24gb or 48gb for 14" MBP M4 Pro

[Addy20]

Hi! I need advice from computer savvy people. I just joined macForums, so I hope I'm posting this in the right place..

I'm looking to buy the 14" MBP M4 Pro with 2TB, but am torn on how much RAM to get. I've been using my current MBP 2017 i5 2.3 ghz chip with 16gb RAM for about 7 years now, and I'd like my new one to last just as long.

My current use is: Canva (web version), GarageBand/iMovie once in a blue moon, some Adobe apps, and while editing in the Photos app I almost always have YouTube/spotify/or a video platform running at the same time in the background. I don't plan on using Apple AI, but I will be adding LogicPro to my new one.

My main problem with my current MBP is that it overheats A LOT and the battery plummets after about an hour of use (be that streaming a show, using canva, photos, etc).

After scouring Internet forums for an answer, I discovered Activity Monitor: my memory pressure is always in the low green zone, however memory swap is currently at 600 mb and memory used at about 10 gb just with browsing reddit and safari. I haven't gotten around to using Canva while also looking at Activity Monitor yet.

My reasoning for the M4 Pro vs the M4, is that with the M4 Pro I'll be getting two fans instead of one (ergo, less overheating and annoying loud fan noise (?)) and thunderbolt 5 ports. With the M4, I'd be getting probably better battery life, but probably more fan noise and overheating in the long run..
Budget wise, I could spring for the pro 48 gb, but I don't want to waste my money on something that I won't need...

Considering my usage, which should I get: 24 gb or 48 gb? Or the M4 with 32 gb and a lower processor (which is the same price as the M4 Pro with 24 gb)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[picpicmac]

No one knows the future.

Which means, someday you might take up an interest that demands more of your computer.

Or... maybe not.

If the prices are close I'd go with the M4 Pro over the base M4.

 

[splifingate]

48 gb?

The most you can personally afford.

 

[smirking]

LogicPro might be the wildcard, but for everything else, you'll be fine with 24GB. Silicon Macs are more efficient in how they use memory than Intel Macs so a 24GB M4 already has tons of headroom more than your 16GB Intel.

 

[HobeSoundDarryl]

When you use SWAP you are writing to the SSD to use it like slower RAM. What wears out SSDs? Too many writes. See lots and lots of threads of people who purchased Fusion Drive Macs in the last 10 years or so, now with dying SSD portion from... you guessed it... too many writes.

So you need enough RAM to try to dodge SWAP use. It's not like you can never use SWAP in a pinch... but the ideal is avoid it as much as possible.

Since you are overrunning 16GB to need SWAP now, obviously you need more RAM.

Also note: with silicon, you can't add RAM later. So whatever you buy to then try to use until at least about 2032 or so needs to cover all present and future RAM needs. While you can take best shot at estimating how your needs may evolve over that many years, you can't estimate how macOS RAM demands will evolve. A.I. is likely to evolve heavily over the same time span and I suspect the new "baseline" of 16GB will turn out to be too little by about 2028-2029 just for macOS.

So based on how you say you use it, that you already use SWAP, my gut guess about how much more RAM A.I. will demand over time, etc. I'd likely favor 48GB RAM. That may prove to be overkill but again, you can't add more later. If you own too little and then need more, you toss the entire Mac and replace it. If budget is fixed, I'd probably cut internal storage some to cover the extra RAM. You can always add fast storage at third party pricing via EXTERNAL options.

Yes, Apple pricing is towards customer robbery at 3X-5X market. But they've positioned themselves as the LONE store for RAM & internal SSD, so if you want to buy a Mac, you have to pay whatever they demand... be that 3X-5X... or if that evolves into 5X-8X or 7X-10X or 20X-30X over time.

If this bugs you too much, another option would be to migrate to PC where RAM & SSD are competition-driven... and there is often abundant flexibility to add more of either or both should needs arise. Several of the apps you use run on PC too. A few would require you to learn some new apps to replace them. PC is quite capable of functioning as a computer. Most of the world leans on PC over Mac by far.

 

[Addy20]

So you need enough RAM to try to dodge SWAP use. It's not like you can never use SWAP in a pinch... but the ideal is avoid it as much as possible.

Since you are overrunning 16GB to need SWAP now, obviously you need more RAM.

Also note: with silicon, you can't add RAM later. So whatever you buy to then try to use until at least about 2032 or so needs to cover all present and future RAM needs. While you can take best shot at estimating how your needs may evolve over that many years, you can't estimate how macOS RAM demands will evolve. A.I. is likely to evolve heavily over the same time span and I suspect the new "baseline" of 16GB will turn out to be too little by about 2028-2029 just for macOS.

So based on how you say you use it, that you already use SWAP, my gut guess about how much more RAM A.I. will demand over time, etc. I'd likely favor 48GB RAM. That may prove to be overkill but again, you can't add more later. If you own too little and then need more, you toss the entire Mac and replace it. If budget is fixed, I'd probably cut internal storage some to cover the extra RAM. You can always add fast storage at third party pricing via EXTERNAL options.

Thanks!
My suspicion is that something is wrong with my Mac, as its lately always been showing swap at 594.8 mb, even though the memory used and chached files are under 15 gb. Could that be? If so, would this still be an accurate description of my current RAM usage?

 

[kschendel]

The Apple Silicon processors run a lot cooler than the older Intel CPU's. If I understand the pricing correctly, I'd probably lean towards the M4 non-Pro with 32GB memory.

 

[Addy20]

No one knows the future.

Which means, someday you might take up an interest that demands more of your computer.

Or... maybe not.

If the prices are close I'd go with the M4 Pro over the base M4.

Great! And would you choose 24 gb or 48gb for the M4 pro chip?

 

[Ed_m]

I just got a M4P 16/20 with 48gb of RAM, the machine hums and if you can afford it, get the 48gb, you won't regret it! Good luck!

 

[jagolden]

Great! And would you choose 24 gb or 48gb for the M4 pro chip?

I think he’s suggesting the 48gb.

 

[picpicmac]

would you choose 24 gb or 48gb

My uses, and intended uses, are may be somewhat different than yours. I try to use generative AI and LLMs, and they are memory hogs. Photoshop is a memory hog.

Your use is different. However, if you're going to be using VMs then you might too want to think of more RAM.

 

[johannnn]

My current use is: Canva (web version), GarageBand/iMovie once in a blue moon, some Adobe apps, and while editing in the Photos app I almost always have YouTube/spotify/or a video platform running at the same time in the background. I don't plan on using Apple AI, but I will be adding LogicPro to my new one.

I think 24GB is on the low end for your workflow. Get as much as you can.

Do you need the M4 Pro chip? I assume its hotter

 

[phrehdd]

Get as much RAM as you can. Anyone who will engage in the apps you mention and you have the insight to get the pro model should not think twice about getting as much RAM as possible to fully realize the benefits when using apps like those of Adobe.