how much RAM did your order 32/64?

[puckhead193]

How much ram are you ordering for your new 14/16 MBPs? What do you plan on doing with your machine? How intensive are using the machine? Thinking of canceling the order and changing to 64 gigs of ram and 1TB storage.
As a video editor most of my work is still only 1080 and a few 4k projects. Right now I'm doing ok on my 2016 MBP with 16 gigs of ram. (1tB of storage, about 400 gigs free although I can probably clean it up a bit) If I do I'm looking at a late December shipping date. I can always move stuff to external storage but I can't add more RAM.
Thoughts?

 

[forum user]

I suggest you open one of your usual projects and then have a look at Activity Monitor for the memory consumption.

 

[altaic]

Holy crap. I have the same 2016 MBP that I've tortured for years. I'm upgrading to a mostly fully loaded M1 Max because I have regular computationally brutal projects. You should be extra fine with 32 GB RAM. I ought to be as well, but I don't want have to worry about having to close massive projects randomly.

 

[NJRonbo]

I need 64GB of RAM because I use my computer in a very unique way.

I have at least two dozen programs that open at startup and remain running in the menu bar for instant access or for utility purposes.

Then, I run Parallels (Windows) at the same time, on occasion.

So, I generally push 32GB of RAM minimum. 64GB gives me that extra headroom.

 

[smirking]

16GB in an M1 is more RAM than people realize. The memory management in these things is unreal. I went from a 32GB 2018 to an 8GB M1 for a couple of weeks and the M1 barely skipped a beat.

 

[yurkennis]

I went from a 32GB 2018 to an 8GB M1 for a couple of weeks and the M1 barely skipped a beat.

How do you use your Macbook? Wondering what are your typical scenarios that demonstrate such huge difference between platforms.

 

[leman]

I got 32GB because I sometime work with larger datasets, and besides, M1 Max doesn't support anything less than that... I ordered the Max for the GPU. Realistically speaking, I think I could do my work just fine with 16GB M1 Pro, but I just wanted to splurge

 

[mi7chy]

What's another +$400 for highest memory bandwidth and double the memory when you're spending $3499? Don't half ass splurge plus you can't upgrade down the road if you change your mind.

 

[Madhatter32]

I would say that 32 gb is more than almost anyone would ever need except professionals under the most extreme usage scenarios. In fact, 16 gb is sufficient for most people.

 

[cal6n]

I've been using an M1 with 8GB for the last year. I came from a 2017 iMac i7 4.2 with 24GB and didn't have any issues.

I've ordered a 14" M1 Pro with 16GB. That will do until the M2 Cube or whatever drops.

 

[Pro Apple Silicon]

32. More than enough.

 

[CWallace]

I went with a base model 14" as I only plan to watch Twitch streams and videos on it. It's replacing my 2018 iPad Pro 12.9" and 2017 15.4" MacBook Pro.

And why didn't I buy an M1 MacBook Air for half the price? I wanted MiniLED.

 

[yurkennis]

I've been using an M1 with 8GB for the last year. I came from a 2017 iMac i7 4.2 with 24GB and didn't have any issues.

What are your usage scenarios for such huge difference in RAM size?

 

[steve217]

Realistically speaking, ... I just wanted to splurge

A refreshingly honest and valid reason to buy anything.

 

[cal6n]

What are your usage scenarios for such huge difference in RAM size?

Basically, what seems like a good idea at the time. As a philosophy, it has served me well.

 

[steve217]

16GB in an M1 is more RAM than people realize. The memory management in these things is unreal. I went from a 32GB 2018 to an 8GB M1 for a couple of weeks and the M1 barely skipped a beat.

I assume by 2018, you mean a 2018 Mac Mini?

If so, then we made the same move - I had an i7 Mac Mini (32 gb) that I sold and put towards an M1 MBA with 8gb.

I haven't noticed any disappointments in performance. I do Handbrake encodes, Office, browsers, Mac apps, YouTubing and never feel like the machine is being thrashed. I know that's not an intense list of applications, but they're mine.

I was not impressed with the i7 MM I had - compared to the fan-less, portable MBA M1 with it's space-alien performance, I thought the MM was overpriced and underutilized. I certainly use the machine a lot more now that my main device is portable.

 

[zarathu]

Then, I run Parallels (Windows) at the same time, on occasion.

Parallels is virtual machine. This is no longer possible due to the architecture change. It will have to be an emulated machine, like when we were running windows XP in emulation on the last RISC chip, the PowerPC prior to 2005.

Emulation is where software has to pretend it is an Intel 8 core CISC chip. Whether emulation will be fast enough for you without the machine code level chip to reach down into, is another point altogether. We use software emulation to convince Instagram that we are using an iPhone instead of a PC.

 

[zarathu]

I would say that 32 gb is more than almost anyone would ever need except professionals under the most extreme usage scenarios. In fact, 16 gb is sufficient for most people.

Actually, for most of us, even those who are using high powered photography applications, 16 gb is actually enough with the speed of the processor, graphics and the unified memory. We usually don’t need to keep more than two apps open at a time. I have 16 gb in an old late 2013 MBP using Affinity Photo, and it can be slow, and limiting with the number of photos I can open at a time, but its easily workable. Additionally, SSD virtual memory used an SSD with a read rate of 740 mb/sec, not the bleeding edge Samsung in the new M1Pro that reads at 7.4gb/sec, ten times faster.

Combine that with the 200mb/sec transfer in and out of the 16gb, and you won’t even notice that you don’t have 32 gb.

 

[smirking]

How do you use your Macbook? Wondering what are your typical scenarios that demonstrate such huge difference between platforms.

I’m a back-end developer and I have several sites that have databases that are gigs in size so those virtual servers chew up a lot of RAM and I constantly have those loaded so that’s an instant penalty.

On top of that I was running all of these at the same time: Capture One Pro, Parallels with Windows on ARM performing Windows Update, Excel, OSX Mail, Safari, Firefox, Chrome, PHP Storm, and lots of miscellaneous minor programs.

Aside from running Windows Update, I didn’t intentionally try to run a lot of high load activities at the same time. I just kept everything open and switched between them and used them as I normally would on my 32GB 2018 MBP. I’m sure had I fired up Final Cut Pro and ran an export job with Capture One Pro exporting a large library at the same time the M1 would have struggled, but for high intensity “snacking” it passed with flying colors.

 

[Adarna]

I suggest you open one of your usual projects and then have a look at Activity Monitor for the memory consumption.

Sage advice.

I maxed out my 2012 iMac 27" Core i7's 8GB to 32GB. What was slowing me down was the 1TB Fusion Drive & the external HDD.

 

[Razeus]

32GB. I expect this laptop to last me several years.

 

[JayKay2021]

I stick with 16 GB RAM, office applications (Word, PPT) and video calls mainly.

 

[NJRonbo]

Parallels is virtual machine. This is no longer possible due to the architecture change. It will have to be an emulated machine, like when we were running windows XP in emulation on the last RISC chip, the PowerPC prior to 2005.

Emulation is where software has to pretend it is an Intel 8 core CISC chip. Whether emulation will be fast enough for you without the machine code level chip to reach down into, is another point altogether. We use software emulation to convince Instagram that we are using an iPhone instead of a PC.

Zarathu,

Interesting.

Could you dive into this a little more?

I have yet to purchase the new version 17 for M1. I thought that it would pretty much work the same on an M1 machine now that Parallels has accommodated their software for the new silicone chip.

How will it work differently? I know I was able to run it in its own window or via coherence which combined both operating systems into one.

Are you saying it will no longer work like that with all the upgrades Parallels has done to their software for M1?

Or is the problem now that this is M1 Pro and M1 Max and that's a new chipset that Parallels has to deal with?

 

[DearthnVader]

Zarathu,

Interesting.

Could you dive into this a little more?

I have yet to purchase the new version 17 for M1. I thought that it would pretty much work the same on an M1 machine now that Parallels has accommodated their software for the new silicone chip.

How will it work differently? I know I was able to run it in its own window or via coherence which combined both operating systems into one.

Are you saying it will no longer work like that with all the upgrades Parallels has done to their software for M1?

Or is the problem now that this is M1 Pro and M1 Max and that's a new chipset that Parallels has to deal with?

It's virtualization vs emulation, but if you are running Parallels on an M1 you'll be fine with the Pro and the Max. Parallels doesn't do emulation.

 

[ksj1]

I use less than the 32GB I have in my 2018 i9, but I plan to have the 16" M1 Pro Max for quite some time, so I went with 64. I have never regretted getting more memory. On a very positive note I got a text and email from Apple saying my scheduled delivery date is now mid-November versus mid-December.