8 or 16gb on new iMac 24”?

For that kind of use 8GB would now be sufficient.

If you have any thoughts of a future without a new investment, get a 16GB and be future proof.

Macs are used to live long (my MBP Mid 2010 went up to 2017 High Sierra. iOS is now reaching that same mark with 7 year old iPhone 6s. macOS and iOS are now pretty much the same in terms of architecture... so, if you want to be ready for a long term support, 16GB would be the best choice. Maybe too much for today, probably just enough for tomorrow.

Think of it this way: Because of iMac 24's inability to allow you to add RAM after purchase, what RAM you buy now will be your "forever RAM."

Look at all the people here who bought a Mac with non-upgradeable 256GB of storage. Three years later they are struggling to even upgrade the OS because the Big Sur upgrade is larger than their remaining free space.

Same with RAM. None of us know how much RAM will be needed in three years.

16GB

When in doubt as in no clear need for higher, go low on RAM. There’s little or no cost since the SSD is almost as fast as onboard RAM, in case caching spills over. Additionally, MacOS has been shrinking over the years, so System usage is much lower, almost all 8 G are yours to have. Additional benefit is that it’ll inculcate the good habit of quitting programs after use (not clicking on the red dot, but quitting it from the main menu).

Basically, traditional arguments for more RAM are in today’s Mac world, history/myths/grandma tales. Keep it low & tight, nuthin’ to lose.

I would 100% go for 16GB of memory, especially for gaming purposes.

-Jack

I’d go for the 16 gig absolutely. The only gotcha is that you can’t upgrade afterwards so sounds like an easy choice to me.

As mentioned above, 16 GB.

Also, enough storage for what you’ll expect to need to store in three or four years.

Neither internal memory nor internal storage can be upgraded after purchase.

16GB. I used to live in Monroeville so I know these things. 😎

Among countless millions of Mac users I don't think you will find a single one who ever uttered the words "I wish I got less RAM."

I do: 8.