How Much Ram Do You Really Need in a MacBook?

About this video

• Video Title: How Much Ram Do You Really Need in a MacBook?
• Channel: SPACE DESIGN WAREHOUSE
• Speakers: Not explicitly mentioned, but the transcript indicates a single speaker.
• Duration: 00:13:11

Overview

This video discusses the amount of RAM needed for MacBooks, explaining how macOS's RAM compression and caching mechanisms work. It addresses the current RAM shortage and its impact on pricing, and provides recommendations on whether to opt for 16GB or 24GB of RAM based on usage patterns and future-proofing.

Key takeaways

• RAM Shortage: A global RAM shortage is projected for 2025-2026, driven by the demand from data centers for AI infrastructure. Apple's long-term supplier deals currently stabilize their RAM prices, but this may not last.
• macOS RAM Compression: macOS uses RAM compression to make background applications and inactive tabs use less RAM, effectively increasing the available RAM for active processes. This feature has been enhanced with hardware acceleration on Apple Silicon, making it very fast and efficient.
• RAM Compression Demonstration: A demonstration shows that even with numerous applications and browser tabs open, 16GB of RAM can still manage effectively due to compression, with compressed RAM reaching up to 5GB.
• 8K Video Editing: Editing 8K video in Final Cut Pro without proxies can consume around 13GB of RAM, suggesting that 16GB is sufficient for this task if proxies are used, but may lead to swapping without them.
• RAM Cache: With ample RAM, macOS preloads frequently used applications and files into RAM cache, significantly speeding up their subsequent launch times.
• When More RAM Helps: While programs don't run faster if they don't exceed the base RAM, more RAM can improve responsiveness by enabling faster program loading through caching. Intensive tasks like Blender or running virtual machines benefit significantly from more RAM.
• Recommendation: While 16GB is still adequate for many users, including office jobs and creative work, the speaker recommends 24GB for future-proofing and smoother performance with upcoming macOS features and potential increased RAM usage by the OS. 8GB is considered insufficient for modern usage.