Like we said, there are going to be differences between the two models, but unless you’re exporting video/photos or compiling code non-stop everyday, we imagine that 8GB should be more than sufficient, but if you want to squeeze the best performance out of your laptop, then maybe spending $200 for an additional 8GB of RAM could be worth it. Sure, there is a difference of 14 seconds, but is it enough for you to spend extra money? There are also benchmarks for exporting 8K RAW R3D to 4K which the 8GB model took 13.57 seconds, while the 16GB model took 5.59 seconds, and in this instance, the differences are bigger.Ī Lightroom Classic 50 42MP RAW export also saw the 8GB model take 3 minutes to complete, while the 16GB model took 2.43 minutes to complete. In their XCode benchmarks, the 8GB model took about 136 seconds to compile code, while the 16GB model took 122 seconds. For those who don’t have the time to watch the entire video, basically there are obvious differences between the 8GB and 16GB models, but the differences aren’t exactly night and day to the point where it might be worth shelling out extra money for the extra RAM. This will hopefully answer questions that potential customers will have and help them decide if maybe paying that extra $200 is worth it.
My previous machine was 16GB Retina 15 Macbook Pro Mid 2014. I started running a new 8GB Macbook Air base spec I got on a deal- because the difference in upgrading the RAM to 16GB was 380 more.
Now obviously RAM plays a role in determining the performance of a computer, but the question is, is it worth spending that extra $200 to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB? In a video uploaded by Max Tech, he shows the difference between the two RAM configurations on the 13-inch MacBook Pro. This seemed to be the overwhelming consensus on RAM from reviewers that 8GB is absolutely more than enough for most people. Overall, the video makes it clear that if you are a power user, you should get the 16GB MacBook Pro as the additional RAM does have an impact on performance.With Apple’s new M1 Mac computers, users can choose between 8GB or 16GB of RAM.
RAM Memory Upgrades for MacBook Pro 2012 - 2015. The price of RAM is a bout a third of what was when your 2012 was new. What’s impressive is that despite the limited RAM, the 8GB 13-inch MacBook Pro managed to come close or beat the 27-inch iMac and 16-inch MacBook Pro with 32GB and 64GB RAM in many tests. Many today recommend 8GB for the minimum RAM to run the modern macOS.
The 8GB RAM variant never felt slow or sluggish due to the lack of free RAM though, but the tests in the video make it clear that the machine’s performance is being affected by the limited RAM. While exporting 8K RED RAW footage, the 16GB M1 MacBook Pro was over 2x faster than the 8GB RAM model. In real-life use scenarios like compiling code in Xcode, exporting RAW photos from Lightroom Classic, the 16GB M1 MacBook Pro was faster than the 8GB RAM variant by 20-30%.
Right off the bat, the 8GB 13-inch MacBook Pro has notably less free RAM than the 16GB RAM variant when running benchmarks and other apps. A comparison video from YouTuber MaxTech now clearly shows the difference in performance between the 8GB and 16GB RAM variant of the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Apple also charges $200 for the RAM upgrade which might tempt many people to save money and get the 8GB RAM model. It is important that one gets the M1-based Mac with the right amount of RAM since it is not user upgradeable. There’s a lot of confusion among potential MacBook Pro and Air buyers as to whether they should buy the 8GB RAM variant of the machine or bump the RAM to 16GB. With the new M1-based Macs, Apple has debuted a new unified memory architecture for RAM which works in a different manner compared to Intel-based Macs.