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Is 8GB future proof?

M

Mdv2

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
196
27
I bought a Macbook Unibody back in October 2008 and have since upgraded its memory from 2 x 1GB to 2 x 2GB and eventually 2 x 4GB. That, as well as an SSD disk have made my Macbook an enjoyable machine for 5 years.

The battery, however, is completely useless (despite a replacement two years ago) and the core 2 duo 2.0 processor is starting to get difficulties as well. The fan is spinning pretty much all the time and I now need to keep it on 24/7 as it boots with a black screen 9 out of 10 times.

I could try to have it repaired, but sooner or later I'll be forced to buy a new machine. Since I intend to keep the new machine for another 3-4 years, I want to know if 8GB would suffice for that time period or is it likely that within 1-2 years 8GB will be the bare minimum to keep apps and OS X running smoothly?

I could go for 16gb, but I can get 10% discount on the standard models, which is the reason behind my question.
 
pittpanthersfan said:
I guess the question that needs to be asked is what do you use it for?
Click to expand...

No heavy stuff, but at some point 2GB sufficed, then 4GB sufficed and now it requires 6-8GB. If this trend is set to continue, 12GB will within 2 years be the bare minimum.
 
8GB may be fine now, but I'm wondering if it will be enough in 3-4 years, since I'm planning to keep it for at least that period of time.
 
8gb will do just fine. since 2011 i have my macbook with 8gb of ram and it works just perfectly.
 
future memory upgrades may not be necessary as long as you don't keep upgrading your operating system.
 
If you keep your software and OS exactly as it is, performance should not noticeably change from today. As we install updates that add functionality or use applications built or optimized for today's computers vs the older generations, that is when you see performance decrease.

TL;DR: don't change anything in the computer and it should continue to perform the same forever. Until it dies..
 
Mavericks does compress memory so 8 is more like 12. Its not often that an OS does this. I would say 8GB will be plenty for at least the next 2 years. I will definitely trade in for a MB with 16 in a couple of years.
 
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