M5 MacBook Air: how much RAM?

[carswell]

Am planning to buy an M5 MacBook Air and am wondering how much RAM to get.

Background: I use my Mac for work (MS Office), email and browsing. I don't play games, do 3-D modelling or currently use programs like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. In short, not a power user. I'm also retiring in a couple of years (at 75). Given my age and impending income drop, I suspect this may be the last computer I purchase, so I'd like a machine I'll be happy with for another 6-8 years.

My techiest friend, owner of a firm that does AI-driven video searching/editing, says the more RAM the better in this age of LLMs, especially if you're looking to future-proof. He recommends 32 GB or, at the very least, 24 GB. He's also of the opinion that with Thunderbolt 4 on board, it's more advisable to upgrade the RAM than the SSD, that the sweet spot is M5 + 32 GB RAM + 512 GB SSD.

So, four options. Which to choose?

16 GB + 512 GB (base model)
24 GB + 512 GB
24 GB + 1 TB (stock model)
32 GB + 512 GB

Thanks for any advice!

 

[JPack]

Base model with 16GB RAM.

You don’t have any need beyond that and your friend’s recommendation of running a local LLM is based on “work” use of AI rather than personal use. This would be for things like converting a Zoom call into meeting notes, generating images from text, and using AI video editing filters.

You’d be throwing $500 at a problem that isn’t likely to come up for you. Keep in mind notebooks can fail due to accident or defect and no guarantee to run however long you plan. So that $500 can be saved for a future MacBook upgrade or replacement if you really need one.

 

[boswald]

If this truly is the last machine you purchase and you're not planning to do anything "heavy" with it, then yes, you could probably get away with 16GB.

 

[Torty]

Base model with 16GB RAM.

... Keep in mind notebooks can fail due to accident or defect and no guarantee to run however long you plan. So that $500 can be saved for a future MacBook upgrade or replacement if you really need one.

That's something I rarely read. It's true, you can only lose as much as you paid for the MacBook. And accidents, loss, defects... these things happen. Huge SSDs or RAM won't help with that.

 

[Howard2k]

If you're planning on running an LLM locally, get 24GB. If you're talking about cloud based AI, 16GB is likely the best option.

 

[dizmonk]

If you're committed to keeping for six - eight years, I'd advocate for 24gb/1tb. That's the standard config I purchase.