No it doesn't. If you're not using apps that leverage the extra memory, then its a resource that is untapped and unused. A waste of money if you will.
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RAM issue - Is 8GB enough?
- Thread starter jord22
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Actually the best answer is somewhere in between, although maflynn is a lot closer to correct.
Extra memory will be used by the OS as a filesystem cache, so apps don't need to specifically use the memory for it to be of some use. Of course, if you aren't actively referencing gigabytes worth of files, that additional memory is indeed unused or at least ineffectively used.
You can do VM's fine in 8Gig as well. Its enough for me too, but 16 Gig would be good if u'r dealing with large photo editing loading into memory, video. Otherwise, I don't really see a point in wasting money where its not needed.
Not for everyone
Personally, I'd go with 16GB, especially since your going to have it for 5 years, and your needs may change from today.
OSX Memory compression is good, but its not a free lunch, and doesn't perform miracles. If you need require 16GB, then you'll need the memory otherwise performance will suffer.
OSX Memory compression is good, but its not a free lunch, and doesn't perform miracles. If you need require 16GB, then you'll need the memory otherwise performance will suffer.
If you have more RAM it will provide a better resale value in the end. Also, you never know, there is a good chance that you may need that extra RAM at some time.
Maybe, maybe not, but that's not what you posted above. You said it would double the power and I refuted that statement.
I should have clarified. Depending on what you are doing, it could double your speed and power. It really just depends on what you are doing with your computer.
Doubling RAM does not double power.
I have to join the refutation. It never doubles power. Power is a CPU function. 100% of CPU is 100% of CPU. You can't turn it up to 200% by adding RAM. All RAM can do is keep the CPU running efficiently/prevent CPU slowdowns.
RAM is effectively a local reservoir feeding the CPU. If the CPU needs more "water" than the reservoir can deliver, the CPU can't perform at full capacity - it wastes time waiting for input. However, if the reservoir can hold more water than the CPU can use, then it's simply excess water. If the CPU never needs more than 50% of the reservoir's capacity, then you've overbuilt the reservoir.
So, in a convoluted way, yes... increasing RAM in a RAM-starved configuration will have the effect of increasing power, but only because the CPU had been prevented from operating at designed capacity. If RAM is already sufficient to meet computing needs, then adding more RAM will do little or nothing.
You said exactly what I wanted to say, and did a much better job of saying it. I completely agree.
I would say going for 16GB is a better idea than relying simply on 8GB. I recommend that based on the need for more RAM due to the integrated GPU that can dynamically allocate up to 1.5GB of memory. That in addition to what the OS and apps are requiring will make it to where you might end up relying too much on memory compression.
Instead of the 13" 256 though, why not go with the 15" nTB 2.2GHz/16GB RAM, 256 for $1900? That would be better since possible upgrading the RAM on the 13" to 16GB would make that machine cost $1700 and that would still be only a DualCore i5 versus the 15" QuadCore i7. OR look at Apple's refurbished/clearance section and get the same 15" for $1700?
Most likely but some people do take a really long time to make decisions and it has only been just over 6 months. That with the new releases..etc. Not to mention the Bitcoin craziness. Who can make a decision with all of that going on?
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Some people suffer form extended indecision. It's a terrible thing.
Just a friendly reminder as it's not easy to notice a necro'd thread.
Often these discussions are more philosophical than practical. In other words many of us share our thoughts not to solve one particular OP's question but rather to enrich the overall breadth of discussion. I myself don't care how much RAM a total stranger gets in his/her new Mac; their choice of bytes won't affect my life one bit. However I wanted to contribute my thoughts (on overbuying capacity beyond any reasonable needs, and the forgotten importance of maintaining backup files) to the larger discussion thread. I often chime-in on posts that I know are many years old if the topic interests me at the moment. And some of the best discussions here occur on threads that are many years old.
Everyone is talking about memory intensive applications..... but what about those of us that have many less memory-hogging applications open at the same time: the full office suite, notability, chrome with tons of tabs, messaging, etc. all open simultaneously.
Does that kind of work suggest that 16gb is a benefit?
Does that kind of work suggest that 16gb is a benefit?
This is terrible reasoning and wrong advice.
Computing "power" (whatever that means) is not measured in RAM capacity any more than a car's "power" is determined by the size of its gas tank.
If the OP's use case does not require the RAM then there is no point in spending money on it. In this case I think the OP does require the RAM:
To the OP:
8GB is enough for Xcode work, but the moment you add a VM, with maybe MS .NET or similar would you will need to throw 4GB at the VM. Also the Integrated GPU will use some (up to 1GB?) of RAM.
I currently have an 8GB 2013 MBP and will be upgrading to 16GB as I run SW in a VM and the engineering SW requires at least 4+GB. Leaving only 4GB to OS X. Finder and Firefox start to eat up memory as well, as does writing technical documents in LibreOffice, so my 8GB machine quickly starts to show the memory footprint as being "yellow".
It’s actually more than that, because macOS wants to use about 1.5-2GB by itself. Meaning that on an 8 GB machine you have 6 for applications.
On a 16 GB machine you have 14 GB left over which is more than double 6.
And if you aren’t using the RAM, macOS uses it for disk cache, so it is not totally unused in cases where you aren’t running apps that are big enough.
Look at the “recommended” amount for the software you are going to be using then go a little more than that. Always have more than the “requirement”.
You can’t really have too much RAM you’ll just see diminishing returns on investment. The OS will eventually use it as cache if you don’t actively need it.
When using an HDD as the target disk I would use as much as you can afford (in an attempt to keep commonly used files/apps cached) with an SSD it’s not as critical.
You can’t really have too much RAM you’ll just see diminishing returns on investment. The OS will eventually use it as cache if you don’t actively need it.
When using an HDD as the target disk I would use as much as you can afford (in an attempt to keep commonly used files/apps cached) with an SSD it’s not as critical.
Not if someone is looking for an 8GB machine. Why would they pay more for a second hand 16GB machine?
I am moving from a 16GB RAM 2012 MBP and I'm pretty sure I'm going to buy an 8GB RAM 2018 MBP. I would happily buy 16GB again but as it is a 2 week order I can't be bothered to pay Apple £180 for the wait. I have no idea why they don't stock 16GB machines but they should do. It is 2018 not 1998. I decided to do some reading about RAM usage yesterday and it seems that for my use case (Logic Pro) 8GB RAM is probably fine.
Although my new machine would have less RAM than my old machine, moving to a 2018 MBP with faster CPU should still make a world of difference.
For your purchase, I wouldn't buy it for something you may or may not require in 5 years. If your needs change in that time then sell your MBP for a good price and put the money you were going to spend on RAM now into a new machine down the line. The machines in 2023 should be better anyway but you may find that the MBP you buy now lasts you 5 years without additional RAM.
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I remember having buyer's remorse for not getting 16GB on my 15" rMBP back in early 2014. Never came close to hitting the 8GB limit.
Since I don't use it any more since graduating college and going to be selling it to family member, I'm to pretty much going to be 100% on my iPad Pro(might upgrade to a 12.9, but I'm still skeptical of the size).
I'm also entertaining a new non-touch bar 13" to replace my old iMac, rMBP, and iPad Pro in one swoop.(Unlike my 15" rMBP, the new MacBook would as easy to carry around as my iPad Pro, I get a full mobile computer if needed, and I can pair with a big monitor and get a similar experience as the iMac) If I go that route, I'd be happy with 8GB. I might go for 16/256GB if I can get a good deal on B&H or something.
Since I don't use it any more since graduating college and going to be selling it to family member, I'm to pretty much going to be 100% on my iPad Pro(might upgrade to a 12.9, but I'm still skeptical of the size).
I'm also entertaining a new non-touch bar 13" to replace my old iMac, rMBP, and iPad Pro in one swoop.(Unlike my 15" rMBP, the new MacBook would as easy to carry around as my iPad Pro, I get a full mobile computer if needed, and I can pair with a big monitor and get a similar experience as the iMac) If I go that route, I'd be happy with 8GB. I might go for 16/256GB if I can get a good deal on B&H or something.
Here I sit with a 30 day old MacBook Air 8GB that won't even process sending a 12 mg email of photos as long as any other applications are open. That's wrong. I so wish I'd bought 16GB
There must be some other issue with your Air. Apple says 2GB RAM is the bare minimum for Mojave. I will say it again: 4GB RAM is adequate, 8GB is lots, and 16GB is overkill. MacOS manages its memory very efficiently. Especially on an SSD Mac like your Air. Check your Console log to see if any process is out of control, and run Activity Monitor and keep an eye on your memory pressure. Right now on my Late-2012 iMac I'm running Finder, Dropbox, Sync, Safari (3 tabs), Mail, Messages, Tweetbot, iTunes, Activity Monitor, and Photos -- using less than 8GB in total -- and my system is running like a dream. If your new 8GB Air is choking under load of one email then something is seriously wrong with your MacOS installation.
There's another issue, because I have an 8GB iMac that's capable of running Photoshop, lightroom, various other apps and I've run VMware fusion