Faster Processor or More Memory

[kate2kate]

Advice needed. I am looking to replace my mid-2015 MBP 16" inch. I am looking at the new 16" MBP. I edit photo's and run my online business on my MBP. I will also be editing videos in the future. I have an Asus ProArt as an external monitor. I always have multiple programs going at once and about 20 tabs in safari open at a time. I want to future proof my purchase, I plan on keeping it for a long time.

Is it better to spend money on a faster processor or more memory. Any suggestions?

 

[KaliYoni]

If you haven't done this already, you can get a sense for how much your typical use stresses the processor and RAM on your current machine using Activity Monitor.

On my machine, Activity Monitor is located in Applications/Utilities. If you can't find it there, use Spotlight to search your computer.

Once you have Activity Monitor running, select "CPU". Work as you normally do for awhile. Watch the CPU Load graph at the bottom of the Activity Monitor window. Then select "Memory" and watch the Memory Pressure graph while you work.

Obviously, the results from an Intel machine aren't going to map perfectly to the new Apple processors. But if you consistently push the limits on a certain component, that's a good sign you should upgrade that component on a new machine.

My personal view is if longevity is a main goal, it is best to go beyond Apple's base configuration for both processor and memory. As well, working with video is extremely memory and processor intensive. So in your case it might be better to get the max specs your budget allows...and if your business is not a hobby business, you can treat all your computer spending as an expense anyway.

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ETA: Something to keep in mind with SSDs, memory cards, and USB memory sticks is that solid state storage only lasts for a finite number of write operations. Essentially, each "cell" of memory degrades a little every time something is written to it. This means that larger capacity drives have the potential to last longer because writes are spread over a larger number of cells. This also means frequent swapping from RAM to SSD by the OS can shorten the life of the SSD.

 

[saudor]

if I had to pick, it's more memory every time for my use case scenario. Also, CPU specs within the same generation are more or less equal in terms of support. Obviously an i7 is faster than i5 for instance, but when it's time for them to go, they're both dropped from macOS support. Unless you're doing heavily threaded work most of the time (you know who you are), I doubt CPU becomes a bottleneck. But run out of RAM, and the whole system crawls.

When it comes to A series processors, RAM is often the deciding factor in support. Iphone 4 512MB ram got ios7. iPod touch with the same A4 didnt. iPad mini 4 with A8 2gb got ios13. Iphone 6 A8 with 1gb did not.

 

[sb in ak]

I do a lot of photo editing (though all of it relatively light) on my late 2013 MBP/16gb with Lightroom and Photoshop. Machine is a bit more sluggish with 45mp files but I’m pretty impressed with the performance considering. My main bottleneck has always been disk space over the seven years. If I were doing video work, I’d imagine I’d want 32gb ram. Upgrading to a new 2021, I’m sticking with 16 and spending extra money on ssd. I figure gives me more scratch disk and swap space in the few instances I might need it.

I’d probably hang on to the 2013 longer but the machine randomly crashes when pushed and battery life is poor so going to relegate it to a Spotify player.

 

[wonderings]

If you can swing it I would boost up both CPU and RAM while you can, once it is ordered that is it, no upgrading. I made that mistake with my 13" MacBook Pro a few years ago. Just ordered a 14" MBP with the upgrade M1 Max, 32 gigs of RAM and 1 tb SSD. Costs more up front but this should last me for many years down the road. My main computer or work is a 5K iMac from 2014, I maxed it out at the time and it is still plugging along and working well to date. Not doing video editing but work with Indesign, Illustrator and Photoshop.

 

[wilberforce]

I do a lot of photo editing (though all of it relatively light) on my late 2013 MBP/16gb with Lightroom and Photoshop. Machine is a bit more sluggish with 45mp files but I’m pretty impressed with the performance considering. My main bottleneck has always been disk space over the seven years. If I were doing video work, I’d imagine I’d want 32gb ram. Upgrading to a new 2021, I’m sticking with 16 and spending extra money on ssd. I figure gives me more scratch disk and swap space in the few instances I might need it.

fyi, i have discovered that LR and PS use about twice as much memory on M1 as on Intel, doing the exact same tasks. This is something that I did not expect. (The only time they use the same is if you disable use of the GPU in LR and PS.)
On the other hand M1 uses memory more efficiently than on Intel.

I have a 14" MBP M1 Pro (16GB), and a 2020 27" iMac (32GB), for reference

 

[dwig]

In my experience with Ps and other apps that work with truly large files:
#1: speed of the main storage device and of any secondary cache drives. SSD beats HDD and larger SSDs tend to beat smaller ones.
#2: memory size, both main and GPU. With Intel + discrete GPU configurations these are separate pools of memory. With Apple M-series processors, and some Intel configs, they are a shared pool. Usually Intel configs have a fixed portion assigned to GPU use and M-series chips dynamically adjust the CPU/GPU memory split. As a result, a 16Gb RAM configuration will generally have more RAM for CPU use on Intel than on a M1 system. With apps like Ps, the CPU RAM pool is more important than the GPU pool, though both are important.
#3: CPU and GPU performance. Most of the time when working with Ps and large files, the performance is not bound by the CPU or GPU performance. Simple moving data bits around (recording History steps, syncing the main image data and the on-screen copy, ...) is the main work being done and that is a matter of RAM and storage speed.

The bottom line is that an M1 Mac cures #1. After that, I'd recommend more RAM first and then, if you can scrap more change out of the sofa cushions, bump up the processor. You need to think about not only how the new machine works now, but how it will work in 3-4 years.

 

[theluggage]

Advice needed. I am looking to replace my mid-2015 MBP 16" inch. I am looking at the new 16" MBP. I edit photo's and run my online business on my MBP. I will also be editing videos in the future. I have an Asus ProArt as an external monitor. I always have multiple programs going at once and about 20 tabs in safari open at a time. I want to future proof my purchase, I plan on keeping it for a long time.

Is it better to spend money on a faster processor or more memory. Any suggestions?

Just to be clear, there's no choice between a $200 CPU upgrade and a $200 RAM upgrade: it is the $200 RAM upgrade or $400 to upgrade both (Choose the $200 CPU upgrade on the website and the $200 RAM upgrade gets added automatically - likewise the 64GB RAM option requires the $200 processor upgrade

(This is kinda misleading and greedy on Apple's part - the RAM and CPU are a single package and they don't make M1 Maxes with 16GB, so that $200 price for the CPU upgrade is meaningless).

Also, the only "processor" upgrades on offer consist of additional GPU cores - so think of it as more like upgrading the GPU in an Intel machine than as a CPU upgrade. However, also note that an Intel-era GPU upgrade would often come hand-in-hand with more VRAM. whereras on the M1 there's no dedicated VRAM and the RAM has to serve both the CPU and the GPU.

Beyond the M1 Max 32GB/10 cpu/24 GPU option, I really wouldn't go further unless you know you have a specific need for more GPU cores or more RAM and have done the research to make sure that the specific software you are using can actually use those resources.

Realistically, I suspect that the 16GB/10CPU/16GPU model will be fine for your needs unless you can put some flesh on the "I will be editing videos in the future" requirement (you can "edit videos" on the cheapest MacBook Air). The $200 RAM upgrade might be worth considering for peace of mind, but it's not really a choice between that and a CPU upgrade.