RAM 4GB vs 8GB....how much difference does it make ?

[crazyxzer0]

I get the 4GB unless you use virtual machines. 4GB is sufficient for most applications at a time. I only see a real need for over 4GB when you need to dedicate RAM to a virtual machine or two.

 

[oneMadRssn]

while I agree with your assessment, the difference is more than $100 for some folks. For example I bought my 2012 13" off of amazon for $1139, no tax and free shipping. to get the 8gb upgrade I have to buy it from apple for $1199 + $100 + 9% tax = $1,415. that's a $276 premium or 25% increase for an additional 4gb that I likely will not miss based on my usage.

You could have gotten it for $1,104.82 at Macmall.com (with the 3% appleinsider.com coupon code). That makes the difference to an apple store 8gb model even higher. But you can't compare the discount price at one store to the full retail price at another store; that's not a clear price comparison.

At Macmall.com, the 8gb version is only $130 more than the 4gb version.
At Amazon.com, the 8gb version is only $160 more than the 4gb version.
Both much less than the ridiculous $276 you came up with.