[SOLVED] Should you buy a Macbook with 8GB of RAM nowadays?

[Snowburden]

I'm thinking about upgrading to a new Mac Pro, since the one I have is about six years old now. And pretty slow. Even after doing a refresh install. I noticed that the Macbook computers are still coming out with 8GB of RAM, while giving the 16GB. The book I have now is 8GB even WAY back then, and usually all my Windows computers are 16GB+ of RAM. Anyway, would it be wise to buy another 8GB and owning it for probably another 5+ years, or save the problems down the road if and when the newer OS updates require more and more RAM, thus going to 16GB.

I feel at 2020 8GB of RAM is too low and slow for computers in general. Anyway, what you think?

Thanks.

 

[Barty1884]

Really depends on the sku in question, and the intended use case.
For general use, even 4GB remains 'workable', especially given how (relatively) light MacOS is.

8GB would be ideal for those types of general use situations, especially when paired with the i5.

If opting for the i7 variant(s) &/or with any intention of performing memory intensive workloads, then 16GB would be a smarter choice.

 

[Snowburden]

Hmm I see, yeah, it would mainly be for surfing the web, looking at articles, and the like. Nothing heavy, like editing and such. Even though my Mac Pro is slow, could be due to the aging CPU. So yeah, I guess 8GB is still good for that stuff.

 

[Barty1884]

I mean, it's never going to hurt to over-spec, but I still think we're a ways away from >8GB being completely necessary for "basic" use.

Honestly, my girlfriend has a 6-7 year old Macbook Air, with an i5 (4260U, IIRC) and 4GB of RAM.
For her needs... basic browsing, occassional office functionality etc, it's more than adequate.

Yes, 8GB in that situation would likely be measurable and probably noticeable, but >8GB, I doubt it.

 

[Snowburden]

Ah ok, well thanks for clearing some of that up. I appreciate it. I'll probably end up getting a 8GB one.

Anyway, thanks.

 

[lougi]

if you are working on lighter stuff then the old macbook would be ok if not then you should go for latest series

 

[LordVile]

I'm thinking about upgrading to a new Mac Pro, since the one I have is about six years old now. And pretty slow. Even after doing a refresh install. I noticed that the Macbook computers are still coming out with 8GB of RAM, while giving the 16GB. The book I have now is 8GB even WAY back then, and usually all my Windows computers are 16GB+ of RAM. Anyway, would it be wise to buy another 8GB and owning it for probably another 5+ years, or save the problems down the road if and when the newer OS updates require more and more RAM, thus going to 16GB.

I feel at 2020 8GB of RAM is too low and slow for computers in general. Anyway, what you think?

Thanks.

It depends on what you want, I have a 8GB Air and have no issues but I’m wanting to start learning some stuff in my free time like video/photo editing and maybe a bit of coding so I’m upgrading to the Base Pro 16.

Depend on budget too because when I was looking the 4 port 256GB Pro 13 was 1800 or 2000 with 16GB of RAM. Decided to go the extra £400 for twice the storage, 3” of screen, 2 more CPU cores, better thermals, a dedicated GPU, better battery and new keyboard. £400 got me a lot especially when it worked out at like £5 a month more on 0% finance.