RAM requirements for multiple 4/5k monitors?

[Chiswickian]

I'm sure this question has been asked before, but how much impact on RAM (if at all) does running 2 x 5K monitors have?

I'm thinking of only getting the standard MBP 18Gb RAM but want to run 2 x 5K monitors and adobe photo apps.

Do I really need to be looking at 32Gb or does running these monitors alone have minimal impact on the RAM?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Simply running two displays shouldn't have much of an effect on the amount of RAM used - it's what you're doing with them (i.e. the apps you're running) that will use it.

PhotoShop with 18GB RAM could be fine, could be RAM-limited... really depends on your workflow & what you're doing exactly.

 

[risswex]

The standard 18GB RAM might handle basic tasks, for smoother performance with multiple high-resolution displays and demanding applications, upgrading to 32GB could be beneficial.

Adobe apps, in particular, are known to be memory-intensive. Opting for 32GB would provide a more comfortable buffer for multitasking and working with graphics-intensive applications.

Anyway, try 18gb RAM first. Then you'll decide whether it's worth upgrading to 32GB RAM or whether you're satisfied with 18.

 

[geta]

The standard 18GB RAM might handle basic tasks, for smoother performance with multiple high-resolution displays and demanding applications, upgrading to 32GB could be beneficial.

Adobe apps, in particular, are known to be memory-intensive. Opting for 32GB would provide a more comfortable buffer for multitasking and working with graphics-intensive applications.

Anyway, try 18gb RAM first. Then you'll decide whether it's worth upgrading to 32GB RAM or whether you're satisfied with 18.

You mean upgrading to 36GB RAM.

 

[joevt]

Multiple displays shouldn't take too much extra RAM. A 5K frame buffer is less than 57MB. How many frame buffers does a monitor use? Somewhere between 0 and n. Apps use windows. Does it matter on what display the window is positioned? Seems to me it would take the same amount of RAM regardless.

 

[Fishrrman]

More displays = more RAM needed.

It's as simple as that.

 

[danwells]

I wouldn't try to run the Adobe stuff with 18 GB, unless you had a relatively small library of relatively small images. Lightroom Classic's library management is an especially notorious RAM hog (and image resolution matters, because the way it deals with previews means that a library with high resolution images takes up a ton of RAM)...

 

[pshufd]

Virtual desktops add to the load on RAM. I have 3 4k monitors and a total of 6 virtual desktops and this runs fine on my Studio. If you're using 2x5k or 3x4k or more, you're probably running a workload where you should get a decent amount of RAM.