New M1 Pro with 16GB and 1TB. Do I NEED 32GB RAM?

[smirking]

If there is a lot traffic on your ssd it will be shortly wear out. 400 - 600 tbw isn't much.

300 TBW is an accepted rating for a 256GB drive. A 2TB drive will clock in at 2400 TBW.

It's also believed that the 300 TBW rating is a lowball so there should still be plenty of headroom beyond that. I managed to average around .5TB of writes a day on an 8GB M1 this summer in two weeks of severely abusing it. These SSDs are likely to be fine under all but the most extreme cases.

 

[Samuelsan2001]

I am doing the same. I would really love to have a moment with Tim to ask about these price gouges that Apple is engaging in since some years.

This is actually down to tax, in most cases if you strip out the import duty, currency conversion and sales tax most countries show a very similar price to the US.

 

[waquzy]

Yep. I saw it on the 16 gb model. If you are doing productivity i would buy 32 gb and maybe 2 tb because of the doubled tbw compared with 1 tb ssd. If there is a lot traffic on your ssd it will be shortly wear out. 400 - 600 tbw isn't much. And consider for the 16 gb model the swap will come on top. This macbook is a trap, as someone said on youtube. The price for a reasonable macbook pro is extremly high. I wouldn't have bought it, but i sell maybe my around 2000 Euro worth, rarely used Windows Laptop which was a gift. It's ok. 1850 Euro for the Macbook Pro Max is a good price. In my opionion not worth more. Because all soldered and after 2 years in case of defect something for the trash . I have heared after 1000 recharges you have to swap the accus. Accordingly to ifixit its no joy.

Nah… even with all that memory swapping the SSD would easily last 7-10 years!

 

[ASX]

@smirking

It's wrong. The Toshiba (KIOXIA) TLC 96 layer BiCS4 nand used for M1 Pro/Max is rated at 200 - 300 tbw per 512 gb, so 1 tb has 400 - 600 tbw.

 

[macintoshmac]

This is actually down to tax, in most cases if you strip out the import duty, currency conversion and sales tax most countries show a very similar price to the US.

You are right, but there was a time when it was very close to just currency conversion, leading me to think it’s something else as well. No way import duties and taxes were so low in my country that it was just about USD 100-200 costlier, compared to US prices. That wouldn’t make sense. Apple is likely using some other currency for reference pricing in my country, not USD. It’s likely using British Pound.

 

[sarakn]

This will be a long post, and I apologise if it baffles or frustrates.


I am considering the same question here as the title. Is 16 GB enough or should I spend USD 600 extra for 32 GB?


USES: Part I

If I am writing content:

1. These things are always open:
- several (10-20 average) tabs of research in Safari
- text editor (any + Word)
- Bear Notes

2. These things are frequently open along with the above:
- couple more Word documents
- Torrent client (connected external disk for downloads)

3. These things are occasionally open along with all the above:
- VMware Fusion with Windows for using some software in that OS and take screenshots of it for my write-ups.
- VM is configured (in my MBA 2017) to use 1 core and 4 GB memory. I cannot spare more to it, obviously. On my 2011, I used to give it 4 cores and 8 GB RAM since I had upgraded that MBP to 16 GB.
- This VM will be used in as lightweight way as possible for my screenshots, but then, there is one more thing I would use the VM for (to follow).

3. On MBP 2016, I also had Music open in the background due to its excellent speakers. Don't do that on the MBA 2017, but intend to do that on MBP 16" 2021.


USES: Part II

When I am working on graphics:

1. These things are always open:
- Affinity Publisher with any number (1 minimum, 5 was the max I can think of) of moderately-sized files open (5-20 MB average)
- Safari with 10-20 average number of tabs
- Bear Notes

2. These things are frequently open along with the above:
- Torrent client (connected external disk for downloads)

3. Again, I would like to open Music again in the background on the new computer due to a nice speaker set.


USES: Part III

When I am playing games:

1. I did play Deus Ex: Human Revolution on my MBA 2017.
2. I plan on playing GTA IV and V, Far Cry series (left it at 2) etc. using aforementioned VM.
- At this point, I think that giving the VM 12 GB and keeping 4 GB for system is the only way to make sure that I can play those games reasonably (do not care for ultra graphics, I can be happy with medium level just to enjoy the games without having to invest in a dedicated Windows rig for gaming).

This will also be the least use, but considering the speed of the new laptop, and the screen, I know I will do things on it (such as gaming using a VM) that I did not do on this MacBook Air 2017. This is the only thing I can think of where 32 GB might be better (and justified, even). But, I am, obviously, looking for community inputs.


- -

With all of the above, I have made do and continue to make do with 8 GB on my MacBook Air 2017, and I have occasionally seen swap usage of couple hundred MB. I may have also seen swap usage larger than this, but I do not think I have seen it on Big Sur/ Monterey. Maybe on Mojave and macOS Catalina.


Cost of this 16" is obscene in my country, about USD 3250 for M1 Pro 10-core, 16-core GPU, 16 GB RAM, 512 GB disk. I am okay with storage space and processor. Thinking solely about RAM.

Outgoing MBA has 1526 MB dedicated memory for graphics. The new computer will have 16 GB unified. Let's say I have 8 GB + 1.5 GB, 9.5 GB today. The new computer will be 6.5 GB more.

I do not push these devices to the limits, unless I start gaming on them, but I am working under an assumption that 16 GB should be enough for Far Cry and GTA V style games at the moment but considering they will be run in a VM, the effective RAM gets reduced to 12 GB and then we are also sharing the same 12+4 with GPU.

Cost of RAM upgrade to 32 GB is nearly USD 600. This is going to be my only computer for 5 years. I say 5 years because I do not get a lot of resale value here for Macs, and secondly, entry cost is insane, so I try and spread it out a bit, just for mental value proposition.

I might/ may add a larger screen at some time in the next 2 years for HDR content consumption on a large screen.


What are your thoughts for this kind of use? 16 GB or 32 GB?

I say go for the 32GB. I purchased my first Macbook about 8 years ago - Haswell processor - as my Dell laptop was on its last leg. My avatar is actually of my Dell back then being held together by a butterfly clip. I decided to max out whatever the top end model was because I needed something stable to go the distance. That was in 2013 and that $3300 USD investment lasted about 8 years.

These days with working from home, developing on cloud, and doing other things on my laptop simultaneously, my laptop struggled. Sometimes it froze. I always have Music app on and youtube videos going in the background. I had to change that as my laptop would freeze. Without cloud development going on, I would still have to release memory using Memory Diag. If I close down a dozen plus tabs, that would help but that's just not how I work.

Since this is such a step up from my current model, I'm going all out again. Hopefully this will last 5 years minimum and give me the ease and performance I need.

I understand this costs a lot in your country, but if the cost difference between the 16 and 32GB is something you can handle, go for it.

 

[sarakn]

I ordered a 14"/2TB/32GB model and it won't get here until end Nov. My local Apple store had the 14"/16GB/1TB and so I snagged it. The only reason I added the extras to the pre-order was because Apple's configurator is a thing of pure evil and made me feel silly for not 'bumping up' the specs. Reality is that I'm probably spending a $1,000 more than I need to.

So far so good with the 16GB/1TB I'm throwing a lot at it and it's like butter. I even spun up a Windows 11 ARM VM via Parallels and that worked fine - Parallels allocated 6GB RAM to the VM and it ran perfectly well. Literally nothing skipped a beat. Memory pressure in activity monitor did go from green to amber though.

My use is mainly MS Office productivity and the like. It gets pretty heavy with lots of docs etc. but the 16GB machine has been 'eating' them up without trouble.

Bottom-line is that for your uses 16GB will be fine. 32GB is always going to be better and if you're dead set on it and you can afford it, then do it. Otherwise you will always be wondering...

--

I'll probably keep the 16GB/1TB. I'll keep pressure testing it during the return window with all of my various workflows and if nothing chokes it, then I'll just cancel the 32GB/2TB. I might regret not having the extra storage in time (I always do) but then I'll probably want a new laptop with an M2 or M2 by then!

I got the 16"/64GB/8TB. I'm currently on 1TB and down to 92GB free but this is because I have to clear things out and move to external drive. 2TB was $400 more and 4 was 900. I was considering 4 but chose to get 8. 1000 is a lot but I thought go for it. My computer gets here end of December, but I'm wondering if I should scale down and just go for 4TB. Maybe order now and return/cancel the 8TB.
I still have an iPhone 6 and the $1000 could go toward the cost of a new iphone.

 

[CalMin]

I got the 16"/64GB/8TB. I'm currently on 1TB and down to 92GB free but this is because I have to clear things out and move to external drive. 2TB was $400 more and 4 was 900. I was considering 4 but chose to get 8. 1000 is a lot but I thought go for it. My computer gets here end of December, but I'm wondering if I should scale down and just go for 4TB. Maybe order now and return/cancel the 8TB.
I still have an iPhone 6 and the $1000 could go toward the cost of a new iphone.

Bottom-line is that the configurator is evil. They make it so that bumping up the specs seems obvious and that only a fool would not. And that's the thing - due to my impatience I jumped on the pre-built spec. at local Apple store (16GB/10-core M1Pro / 1TB) and it's amazing. I've had it a week and a half and it cruises through literally everything I throw at it - and I have been purposefully trying to stress it. Extra memory and GPU cores are simply a waste for my needs.

Extra SSD space it what usually pushes me into an upgrade, so I am anxious about how much time 1TB SSD gets me. I was feeling cramped at 512GB, so 1TB is a nice double-up. Then again, only video projects can come close to filling that space for me and it's just a hobby for me so keeping them off device for archiving is going to be fine.

I cancelled my upgraded (32GB/M1Max/2TB) order and kept the $1k in my pocket. I'm happy with the decision. Anyone seconding guessing what to order or how much to upgrade the specs should really watch the MaxTech videos - very few Pro's are going to get even a base machine to break a sweat. M1Pro/M1Max is a marvel.

 

[nbjustforfun]

I'd go for 32 gig purely because you don't know what the future will bring and like you said you can hold onto the machine for awhile. plus I think 8gig and 16 gig have been the standard for so long now that its bound to move onto 32?!

Let’s put it this way…everyone says they want to keep this computer for 3-5 years. BUT in 1-2 years there is always another leap in performance so this thing that will last you 5 years…u are now looking to trade it in 1-2 years. ur not future proofing anything when you buy something u don’t need. Also, no one upgrades their computer just to get more ram. Look at all the new features that came with this pro…additional ram is pretty far down that list. screen, cooling, battery, chip performance, ports, graphics performance, etc. more ram was a big deal years ago but with the way macOS on M1 manages memory, it really is amazing! This only applies here in US.

 

[macintoshmac]

Let’s put it this way…everyone says they want to keep this computer for 3-5 years. BUT in 1-2 years there is always another leap in performance so this thing that will last you 5 years…u are now looking to trade it in 1-2 years...... This only applies here in US.

True. Enthusiasts and those who must extract every ounce thy can get they will upgrade. Other users who are using lesser the the maximum horsepower will last 5 years easy and take a good leap with their next upgrade.

 

[weirdly_brillliant]

In a nutshell, no, 32 GB is not worth the price, it does not provide any good advantage over 16 GB in the new MacBooks.
For detailed comparisons and tests watch this video

. It will answer all your questions.

 

[throAU]

You'll probably be fine, however I will say that if you're doing any sort of evaluation with 16 GB right now, be aware there are some memory leaks in Monterey at the moment (at least on my M1 Pro, didn't notice them on my intel Air).

I'm sure they'll be fixed soon, but I saw Control Center using 4 GB of RAM until I rebooted yesterday.

I don't think you'll see/notice the memory leaks until you've had the machine running for a few days - but if you do a reboot will fix it.

 

[DynamicNotch]

In a nutshell, no, 32 GB is not worth the price, it does not provide any good advantage over 16 GB in the new MacBooks.
For detailed comparisons and tests watch this video

. It will answer all your questions.

The video doesn’t answer if I would be just as happy with 16GB by 2029 as I would be today.
Can you guarantee that?

 

[antst]

The video doesn’t answer if I would be just as happy with 16GB by 2029 as I would be today.
Can you guarantee that?

I can guarantee that you will not be happy with 16gb in 2029 )

 

[haruhiko]

The video doesn’t answer if I would be just as happy with 16GB by 2029 as I would be today.
Can you guarantee that?

Don’t tell me you’re serious.

 

[JamesMay82]

Let’s put it this way…everyone says they want to keep this computer for 3-5 years. BUT in 1-2 years there is always another leap in performance so this thing that will last you 5 years…u are now looking to trade it in 1-2 years. ur not future proofing anything when you buy something u don’t need. Also, no one upgrades their computer just to get more ram. Look at all the new features that came with this pro…additional ram is pretty far down that list. screen, cooling, battery, chip performance, ports, graphics performance, etc. more ram was a big deal years ago but with the way macOS on M1 manages memory, it really is amazing! This only applies here in US.

maybe I'm an exception as I'm running a 2014 iMac and also a 2015 MacBook Pro. For me the biggest tech leaps have been SSD which I have in this 2014 and I'd say its only worth upgrading now for the M1 chips. Prior to the M1 chips I'd performance hasn't been groundbreaking for the everyday tasks of emails, spreadsheets etc. This Mac now is still decent enough for Lightroom raw files but occasionally it does slow down..

 

[sarakn]

Let’s put it this way…everyone says they want to keep this computer for 3-5 years. BUT in 1-2 years there is always another leap in performance so this thing that will last you 5 years…u are now looking to trade it in 1-2 years. ur not future proofing anything when you buy something u don’t need. Also, no one upgrades their computer just to get more ram. Look at all the new features that came with this pro…additional ram is pretty far down that list. screen, cooling, battery, chip performance, ports, graphics performance, etc. more ram was a big deal years ago but with the way macOS on M1 manages memory, it really is amazing! This only applies here in US.

If you have a machine that works well, in 1-2 years you won't think of replacing it because it works as well as it did when you got it.
Most people don't bother with shiny new toys if the old ones works very well for them. So yes, it is future-proofing because it will last longer and you will have no desire to replace what you currently have.

 

[sarakn]

You'll probably be fine, however I will say that if you're doing any sort of evaluation with 16 GB right now, be aware there are some memory leaks in Monterey at the moment (at least on my M1 Pro, didn't notice them on my intel Air).

I'm sure they'll be fixed soon, but I saw Control Center using 4 GB of RAM until I rebooted yesterday.

I don't think you'll see/notice the memory leaks until you've had the machine running for a few days - but if you do a reboot will fix it.

I'm experiencing that, too. Until upgrading, I had not rebooted in about 6 months and had a bit of slowdown here and there. Monterrey seems to be causing more glitches than ever before.

 

[throAU]

here's hoping 12.1 fixes it because its my only gripe with the new machine.