Resolved How long will 8GB last before I need more?

[sonicrobby]

So at this point, Im starting to wonder if I made the wrong choice in getting the 15" rMBP with only 8GB of RAM. Being on the forums, I hear OSX LOVES RAM. I am an avid gamer, and tend to have many programs open at a time, have large iPhoto and iTunes libraries (20GB and 300GB respectively); but then again, Mavericks is supposed to help with RAM usage right?

Is RAM something I should be worried about for my future usage of my rMBP (2-3 years maybe), or is it something I should sell and trade up for now for the 16GB model.

I just kind of feel I made a bad decision, and I either want confirmation of it or reassurance that it wont be a problem

Thanks!

 

[takeshi74]

All depends on what specific apps you're running and your specific usage. None of that information is in your post so it's really up to you to look at the system requirements for your apps and to take your usage into consideration. There's no one-size-fits-all answer for any question on usage. 8GB is plenty for some and not enough for others.

 

[sonicrobby]

All depends on what specific apps you're running and your specific usage. None of that information is in your post so it's really up to you to look at the system requirements for your apps and to take your usage into consideration. There's no one-size-fits-all answer for any question on usage. 8GB is plenty for some and not enough for others.

True, I can give you all an actual usage report when I get home later today. Usually have iTunes, iPhoto, Steam, Half-Life 2, Safari (10 or so tabs, 2 flash related), Email, iMessages, a few server-like apps (air video, splashtop) open at once, and on occasion Photoshop CS6, Adobe Flash CS6, and Final Cut Pro X.

I know this wont be enough to help much, but as stated earlier, I will provide the actual RAM report later today.

 

[Count Blah]

Planning on doing any work with VMs? If not, then you can probably still get by at the end of your 3rd year.

 

[sonicrobby]

Planning on doing any work with VMs? If not, then you can probably still get by at the end of your 3rd year.

It's possible but unlikely. My MBP did come with a parallels disk; but if I really needed to, I think Id do bootcamp instead. But I would like to have the comfort to know that my computer was able to handle VM-ware if needed to. (would probably be for use of the Solidworks program)

 

[chabig]

I hear OS X LOVES RAM

OS X is very efficient with RAM, but it does make use of what you give it which is why some people say it loves RAM. However, that's a design strength, not a weakness. I doubt that you'll feel any pain with 8GB.

 

[sarthak]

Planning on doing any work with VMs? If not, then you can probably still get by at the end of your 3rd year.

You can get away with having only 8GB of RAM. I've run Final Cut Pro X, Photoshop CC, a dozen Safari tabs, Mail, Pages, Keynote, Word, VLC, and a copy of Mountain Lion under Parallels.

Virtual machines only take up the amount of memory you assign. If you only assign 1 core, 2GB of RAM and 128MB of vRAM to a Windows 7, it still runs fine with most applications. It's ideal if you don't run more VMs than the amount of RAM you have.

One note about Mountain Lion, I've had to purge the memory many times due to a large amount of 'inactive' tasks occupying the memory. With Mavericks, the purge command is disabled as the system automatically compresses inactive memory. This ensures that you will have free memory when you need it.

I have Lightroom catalogues that take up 600GB+ of space and iTunes library in the hundreds of gigabytes. The only exception to heavy memory usage is if you are running Audirvana for Audiophile-grade playback of ALACs.

 

[sonicrobby]

Well thanks guys, I feel like 8GB may be enough to last me a while. I feel more comfortable with it now!

 

[wabbit42]

Well thanks guys, I feel like 8GB may be enough to last me a while. I feel more comfortable with it now!

Just check you don't have too many page outs. So long as the machine feels quick enough now, it probably will for a while yet.

 

[tgi]

True, I can give you all an actual usage report when I get home later today. Usually have iTunes, iPhoto, Steam, Half-Life 2, Safari (10 or so tabs, 2 flash related), Email, iMessages, a few server-like apps (air video, splashtop) open at once, and on occasion Photoshop CS6, Adobe Flash CS6, and Final Cut Pro X.

I know this wont be enough to help much, but as stated earlier, I will provide the actual RAM report later today.

I'm probably naive but what's the point of having all those programs open at once? Are you playing Half Life 2, replying to e-mails, browsing Macrumors, editing photos simultaneously? Or is it for the convenience of faster start-up when you need the actual program?

 

[sonicrobby]

I'm probably naive but what's the point of having all those programs open at once? Are you playing Half Life 2, replying to e-mails, browsing Macrumors, editing photos simultaneously? Or is it for the convenience of faster start-up when you need the actual program?

Usually convenience. Its not always half-life 2 exactly, sometimes its garry's mod. Usually there is a wait time in between games, I usually go around and do something in between (such as macrumors )

I just like to know that I can and will be able to have those open at once. I dont want to worry about having to close programs for the sole sake of opening up more RAM space for other programs