16gb MBP in 2021 isn’t enough for long-term

[0112862]

I went to Apple store yesterday to see the 14/16” MacbookPro and do some testing. With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb. Restarted the Mac and repeated the sam ram usage after 10-15 minutes.

If you keep your mac only a few years it’s ok but if you are planning to keep your mac for 5 years you should absolutely upgrade to 32gb.

 

[fa8362]

Disagree completely. I've never been close to running out of memory, and won't be close 5 years from now either.

 

[Apple_Robert]

The average user doesn't need 32GB of RAM. Most do well with 8GB of RAM.

MacOS is excellent with RAM usage. Even though the OS may show 7GB used out of 8GB, that doesn't necessarily mean 7GB is actually being used. What you should focus on is what the memory pressure is showing.

 

[aevan]

I went to Apple store yesterday to see the 14/16” MacbookPro and do some testing. With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb. Restarted the Mac and repeated the sam ram usage after 10-15 minutes.

If you keep your mac only a few years it’s ok but if you are planning to keep your mac for 5 years you should absolutely upgrade to 32gb.

That’s not how RAM works, macOS fills out RAM whenever it can and free RAM does not make your computer faster.

If 16Gb is sufficient for your workflow today, it will most likely be enough for the next 5-6 years. Probably longer.

 

[ASX]

My Macbook Pro 16 GB 16" 1 TB model slowed massively down when it was at around 12-13 gigabytes ram usage with 30 % memory pressure and only 5 % cpu usage. Apps and tabs did react much less quick.

 

[haruhiko]

Watch this first before jumping to conclusion.

 

[chabig]

With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb.

Someone doesn't understand how Macs manage memory, which is ok because users aren't supposed to bother with memory management. That's the job of the operating system. The problem here is someone coming to unsupported conclusions and making recommendations based on that ignorance.

 

[0112862]

That’s not how RAM works, macOS fills out RAM whenever it can and free RAM does not make your computer faster.

If 16Gb is sufficient for your workflow today, it will most likely be enough for the next 5-6 years. Probably longer.

I do fully understand this as I work in IT. I just forgot the average reader here isn’t a complete beginner and it’s sunday morning so I didn’t took the time of justifying my answer like the case i’m handling all week.

Yes macos is using as much ram as possible to cache, accelerate, reduce write and ….. Which also mean that if there’s less ram there’s less caching possible. So while now the system is able to cache everything since there’s plenty it might not be the case in 4-5 years since base system/apps ram usage will increase.

With every release of Macos ram usage goes up (Which I could prove by comparing Snow Leopard vs High-Sierra on my mid-2009 MBP).

I want my system to be as fast as POSSIBLE and I don’t want to be limited in 4-5 years by few hundreds dollars saving I did

 

[0112862]

Someone doesn't understand how Macs manage memory, which is ok because users aren't supposed to bother with memory management. That's the job of the operating system. The problem here is someone coming to unsupported conclusions and making recommendations based on that ignorance.

The same way you jumped to conclusions by your interpretation of the word “enough”. Implying a non usable system or a terrible decision. Which by the way i’ve nuanced with holding on the system for 2-3 years vs 5y+

 

[chabig]

So while now the system is able to cache everything since there’s plenty it might not be the case in 4-5 years since base system/apps ram usage will increase

That's a nice post and you bring up fair points. However I would say that people aren't buying today's machine for workloads 5 years in the future. When that time comes, Apple will have faster, more capable machines on the market. I personally don't expect RAM needs to go up in the future as fast as they have in the past. My current MacBook Pro has 8GB or RAM and I expect that to more than suffice five years from now.

By the way, you might think you nuanced your post, but the thread title is pretty negative. You could tone that down a little. Perhaps "Today's 16GB MacBook Pro might not be state of the art in five years." Be sure to correct "gb" to "GB".

I want my system to be as fast as POSSIBLE and I don’t want to be limited in 4-5 years...

If that's true, you won't be using today's machine in five years anyway. You'll buy newer. Today's machines are as fast as possible TODAY.

 

[fa8362]

I do fully understand this as I work in IT. I just forgot the average reader here isn’t a complete beginner and it’s sunday morning so I didn’t took the time of justifying my answer like the case i’m handling all week.

Yes macos is using as much ram as possible to cache, accelerate, reduce write and ….. Which also mean that if there’s less ram there’s less caching possible. So while now the system is able to cache everything since there’s plenty it might not be the case in 4-5 years since base system/apps ram usage will increase.

With every release of Macos ram usage goes up (Which I could prove by comparing Snow Leopard vs High-Sierra on my mid-2009 MBP).

I want my system to be as fast as POSSIBLE and I don’t want to be limited in 4-5 years by few hundreds dollars saving I did

I know for a fact that I won't need more than 16GB five years from now. How do I know this? Because in the seriously unlikely event that Apple's 2026 operating system requires seriously more RAM, I simply won't use it. Problem solved, and the $400 I saved is worth more than $400 in 2026.

 

[adamk77]

I went to Apple store yesterday to see the 14/16” MacbookPro and do some testing. With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb. Restarted the Mac and repeated the sam ram usage after 10-15 minutes.

If you keep your mac only a few years it’s ok but if you are planning to keep your mac for 5 years you should absolutely upgrade to 32gb.

I think a strong case can be made going from 8GB to 16GB, even for the general public. My wife is not a pro user but she loves keeping all of her countless tabs open.

But 16GB to 32GB is a harder sell if you generalize to most people. I think most professionals who use the tool to make money should strongly consider the 32GB. I currently own the 16GB M1 MBP and have been hit a few times with the "Force Quit Application: Your system has run out of application memory." MBP is the main tool I use to earn a living.

 

[joptimus]

I went to Apple store yesterday to see the 14/16” MacbookPro and do some testing. With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb. Restarted the Mac and repeated the sam ram usage after 10-15 minutes.

If you keep your mac only a few years it’s ok but if you are planning to keep your mac for 5 years you should absolutely upgrade to 32gb.

Nonsense. You have no idea what "using" it means. It may occupy that space, doesn't mean it's necessary, though. The only - and really only - valid indicator if RAM is not enough is if performance drops more than one would expect by computing power alone.

 

[0112862]

That's a nice post and you bring up fair points. However I would say that people aren't buying today's machine for workloads 5 years in the future. When that time comes, Apple will have faster, more capable machines on the market. I personally don't expect RAM needs to go up in the future as fast as they have in the past. My current MacBook Pro has 8GB or RAM and I expect that to more than suffice five years from now.

By the way, you might think you nuanced your post, but the threat title is pretty negative. You could tone that down a little. Perhaps "Today's 16GB MacBook Pro might not be state of the art in five years." Be sure to correct "gb" to "GB".

I agree with you on the title, it could have been less negative

 

[Quu]

Glad I went 32GB this time.

 

[i9inkers]

I went to Apple store yesterday to see the 14/16” MacbookPro and do some testing. With a few basic apps open, 2 safari tabs it was using 10.5gb/16gb. Restarted the Mac and repeated the sam ram usage after 10-15 minutes.

If you keep your mac only a few years it’s ok but if you are planning to keep your mac for 5 years you should absolutely upgrade to 32gb.

You obviously do not know how RAM works. If that was a 32GB system it would be utilising the same percentage of that RAM. On my M1 MBP I never used swap on just 8gb so I’m totally sure 16GB is fine for the next 5 years for sure.

Although I will be upgrading when the MBP M3 Pro/Max drops)) It’s really a shame that we can’t ban these people from making silly posts trying to justify the extra money they spent by knocking others.

 

[fa8362]

I think a strong case can be made going from 8GB to 16GB, even for the general public. My wife is not a pro user but she loves keeping all of her countless tabs open.

But 16GB to 32GB is a harder sell if you generalize to most people. I think most professionals who use the tool to make money should strongly consider the 32GB. I currently own the 16GB M1 MBP and have been hit a few times with the "Force Quit Application: Your system has run out of application memory." MBP is the main tool I use to earn a living.

I know plenty of professionals who use their Macs to make money and have 8GBs of RAM. They have no intention of upgrading RAM, and many of them are using 5-10 year old Macs with no intention of upgrading them either.

 

[Dovahkiing]

Agree with all the disagreement here. People talk about RAM like computers work the same way they did 10 years ago. Aside from the good points that macOS manages RAM very well and that a 32GB system would use the same percentage of its RAM, it's also worth pointing out that we're not running on machines with 5400 rpm hard disks any longer. Swap files and caching work very well with fast SSDs.

If you zoom out, stop obsessing over percentages and metrics, and just *use* the machine - I challenge you to see any difference between 16/32 GB for normal usage.

 

[ASX]

Im using my macbook 2021 16 gb 16" only for desktop stuff and i think 16 gb isnt enough. If there is 12 - 13 gig ram allocation, it's slowing very noticeably down. I bought this only because 32 gb is not available in Germany and i thought mac os is like Linux, very ram efficient. But it's like windows. So 32 gb are the minimum.

 

[i9inkers]

I know plenty of professionals who use their Macs to make money and have 8GBs of RAM. They have no intention of upgrading RAM, and many of them are using 5-10 year old Macs with no intention of upgrading them either.

It’s a complete fallacy that you need more RAM, just buy your Laptop and enjoy. I must admit 8GB is a little tighter but I still can’t remember ever using swap with my M1 MBP

 

[i9inkers]

Im using my macbook 2021 16 gb 16" only for desktop stuff and i think 16 gb isnt enough. If there is 12 - 13 gig ram allocation, it's slowing very noticeably down. I bought this only because 32 gb is not available in Germany and i thought mac os is like Linux, very ram efficient. But it's like windows. So 32 gb are the minimum.

Wow there must be something wrong with your device then dude because I have not had a single slowdown. This thing is rapido…

 

[ASX]

Maybe or im used to much faster systems. My macbook has multiple scratches and marks out of factory. Maybe there is a damage inside. But im astonished how much ram this os is using, even when i only use some apps and chrome/safari with a lot tabs. I have seen this high ram usage on Windows, but Windows is very fast, regardless how many tabs are open.

 

[dead flag blues]

My first work computer had 128mb, tho it cost $100k: http://archive.irixnet.org/sgistuff/hardware/systems/crimson.html

I think that I’ll go outside. Life is way too short to argue about RAM with strangers.

 

[i9inkers]

Maybe or im used to much faster systems. My macbook has multiple scratches and marks out of factory. Maybe there is a damage inside.

Could be…

Even if you did max out your RAM the SSD (Swap) is more than fast enough for you not to even know.

Maybe the MacBook Pro just isn’t living up to your expectations.

 

[chabig]

But im astonished how much ram this os is using, even when i only use some apps and chrome/safari with a lot tabs. I have seen this on Windows, but Windows is very fast, regardless how many tabs are open.

I don't think you're getting the message from everyone. Macs will always use whatever RAM they have, no matter how many apps/tabs you have open. Now, aside from that, you're machine does sound like it has something wrong with it. If you're not already running Monterey, consider upgrading now!