8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests

[spcopsmac21]

It's proof you benefit from more memory if you're using memory intensive applications like Lightroom and Final Cut Pro.

It's not proof if you're using Office, Teams and Safari using simple web applications.

You’re correct. But it proves apples diluted the “ PRO “ moniker to hell and back. And at this point it’s annoying.

 

[magbarn]

The users that do not need more, do not need a MacBook Pro in the first place: the Air is enough for them.

So basically the base $1600 Pro is for the poser class. The ones who want to look Pro, while using it like an Air. 🤣🤣
Reminds me of the Prerunner Toyota Tacomas 10+ years ago that had the off-road looking 4WD kit, while being only 2WD.

 

[sdf]

The arrogance of Apple is really incredible, but so many people lap it all up

I’ve got an 8GB MacBook and it’s fine. Sorry you had to spend more for your workflow, but it turns out people have different needs.

 

[jgdeschamps]

That’s why Apple makes the Air, 8gb is perfectly fine for that product. If one is making a pro product 8gb makes no sense considering it’s not upgradable.

Depends on the "pro" task... 8GB in Apple Silicon (in any M1, 2 or 3 regular, max or pro combo) is more than enough in my experience and opinion if you'll do music recording/live performance/production, etc. on your own or with a regular 3 to 5 piece band, light to mid 4K video work, light to mid 3D tasks wether for CAD, concepts, animation or simulations, definitely overkill for business suites and project management, and some light coding/development stuff.
There are lots of pro jobs that would benefit from a mobile rig with 16GB plus, especially if those jobs are "bring your own rig" positions or on-field jobs like recording a local orchestra at an impromptu location with an audio interface that handles more than 16 I/O setups plus a dedicated SSD drive and mixing desk, integrating with a pre-viz, pre or post-production team for AV or 3D projects... basically collaborative tasks on mid to large size projects.
If you need more than 32GB or 64GB, you are talking about integrating with big teams, networks, you are into running several virtual machines for software development, testing, debugging, and all sorts of niche and specialized stuff for large/plus sized projects or productions whether you work remote or on-site. You decide if desktop or laptop is your required tool.
That's why many here say "Hey, if you need to spend 200 bucks more on SSDs or RAM, you know you need it or not, and whether it's the right/required platform or not." It's never about "Apple is the bad guy and is abusing me. I wish their machines were less expensive."
Bus speeds, longevity of components and stuff like that, a pro will already know which brand and product tier is the right tool or not, and if it's priced according to a budget.

 

[jkozlow3]

I’ve got an 8GB MacBook and it’s fine. Sorry you had to spend more for your workflow, but it turns out people have different needs.

Do you limit your workflow to only having 3-5 apps open at a time, including a handful of browser tabs, closing things promptly when you are done with them?

That's the only way 8GB is usable in the long term. 8GB definitely doesn't work for tab whores like myself.

 

[Corefile]

That was a long, long, time ago, when computers were 8 and 16 bit -- things are different these days, even in Windows.

Tim Apple proclaims 8GB to be enough for any Mac user. He is the modern day Billy Gates.

 

[jgdeschamps]

It's a different story when you leave all that stuff running for a long time vs. freshly opened. I got rid of my 8GB M1 MBA because 8GB wasn't cutting it and I'm not a pro user (a tab whore perhaps). Things run MUCH better on my 16GB MBA.

Haven't seen a difference in performance whether I just rebooted the Air and open a bunch of apps and files, or if it's been running for three weeks without rebooting and just put it to sleep at night and close and open all the apps and files the next day.

 

[Analog Kid]

The users that do not need more, do not need a MacBook Pro in the first place: the Air is enough for them.

And how dare they want anything different?!!

 

[tpr007]

Every engineer involved in the creation of this must be ashamed in not speaking up. No one with an ounce of technical awareness would find 8gb acceptable today.

 

[kk200]

This is the biggest issue with the new base model configuration in my opinion. Previously it was pretty easy to get a base model 14" M1 or M2 Pro with 16GB of RAM for $1500 or $1600 on a good sale. Now, it waits to be seen whether the higher end 18GB models are going to go on deep sales like before.

Unfortunately, I don't have my hopes up too high for this one. Third party retailers are much more likely to deeply discount the base models than they are to discount the upgraded ones.

It might kill the MBP sales even more. The on-sale configuration is not attractive at all.

 

[knownikko]

I had to use a base M1 MacBook Air loaner with 8 gigs while my 16 gig M1 MBP was being repaired. It was a joke just running my basic suite of productivity apps - zoom, Office, slack, safari, acrobat, etc. You know, the basic things that everyone who uses a computer does.

8gb in a machine that expensive is insulting, ridiculous “lol don’t worry Apple’s 8 is like everyone else’s 16” excuses notwithstanding. It’s not, and turns an otherwise amazingly capable platform into a turd.

 

[Wildkraut]

Every engineer involved in the creation of this must be ashamed in not speaking up. No one with an ounce of technical awareness would find 8gb acceptable today.

Maybe they did, but the Apple overlord a.k.a. Timothy Cook a.k.a. Mr. Bean counter shut them up for the sake of trying to push the revenue up by fooling customers.

 

[brofkand]

It depends on which applications you are using.

If you're only using Word, PowerPoint, Excel with simple spreadsheets, Outlook and the occasional editing of photos in Photos, you'll not notice much difference if any at all.

The videos test memory intensive applications which perform better with more memory, of course they'll benefit from more memory.

In my usage, the difference is minimal but then I don't work with photos, videos or any such thing except for very simple stuff.

There is no way to justify this machines existence at twice the price of a $799 M1 MacBook Air

 

[aevan]

So I suppose that 8GB on a Mac are not equal to 16GB on a PC.

Apple actually went and claimed that. I felt so ashamed as an Apple Silicon user.

That wasn’t exactly the quote, even though this was how it was widely reported. The quote was something like “our system managed memory so well, a Mac with 8Gb runs (performance wise) as a similar PC with 16” - which can be true, to a certain degree. But the quote wasn’t that 8 = 16.

 

[aevan]

There is no way to justify this machines existence at twice the price of a $799 M1 MacBook Air

Of course there is. The screen is dramatically better, so are the speakers, so are the ports, etc.

 

[Chuckeee]

Just wondering (although this would never happen):

If each unique processor type, RAM and SSR configuration came in a unique case color, would this effect the quantity of sales for the lowest cost configuration?

 

[Rodney Williams]

Not surprised by this report at all. The standard in most laptop is 16GB minimum across the board these days due to the creative demand for all social media platforms. Also, the software market has evolved as well with many improvements in performances and what not. Not an accident. It is by design and omission on Apple's part. So more than likely, the average person is going to purchase the 16GB for performance reasons. I don't see any other reasons not to. 8GB ram at one point was like WOW. Nowadays? What's 8GB ram on a computer especially a laptop? That's another story.

 

[brofkand]

Of course there is. The screen is dramatically better, so are the speakers, so are the ports, etc.

In terms of computing capability it is not and never will be worth twice the price of a $799 MacBook Air. An HDMI port and a notched display doesn't change that.

 

[Darajavahus]

 

[moonwalk]

Wish somebody would run a test on the ram performance sweetspot of these machines.Specifically, inquiring minds want to know if there's a performance difference between the 48, 64 and 128-gb machines?

 

[ArkSingularity]

Wish somebody would run a test on the ram performance sweetspot of these machines.Specifically, inquiring minds want to know if there's a performance difference between the 48, 64 and 128-gb machines?

That is going to be very workload-dependent. What kinds of workloads do you do?

 

[chetzar]

We would complain if they increased the base configuration price with $200 and that's what Apple would do.

The reason we want the 8Gb version is because it's cheaper and certain user's don't need more.

The M3 Air with 8GB is fine, but any “pro” device should be 16GB minimum.

 

[moonwalk]

That is going to be very workload-dependent. What kinds of workloads do you do?

I knew someone was going to chime in about workload. Obviously. The question is, at what point is there a performance fall-off? Test all three machines with a 48-gb load.

 

[chetzar]

The reason we defend it is because we know Apple would increase the price of the base configuration if they increased the RAM too early.

So for those user's who 8Gb is enough, they would need to pay more for a benefit they won't notice most of the time.

There is literally NO reason to increase the cost of the base machine with a bump to 16GB.
16GB of RAM costs $30 retail, so those chips probably cost Apple less than $10.

 

[photomaniac]

As much as I'm an Apple fan, I was actually quite surprised to find out just how prominent the performance gap is between the 8GB and 16GB MacBook Pro models in these real-world tests, despite Apple's claims. This revelation serves as a clear reminder of the value of independent reviews in providing a more complete picture than what is often presented by manufacturers.