Need help: should I get 8gb or 16gb Ram memory?

With an SSD, RAM is not as critical. If the bank account permits, then purchase the 16 GB, if not I think you will find the 8 GB will not be that much of a handicap Look at this diagram of the affect of RAM and SSD. Note that the increase to 16 GB from 8 GB is very marginal.

Ciao.

I'm facing a similar dilemma. The 8gb/225gb configuration is the very top of my budget (I'm going to wait on AppleCare) but i would hate to look back two years from now and regret not having spent the extra $200. My computing needs are routine (Office and various web based applications simultaneously) except for needing to run Parallels Desktop. 8gb or 16gb?

My advice essentially remains the same, if the bank account permits, then purchase it. But with SSD storage, more than 8 GB RAM offers small rewards. It is my observation that most users get unnecessarily obsessed by numbers (specifications) than what is warranted. The base model of any MBP will more tha satisfy the needs of the overwhelming amount of users.

When one purchases a car, does one really need the V8 rather than the V6? Both will get you to your destination and rarely will the V8 have the opportunity to be driven to its extreme.

Ciao.

RAM is mainly for multitasking and performance. Are you video rendering? If so make sure you have a graphics card in your new MacBook Pro Retina. Personally I would choose 16GB as you seem to need to use some fairly demanding programs. Do not forget though, if in the future you want to upgrade your RAM, it IS still possible. So your 2 options are

1. Choose 16GB and enjoy the maximum performance of your new Mac.

2. Or stick with the stock 8GB and if you need more upgrade through Apple.

Hope this helps you decide.

If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to ask?

Er...as I understand it, it is NOT possible to upgrade the RAM on the RMBP, as it is soldered on...so you are stuck with whatever you order. In my experience, more RAM=longer computer life, especially when you consider that there may be several new versions of OSX over the life of your computer, plus new applications and application versions.

Have a look at this Macworld test from last May, especially the Photoshop test: http://www.macworld.com/article/2034655/lab-tested-the-ramifications-of-addition al-memory-on-a-mac.html

It might also be helpful to look at the AnandTech site, which has comprehensive reviews of the earlier versions of the computer you are considering and is likely to have a review of the latest MacBooks within a week or so: http://anandtech.com

While I understand your preference for the 13" form factor, the advantage of the quad core processor in the 15" is not insignificant. I assume that you will be able to use the 13" with an external display. If not, I think that you may find the 13" screen smaller than desired for the kind of work you have in mind.

Cheers

Athough 8GB is enough and 16B is overkill now, not so a few years down the road.

RAM is faster than a SSD, allows more programs to be run fast at the same time, less extra memory swapping to the slower SSD (but not as slow as hard drives)

16GB will assist greatly in the resale value when later on programs are requiring tons of RAM because they are feature bloated.

With all due respect bijanfromGBR, as I was researching newest macbooks pro with retina,

There is no option to upgrade anything after purchase no ram, ssd or proc.

Therefore Mascherano16 I would make sure to purchase the top budget mac whatever money allows as in macs more you spend innitialy the longer your machine will stay on top in a "speed game".

I found myself settling on 13" Retina $1499 as I figured I will want to upgrade in a few years solely based on fact that tech evolves in light years speed nowadays but macs hold value,

so this mac will be good investment for future upgrades since Ebay will help me sell it when I'm ready.

16GB upgrade would be nice feature but by the time you will really see benefits of this upgrade you should sell it and get new one, WHY?

well typically laptops drop in price every few years but are getting faster to keep up with software developement

therefore when i need 16GB i can still get a buck for my 2013 model and get the one thats hot at that time.

hope it helps.

He is right you cant upgrade memory in Retina Macbook Pro

More memory means more multi-tasking. If you plan to use several applications, especially memory intensive applications, at the same time then you'll probably want to opt for more memory.

16GB would be a wise investment for your use case I believe. I use much of the Adobe suite too for photography and enjoy having the extra memory. Sadly, for my business use case 16GB is insufficient. I lead a technical sales team and we leverage virtualization technology from VMware called Fusion to run multiple virtual machines on our laptops simultaneously. We unfortunately had to begin cutting over to Lenovo products for increased memory support. Supporting cloud driven technical engineering teams that rely on virtualization is obviously not a target market for Apple. I sure miss my MAC at work. ;-(

I am wondering as well if I should upgrade to 16gb. Although I don't think the upgrade is necessary for my needs right now, here's my question : Knowing that I will want to keep my MacBook pro for at least 5 years, will the upgrade to 16gb make any difference 5 years from now, other than on its resale value?

I have a mid-2012 MBP 13" with a dual core Intel i5 and upgraded with 16gb. of ram and a 500gb. SSD

I use boot camp for dual boot OS-X Sierra and MS-Windows-10.

Both perform great on this upgraded MBP.

I would say that 16gb. of ram is best. Especially if you are going to use apps like google chrome which is a memory hog. Video editing , Video playback, Photoshop, iWork apps, MS Office, etc.

OS-X Sierra will suck up 8gb. of ram immediately. As that is how it works. It just ***** up the ram and uses it all.

This way your ram is not sitting idle not being used. Which would be a waste of ram.

When I boot up into MS-Windows-10 it only uses about 3gb. of ram and the rest remains idle until needed. Which is a waste of ram. I want the operating system to use the ram I paid for. Put it to good use.

However both operating systems will use the ram as you open more apps and tabs.

I definitely recommend 16gb. or ram, 256gb SSD partitions for each operating system you plan on using and an Intel-i5 minimum. More is better.