Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MaddyB2020

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 19, 2020
2
0
Hi All - looking for some advice from someone more tech-savvy than myself

I'm looking to buy the 2020 MacBook Pro, and my cousin is willing to sell hers to me at a $250 discount since she scratched hers (I don't mind since I was going to use a case/stickers on mine). Only issue is hers is the i5/512gb/8gb, and I was considering buying the i5/256gb/16gb.

Memory
I thought memory is more important since I'll have lots of programs open (browsing with 5-10 tabs and YouTube in the background, Microsoft office, iTunes/iMessage). I'm paying for this so I don't want it to be slow in 4-5yrs.

Storage
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe I need extra storage since I upload everything to Google Drive (main storage)/iCloud/USB, and don't have many documents. All music will be streamed (not downloaded) on iTunes, and all my pictures are on iCloud. I don't plan on downloading many programs, Office would be the largest one, and then 2-3 small programs.

Questions
Would 256gb be enough for me?
Is 16gb of storage more important? I prefer things being operating/switching between tasks faster

If storage would be more important, great, I save $250, but if memory is more important, I already saved to buy the i5/256gb/16gb.

Any feedback is appreciated, thanks!

FYI - when she buys a new MacBook, she's going to give me the free Airpods 2 that I could have gotten through the student discount.
 

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
You have a very generous cousin. :) Personally, I would rather have both 512GB storage and 16GB of memory, but you can get along fairly well with 8GB of memory.

The $250 discount and free Airpods are a great bargain that you might not want to pass up. ;)
 

MaddyB2020

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 19, 2020
2
0
You have a very generous cousin. :) Personally, I would rather have both 512GB storage and 16GB of memory, but you can get along fairly well with 8GB of memory.

The $250 discount and free Airpods are a great bargain that you might not want to pass up. ;)

Having both would be nice but I unfortunately have to pick one or the other. That’s why I was wondering if based on my needs if more memory is needed over more storage?

Saving $250 would be nice, but not at the expense of having less memory and the computer running slower.

I don’t mind paying full price at the Apple store if memory is more important.

Thanks!
 

chscag

macrumors 601
Feb 17, 2008
4,622
1,946
Fort Worth, Texas
A lot depends on what you're going to use the computer for and how long you plan on keeping it. Simply browsing the internet and doing menial things with the machine do not require a great deal of memory.

However, looking ahead knowing that programs are becoming more complex and larger, it might be a good idea to have more memory. Apple charges a premium price for memory and any portable Mac currently sold by Apple is not memory upgradeable.

If you can afford to buy a machine with 16 GB of memory and 512 GB of storage, then that's a better choice. Also keep in mind that any portable Mac sold by Apple from now on will be using a different architecture. No more Intel.
 

glenthompson

macrumors demi-god
Apr 27, 2011
2,983
844
Virginia
I’m now running a 2015 Air with 8gb. This was a slight downgrade from my 2011 MBP with 16gb. Have not noticed any memory pressure issues. I used to run Parallels & Windows and that really needed the 16gb. Since dumping Windows I’ve found 8gb to be plenty. While I store most everything on iCloud I still like to keep full copies on my Air in case I don’t have connectivity. I also don’t like using external drives with a laptop.
 

James_C

macrumors 68030
Sep 13, 2002
2,847
1,897
Bristol, UK
Hi All - looking for some advice from someone more tech-savvy than myself

Hi, to allow us to give you better advice it would help if you can give us an idea of what your primary use of the computer is? if it is just general use - web and email with the occasional photo editing then 8 GB Ram is probably fine.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.