. But because Apple's two different models in their $2399 & $2799 pricing bands both have 16gb RAM, that makes the 32gb price jump really significant because I can't just opt for the available refurb model, I have to do a customization.

So my ideal scenario is the refurb of the higher band build: 2.3GHz 8‑core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5500M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/1TB Hard Drive $2799 ($2599 w/ edu discount), but I'd grab it refurb for $2379.

Otherwise, if the 32gb RAM will DEF make my life easier, I'd get the lower band build: 2.6GHz 6‑core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5300M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/512GB SSD $2399 ($2199 w/ edu discount) and up the RAM to 32gb + HD to 1TB = $2739 (edu pricing), quite a bit more.

 

[Alex W.]

16gb is fine for most tasks, unless you run VMs and do a ton of simulation based work like autocad. Personally the cost doesnt justify it. 32GB ram isnt really vital for 95% of work most do.


Think of it like this, you can get a NVME external (I found a low profile adapter thats the size of the double bubble pack of gum, 2TB -- so this solve storage.

I also have 6TB of Onedrive and Unlimited G.Drive cloud storage so factoring all of this 512 is more then enough in terms of storage.

Also the 5300m is the best value, ive seen benchmarks and the difference is so small that i see the 5300 4GB and the 5500m 8gb within 7% of eachother.

As for ram,OSX, windows will always try to use the ram you have so just seeing 16gb nearly full doesnt mean you need more. Honestly, why not get an ipad and use this for movies while working? But i dont really see 16gb not being enough. But the extra cash should go towards the ram. The i9 vs i7 isnt huge either.

Id get Apple Care, and if you run into issues (Ghosting screen, Panics, Fan Issues, Coil Whine) you can get repairs to potentially get a newer unit down the road if you push for a fair solution.

 

[Spartan23R]

Are you currently hitting your 16GB cap a lot? With your use case I would go for the i7 / 16GB / 5300M, the extra money for a i9 or 5500M will not be worth it.

 

[Rizvi1]

Are you currently hitting your 16GB cap a lot? With your use case I would go for the i7 / 16GB / 5300M, the extra money for a i9 or 5500M will not be worth it.

It's not that I'm hitting my cap with my current 16gb, but I do know that the 15" mid-2014 i7 w/ 16gb RAM feels a lot better than my 13" mid-2015 i5 w/ 8gb RAM. And I'm pretty sure the main reason is the RAM.

So I'm wondering if I'd "feel" the same difference going with the 32gb over the 16gb and if that's worth the $360 or $380 price diff.

16gb is fine for most tasks, unless you run VMs and do a ton of simulation based work like autocad. Personally the cost doesnt justify it. 32GB ram isnt really vital for 95% of work most do.
...

Alright this is comforting and making me lean more towards the 16gb (which as I mentioned in the first post, is good news because I can opt for the refurb 2.3GHz 8‑core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5500M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/1TB Hard Drive for $2379 and save the most (normal price $2799/edu price is $2599).

...
Think of it like this, you can get a NVME external (I found a low profile adapter thats the size of the double bubble pack of gum, 2TB -- so this solve storage.

I also have 6TB of Onedrive and Unlimited G.Drive cloud storage so factoring all of this 512 is more then enough in terms of storage.
...

My 15" mid-2014 i7 has 512gb and I added a Transcend 256gb SD card to keep long term data heavy things. I didn't mind the card for extra space because it was low profile and slid into the SD card slot. I'm hesitant on a low profile adapter that's always sticking out or just being an "add on in general" (though some of those adapters that stick onto two of your thunderbolt ports and add on a bunch of different ports did catch my eye).

...
Also the 5300m is the best value, ive seen benchmarks and the difference is so small that i see the 5300 4GB and the 5500m 8gb within 7% of eachother.
...

Yeah I honestly don't think the better processor or graphics card will make a big difference but if I'm going to get the 1TB anyways, it makes sense to get the upper band model than the lower band model w/ a bigger HD.

...
As for ram,OSX, windows will always try to use the ram you have so just seeing 16gb nearly full doesnt mean you need more. Honestly, why not get an ipad and use this for movies while working? But i dont really see 16gb not being enough. But the extra cash should go towards the ram. The i9 vs i7 isnt huge either.
...

We have an iPad too. There's a time and place to watch a movie off the computer vs an iPad, especially if it's a downloaded movie vs a streaming one. Plus, I'm hearing good things about this computer's speakers that I'm expecting will make a big diff.

...
Id get Apple Care, and if you run into issues (Ghosting screen, Panics, Fan Issues, Coil Whine) you can get repairs to potentially get a newer unit down the road if you push for a fair solution.

Yep, been getting AppleCare since my very first powerbook. In fact, having AppleCare is what made my usual computer cycle ~2.5 years. I'd normally sell my computer before the AppleCare expired so that I could get more for it since I'm selling it w/ warranty. But with this 2014 model I returned my AppleCare midway through ownership because they wouldn't fix my broken screen (in the past they've always done it). As a result, I ended up keeping this model for almost 6 years - the longest, I've ever used the same computer. But sadly it's having issues now so I can't even keep it as a back up. Planning to take the trade in credit from Apple for it.

I like that the new applecare+ has screen breakage protection. My wife already used hers on her MacBook Air. That's definitely handy. Are there discounts on the AppleCare+ for edu still? I wasn't seeing that when I was pricing it out.

 

[Alex W.]

It's not that I'm hitting my cap with my current 16gb, but I do know that the 15" mid-2014 i7 w/ 16gb RAM feels a lot better than my 13" mid-2015 i5 w/ 8gb RAM. And I'm pretty sure the main reason is the RAM.

So I'm wondering if I'd "feel" the same difference going with the 32gb over the 16gb and if that's worth the $360 or $380 price diff.



Alright this is comforting and making me lean more towards the 16gb (which as I mentioned in the first post, is good news because I can opt for the refurb 2.3GHz 8‑core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5500M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/1TB Hard Drive for $2379 and save the most (normal price $2799/edu price is $2599).



My 15" mid-2014 i7 has 512gb and I added a Transcend 256gb SD card to keep long term data heavy things. I didn't mind the card for extra space because it was low profile and slid into the SD card slot. I'm hesitant on a low profile adapter that's always sticking out or just being an "add on in general" (though some of those adapters that stick onto two of your thunderbolt ports and add on a bunch of different ports did catch my eye).



Yeah I honestly don't think the better processor or graphics card will make a big difference but if I'm going to get the 1TB anyways, it makes sense to get the upper band model than the lower band model w/ a bigger HD.



We have an iPad too. There's a time and place to watch a movie off the computer vs an iPad, especially if it's a downloaded movie vs a streaming one. Plus, I'm hearing good things about this computer's speakers that I'm expecting will make a big diff.



Yep, been getting AppleCare since my very first powerbook. In fact, having AppleCare is what made my usual computer cycle ~2.5 years. I'd normally sell my computer before the AppleCare expired so that I could get more for it since I'm selling it w/ warranty. But with this 2014 model I returned my AppleCare midway through ownership because they wouldn't fix my broken screen (in the past they've always done it). As a result, I ended up keeping this model for almost 6 years - the longest, I've ever used the same computer. But sadly it's having issues now so I can't even keep it as a back up. Planning to take the trade in credit from Apple for it.

I like that the new applecare+ has screen breakage protection. My wife already used hers on her MacBook Air. That's definitely handy. Are there discounts on the AppleCare+ for edu still? I wasn't seeing that when I was pricing it out.

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[chucker23n1]

Alright this is comforting and making me lean more towards the 16gb (which as I mentioned in the first post, is good news because I can opt for the refurb 2.3GHz 8‑core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5500M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/1TB Hard Drive for $2379 and save the most (normal price $2799/edu price is $2599).

Honestly, it sounds like you need neither 32 GB of RAM nor the 8-core i9. But if I were to pick one, you're more likely to benefit from twice the RAM than you are from a slightly faster CPU. CPU BTO options are almost always a poor choice (one notable exception being the $100 MacBook Air mid-range CPU).

So if $2400 is your budget, spend some of that on the RAM instead.

 

[Rizvi1]

Honestly, it sounds like you need neither 32 GB of RAM nor the 8-core i9. But if I were to pick one, you're more likely to benefit from twice the RAM than you are from a slightly faster CPU. CPU BTO options are almost always a poor choice (one notable exception being the $100 MacBook Air mid-range CPU).

So if $2400 is your budget, spend some of that on the RAM instead.

Yeah the budget is around $2400, but the big issue is that with me needing the 1TB hard drive, I can't make the ram work within the budget, even with refurb.

If I grab the base model w/ the 2TB HD and the 32gb ram instead, here's the breakdown:

2.6GHz 6-Core i7/1TB/Radeon 5300M/32GB

Retail: $2,999

Edu: $2,739

Refurb: $2,549

If I take the higher model w/ the 32gb ram instead, it's:

2.3GHz i9/1TB/Radeon 5500M with 4GB/32GB/1TB

Retail: $3,199

Edu: $2,959

Refurb: $2,719

So unfortunately a 32gb won't work. Which is fine. I'm more comfortable with the 16gb after reading all the replies in this thread and other posts.

I'm now ready to buy but got a new hiccup. The 2.6GHz 6-Core i7/Radeon 5300M/1TB HD/16GB RAM model ($2599 retail) would have been best for me because again, the extra processing power and graphics card don't matter much for me. But that's not in the refurb store where it's price would be $2,209. But sadly not in the refurb store and seems to have bigger gaps getting in there, I'm assuming because it's a BTO.

When I build that up in the EDU store it comes out to $2,379:

But if I'm going to spend that, I may as well just get the higher build 2.3GHz i9/1TB/Radeon 5500M with 4GB/16GB/1TB which is the same price in the refurb store. Now this build was in the refurb store when I did my original post, but once I figured everything out, this was gone.

But looking at the refurb store history for this model, it seems more frequent (it's not a BTO so guessing that's why) so hopefully this model comes back soon:

I've set up a refurb-tracker alert and am also constantly reloading the apple refurb store website. If it doesn't work out in the next couple days, I'll just grab the 2.6GHz 6-Core i7/Radeon 5300M/1TB HD/16GB RAM model BTO for $2379 from the edu store and call it a day.

But I hope the refurb works out. For the same price, I'm getting some better specs, AND there's also 2% cash back Rakuten (formerly Ebates) has on the apple store for refurbished products.

 

[christcc2]

I have been seeing more and more 16 inch MBP refurbs showing up - be patient. The config you want will show up.

 

[bill-p]

It's not that I'm hitting my cap with my current 16gb, but I do know that the 15" mid-2014 i7 w/ 16gb RAM feels a lot better than my 13" mid-2015 i5 w/ 8gb RAM. And I'm pretty sure the main reason is the RAM.

So I'm wondering if I'd "feel" the same difference going with the 32gb over the 16gb and if that's worth the $360 or $380 price diff.

It doesn't work like that to be honest.

Lack of RAM shows up as Swap Used in Activity Monitor. If you open up Activity Monitor and you see Swap Used to be some astronomically large number, then yeah, a RAM upgrade will probably benefit you. But if you see 0 or some very small number (<50% your amount of RAM), a RAM upgrade won't give you any benefit at all.

So I'd suggest you try that before making a decision.

I'd wager that it's more the quad-core i7 processor in the 15" completely outclassing the dual-core i5 in the 13". And if that's indeed the case, going to just the hexa-core i7 in the 16" is going to give you another large boost. Going octa-core i9 is completely overkill for most people IMHO, but it's something you'll also notice immediately, as opposed to RAM.

RAM is that thing that you don't really need excess of.

 

[MrGimper]

I upgraded from my 2014 13" 2.8 i5/16GB/1TB to the 16" 2.4 i9/32GB/2TB/8GB VRAM initially. I have a 2014 retina iMac and found I used my MacBook more, so thought I'd go big. You can never have too much RAM and I intend for this machine to last me 5-6 years like it's little brother did. In the end I returned that machine and dropped a few CPU mhz to the 2.3, and went to 64GB RAM. Both machines were refurbs and the savings meant I could get my "dream machine". I just felt more RAM future-proofed the investment more than a small CPU bump. If going for 32GB is a financial concern, then that's sensible, but if it's a choice you can accommodate, get more RAM.

 

[chucker23n1]

It doesn't work like that to be honest.

Lack of RAM shows up as Swap Used in Activity Monitor. If you open up Activity Monitor and you see Swap Used to be some astronomically large number, then yeah, a RAM upgrade will probably benefit you. But if you see 0 or some very small number (<50% your amount of RAM), a RAM upgrade won't give you any benefit at all.

Note that swap will accrue no matter one.

I'd start with what the memory pressure graph says while you're doing stuff / while you have quite a few apps open. Is it yellow or red? You don't have enough RAM for what you're doing. Is it half full or less? You're OK.

 

[maerz001]

I upgraded from my 2014 13" 2.8 i5/16GB/1TB to the 16" 2.4 i9/32GB/2TB/8GB VRAM initially. I have a 2014 retina iMac and found I used my MacBook more, so thought I'd go big. You can never have too much RAM and I intend for this machine to last me 5-6 years like it's little brother did. In the end I returned that machine and dropped a few CPU mhz to the 2.3, and went to 64GB RAM. Both machines were refurbs and the savings meant I could get my "dream machine". I just felt more RAM future-proofed the investment more than a small CPU bump. If going for 32GB is a financial concern, then that's sensible, but if it's a choice you can accommodate, get more RAM.

For browsing the internet and watching movies 32 GB is overkill and waste of money

 

[MrGimper]

For browsing the internet and watching movies 32 GB is overkill and waste of money

This year, maybe, but depends on how long the OP wants to keep the device and if they want to limit what they could potentially do with the machine in a year or so time.

 

[melman101]

I got 16gb base model running parallels with 8gb RAM assigned and have no issues.

 

[Wahlstrm]

Let's say 16GB will work fine for your current needs for another 2-3years.
If you upgrade to 32GB then you can probably still do the same things for 5-6 years instead.

You can do external storage and external GPU but you can't do external RAM.
Once RAM is too low on the machine there is nothing you can do..

 

[2984839]

You would probably be fine with 8 GB for those uses, so 32 GB is a complete waste of money. The reason your 15" with 16 GB feels faster than your 8 GB 13" is the fact that it has a quad core CPU as opposed to a dual core.

 

[throAU]

Preferably someone who's a user like me who's a heavy laptop user but not for things like gaming, video editing, photo editing, music production, etc. Mainly I'll have multiple browser apps open with tons of windows. Often I'm watching streaming shows and movies + downloaded HD movies. I do video editing a few times a year just on iMovie

16 GB for you will be fine.

Very much depends on what you do with the machine, some workloads need a LOT of RAM. Cisco VIRL for example (one of the apps I run on my desktop) requires about 10 GB of RAM for itself (and maybe more depending on your network simulation size), which doesn't leave much left over.

The usage you describe above you could do with 8 GB (I've been doing more than that with 8 GB on my old machine for 5 years), but 16 would be the sensible option (it's the base amount on a MacBook pro anyway now from memory).


edit:
if you're thinking about buying 32 GB today to "future proof" beyond 3-4 years because you're worried about 16 GB not being enough to do basic stuff at that point, bear in mind that by the time that happens, 64 GB will be cheaper than the 32 GB upgrade today most likely, processors will be MUCH faster, GPUs much better, etc.

The money you blow on 32 GB today, if you don't need it, is money that will go much further upgrading in say 3 years, if you need to than buying the upgrade at TODAY's prices.

 

[dirteater666]

I gotta replace my 2014 MacBook Pro and I'm trying to figure out which 2019 16" MacBook Pro to get. I've read through many discussions on 16gb of ram vs 32gb ram and the debate is mostly around future proofing, being on the safe side, etc. But I wanted to hear from anyone with hands on experience with 16gb not being enough.

Preferably someone who's a user like me who's a heavy laptop user but not for things like gaming, video editing, photo editing, music production, etc. Mainly I'll have multiple browser apps open with tons of windows. Often I'm watching streaming shows and movies + downloaded HD movies. I do video editing a few times a year just on iMovie

For the past year I've been using a 15" 2014 MBP w/ 16gb of RAM and also a 2015 13" MBP w/ 8gb and the 16gb one can definitely handle more. I feel very limited by the 8gb one.

Trying to make sure I don't fall into a similar situation opting for the 16gb instead of upgrading to the 32gb. That's also the kind of feedback I'm looking for. I've seen some posts where someone talks about different stats on memory usage, but from my understanding, the computer will fill up as much RAM as possible anyways so that doesn't necessarily mean you'll need it.

If it was a simple price diff I'd just go for it and call it a day. But because Apple's two different models in their $2399 & $2799 pricing bands both have 16gb RAM, that makes the 32gb price jump really significant because I can't just opt for the available refurb model, I have to do a customization.

So my ideal scenario is the refurb of the higher band build: 2.3GHz 8‑core i9 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5500M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/1TB Hard Drive $2799 ($2599 w/ edu discount), but I'd grab it refurb for $2379.

Otherwise, if the 32gb RAM will DEF make my life easier, I'd get the lower band build: 2.6GHz 6‑core i7 processor (Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz)/16GB RAM/AMD Radeon Pro 5300M w/ 4GB of GDDR6/512GB SSD $2399 ($2199 w/ edu discount) and up the RAM to 32gb + HD to 1TB = $2739 (edu pricing), quite a bit more.

you are the type of user that doesnt need the 32gb or the i9...just buy the refurb base model and call it a day

 

[maerz001]

This year, maybe, but depends on how long the OP wants to keep the device and if they want to limit what they could potentially do with the machine in a year or so time.

Probably he should invest in a Mac Pro to future proof his browsing needs.
Come on

 

[dirteater666]

no average user will need 32GB in 2-3 years to just use macOS sorry thats a ridiculous claim

 

[throAU]

Probably he should invest in a Mac Pro to future proof his browsing needs.
Come on

Exactly.

For the usage described a base model iPad would do the job if you're willing to learn new things and compromise a little (in some ways, in other ways - e.g., media consumption - the iPad is arguably better a lot of the time).

I'm not even kidding, a friend of mine bought an iPad Pro 2 years ago to do photo/video processing (using Luma Fusion) on a motorcycle road trip.

 

[MrGimper]

Probably he should invest in a Mac Pro to future proof his browsing needs.
Come on

Good idea, but not very portable, smart ass.

 

[Ries]

Good idea, but not very portable, smart ass.

You're carrying it wrong, just buy the wheels pack.

 

[MrGimper]

You're carrying it wrong, just buy the wheels pack.

And ride that thing around..... computing/electric vehicle crossover?

 

[Rizvi1]

I have been seeing more and more 16 inch MBP refurbs showing up - be patient. The config you want will show up.

Yeah, I was going to keep waiting for one of the models I wanted to pop up on the refurb store, but an ebay store just now started selling the 2.3GHz i9/1TB/Radeon 5500M with 4GB/16GB/1TB model new for the same price it would go for in the refurb store. So I just opted to get that.

Sometimes buying off an ebay store is risky but if you're getting Applecare+ you should be fine.

Downside of this purchase is that I'm losing out on a couple of run around perks: 1) Rakuten had 2% cash back for buying a refurb product at the apple store. Ebay's only giving me $1, and giving it to me as ebay bucks. And 2) I'm trading in my 15" 2014 MacBook Pro and will get a $480 Apple gift card for it. Had I bought the computer from the apple store, I would have been able to use that GC as a partial refund on my purchase. But now, I will only be able to use that credit towards the Applecare+ I'll be buying from the EDU store, and will be sitting on $100+ in apple money. (I'll also get 2% Rakuten cash back on the applecare when I buy it so that's another few bucks back).

...If going for 32GB is a financial concern, then that's sensible, but if it's a choice you can accommodate, get more RAM.

If it was cheaper I would have grabbed it, but it's just too much, especially with me already having to pay extra for the 1TB hard drive. My ideal build would have been 2TB on the hard drive with 32gb RAM.

All that said, there are several posts both in this thread and in other places saying 16gb will be fine.

This year, maybe, but depends on how long the OP wants to keep the device and if they want to limit what they could potentially do with the machine in a year or so time.

Let's say 16GB will work fine for your current needs for another 2-3years.
If you upgrade to 32GB then you can probably still do the same things for 5-6 years instead.

You can do external storage and external GPU but you can't do external RAM.
Once RAM is too low on the machine there is nothing you can do..

My mid 2014 15" MacBook Pro is the longest I've ever stayed on the same laptop. My normal cycle is replacing the laptop every 2.9 years, selling it when the applecare has some time left on it so I can sell it with the warranty still intact to get more money.

The reason I kept this mid 2014 model so long was that midway through ownership I returned the applecare because they wouldn't fix a broken screen on it (in the past, even though the old applecare didn't officially have screen breakage support, I could get them to still fix it). So as a result I just rode this model as long as I could. I'd actually keep going with this model if I could tbh but it's developed a problem within the last year that when you do something too complex, the computer shuts down. Seems the problem is logic board and at a cost of $400-$500 to fix, doesn't seem worth it. (Also the reason why I'm trading in to apple directly instead of selling outright on my own).

(Also the external GPU is interesting. I didn't know that. But how easy would that be to do off a thunderbolt port).

You would probably be fine with 8 GB for those uses, so 32 GB is a complete waste of money. The reason your 15" with 16 GB feels faster than your 8 GB 13" is the fact that it has a quad core CPU as opposed to a dual core.

16 GB for you will be fine.

Very much depends on what you do with the machine, some workloads need a LOT of RAM. Cisco VIRL for example (one of the apps I run on my desktop) requires about 10 GB of RAM for itself (and maybe more depending on your network simulation size), which doesn't leave much left over.

The usage you describe above you could do with 8 GB (I've been doing more than that with 8 GB on my old machine for 5 years), but 16 would be the sensible option (it's the base amount on a MacBook pro anyway now from memory).


edit:
if you're thinking about buying 32 GB today to "future proof" beyond 3-4 years because you're worried about 16 GB not being enough to do basic stuff at that point, bear in mind that by the time that happens, 64 GB will be cheaper than the 32 GB upgrade today most likely, processors will be MUCH faster, GPUs much better, etc.

The money you blow on 32 GB today, if you don't need it, is money that will go much further upgrading in say 3 years, if you need to than buying the upgrade at TODAY's prices.

Both of these posts were interesting to read. I always assumed the reason for my 13" 2015 MBP not feeling as good as my 15" 2014 MBP was because of lower ram, but if you're saying it's processor, then that actually makes me feel better of getting the 2.3ghz i9 8 core instead of the 2.6ghz i7 6 core. The model I was hoping to score was the 2.6hz i7 6 core build with the 1TB hard drive, but the odds of that coming into the refurb store was slim.

you are the type of user that doesnt need the 32gb or the i9...just buy the refurb base model and call it a day

Yep, as I just mentioned, I would have, just with the HD upgrade. That I know I need because I'm coming from a MBP that had 512GB HD and I added a 256GB JetDrive into the expansion slot to get more memory a couple years ago.