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

Haswell rMBP 13" - is 4g ram enough?

Z

Zephyer

macrumors member
Original poster
May 22, 2013
42
0
Heya.

I generally thought the base model (which i want to get instantly from the store) will have 8g of ram. as it turns out, it has 4g.

Would you say that would be enough for the average user? (some coding, some browsing, occasional virtual machine, etc).

Thanks!
 
Zephyer said:
Heya.

I generally thought the base model (which i want to get instantly from the store) will have 8g of ram. as it turns out, it has 4g.

Would you say that would be enough for the average user? (some coding, some browsing, occasional virtual machine, etc).

Thanks!
Click to expand...

with a vm (50/50) split, you could easily go over the 2gb ram

4gb = web browsing / documents, if you close other programs you are not using
8gb = higher usage, lots of tabs, about one vm, leave other programs open when not using
16gb = power user, multiple vms..

however there is a benefit to having too much ram, as the computer will keep unneeded/old data in the ram in case you need it again soon - this is much faster than loading from ssd
 
You be better off going for 8Gb ram if you decide to keep your machine for a couple of years.
 
i got the same concerns.. but i think i'm gonna go for 8gb, since i'll be installing windows 7 in it also for some gaming. bummer it's only 4gb.. was really hoping 8gb would be the standard
 
If they had the 8gigs in the store i wouldnt even open this thread :) but i guess i should see how long it would take to get the CTO one.
 
I noticed that as well. I'm considering purchasing the 13" with 16GB Ram myself since its not user upgradable in the future.
 
khoward1972 said:
Is 16g overkill?
Click to expand...

Depends, if browsing and emailing are all you're going to be doing, then it's kinda overkill.

For tasks like rendering (you'll want something with a decent GPU though), massive RAW photos processing, video editing, you'll want to go with as many RAM as you can get.
 
Zephyer said:
If they had the 8gigs in the store i wouldnt even open this thread :) but i guess i should see how long it would take to get the CTO one.
Click to expand...

There are three "standard" 13" rMBP models that should be in the store:

2.4/4/128 $1299
2.4/8/256 $1499
2.6/8/512 $1799

Again, all three of these should be in the store.

BTO would be if you started with one of the above and upgraded the processor, ram or storage from what you see listed.
 
If you have really basic needs, 4GB would be fine. Then again, a MacBook Air (or iPad) would probably meet that use case too.

If you're planning to do more day-to-day work on it and multitask with several apps, I'd go for the 8GB BTO upgrade. If nothing else, it would help future-proof you and let you grow into the machine.

In my mind, the 4GB model exists for the same reason car manufacturers have low starting prices on advertisements -- get people in the door with the low perceived cost, then show them options for up-sell to add value/functionality.
 
I had a 2011" MBA up until recently and did tons of multitasking, windows development on a vm, photoshop, etc without any slow down at all -- with "just" 4GB of RAM. There used to be moments where I'd have windows 8 running, a massive keynote being projected with videos playing with no hiccups at all. I think you'll be fine unless you chose to do some high intensive stuff all at the same time.
 
bottled said:
I had a 2011" MBA up until recently and did tons of multitasking, windows development on a vm, photoshop, etc without any slow down at all -- with "just" 4GB of RAM. There used to be moments where I'd have windows 8 running, a massive keynote being projected with videos playing with no hiccups at all. I think you'll be fine unless you chose to do some high intensive stuff all at the same time.
Click to expand...

The thing is, in 2011, 4GB was the most you could get on an Air. That would be akin to saying back then that you should have gotten 2GB. As time goes on, apps get heavier, and use cases may change/expand. I just don't know that I could recommend anyone buying a Mac with less than 8GB of RAM, if only for resale value alone.
 
Is 16 GB overkill? I want my laptop to be able to handle the next 5 years, so I'm very interested in future-proofing since I can't do aftermarket upgrades...
 
Yep, just looked at the web store - they did seem to make a 8g model sort of 'baseline' so i can pick that up at the store! so happy :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back