M4 Base RAM?

[gryffin]

Hello,

I’ve decided that it is time to replace my 2017 Intel-based 15” MacBook Pro with a new M4 MacBook Pro. I am certain that I need 1TB of hard drive space, but I am less certain about how much RAM to purchase.

I am planning to use it for underwater photography image editing, but my underwater camera is only 12MP. I also will edit some short HD and 4K clips (just 3 - 5 min). I am not a professional, this is just for fun to document my personal scuba diving trips. I‘m told I could get by with even just an M3 Air, but I really notice a huge difference between my 2017 MacBook Pro, the M3 MacBook Pro I use for work (I cannot use this for my personal photos because I can’t attach a drive to it for personal use), and even my 11” iPad Pro. I’m concerned that the Air screen won‘t be good enough.

The base model M4 chip is sufficient. But is 16GB RAM going to be enough? I can upgrade to 24GB ($1999) or even 32GB ($2199), but I’ve read over and over that if you have $1999 or more to spend, you should get the M4 Pro. The price comparable M4 Pro model only has a 512GB drive ($1999) so to upgrade to 1TB it is not the same price ($2199). And if 24GB is not enough RAM, then I’d need to jump all the way to 48GB on a M4 Pro model.

For me, it really comes down to RAM, but I have no experience with the unified RAM or Apple Silicon, and whether I should be thinking I need more RAM, less RAM or the same RAM compared to my Intel-based MacBook (which also has 4GB of video RAM).

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you!

 

[Bigwaff]

For me, it really comes down to RAM, but I have no experience with the unified RAM or Apple Silicon, and whether I should be thinking I need more RAM, less RAM or the same RAM compared to my Intel-based MacBook (which also has 4GB of video RAM).

How much system RAM does your current Intel MBP have? If that is sufficient for your workloads, then the same or near equivalent will suffice with M4 MBP. The M4 MBP GPU destroys your Intel MBP GPU.

 

[DHagan4755]

You should be good with the base M4 MacBook Pro as it scores on par with the non-binned M3 Pro from the previous generation. Upgrading both the base model's memory & storage isn't probably the best value though. This is where you should look at the M4 Pro instead.

 

[gryffin]

How much system RAM does your current Intel MBP have? If that is sufficient for your workloads, then the same or near equivalent will suffice with M4 MBP. The M4 MBP GPU destroys your Intel MBP GPU.

My current Intel MBP has 16GB and 1TB storage. It is using just under 9GB and I have nothing running in the foreground except Activity Manager right now. I‘m very tempted to reset the whole thing to factory to see if that clears out a lot of garbage that could be consuming resources in the background.

 

[gryffin]

You should be good with the base M4 MacBook Pro as it scores on par with the non-binned M3 Pro from the previous generation. Upgrading both the base model's memory & storage isn't probably the best value though. This is where you should look at the M4 Pro instead.

That is exactly what I’m trying to understand. I need 1TB (based on what I currently have on my machine). I’m thinking I need 24GB RAM based on how much RAM my current machine seems to consume today just running the OS and background processes- OneDrive consumes the most memory- and right now, that is most of my data is sitting (I’ve pushed stuff to the Cloud in preparing for transferring it to a new machine). The base configured like this is $1999. For the same price I could get the low-end M4 Pro, but after adding 1TB SSD to that, I’m spending $2199.

 

[DHagan4755]

That is exactly what I’m trying to understand. I need 1TB (based on what I currently have on my machine). I’m thinking I need 24GB RAM based on how much RAM my current machine seems to consume today just running the OS and background processes- OneDrive consumes the most memory- and right now, that is most of my data is sitting (I’ve pushed stuff to the Cloud in preparing for transferring it to a new machine). The base configured like this is $1999. For the same price I could get the low-end M4 Pro, but after adding 1TB SSD to that, I’m spending $2199.

First, let me rant about how annoying it is that OneDrive consumes too much memory. Why can't Microsoft — a software company — write optimized code? The same thing is applicable with Chromium-based browsers & apps based on Chrome like Electron with respect to CPU & memory usage.

But back to your point: if you're adding both memory & storage to the base model at some point the better value is going to be the M4 Pro with more cores, more GPU cores, larger memory bandwidth, and an extra fan albeit not as good battery life. If Apple made its upgrades reasonable (big IF) then upgrading the M4 would make more sense. But since they play this game, you're better off with the M4 Pro with 1TB of storage.

 

[gryffin]

Re: OneDrive, fully agree.

Since I have all my data backed up, I decided to reset my MacBook completely and I reinstalled Ventura. Now it is using just under 4GB RAM compared to the just under 9GB RAM prior to the reset. So I had 5GB RAM consumed by background processes and who knows what else.

Given my lack of decisiveness, I am wondering whether to follow through on the new M4, or even the M3 for $1399, or just use this one a bit longer. Or maybe I should try to sell it since it is in great shape- I was going to trade it in for $225.

 

[UnifiedMelody]

Hello,

I’ve decided that it is time to replace my 2017 Intel-based 15” MacBook Pro with a new M4 MacBook Pro. I am certain that I need 1TB of hard drive space, but I am less certain about how much RAM to purchase.

I am planning to use it for underwater photography image editing, but my underwater camera is only 12MP. I also will edit some short HD and 4K clips (just 3 - 5 min). I am not a professional, this is just for fun to document my personal scuba diving trips. I‘m told I could get by with even just an M3 Air, but I really notice a huge difference between my 2017 MacBook Pro, the M3 MacBook Pro I use for work (I cannot use this for my personal photos because I can’t attach a drive to it for personal use), and even my 11” iPad Pro. I’m concerned that the Air screen won‘t be good enough.

The base model M4 chip is sufficient. But is 16GB RAM going to be enough? I can upgrade to 24GB ($1999) or even 32GB ($2199), but I’ve read over and over that if you have $1999 or more to spend, you should get the M4 Pro. The price comparable M4 Pro model only has a 512GB drive ($1999) so to upgrade to 1TB it is not the same price ($2199). And if 24GB is not enough RAM, then I’d need to jump all the way to 48GB on a M4 Pro model.

For me, it really comes down to RAM, but I have no experience with the unified RAM or Apple Silicon, and whether I should be thinking I need more RAM, less RAM or the same RAM compared to my Intel-based MacBook (which also has 4GB of video RAM).

Please let me know your thoughts.

Thank you!

If your images are 12MP 16GB is plenty for base spec M4 MBP.

The safe buy IMO i feel is the M4 Pro in this day and age even the base spec. it's not 'too expensive' but it's 'not too cheap and cut down also'. even GregGadgets has a video on this saying he went off the rail when everyone's reviewing the most maxed out MBP Pro/Max chips].