Macbook Pro 13" 8gb enough for my needs?

[Crecktv]

Hello,
I'm thinking about replacing my current 17" windows laptop (7th gen i7, 16gb) with a 13" Macbook Pro (8gb) mostly because i don't want to carry this heavy laptop to school everyday and i like macos.
Sidenote: at home i have a windows pc that i'm gonna keep using anyway

What i need it for:
Java and C++ programming (only small projects), taking notes etc, a lot of vm stuff like windows server 2008, linux server and windows 7 with sql developer (all just for practicing)
I'm worried about the ram usage for the vms...

Is the 8gb quad-core model enough if i only run one vm at a time ore should i go for 16gb?
And also, would it be silly to "downgrade" from my current laptop?

 

[Ma2k5]

If spinning up multiple VM’s, 8GB might get too thinly spread.

 

[Ashton Cofer]

I agree with Ma2k5. You'll be much better off with 16GB and it's definitely worth the investment.

Keep in mind that if you are planning on keeping your MacBook for several years, having 16GB will help to future proof it. Although you could probably get by with 8GB right now, it might become more of an issue as time progresses.

 

[Howard2k]

Yeah for VMs I’d recommend 16 too. I bet it would run on 8, but 16 would give you more headroom.

 

[Crecktv]

I agree with Ma2k5. You'll be much better off with 16GB and it's definitely worth the investment.

Keep in mind that if you are planning on keeping your MacBook for several years, having 16GB will help to future proof it. Although you could probably get by with 8GB right now, it might become more of an issue as time progresses.

The thing is... The 16gb model would cost me about 2200€, the 8gb one i could get refurbished for 1700€

 

[Ashton Cofer]

The thing is... The 16gb model would cost me about 2200€, the 8gb one i could get refurbished for 1700€

Have you tried looking into any refurbished 15 inch models (comes with 16GB ram)? You could also take a look at eBay as I know that there are many great deals for barely used MacBooks.

 

[Ma2k5]

Usually 8GB is fine for anyone, it only gets a bit iffy with VM’s as you allocate an amount of RAM (as well as CPU/Storage) per instance. So if you had say 3 VM’s up, would you allocate 2GB to each? It might work fine, but is it ideal?

 

[Hanson Eigilson]

Hello,
I'm thinking about replacing my current 17" windows laptop (7th gen i7, 16gb) with a 13" Macbook Pro (8gb) mostly because i don't want to carry this heavy laptop to school everyday and i like macos.
Sidenote: at home i have a windows pc that i'm gonna keep using anyway

What i need it for:
Java and C++ programming (only small projects), taking notes etc, a lot of vm stuff like windows server 2008, linux server and windows 7 with sql developer (all just for practicing)
I'm worried about the ram usage for the vms...

Is the 8gb quad-core model enough if i only run one vm at a time ore should i go for 16gb?
And also, would it be silly to "downgrade" from my current laptop?

I would worry for ram usage on VM's too, running one vm at a time sounds like plenty nice in theory and is certainly doable, but how likely is that to be expedient in the long run?
Personally i'm not very comfortable with investing much time into learning anything on current Apple computers for various reasons, but if they are still recommended by your professor, or a large percentage of people are using them happily you are probably going to be fine while in school.

 

[Crecktv]

Have you tried looking into any refurbished 15 inch models (comes with 16GB ram)? You could also take a look at eBay as I know that there are many great deals for barely used MacBooks.

Yeah the refurbished 15 inch model starts at 2379€... I might take a look at some uses ones, thank you

 

[ajay96]

I've ran Virtual Machines on a 8GB MacBook Pro, but it only really works if you do it one at a time. You can get by with it. The quad core 2017 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar with 16GB of RAM might be better if you can pick it up from the refurbished store. It's about $300 more (In the US)

 

[Crecktv]

I've ran Virtual Machines on a 8GB MacBook Pro, but it only really works if you do it one at a time. You can get by with it. The quad core 2017 13" MacBook Pro with Touch Bar with 16GB of RAM might be better if you can pick it up from the refurbished store. It's about $300 more (In the US)

I would like to but in Austria it is not in the refurbishment store... And the refurbished 15" base model is a bit too pricy for my liking