Yeah the "just get more RAM" meme has been mostly dead on the PC for years now.
In 2017, this would have been absolutely correct... or did you mean a 16 GB version going for $1,599 today? Please point me to this theoretical computer that I probably wouldn't know the difference, because we ARE noticing.
Wrong comparison. The Camry is the MBA while the supra is the mbp. Apple is putting the Camry engine into the supra body. That’s the problem.
Yes. Buyers can easily buy more RAM just like most buy above the lowest level trim when they buy a car. I have preached it here ad nauseam.
There is nothing “real world” about buying a base level MBP to use it for Lightroom and FCP. Base level MBP is designed to be deployed as the work computer for the office. If you are using FCP for anything serious enough to be concerned about this, and you are not buying at least the base level M3 Pro, you are an idiot. This whole spiel that because it has “Pro” in the name, it should be able to perform any task that any professional user has, is moronic.
Apple's new MacBook Pro models are powered by cutting-edge M3 Apple silicon, but the base configuration 14-inch model starting at $1,599 comes with just 8GB of working memory. In 2012, Apple launched the first MacBook Pro with Retina display, which also started with 8GB of RAM. Of course, Apple now uses integrated chips with unified memory architecture, which is why the company feels confident in arguing that 8GB on a Mac is comparable to 16GB on rival systems.
But not everyone is convinced. Apple's decision not to equip base models with at least 16GB of RAM in late 2023 has proved incongruous to many users, including Vadim Yuryev, co-host of the YouTube channel Max Tech. Yuryev decided to perform several real-world tests on two 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro models, one with 8GB and the other upgraded to 16GB of unified memory. The embedded video above has all the results.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Yuryev saw significant performance improvements across the board using the 16GB machine under both middling and heavier workloads. The 8GB model suffered double-digit losses in Cinebench benchmarks, and took several minutes longer to complete photo-merging jobs in Photoshop as well as media exports in Final Cut and Adobe Lightroom Classic.
These tests were conducted as single operations with nothing else running, but also repeated with browser tabs, YouTube videos, spreadsheets, emails, and the like, open in the background to simulate typical real-world multi-tasking scenarios. As expected, the performance gap between the two machines widened further as the 8GB increasingly relied on its SSD swap file, while all-round responsiveness took a hit. Yuryev even reported crashes on the 8GB model during Blender rendering and a Final Cut export.
Notably, Blender's raytracing acceleration was available as an option on the 16GB models, but was conspicuously absent on the 8GB MacBook Pro for an identical rendering job, suggesting the reduced memory pool actually prevents the GPU cores from utilizing certain features.
Tests like these present a dilemma for customers looking to purchase a new MacBook Pro (or a new 8GB iMac, for that matter). Settling for 8GB appears to hinder the M3 chip's performance, but choosing 16GB or 24GB configuration options at checkout costs an extra $200 and $400, respectively, and Apple's machines cannot be upgraded at a later date because of their unified memory architecture.
After factoring in the extra $200 for 16GB on a 14-inch M3 MacBook Pro, an M3 Pro model with 18GB and several other extra features is only $200 more at $1,999. More galling perhaps is the fact that rival laptops at similar ballpark prices (Microsoft Surface or Lenovo Thinkpad, for example) come with at least 16GB of memory as standard. Apple customers are expected to pay $200 extra each jump up, which surely includes a healthy markup, however much Apple pays its RAM suppliers.
Is Apple's 8GB starting configuration for a $1,599 MacBook Pro really acceptable in 2023? And has the company's memory pricing policy affected your own purchase options? Let us know in the comments.
Article Link: 8GB RAM in M3 MacBook Pro Proves the Bottleneck in Real-World Tests
Exactly, that's probably exactly what's going to happen. The thing is that I want Apple to succeed as a company because I don't want to resort to Windows!
Wrong. Buyers can choose RAM as they see fit. E.g. I chose 96 GB in my M2 MBP.
Except what you are really doing is asking for lower price, which would be nice. ~
.why? I use exclusively MS Office, mail and web browser for my work. Is my work not “professional” enough for you?
Yup. Folks need to face it that Apple uses pro as a hardware level [base-pro-max-ultra] among other things. Plus we never know what hyperbole the advertisers may come up with. The term pro clearly means all kinds of things in Apple's world.
You were the one lying that we wouldn't notice when this entire thread is discussing exactly that. Apple is deliberately choosing to remain stagnant while its competitors are pushing its base specs and leaving them in the dust.Except what you are really doing is asking for lower price, which would be nice. ~
Weird... my nearly 10 year old mid-spec PC does Lightroom, 4k Resolve, music production with about 100 tracks, engineering projects, coding projects, etc... all with ease. Didn't think I'd have to wonder if a new MacBook Pro in 2024 could do the same, especially with how incredibly magical the Apple silicon is... but then I need to remember that this is Apple we're talking about.
That comparison is even worse… a Supra is not a bigger and better version of a Camry.
The more I learn, the more annoyed I get, the more I start looking at Windows laptops...
Right, so you could use pretty much any computer from the past decade. Just because there are use cases that you could do on a Raspberry Pi (which now comes with 8GB of RAM itself, even) has no bearing on whether 8 GB of RAM should be the default sku on a C$2100+ "pro" machine.
It doesn’t change the fact that my 8GB M1 MBA is faster than my 2021 16GB Lenovo, which was about the price of a base MBP, for the things that are “real world use” for me. Plus, twice the battery and a much better screen. The real test is not 8 GB Mac vs 16 GB Mac, where obviously the 16 GB will be faster. Try comparing with a 16GB Lenovo, which is the real competitor (and not some random 1000USD gaming PC with 1,5 hours of battery life).
Did I say anywhere that you can’t upgrade? the OP compared two different cars. I am saying that Apple sells a supra with a 1L engine As entry level. The point is that if you put a sports car label on it (pro), it should have some minimal capacities. Otherwise, you are loosing the point of the pro label. Apple can do what they want, but it’s not a smart move.
But the small engine should still be suitable for the car and what it is advertised for. apple Can do what they want but if you put a pro label on it, it should be able to do basic pro level stuff.
Echo chamber, yes.... but folks here also live outside of this too, and tend to talk to others, give advice, and make purchasing decisions for organisations/schools etc.
