Macbook Pro - 16GB vs 32GB RAM (unified memory)

[obwohl]

Hi,

what do you thinkß Will 32GB of RAM (or call it unified memory) be a real advantage when working with music files compared to the 16GB?
There are some interesting videos on youtube which show how little the 32GB is better in video-editing. The reason is the super-fast ssd.
I am not interested in theoretical advantages (there will be some of course) but the advantages I can feel while working. So the export-speed does not matter that much.

 

[Morla]

Video editing is working with a huge amount of data which is traditonally disk bound. Spinning platters are slower when it comes to randomized acces instead of a chip that you can just tell the address to get your block read or written (no head moving and so on). It is still not as fast as ram tho.

So software tries to use ram as a cache for your working window.. as soon as you scroll through the video there will be a point where the system has to access disk.

Now if your music data is not that much of data to juggle around this might not be a problem even with just 8GB.

On the other Hand.. high res music data is also high volume, no?

One thing I learned using macos since 2005 is that every new macos version that came out likes to bite a bigger chunk of ram than before so if you intend to use that giant macbook for a long time it will always be some kind of insurance for future smoothness to buy the 32

Unfortunately the macos world turned to soldered ram so you are forced to buy in advance which I think is a shame. I doubt Steve would approve really but we cannot help it.

 

[sq225917]

Just from MTBF point now view I'd always go for the bigger memory.

 

[krumpol]

SSD in Macbook Pro is soldered too and unlike RAM, its lifespan is limited.

 

[abdo123]

The memory here is both for the GPU and the CPU. It’s not just RAM or VRAM it’s both.

My mid-end laptop from 2018 has ~20GB of total RAM, 4 for the GPU and 16 as regular RAM.

I would not buy the 16 GB version. Simply it’s too low by today’s standards.

 

[Sancus]

TLDR; I highly doubt there will be any advantage working with music files.

The way this typically works is that if you can fit the entire file/dataset into memory, then that's fast, but if you can't then it's slower, and there is only a big improvement if adding RAM lets you fit the entire file into memory again.

Even if you're working with like, 20 minutes of 8-channel 96khz 24-bit uncompressed audio that's still only single digit GB. Encoding a lot of files at once is probably CPU bound as well, so I doubt it would help there either.

 

[sq225917]

Abdo, But youre talking about a windows machine.

 

[voodooless]

The trouble is that you never run just one application. Have a browser window open? That is a massive resource hog! A few other apps.. 16 GB is quickly filled up. The OS needs quite some stuff cached as well, that also eats up a bit.

I would definitely recommend 32GB for anything that involves more than a bit of browsing or writing documents.

 

[Buddelpudding]

I recently got a 8gb M1 Mac mini and I was worried the RAM might not be enough. So far I have not seen any performance issues doing some heavy multitasking (no editing though).
You really should not apply the same standards regarding RAM in M1 machines as compared to Windows computers.

 

[abdo123]

I recently got a 8gb M1 Mac mini and I was worried the RAM might not be enough. So far I have not seen any performance issues doing some heavy multitasking (no editing though).
You really should not apply the same standards regarding RAM in M1 machines as compared to Windows computers.

M1 is a 500 euro machine, while the macbook pros start at around 2000 euros. I agree with your premise but each device is targeting different people and is supposed to do different things.

 

[abdo123]

Even if you're working with like, 20 minutes of 8-channel 96khz 24-bit uncompressed audio that's still only single digit GB.

WHAT? your math is way way off. specially considering this is .wav not .flac

 

[Morla]

SSD in Macbook Pro is soldered too and unlike RAM, its lifespan is limited.

you could attach thunderbolt storage and buy the smallest internal ssd.

 

[charleski]

WHAT? your math is way way off. specially considering this is .wav not .flac

8 [channels] x 96000 [sampling rate] x 3 [24bits] x 60 [seconds in a minute] x 20 [minutes]
= 2.76GB

But the other reasons people have given are very valid: can't add more RAM later, other processes may take a lot of RAM, RAM caching is still a bit faster than SSD, and the MTBF issue. If you're going to use this for mixing it would be safer to go for 32GB, especially if you're using a few samplers that might want to load in large sample banks.

 

[obwohl]

Thanks for your insights!
The video I was referring to is this (I hope link-posting is allowed here?)

(a little bit annoying video. but the results are interesting)
I totaly get your point that 32GB is what people call "more future-proof". But on the other hand it's in a way future-proof to not spend the extra 460€. I still can't make up my mind...

 

[Zensō]

If you’re talking about running a DAW such as Ableton Live or Logic with low latency, definitely buy as much RAM as you can afford.

 

[obwohl]

Additional question: If I opt for 32 GB RAM, the upgrade to the max (the small max with 24-16) will be about 200€ only. I've heard that the max does need more power doing the same tasks. So maybe not. But even the smallest max has this super ridicolous double bandwith. I am pretty sure I wont "need" it but maybe it's really better?
It's getting a little bit non-audio here, I hope that's ok. But I will use it not only for audio (classical music recording and "cutting" with parallel sequoia maybe? I used it on windows for some years) but for photography (large files, 61 MP) and a little bit of 4K-Video (but nothing really special, just high-quality interviews and other normal stuff).

I am very curious about your opinions

 

[Ron Texas]

For 460 euros, I would pass on 32 GB if it's a personal item. If there is a business tax deduction, go for it. I've noticed with photo editing even with huge pano stitches (12 shots of 35 mb) it did not make much of a difference.

 

[obwohl]

If you’re talking about running a DAW such as Ableton Live or Logic with low latency, definitely buy as much RAM as you can afford.

Allright, that's a statement. So 64GB ?

 

[obwohl]

For 460 euros, I would pass on 32 GB if it's a personal item. If there is a business tax deduction, go for it. I've noticed with photo editing even with huge pano stitches (12 shots of 35 mb) it did not make much of a difference.

Well, it's both private and private-business but nothing for my tax.
What about panoramas with 40 124 MB-files (61 MP from my sony)?

 

[Zensō]

Allright, that's a statement. So 64GB ?

The only thing it’s going to hurt is your pocketbook.