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Is 8 GB RAM in base MBP 13 (1,4 ghz) enough for 4-6 years?

Will 8 GB RAM be enough for 4-6 years?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 50.0%

  • No

    Votes: 19 50.0%
  • Total voters
    38
Marinier

Marinier

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 19, 2017
49
16
Ukraine, Kharkiv city
Hi. May the owners of a MacBook Pro 13 2019 (1,4 ghz) look at ram load right after a fresh boot of your Mac. I guess most of you have a base 8 gb model. And what RAM usage do you see when you use at least 6-10 tabs in a safari?
I consider a 1,4 ghz MBP 13 as a perfect choice. I need it to be future proof. Although in my country (Ukraine) there are no 16 gb ram versions for adequate price. We have no official AppleStore, few certified resellers only. The price of 1,4 MBP13 2019 with 16 go ram reaches the price of MBP 15 2019) that have 16 gb ram as a base and a dedicated GPU, that is cool, but has too high price for me (2200-2400 USD).
I own a MacBook Air mid 2012 base model with 4 gb ram, which is now the only and critical bottleneck of the system. CPU is enough for me, as far as I can see even the Intel HD4000 GPU is enough for me. I feel I will encounter the same issues 4-5 years later if I purchase the base ram (8 GB nowadays) model again. The thing is that I browse a lot and each safari tab eats 300-400 mb of ram, integrated GPUs eats usually up to 1,5 go, system itself eats 2 GB minimum. So here we are with 4 gb ram gap maximum on a 8 gb model(
 
Here you go :

Capture d’écran 2019-08-24 à 10.05.56.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: Marinier
I'm using 8 Gb since the 2011 model (or maybe the 2009 model) and I don't need any more for my usage.
But I depends on your needs. If you are a software developer you'll need at least 16.
 
FlyingDutch said:
I'm using 8 Gb since the 2011 model (or maybe the 2009 model) and I don't need any more for my usage.
But I depends on your needs. If you are a software developer you'll need at least 16.
Click to expand...
For this old machine 8 gb was top. So it was a smart decision to specs out it in 2011. This is what about I think now) 8 will be ok for now and few years to come. I do not do any heavy load tasks, but my work requires 12-20 browser tabs simultaneously. ( this is where ram limits question rises.
 
It really depends on your workflow. My 6 year old MBA has 8gb and I would have preferred it had 16gb when I got it. It replaced a now 9 year old MBP that also had 8gb.

I wouldn’t get anything less than 32gb in 2019 if I want it to last for my needs.

But if it is just for email and web browsing 8gb should last a while. You don’t have to upgrade to the latest software either. Just keep using what works.
 
Marinier said:
For this old machine 8 gb was top. So it was a smart decision to specs out it in 2011. This is what about I think now) 8 will be ok for now and few years to come. I do not do any heavy load tasks, but my work requires 12-20 browser tabs simultaneously. ( this is where ram limits question rises.
Click to expand...
in the last 5/7 years RAM usage hasn't increased, and I don't see a reason to a change in the next 5/6 years.
Unless your workflow isn't going to change in the future, 8 GB are absolutely ok.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chabig
I have a 2018 MPB 13 with 8 gigs and it runs smooth as butter, no matter what I throw at it.

~edit I should have added that my usage is your basic every day web browsing (a few tabs at a time) with lots of movie and Youtube streaming and picture viewing etc etc
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: chabig and Marinier
As others have already said, I agree with that. Nothing sold today (not just Apple) are the same quality as they used to be. Especially batteries sold today are more or less questionable, also there are many other parts that may or may not survive for many years. I personally like to think this the way that I rather buy entry/basic model every 2-3 years than pay now double for extra options on any current machine trying to "future proof" it + on the top of that you have to count battery and/or possible other part replacements. Nothing in any electronic device is really future proof, something new keeps coming all the time. Anything sold today is going too look ancient in couple of years. IMHO.
 
Yes, I just sold 2011 MBP and give away to my wife my previous 2013 MPB and I/m sure they will work
I'm not sure that my new MBP 2019 can survive for so long period.
 
Those that have used a MacBook 12" with 8GB of RAM and have a MacBook Pro with 8GB of RAM, how much difference does the 2133MHz make in the Pro vs the 1866mHZ in the MacBook?
 
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