Hi, would appreciate some advice. Going to order 13 rMBP in next week or so, don't know whether to go for 256/16gb or 512/8gb. Cost wise this is my budget of around £1200. I don't do anything like aperture or photoshop but OS X previously has been a ram beast so am I better off future proofing with 16 or go for more ssd storage and 8gb ram?
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Ram v storage
- Thread starter MrMoonUK
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This was my choice. 16GB helps. I originally got the 256GB model and then as soon as BestBuy had the 512GB in stock, I exchanged for it. I have no regrets now.
You won't need 16GB of RAM. 8GB is even plenty of RAM for Photo editing. I can have several photo programs,(several files open in Pixelmator, Snapheal, etc) AutoCAD, etc open at once my 8GB rMBP and barely dent the RAM.(20-30% memory pressure) If you aren't doing anything like aperture or Photoshop as you say, then 16GB is going to be extreme overkill.
It just depends on what's more important to you. I think this forum places too much emphasis on RAM, considering my experiences with 8GB. The SSD is technically upgradeable but at a ridiculously high cost. If need lots of the storage, go with 8/512GB. If storage isn't important, get 16/256 if the peace of mind is important to you.
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A soldered on component will always be the advised path. More storage can come in many forms, yes the internal is expensive to upgrade but you have sd card options as well as other external media.
If you think you need 16gb ram, get the 15". In all other cases get the 512 gb ssd.
Agreed Meister if you need 16GB of RAM you'll almost certainly benefit hugely from the quad core, it is a very specific workload that will need 16GB of RAM and not need a quad core prcessor.
Basic rule of thumb if you need to ask you don't need it.
What apps do you use? How long are you planning on keeping the computer?
Future proofing a machine for 3 years is different then positioning the configuration to last you 6 years.
Since I didn't see how you intended to use the machine (sorry if I missed it), its hard to recommend a configuration. I will say based on my work flow what I like, and that's a 15" machine with 256 or more storage. I can live with 8GB of ram if I know the machine will be with me for the next 3 years. I'd probably opt for 16GB if I was planning on keeping it beyond that.
Now that's my work flow, as I use Lightroom, PS, Vmware (multiple VMs), various web publishing apps, etc. Your needs may be higher or lower, I don't know.
Actually, Yosemite 10.10.3 and later is not a RAM hog in my experience. It will run fine doing light tasks on my 2008 MacBook Air with 2 GB.
Go with the larger SSD, if you think you can find a use for the extra space in the future.
RAM is not user upgradeable so I think it's best to max it out. Storage can be handled in other ways.
I'm a casual PC user and splurged on the 16GB ram vs the extra SSD space. Why? Because it's not upgradeable, more resale down the line, and future proofs the specs more than more storage would.
5 years down the line I can sell it to someone who probably does some type of editing work or something that will put the ram to use.
I'm a casual PC user and splurged on the 16GB ram vs the extra SSD space. Why? Because it's not upgradeable, more resale down the line, and future proofs the specs more than more storage would.
5 years down the line I can sell it to someone who probably does some type of editing work or something that will put the ram to use.
I understand that mentality, and in fact I fallen into that that approach as well, but when thou think about it, does it really make sense. You buy a laptop, it has 16GB of ram, but the OS/Apps only use a small portion of the ram. The extra ram is there unused, and so you wasted the money on a component that is not being used. You go and sell the computer in 3 years for the latest model and follow the same approach, max ram even tough you don't need it.
It really depends on how the OP will use the computer and how long he'll estimate in keeping the computer, that really dictates what configuration works for him.
Agreed on the wasted money. I know for sure I'll never use even 10GB( the most I saw in use was 6GB on my Mac mini). But better to have it then not.
I don't even think I would get close to filling a 128GB SSD either though. Now you're making me wish I got a 256GB and 8GB config vs what I just got.
I'm pretty sure you won't need 16Gb in 10 years time with that use case...
I'd not look to spending extra on the 16GB of ram then - you'll never use it and the money could be better spent elsewhere.
Don't be so quick to call excess RAM unused. The OS can cache and keep more in excess RAM.
I will say that for the OP's tasks, 8 GB will be absolutely fine. It could probably be done on my 2 GB MBA without Memory Pressure going into the red.
Oh I know, and as I mentioned, I've fallen into the better be safe then sorry category but if someone is only using it for office apps, email, Facebook etc. The 16GB isn't going to matter, the 8GB will do the same thing at that point
