MacBook Pro 32 GB RAM

[CrashTestWalrus]

Very cool, can you share more details about what you’re doing, it sounds interesting.

Sure, so in my case I am a network engineer by trade. I have used Cisco VIRL in the past which is actually doing nested virtualization. So the more RAM I can allocate to it the more Cisco virtual devices it can run on my machine. I have also directly built entire network environments utilizing various VMs on my machine for things like network simulation and testing or using Kali Linux to do some penetration testing for learning purposes without needing to leave my machine. In my case everything I am doing locally on my machine could be done on remote servers and connected to from my machine provided I have network access. The advantage of doing it locally versus the remote method is that while I’m out on the road, and sometimes on planes, I can still mess with those environments and get some things done while I am disconnected. So in my particular case I have a three server virtualization setup for heavy lifting that has 18 terabytes of storage, 72 CPU cores, and 500GB of RAM. I move some of those devices to my MacBook Pro when I’m out of the home office where that exists. Someone said earlier in this thread, and I totally agree, if you need 32GB of RAM you will know it and be looking for it. For the vast majority of folks and their workflows 8GB and 16GB of RAM is plenty, even for future use.

 

[jerryk]

Don't forget that if you're planning to keep your laptop for a long time, you may not need 32GB right now, but in the coming years.

The CPU and GPU in the unit will be superseded by faster units in 2-3 years. If your usage for 32 GB is out that far it makes more sense to buy a smaller/cheaper system now and they trade up to the faster system then when the systems is faster and 32 GB is more common and far less expensive. Same can be said about 4 TB drives.

 

[ascender]

Don't forget that if you're planning to keep your laptop for a long time, you may not need 32GB right now, but in the coming years.

I know this was the case in the past (10 - 20 years ago), but is it really the case now? Given how fast these new MBPs are in terms of CPU & SSD, unless you need 32GB RAM today to support your workflow and optimise the time spent waiting for things to happen - i.e. you're a video editor, music editor, photographer working with massive files to process, I just don't see why 32GB is really future proofing anything. Unless you plan to move in to one of those fields?

Part of the benefit of running MacOS is that the software and hardware are optimised to work with each other so well. I know loads of people doing lots of very varied things on Macs who get on just fine with any MBP from the last 5+ years, with 8GB RAM and an SSD.

If you have money to burn, I'd still be spending it on storage space first.

 

[Howard2k]

Sure, so in my case I am a network engineer by trade. I have used Cisco VIRL in the past which is actually doing nested virtualization. So the more RAM I can allocate to it the more Cisco virtual devices it can run on my machine. I have also directly built entire network environments utilizing various VMs on my machine for things like network simulation and testing or using Kali Linux to do some penetration testing for learning purposes without needing to leave my machine. In my case everything I am doing locally on my machine could be done on remote servers and connected to from my machine provided I have network access. The advantage of doing it locally versus the remote method is that while I’m out on the road, and sometimes on planes, I can still mess with those environments and get some things done while I am disconnected. So in my particular case I have a three server virtualization setup for heavy lifting that has 18 terabytes of storage, 72 CPU cores, and 500GB of RAM. I move some of those devices to my MacBook Pro when I’m out of the home office where that exists. Someone said earlier in this thread, and I totally agree, if you need 32GB of RAM you will know it and be looking for it. For the vast majority of folks and their workflows 8GB and 16GB of RAM is plenty, even for future use.

That’s awesome. I used to be a router geek way back. Things have clearly come a long way in terms of simulation since I was doing it. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[maflynn]

but is it really the case now?

Yep, that's my point. Apps are not changing to a degree that will require gobs and gobs of memory, especially if they don't need that much ram now.

 

[deeddawg]

Yep, that's my point. Apps are not changing to a degree that will require gobs and gobs of memory, especially if they don't need that much ram now.

Where we saw a change worth noticing was with the 32bit to 64bit application transition. There's nothing on the horizon for a repeat of that. The only area which might, I believe, would be with games and graphics -- though I'd suspect by the time those changed enough to matter the system bought today would be inadequate for reasons other than RAM.

 

[maflynn]

I believe, would be with games and graphics

don't get me wrong, there are tasks/usages that can take advantage of ram > 16GB, but I think those are in the minority, where as I see many people opting for 32GB with the mind set of just in case. I'm not down on people doing that, who am I to judge that. Its there money, but its something that probably isn't required - at least for many of them.

 

[deeddawg]

don't get me wrong, there are tasks/usages that can take advantage of ram > 16GB, but I think those are in the minority, where as I see many people opting for 32GB with the mind set of just in case.

Yes, certainly - there are definitely scenarios where people need 32GB (or more) today, or expect to soon -- though as stated those are typically fairly specific use-cases and those people already know what they need.

I'm with you - it's anyone's prerogative to buy upgrades they're unlikely to ever need. (plus that'll be a bonus for folks buying used who do need a bunch of RAM since the cost different typically is minimal)

Mostly I'd just hate to see folks scared into spending money they could better use elsewhere because they are afraid of "having too little" RAM.

Maybe we'll see a resurgence of RAM Disks... LOL

 

[Too1979]

I have 32GB of RAM in mine. I run VMs, lots of VMs. I use it today. The thing that kept me from upgrading for quite awhile was the lack of a 32GB option. Since the workflow I had was RAM constrained, and not CPU or storage, I waited for the option to get 32GB of RAM to upgrade.

The VMs I run in particular are for simulating entire networks on my machine for various reasons. Having the extra RAM allows those networks to contain more hosts.

Crashtestwalrus. May I know which version mbp your using and what ram your using. I would also like to upgrade to 32gb

 

[LogicalApex]

Crashtestwalrus. May I know which version mbp your using and what ram your using. I would also like to upgrade to 32gb

The 15" 2018 MBP is the first, and currently only, version to support 32GB of RAM. So that's what he's using.

Few people need that much RAM in a laptop and I'd suggest building or buying a desktop for cases where you do need it. I use a lot of RAM running virtual machines, but I put those on actual servers in my homelab where I have 256GB of RAM in the server. As 32GB is still a tiny amount of RAM when VMs are involved.

 

[Too1979]

The 15" 2018 MBP is the first, and currently only, version to support 32GB of RAM. So that's what he's using.

Few people need that much RAM in a laptop and I'd suggest building or buying a desktop for cases where you do need it. I use a lot of RAM running virtual machines, but I put those on actual servers in my homelab where I have 256GB of RAM in the server. As 32GB is still a tiny amount of RAM when VMs are involved.

Thanks logicalapex for your kind advice. Currently I’m on mbp 2011 with 16gb ram. Reason for wanting to upgrade to 32gb because I deal with cad and a lot of time running multiple vm to convert some of the old drawing into present day format. 16gb is really not enough for the job scope. But I do agree with you time n money spend on a desktop is more wise. Thinking of getting a mp 5,1 tower is better than investing into my dying mbp 2011. Which I already replace the graphic card 3 times.

 

[CrashTestWalrus]

Thanks logicalapex for your kind advice. Currently I’m on mbp 2011 with 16gb ram. Reason for wanting to upgrade to 32gb because I deal with cad and a lot of time running multiple vm to convert some of the old drawing into present day format. 16gb is really not enough for the job scope. But I do agree with you time n money spend on a desktop is more wise. Thinking of getting a mp 5,1 tower is better than investing into my dying mbp 2011. Which I already replace the graphic card 3 times.

The previous poster is correct, I am using a 2018 MBP. I also agree with the other statements they made. If you don’t need the portability of a laptop a desktop is the way to go. I use the RAM in mine for virtual machines when I’m away from the internet, believe me it still happens, and I need to run some stuff. Anytime I’m on the internet I have access to a bunch of servers to run VMs on if necessary.

 

[lnikj]

Turning the question on it's head, I would argue that a majority of people who NEED a high end MBP NEED 32GB of RAM.

With the exception of my music production (I don't use many samples, and don't need RAM), I need RAM for VMs, editing large multi-layered (especially stitched HDRs) Photoshop files and for video work. I switch between apps a lot, often have lots of large files open, and have little patience for being held up in doing so.

If I wasn't doing this sort of stuff then I wouldn't NEED the latest MBP (not that I have one yet!)

At the moment I am doing that work on a fully specced 2015 iMac with 32Gb of faster RAM than Apple supplies. I have been waiting to replace my 2011 17" (16GB RAM, large SSD and large HD replacing superdrive) and have my eye on the current top end MBP, though am unsure about the thermal issues so I'm probably hoping the 2011 will last one more year (now on it's 4th logic board, all replaced by Apple for free).

 

[LogicalApex]

Turning the question on it's head, I would argue that a majority of people who NEED a high end MBP NEED 32GB of RAM.

As with all things in computing. Blanket statements are never good. Everyone doesn't need 32GB of RAM and neither does everyone need 8GB of RAM. Some computing tasks are RAM bound and some aren't. Those which are RAM bound will benefit from more RAM and those who aren't won't. Additionally, extremely fast SSDs with extremely good random I/O performance make swapping far less painful than it used to be (and often times imperceptible for the user).

Even when it comes to Running VMs you can squeeze a lot into 16GB of RAM or even 8GB of RAM if the VM workloads themselves aren't RAM bound. Remember, the main value proposition of VMs is that you're able to pack more machines into one box to get the machine as close to 100% utilization without going over to maximize the use of the host machine. Just because you allocate 8GB of RAM to a VM doesn't mean that VM is using 8GB of RAM at all times. The unused RAM can be shared among other VMs or used by the host OS.

Notice how the attached "beefy" Application Exchange 2016 is allocated 16GB of RAM for its Virtual Machine, but it is only actually using a little over 4GB of RAM...

 

[lnikj]

As with all things in computing. Blanket statements are never good.

Indeed, my argument used the term 'majority' for a reason and I was just providing a counterargument to the prevailing view that most users do not need 32GB. Indeed the vast majority do not, but neither do they NEED a high end MBP to achieve their computing tasks, they merely WANT one.

 

[LogicalApex]

Indeed, my argument used the term 'majority' for a reason and I was just providing a counterargument to the prevailing view that most users do not need 32GB. Indeed the vast majority do not, but neither do they NEED a high end MBP to achieve their computing tasks, they merely WANT one.

Fair enough. My reply was driven by there being CPU bound workloads that can benefit from the raw performance increases without being RAM bound. So needing a high end MBP doesn’t automatically equal a need for 32GB of RAM.

But I agree with you many users are buying more from a want and less from a need perspective.

 

[CrashTestWalrus]

Fair enough. My reply was driven by there being CPU bound workloads that can benefit from the raw performance increases without being RAM bound. So needing a high end MBP doesn’t automatically equal a need for 32GB of RAM.

But I agree with you many users are buying more from a want and less from a need perspective.

Speaking as someone who has a 2018 MBP that is fully maxed out the thermal issues seem to be fixed with the supplemental updates or moving to Mojave. There are still weird problems that might be related to the T2 chip that are affecting folks, though. I’ve had a couple odd performance issues with Mojave that were both fixed with a reboot. Some folks are still having kernel panics, which I’m glad are behind me.

 

[powerslave65]

I had a maxed out 2017 Macbook pro with 1TB SSD and now I have a 2018 Macbook Pro i7 2.6 with 32 gigs of ram, a 1 TB SSD and the Vega 20 gfx. I can now run 3 or 4 adobe apps at once rendering and working at least twice as fast. The ram helps me do more at once and in my business working faster is how I can make more money. If there is something measurably faster, I buy it.

 

[DeanL]

Back in 2012, I had a Mac with 16 GB and it was the sweet spot. Last year, I bought a new MacBook with 16 GB of RAM.
RAM usage of desktop apps have not changed in almost a decade and probably won't change drastically either for the next 5-7 years.

 

[reukiodo]

I just tried to get a 2010 MacBook Pro 13 to boot with 1 16GB Crucial DDR3L SODIMM, but it only beeped on power on. I tried reseating the RAM, along with a known working 8GB stick, but it wouldn't boot with the 16GB stick inserted.