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Going for 16gb or 8gb for New MBP 13"

ipodlover77

ipodlover77

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 17, 2009
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What are you guys going for? If you aren't going to be running any VM's is the extra 8gb of ram really beneficial in any programs (excluding things like opening multiple programs or tabs) like photo editing or video processing? More so when the machine will be a dual core? I'm telling myself that getting 16gb in a 13" isn't worth it but on the flip side I find myself trying to convince myself that 16gb will be future proofing it (stupid concept, I know).
 
I'm interested in hearing what people think about this as well. I've always gone for more RAM but I wonder at what point does it become excessive and limited by the CPU.

For example with the current lineup, if you got the base model, would upgrading to 16GB of RAM be redundant with the base level processor. Is there a good rule of thumb between processor and ram? When should you opt for the processor upgrade over RAM etc?

Edit: For primary tasks such as Final Cut Pro or Logic Pro X
 
I have 8GB and I am probably a middle of the road user. Right now I have perhaps 20 tabs open in Safari. I do some light amateur photo work in Lightroom and some audio processing in Audacity. Some Garageband stuff now and then.

I did purchase a 4GB Macbook Air and had to return it since I was pushing the RAM too far and swapping to disk. To date that hasn't been an issue on the 8GB Macbook Pro.

So given that 8GB works for me without me having to juggle which apps I have open in order to not max out the RAM, if I was buying a replacement I'd would do a price comparison of the two. Would I pay $200 for the extra 8GB? Yeah I probably would. Would I pay $500 more? No I don't think so.
 
I would really like to see 16GB become the base option on the pro; however, I will get whatever the entry level config is. My biggest debate is 13" or 15".

OSX is an extremely optimized OS, and I would venture to say very few people push the envelope that 8GBs offers.
 
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The more you have, the more your computer will use - and hopefully means for a faster/smoother experience.

I am sure you are looking to keep it for 4-5+ years, so the actual cost of the upgrade over the years is minimal.

It will also increase re-sale value - especially down the years when, 16gb is likely to become much more than norm.
 
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I should add, I'm still running El Cap. Haven't upgraded to Sierra yet. That might make some difference but I don't think it'll suddenly mean I need to be concerned about weather my 8GB will cut it.
 
Personally, I would never dream of buying a MacBook Pro with 8 GB soldered RAM. I like to keep computers for several years, and 8 GB is just going to become too constrained long before I replace the machine.

The point above is a good one. Spread out over a lifetime of 5 years, the upgrade doesn't cost very much.
If you go for only 8 GB I think you'll be longing for those extra 8 GB in a few years' time.
 
I also have been wondering this myself. I always have 15 tabs open in Chrome and other programs sometimes like Sketch and Photoshop. I don't notice a slow down, but the idea of more ram seems like it would be beneficial down the road. Although I have dealt with Final Cut struggling with other programs open. There's no doubt in my mind that my 2009 Macbook can struggle because of the CPU in it. I upgraded to 8GB Ram and an SSD which made a huge difference.
 
I wonder what the price for extra memory will be. With the current units by the time you add a 500 GB SSD and 16 GB of memory to a 13", you are pushing the price of a base 15 inch that comes with 16 GB of memory and a 256 GB SSD.
 
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If you're going for the 16GB i would also get the i7 processor. That way you'll have a nice powerhouse that can handle all the things you throw at it ;)

Now it really depends on what you use your computer for. If you're not going to take advantage of the ram, then in a sense it will be a waste of money, although you will get a chunk of it back in resale value.

Someone that only does web browsing and light photo editing may find that 16GB ram is unnecessary. Whereas someone that has multiple apps open, does lots of video editing, plays graphic intense games, uses virtual machines, will find that 16GB ram is very beneficial.
 
It can't hurt to max it out, though wait till tomorrow to see what Appel does.
 
I sure which Apple would put quad core processors in 13" macbook pros. I guess the idea is to keep the 13" price down, but I would love one with the same processor as a 15" MacBook Pro. Maybe this time?
 
I'm hoping 32GB is an option on the 15" (or better yet, user-upgradable RAM, but that's not likely). I have 16GB in my current machine, and it occasionally isn't enough.
 
For the last 6 years (2 machines on a 3 year cycle) I've bought a maxed out MBA, which has lasted me for 3 years and then my girlfriend for another 3. Each time this has meant a bump in memory (2010 - 4GB > 2013 - 8GB) and storage (2010 - 256 > 2013 - 512GB).

I've just ordered a new MBP and on this basis should have probably gone for 16GB RAM and 1TB storage but at £2,489 I just couldn't justify it. Went for 8GB and 512GB (still £51 shy of £2000!) which leaves me with the same as my 2013 MBA (albeit with a faster processor, SSD, graphics, etc.) and I'm already wondering if that might be a mistake?

At least I have 3-4 weeks to reconsider o_O
 
Crazy Badger said:
For the last 6 years (2 machines on a 3 year cycle) I've bought a maxed out MBA, which has lasted me for 3 years and then my girlfriend for another 3. Each time this has meant a bump in memory (2010 - 4GB > 2013 - 8GB) and storage (2010 - 256 > 2013 - 512GB).

I've just ordered a new MBP and on this basis should have probably gone for 16GB RAM and 1TB storage but at £2,489 I just couldn't justify it. Went for 8GB and 512GB (still £51 shy of £2000!) which leaves me with the same as my 2013 MBA (albeit with a faster processor, SSD, graphics, etc.) and I'm already wondering if that might be a mistake?

At least I have 3-4 weeks to reconsider o_O
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i'm considering buying a similar spec to yours...i've got uni discount which equates to £1998 for 16gb RAM and 512gb with the 3.1ghz i5 (not decided if this is needed) and STILL i'm thinking im mad
 
roop27 said:
i'm considering buying a similar spec to yours...i've got uni discount which equates to £1998 for 16gb RAM and 512gb with the 3.1ghz i5 (not decided if this is needed) and STILL i'm thinking im mad
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I might have to find someone in higher education to buy one for me :D

No, scrub that. I'm getting a MacBook from John Lewis at the old price!
 
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Crazy Badger said:
I might have to find someone in higher education to buy one for me :D

No, scrub that. I'm getting a MacBook from John Lewis at the old price!
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I did consider that. Only issue is I can't upgrade the ram. And paying £1400 for a device which already has two year old tech won't last as long. I'm all about longevity in my devices so feel this new macbook will last me longer. Albeit I hate apple for raising the prices so significantly
 
I don't think we can actually choose.. You pick the drive you want or the cpu, and it goes from 8 to 16, right?
 
roop27 said:
I did consider that. Only issue is I can't upgrade the ram. And paying £1400 for a device which already has two year old tech won't last as long. I'm all about longevity in my devices so feel this new macbook will last me longer. Albeit I hate apple for raising the prices so significantly
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The MacBook was updated earlier in 2016 so already had a Skylake chip. I might regret only having a 512TB SSD and 8GB RAM in 3 years, but that's about all I'd spend on a new MBP so would probably be in the same boat. At least I'll have only spent £1299 if I do need to upgrade earlier.
 
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