I’m using an Oct 2008 MacBook. It’s only usable because I could upgrade the ram. It’s the upgrade that kept the machine viable for a variety of uses. Although 8 now probably has more shelf life than 2 did then.
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in today's context, do u agree 16gb is the minimum ram required?
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I’m using an Oct 2008 MacBook. It’s only usable because I could upgrade the ram. It’s the upgrade that kept the machine viable for a variety of uses. Although 8 now probably has more shelf life than 2 did then.
As others have said 8GB is still enough for 90% of the general public. Particularly if we are talking about macOS, its got great RAM management built in.
I think 16 gigs is a good minimum these days personally. I do understand that there are some use cases where people can get by, and even be comfortable with 8 or even 4gb, but I'd recommend 16 minimum. Especially because it's not upgradeable in most of Apple's current offerings. I personally got 32GB in my 16" last year and have been quite comfortable with it most of the time.
IMHO, if you are paying > $1000 for a system, it *should* have 16 GBs of RAM. Even if your personal, current usage works fine with only 8 GBs, if you expect to be able to sell your system down the line, you will want 16 GBs. Look at it this way, both the XBOX Series X and the PlayStation 5 will have 16 GBs this year.
With that said, I don't think it is a good idea to sell and buy a new system just to have 16 GBs of RAM, but if you are buying new....... Just my $0.002
Rich S.
With that said, I don't think it is a good idea to sell and buy a new system just to have 16 GBs of RAM, but if you are buying new....... Just my $0.002
Rich S.
That’s why I got 32GB of RAM, it wasn’t tansy much more for double the RAM at that point.
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My current setup at home is a 2008 Dell desktop with 48 GB of RAM. One thing about a lot of memory is that it hides how slow the processor is as you just cache everything that you need to access on the SSD or HDD. I VNC into a 2015 MacBook Pro with 16 GB of RAM and that system does email, web browsing, Calendar, Reminders and Notes. It uses 5 GB of RAM. I prefer macOS for a lot of things and partitioning between two machines gives me a ton of RAM and a lot of compute power. The MacBook Pro has a much faster CPU and SSD. I wasn't able to run my typical workload on the MacBook Pro without memory pressure and the MacBook Pro's fans getting very loud. External AC fans did help though.
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in the past 8gb is the norm, today 16gb is the new norm.
The fastest thing that will obsolete your machine as your usage demands increase is the lack of RAM. I think 16 GB is the minimum today. It's more important than the CPU or SSD size for most users. I "future proofed" my machine six years ago and it is still doing a great job. Of course it depends on your usage. If you are just surfing the web with one tab open all you need very little. But if you want your machine to be capable and give you optionality, I would recommend a minimum of 16 GB.
Apple has already made that decision for you on the 16 and I think that's quite reasonable. I expect them to do that on the Mini and 13 eventually. The funny thing is that there is a cost/GB sweet spot and it's probably at least 16 GB now. This is component cost, not retail cost. I've been watching Dell 8930 videos and everyone buys minimal and adds it aftermarket because the margins on RAM are so high.
Agreed. My machine, which I bought six years ago, has 16 GB and is still getting the job done today. I think if I bought new today, I would go with a 32 GB option to allow for the same potential longevity even though all I really need is 16 GB. 32 GB probably is overkill for most users (including me today) but I think it is the most important upgrade with regard to the useful longevity of the machine. If I wanted to save money, I think I would look elsewhere -- like opting for the base option CPU, which propbably runs cooler anyway.
Yes, 16GB minimum. Even an average user will use more than 8GB if their machine is spec'd with 16GB due to how Mac OS scales available RAM usage. I'm using 15/48 right now and not doing much.
