More RAM/UM less battery

[Orangeman13]

I am thinking of getting the M3 MacBook Pro 16 inch but if I go with 36 GB of unified memory instead of the 16GB will that reduce battery life?

 

[bradman83]

I am thinking of getting the M3 MacBook Pro 16 inch but if I go with 36 GB of unified memory instead of the 16GB will that reduce battery life?

First off yes, higher RAM and SSD capacities will use more energy and produce more heat (either because there are more chips being used, or because there are higher-capacity chips being used). But the difference in terms of battery life is incredibly minimal, especially since the M-series chips use LPDDR RAM instead of regular DDR RAM. The CPU type will have a greater impact on battery life than RAM or storage capacity.

 

[Orangeman13]

First off yes, higher RAM and SSD capacities will use more energy and produce more heat (either because there are more chips being used, or because there are higher-capacity chips being used). But the difference in terms of battery life is incredibly minimal, especially since the M-series chips use LPDDR RAM instead of regular DDR RAM. The CPU type will have a greater impact on battery life than RAM or storage capacity.

so more likely the fans will start running?

 

[dmccloud]

so more likely the fans will start running?

As Bradman83 stated, any increase in heat generation would be minimal and not enough to make a noticeable difference with respect to how often the fans would start running. Likewise, the increased power draw would also be minimal (measured in fractions of a watt), to the point at which you'd be comparing minutes (if not seconds) difference in battery life, well within the margin of error. The other consideration is that any such differences would only be observable under certain conditions where the system is being pushed hard (i.e. gaming, video editing, etc.). For most uses the system wouldn't even be pulling the max wattage, so neither power draw nor component heating would even be a concern.

 

[MRxROBOT]

so more likely the fans will start running?

No.

 

[kitKAC]

so more likely the fans will start running?

Maybe consider getting a MacBook Air if you're concerned about fans?

 

[Fishrrman]

If you can afford it, get the extra RAM.
Things will be fine.

 

[hovscorpion12]

Do no associate RAM and battery. If the battery drains, then it drains.

if your a user who needs RAM, the battery life is not even on the brain.

if your workflow required 36GB of RAM/higher, buy it. Don’t think of battery life.