should i get 8gb or 16gb ram macbook pro

Once you have 'enough' memory for all your applications to run, having more memory won't increase performance any further. If you're building a Core i7 system with a high-end GPU and a speedy SSD, a 16GB memory kit is going to be one of the smaller purchases.Īfter spending a few hours going through several popular applications and workloads, it was difficult to find any commonly used program that required 4GB or more system memory on its own.Ĭase in point, while working on a Windows 10 desktop machine, with a couple of web browsers open and over a dozen tabs between the two, Postbox email client, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Word and Excel, a couple of IM clients, Sublime Text, an SFTP application, Plex Server, Dropbox, OneDrive, Malwarebytes, and other system tools running in the background and multi-tasking between programs, RAM usage would max out at around 70%. However, if you're making an effort to get the most bang for your buck by opting for parts such as a Core i3 processor and perhaps a GTX 1050, then you'll really want to know if that extra 8GB of memory is actually going to benefit you. If you're building a Core i7 system with a high-end GPU and a speedy SSD, a 16GB memory kit is going to be one of the smaller purchases. Part of our #ThrowbackThursday initiative. We have revised it and bumped it because it's as relevant today as it was before. Note: This feature was originally published on. Faster 3000MHz DDR4 memory starts at ~$55 for 8GB and $95 if you want 16GB.īut regardless if you opt for Kaby Lake or Zen, or go for last season's range of processors, you'll likely be asking yourself: 'Should I get 8GB or 16GB of RAM?' For the most part DDR4 memory is now cheaper than older DDR3, with 8GB DDR3-2400 kits starting at just $60 - less than many of you would spend on a lump of aluminum for your CPU - you probably won't think twice about spending $110 to secure a 16GB kit.

AMD is also expected to finally unleash their Zen CPU, and with that we expect many of you will be looking into these new platforms for possible upgrades.Īlthough memory prices remain competitive (read: cheap), there's been a slight surge in pricing during the past few months.

Intel Skylake processors will be about 18 months old when they are replaced early next year with 'Kaby Lake' parts. Editor's Note: An update to this article has been posted here.

Should i get 8gb or 16gb ram macbook pro