It should credibly not be a controversial opinion that , in belated 2023 ( and surely through most of 2024 ) , one should not deal a pricy “ Pro ” information processing system with only 8 GB of RAM . And yet here we are .
The least - expensive fresh MacBook Pro you could get monetary value $ 1,599 and includes only 8 GB of RAM , an foully miserly amount for this day and age . Want more ? That will be at least $ 200 , take it or leave it .
Apple has a long story of providing less read/write memory than it should for the price of its laptops and soak to get more , but it ’s reached derisory proportions . Thecheapeststandard form with more than 8 GB of RAM is 2 grand ! The cheapest MacBook Pro you canconfigurewith more than 8 GB is $ 1,800 !
Any MacBook with Pro branding should have a minimum of 16G of RAM.
Yes, you need more than 8GB
I will be the first chip shot nerd on the block to let the cat out of the bag the congratulations of Apple ’s M - series memory management . A big on - chip system - level cache and a fast SSD , along with some really bright code , means that a Mac with Apple Silicon does n’t experience about as hamstrung with 8 GB of RAM as , say , a Windows laptop .
That does not stand for that 8 GB is “ enough , ” though . Even relatively casual substance abuser who charge up on web browser tabs and inefficientElectron apps(household names like Slack , Teams , Discord , etc . ) can find performance compromise by running out of random memory . Apple want us to consider that things are different with the manner its microchip handle memory and 8 GB in a MacBook isactually better than most Windows personal computer with 16 GB of RAM . That may be true , but 8 GB is still far too lilliputian for a 2023 laptop .
Any MacBook with Pro stigmatisation should have a minimum of 16 G of RAM .
Any MacBook with Pro branding should have a minimum of 16G of RAM.
Foundry
As I write this , with just a handful of web browser app yellow journalism undefendable , Slack , and a distraction - costless writing app ( iA Writer — it ’s capital ) , I ’m consuming just about 11 GB on my M2 MacBook Air .
Is it a job to sell a Mac with 8 GB in 2023 - 2024 ? No . Is it a problem to deal aMacBook Profor $ 1,600 with only 8 GB of read/write memory ? Oh god , yes . If 8 GB will be a chokepoint for many today , imagine the carrying into action of that non - upgradeable laptop in a few years ’ time . Do n’t believe me ? Vadim Yuryev of Max Tech range a series of tests with two M3 MacBooks , one with 8 GB of random access memory and one with 16 GB of RAM . The 16 GB good example witness significantly better results across the panel , with a Final Cut render finishing four times quicker with the extra RAM .
The M3 MacBook Pro has a great screen and a nice selection of ports—but 8GB of RAM is a joke.
Not that Windows laptops and Macs are directly comparable , but comparably - priced Microsoft Surface , HP Envy , Alienware , Dell XP , and Lenovo Thinkpad laptop computer all have 16 GB of RAM or more , stock . you’re able to spend all mean solar day mired in laptop configurations ( and I have ) but the bottom line is this : 16 GB is standard at cost over $ 1,000 even in laptop computer with premium display and other high - oddment features . orchard apple tree iswayoff groundwork with its RAM here , more so than usual , especially in products that carry the “ Pro ” name .
The upgrade extortion
If you want more than 8 GB , you have to pay for it . Either with a prominent $ 400 acclivity to the M3 Pro — which is not even an choice in the just - releasedM3 iMac — or by bear Apple $ 200 for another 8 GB .
To be clean , 8 GB of LPDDR5 - 6400 ( the RAM used in these products ) costs Apple a tiny fraction of that amount . Nobody knows precisely what Apple pays its supplier , but the going terms for 64Gbits ( 8 GB ) of that sorting of RAM is less than $ 40 in quantity . Apple ’s deal probably has them bear $ 30 or less .
The M3 MacBook Pro has a enceinte cover and a prissy selection of port — but 8 GB of RAM is a joke .
There ’s nothing extra about Apple ’s RAM . It ’s high quality , and it ’s integrated on a very panoptic memory board motorcoach very near to the M3 silicon chip , but those construct complexities do n’t make the random memory cost more . Apple ’s charge you $ 200 for RAM it buys for $ 30 .
Here ’s a fun experiment : Configure a MacBook Pro with the M3 Max , the full 16 - core CPU interlingual rendition . Every additional 16 GB of RAM costs $ 200 , the same as 8 GB of random memory on the lower configurations .
Any clip an climb carries a absolutely round damage – exactly$200 – you should be wary of it . Some intersection manager priced it by what “ looks expert ” and what they imagine customer will pay .
In Apple ’s subject , you have no choice . You ca n’t kick upstairs subsequently . You ca n’t ante up anyone else ’s price . You have to pay Apple ’s exorbitant $ 200 - for-8 GB upgrade cost . Make no error : the true starting cost of a M3 MacBook Pro is $ 1,699 because to buy one with only 8 GB of RAM is disturbed .
We shouldn’t accept this
Are the new M3 Macs great computers ? Sure . Are they expensive ? You betcha . Does any excuse for Apple ’s meagerly 8 GB tup configurations or main road - robbery RAM rise prices ? Absolutely not . This is pure corporate avarice from the reality ’s biggest and richest engineering ship’s company , and as Apple customers , we should n’t stand for it .
