I recommend you purchase what you need.
"With 8GB, professionals will struggle with heavy tasks."
A so-called "professional" should make a decision based on need/requirements.
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Is 8GB of RAM Enough for MacBook Pro?
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I recommend you purchase what you need.
"With 8GB, professionals will struggle with heavy tasks."
A so-called "professional" should make a decision based on need/requirements.
Base models are what are available and what get discounted. 16 GB should be base for that reason alone.
I don’t understand so many people coming out of the woodwork to defend 8GB OF RAM on a $1600 computer, I really don’t.
I don’t understand so many people coming out of the woodwork to defend 8GB OF RAM on a $1600 computer, I really don’t.
As Apple explained, the M series is very "efficient" (at lowering costs for Apple while charging customers premium prices in order to maximize profit margins).
Another funny video of the same topic. 🤣
The video's long comment thread is insane. It's no worse than the comment threads here in MR. 😬
"Apple's 8GB RAM on M3 MacBook Pro is Analogous to 16GB on PCs"
The video's long comment thread is insane. It's no worse than the comment threads here in MR. 😬
"Apple's 8GB RAM on M3 MacBook Pro is Analogous to 16GB on PCs"
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Those modest users should choose to purchase a decade-old MacBook.
The argument that 8GB is sufficient for basic tasks on a 'Pro' model is quite flimsy. Sure, basic tasks can run on 8GB — but then again, they can run on any decade-old MacBook too. The point of a modern 'Pro' model should be to handle more than just the basics, especially given the premium price and the professional-grade branding.
My 2016 MBP has 16GB ram this is just silly offering 8GB. This is not a cheap bare bones brand Apple is milking it. We all know its not to save anyone money its to squeeze more money out of people plain and simple. This is 2023 and for the prices in my opinion the base should be 16/512 not 8/256 and for pro it should be 32/1TB. Not buying another one until this changes and or the numbers of monitors these things support changes.
$2000 is actually a decent price for a unibody, top-designed HW+SW
$1600 with a cheating entry laptop sometimes forces users who has a need for $2000 to explain to their family/company, why they need spend more than advertised price.
There is a simple answer. the Answer is rule of 10. 10 or more tabs requires more than 8GB. Duh. If you run more than 3 programs at once, more than 8GB. Base model is for grandma.
Exactly, and that's precisely where Apple's 900% markup on RAM upgrades becomes a critical factor.
Apple should absolutely offer 16 GB on all of their base model machines. It's quite stingy for them to stick with 8 GB RAM, especially given how other competing laptops at spec'd.
THAT BEING SAID, I am not surprised that a lot of people are getting hung up on the base model MBP having the "pro" designation and yet only offering 8 GB RAM base. Apple's marketing is genius, and they've convinced us that any device that is labeled "pro" is for professional users, which we all know isn't the case. Pro users can use non-pro devices perfectly fine in some cases, and non-pro users can of course use pro devices perfectly fine (albeit with a machine that is overkill for their use case). Pro is simply a moniker than the marketing folks created to have product segmentation; it's the same reason Apple has Pro iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks which are all spec'd and priced differently compared to their non-pro / Air counterparts.
But all of these things are so subjective. What defines a professional? What defines a professional workflow? What defines professional specs? I'm an accountant and primarily use email, web browsers, and Excel for my work. I am a licensed professional in my field but my work could easily get done on the base model M3 MBP with 8 GB RAM. In fact, my work could also easily get done on a MacBook Air. Of course, like everyone, I would absolutely love to have more RAM even if I don't really need it. But if there are folks that only want 8 GB RAM and don't care about upgrading RAM for their use case, the base model is perfect. The folks that know they need more than 8 GB RAM likely will not be looking at the M3 chip anyway; they'll be going for the M3 Pro / M3 Max.
I see the base model M3 MBP as more of a competitor to the MacBook Air than the M3 Pro / M3 Max MBPs. It's a great machine for someone that doesn't need the additional power of the M3 Pro / M3 Max chips, but still wants the upgraded design compared to the MacBook Air (better / larger / brighter display, better speakers, better battery life, etc.).
We also have to remember that Apple's best-selling MacBook is the MacBook Air. Despite all of the dialogue on whether or not 8 GB RAM is good enough, regular consumers don't seem to care. Those of us on here are in an extremely niche position where we are thinking about and discussing this topic, whereas the vast, vast, vast majority of consumers will not know and / or not care. For most consumers, they will just get the base model MacBook Air and use it for basic tasks (although even this is subjective), and it'll be perfectly fine. Sure, they would benefit from the additional headroom that 16 GB RAM affords (especially after 5-10 years as memory usage changes over time), but if the RAM is upgraded, the price is also upgraded, and Apple sells less units. I'm not defending that decision, but that is simply the economics of their choices. For that same consumer, if they don't care about the specs but they do want a better display and better speakers, the M3 base model is perfect. They aren't paying additional for specs that they don't care about.
The average consumer really isn't going to care about having a "Pro" vs having an "Air"; based on what we know, they will likely base their decision on price alone. They'll base their decision on things like size, weight, and display as well. Any machine will suit the vast majority of consumers perfectly fine, so they aren't thinking about 8 vs 16.
I do hope Apple updates base models with upgraded RAM soon; I'm sure that even when they do, it'll be 12 GB RAM vs 16 GB. It is an overdue update for sure. However, when it comes to whether 8 GB RAM is good enough for people, I think people really overestimate what the average use case is for Apple's computers, and get too hung up on the Pro name. The engineers are not the one naming their machines, I can pretty much guarantee that.
THAT BEING SAID, I am not surprised that a lot of people are getting hung up on the base model MBP having the "pro" designation and yet only offering 8 GB RAM base. Apple's marketing is genius, and they've convinced us that any device that is labeled "pro" is for professional users, which we all know isn't the case. Pro users can use non-pro devices perfectly fine in some cases, and non-pro users can of course use pro devices perfectly fine (albeit with a machine that is overkill for their use case). Pro is simply a moniker than the marketing folks created to have product segmentation; it's the same reason Apple has Pro iPhones, iPads, and MacBooks which are all spec'd and priced differently compared to their non-pro / Air counterparts.
But all of these things are so subjective. What defines a professional? What defines a professional workflow? What defines professional specs? I'm an accountant and primarily use email, web browsers, and Excel for my work. I am a licensed professional in my field but my work could easily get done on the base model M3 MBP with 8 GB RAM. In fact, my work could also easily get done on a MacBook Air. Of course, like everyone, I would absolutely love to have more RAM even if I don't really need it. But if there are folks that only want 8 GB RAM and don't care about upgrading RAM for their use case, the base model is perfect. The folks that know they need more than 8 GB RAM likely will not be looking at the M3 chip anyway; they'll be going for the M3 Pro / M3 Max.
I see the base model M3 MBP as more of a competitor to the MacBook Air than the M3 Pro / M3 Max MBPs. It's a great machine for someone that doesn't need the additional power of the M3 Pro / M3 Max chips, but still wants the upgraded design compared to the MacBook Air (better / larger / brighter display, better speakers, better battery life, etc.).
We also have to remember that Apple's best-selling MacBook is the MacBook Air. Despite all of the dialogue on whether or not 8 GB RAM is good enough, regular consumers don't seem to care. Those of us on here are in an extremely niche position where we are thinking about and discussing this topic, whereas the vast, vast, vast majority of consumers will not know and / or not care. For most consumers, they will just get the base model MacBook Air and use it for basic tasks (although even this is subjective), and it'll be perfectly fine. Sure, they would benefit from the additional headroom that 16 GB RAM affords (especially after 5-10 years as memory usage changes over time), but if the RAM is upgraded, the price is also upgraded, and Apple sells less units. I'm not defending that decision, but that is simply the economics of their choices. For that same consumer, if they don't care about the specs but they do want a better display and better speakers, the M3 base model is perfect. They aren't paying additional for specs that they don't care about.
The average consumer really isn't going to care about having a "Pro" vs having an "Air"; based on what we know, they will likely base their decision on price alone. They'll base their decision on things like size, weight, and display as well. Any machine will suit the vast majority of consumers perfectly fine, so they aren't thinking about 8 vs 16.
I do hope Apple updates base models with upgraded RAM soon; I'm sure that even when they do, it'll be 12 GB RAM vs 16 GB. It is an overdue update for sure. However, when it comes to whether 8 GB RAM is good enough for people, I think people really overestimate what the average use case is for Apple's computers, and get too hung up on the Pro name. The engineers are not the one naming their machines, I can pretty much guarantee that.
How is the base Pro worse than the non-Pro (Air)? It has better cooling, a better display, more ports, supports more external displays, etc and can be specced higher if you have the money.
No! Real experience: a project in FCPX 40 minutes long without effect can't be rendered to 4k HEVC 8-bit under "Multi-Pass" or "Slow render for a better quality" options. Each render session always fails with the statement "Failed: 2x job controller down".
The same render has no fail with 16 GB RAM.
The same render has no fail with 16 GB RAM.
8GB is fine for some people. Memory upgrades being cheaper would be super.
Ummm....
4GB more than suffices for these tasks! My 2013 MacBook Air still runs great on 4GB. Let's not promote otherwise, or we will end up with operating systems that requires much larger headrooms.
Apple has always been right to encourage efficient RAM usage by apps. The moment you give them more RAM, the less optimized they become, and then more RAM is needed, and on it goes.
4GB more than suffices for these tasks! My 2013 MacBook Air still runs great on 4GB. Let's not promote otherwise, or we will end up with operating systems that requires much larger headrooms.
Apple has always been right to encourage efficient RAM usage by apps. The moment you give them more RAM, the less optimized they become, and then more RAM is needed, and on it goes.
Turn on the device? You shut your Mac down? I haven't done that in decades.
The memory on a GPU is separate from RAM. Can't really equate the two. GPUs definitely need plenty of local memory to do their work. The question this article poses is about the other type of RAM.
Apple's "Integrated" approach definitely changes things, since the system and GPU share the same memory space, but in a much more efficient way, which is how they are justifying keeping it lower.
It's like saying "If a car runs efficiently for 100 miles on just 1 cup of gasoline, does it really need a 5-gallon-sized tank?"
Even though it may be enough for some users right now, it will create more e-waste in the near future, which contradicts Apple's environmental friendly claims. In other words, it's just planned obsolescence. Do you guys remember iPad "Pro" with only 2GB of RAM? That's it.
In a word, NO, 8GB isn't enough. Apple only does this so it can advertise a lower starting price. The truth can be found in the number of MBPs apple produces with only 8GB. I'll bet that number is very very small because apple knows 99.5% of their customers buy at least 16GB.