Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Is 32gb RAM overkill for the MBA M4 15 I just ordered?

S

silverlakerCA

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 2, 2020
164
29
I'm having that panic attack wondering if the MBA 15" I purchased at the Apple refurbished area will really benefit from 32gb RAM.
I do photo editing and will use the new MBA for editing videos and hopefully the documentary I've begun production on.

My option would be to cancel the current order and look for 16gm RAM.

Thank you for your advice
 
silverlakerCA said:
I'm having that panic attack wondering if the MBA 15" I purchased at the Apple refurbished area will really benefit from 32gb RAM.
I do photo editing and will use the new MBA for editing videos and hopefully the documentary I've begun production on.

My option would be to cancel the current order and look for 16gm RAM.

Thank you for your advice
Click to expand...
It's certainly not going to hurt and will stay useful for longer.

Though for professional use, did you not consider a 14" MBP?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Basic75 and J.J. Sefton
Nothing to have a panic attack over.

But the benefits will likely be limited (depends on size of your projects though)
 
  • Like
Reactions: smirking
If the $300 are a meaningful amount of money, I think 24 GB will be "ok", if you opt for an Air.
I don't think $300 for the "last" 8GB more of RAM (going from 24GB to 32GB) are well spent on their entry-level notebook.

I otherwise second @IJustWannaTalk's comment above:
The better cooled MacBook Pro may be worth of consideration for you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smirking and IJustWannaTalk
Almost certainly overkill unless you're working 200MP images.

Quickly diminishing returns once you go past 16GB. Having more unused RAM doesn't make the computer last longer.
 
  • Love
  • Like
Reactions: smirking and AppliedMicro
At the same time more memory won't hurt especially if you plan to hold onto for several years. I stuck with 24gb for my M4 Air but it's not my primary machine. 15" Air is a phenomenal machine either way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Basic75
mercedx said:
At the same time more memory won't hurt especially if you plan to hold onto for several years. I stuck with 24gb for my M4 Air but it's not my primary machine. 15" Air is a phenomenal machine either way.
Click to expand...
Thank you. I canceled the order just because of the higher cost. I am going to find a lower price MBA and then upgrade my Mac Studio to an Ultra chip, putting my money into that purchase
 
silverlakerCA said:
Thank you. I canceled the order just because of the higher cost. I am going to find a lower price MBA and then upgrade my Mac Studio to an Ultra chip, putting my money into that purchase
Click to expand...
I went a similar route there. Went with the M3 Ultra as my main machine then a M4 MBA with 16 GB for on-the-go editing for photos, videos, graphic design, content creation etc. Been very pleased with this setup so far.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ascender and IJustWannaTalk
AppliedMicro said:
If the $300 are a meaningful amount of money, I think 24 GB will be "ok", if you opt for an Air.
I don't think $300 for the "last" 8GB more of RAM (going from 24GB to 32GB) are well spent on their entry-level notebook.

I otherwise second @IJustWannaTalk's comment above:
The better cooled MacBook Pro may be worth of consideration for you.
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am still considering a MacBook Pro. Here at work they have me using one (hooked up to a large external monitor). It's just a tad heavier than the 13".
 
There is no overkill if you are going to use for long time, if ultra is your main device, spend money on ultra.
 
I do raw photo editing on a 14" M1 Pro MBP with 16GB of RAM and everything runs fine, but I also primarily work with 24 megapixel files and don't do anything crazy with large numbers of layers.

That said when the time comes to upgrade this machine I will go for at least 32 GB of RAM. If this is a machine that you'll be keeping for a few years then 32 GB will help you get the most out of it for as long as you want to.
 
bradman83 said:
I do raw photo editing on a 14" M1 Pro MBP with 16GB of RAM and everything runs fine, but I also primarily work with 24 megapixel files and don't do anything crazy with large numbers of layers.

That said when the time comes to upgrade this machine I will go for at least 32 GB of RAM. If this is a machine that you'll be keeping for a few years then 32 GB will help you get the most out of it for as long as you want to.
Click to expand...
That's why I'm considering a chance. But the more posts I read the more I go 'live with what you have - it works fine'
 
Go for it and don't look back. You can't upgrade the ram in your Macbook, and if there's even an ounce of doubt, I feel it's better to pay a little more for the better specs, rather than deal with the uncertainty and the possible regret if you do run into a ram bottleneck in the future.

The extra cash you have to fork out now will sting, no doubt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TechnoMonk and Allen_Wentz
if you run lokal llm or generate money with your machine 32 GB ram is fine. If not i think its overkill.
 
Almost certainly overkill unless you're working 200MP images.

Quickly diminishing returns once you go past 16GB. Having more unused RAM doesn't make the computer last longer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back