What to do: 14" M1Pro with 16 or 32 Gb memory

[FrightWait]

Also torn about 16 vs 32 GB.

A few thoughts I haven't seen mentioned upthread.

(1) 32GB Pro: allows for ~3x memory for apps - if you expect 6-8GB overhead from system and graphics then you're going from 8-10GB free after overhead to 24-26GB. So it's more than "double".

(2) 16GB Pro: It's still not completely clear how memory pressure will affect user experience on devices with these kinds of crazily high memory and ssd speeds. It's hard to justify the extra cash if the actual impact of high memory pressure doesn't noticeably impact user experience.

EDIT: Max Tech video linked above appears to show lower than expected hit to user experience when memory pressure is high. Was leaning towards 32GB, but this has me confused again ?

I don't know if it helps, but I have been doing a lot of research on this for the past few days because of buyer's regret on purchasing a 16GB RAM model (my 32GB preorder was 1 month away and my local store had this one in stock).

Personally, I think when the Memory Pressure is at yellow, I don't notice the difference. In fact, I only notice it because lately I have been obsessed at looking at Activity Monitor due to paranoia. Even when it's yellow, there is a chance that it could be new to memory leaks - which I recently discovered was common with the new Mac OS Monterey.

After some thought, 32GB RAM does make sense for some people - I personally wouldn't mind forking out $800 to get the Max and 32GB RAM just for the peace of mind.

16GB RAM also has advantages too - given that you will be on M1 Pro with this configuration, you will have 2 hours of improved battery life, it weighs less (albeit half a pound), and saves you a bit of money. To be honest, if you aren't a busy video editor or engineer using RAM heavy apps, you could probably always get away with just closing down apps whenever you occasionally video edit.

There is an argument for future proofing, ie. apps will probably take more and more RAM. To use the adage "16GB is the new 8GB", there are people who get away with using 8GB RAM even in 2021 - that is, no significant performance hits but hitting higher swap rates. Now, if that is the case, 2021 would be a great year for them to upgrade to higher RAM, but it goes to show that it is possible to survive for 5 years.

To summarise, I haven't made my mind whether I have made the right call, but just summarising some thoughts I had whilst I have been reading both sides of the argument.

 

[nbjustforfun]

Thanks for sharing this. I heard the MaxTech guy say the same thing, and went with the 16 GB while springing for the 1 TB SSD upgrade. When I ran FCP and stabilized 4k ProRes HDR footage, rendered it while running Apple Music and safari, my memory pressure only spiked into yellow intermittently (like for a second or two) once in a while. Otherwise it was all green, and my god did it render faster than I'm used to. I think 16GB is the right amount for my video editing needs. Unlike OP, I don't use VMs.

That yellow on memory pressure means nothing. It just mean ur max using whats there. The more u have the more it will use. Memory management on max is is amazing. If ur at green on the chart it means u have too much ram. The goal should never be to use as little ram as possible. What’s the point of buying it and hoping it’s not used. SSD’s are supper fast now a days and the old tale of “wearing it out” does not apply the same way. Plenty of review on line using 16gb for pro work and no hiccups.

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I need some opinions regarding 16GB vs 32GB for the upcoming MBP 14", please check my print screens below.


Honestly the big problem right is with apps using rosetta.

Look at my print screen below this is the moment I fired Teams, the graph and memory pressure went crazy.

View attachment 1873192

Now let's look at me doing my normal workflow including VDI to take some of the effort from the local machine for compiling and HDB connections.

View attachment 1873198

View attachment 1873200

And here's my memory pressure for the last 30 days.

View attachment 1873208

What did u end up with? 16 or 32? I have the same usage as yours on my current 8gb machine

 

[Love-hate 🍏 relationship]

I don't know if it helps, but I have been doing a lot of research on this for the past few days because of buyer's regret on purchasing a 16GB RAM model (my 32GB preorder was 1 month away and my local store had this one in stock).

Personally, I think when the Memory Pressure is at yellow, I don't notice the difference. In fact, I only notice it because lately I have been obsessed at looking at Activity Monitor due to paranoia. Even when it's yellow, there is a chance that it could be new to memory leaks - which I recently discovered was common with the new Mac OS Monterey.

After some thought, 32GB RAM does make sense for some people - I personally wouldn't mind forking out $800 to get the Max and 32GB RAM just for the peace of mind.

16GB RAM also has advantages too - given that you will be on M1 Pro with this configuration, you will have 2 hours of improved battery life, it weighs less (albeit half a pound), and saves you a bit of money. To be honest, if you aren't a busy video editor or engineer using RAM heavy apps, you could probably always get away with just closing down apps whenever you occasionally video edit.

There is an argument for future proofing, ie. apps will probably take more and more RAM. To use the adage "16GB is the new 8GB", there are people who get away with using 8GB RAM even in 2021 - that is, no significant performance hits but hitting higher swap rates. Now, if that is the case, 2021 would be a great year for them to upgrade to higher RAM, but it goes to show that it is possible to survive for 5 years.

To summarise, I haven't made my mind whether I have made the right call, but just summarising some thoughts I had whilst I have been reading both sides of the argument.

Did u end up keeping the 16 or went for 32?

 

[MrGunny94]

What did u end up with? 16 or 32? I have the same usage as yours on my current 8gb machine

Using 16GB of RAM. It's doing fine I usually have 50-55% memory pressure. I just decided to move all my VMs to the server at home and I connect directly to it when I need it.