Buying advice for new MBP 17-inch: How valuable is 8 GB of RAM vs. 4 GB?
I plan to buy one of the new MBP 17-inch ASAP. I've settled on the antiglare screen and I've been convinced that the 2.3 GHz upgrade is a waste of $250, so my only remaining question is in regards to the RAM.
Two-part question: 1. How much would an average user notice 8 GB of RAM vs. the stock 4 GB of RAM; and 2. If it's better to go with the 8 GB, is Apple's $200 upgrade price really as outrageous as people here seem to believe?
(Looking around, I see $150 as the usual price for an 8 GB RAM kit for a latest-gen MBP, which is only $50 cheaper than letting Apple do it. How much is the 4 GB of RAM I might pull from the MBP worth in terms of resale?)
Thanks very much for all feedback.
Two-part question: 1. How much would an average user notice 8 GB of RAM vs. the stock 4 GB of RAM; and 2. If it's better to go with the 8 GB, is Apple's $200 upgrade price really as outrageous as people here seem to believe?
(Looking around, I see $150 as the usual price for an 8 GB RAM kit for a latest-gen MBP, which is only $50 cheaper than letting Apple do it. How much is the 4 GB of RAM I might pull from the MBP worth in terms of resale?)
Thanks very much for all feedback.
Comments
Two-part question: 1. How much would an average user notice 8 GB of RAM vs. the stock 4 GB of RAM; and 2. If it's better to go with the 8 GB, is Apple's $200 upgrade price really as outrageous as people here seem to believe?
4GB is enough for most tasks. You'd only need it for editing high res images, Indesign layouts or compositing like AE because the programs keep as much in RAM as they can.
(Looking around, I see $150 as the usual price for an 8 GB RAM kit for a latest-gen MBP, which is only $50 cheaper than letting Apple do it. How much is the 4 GB of RAM I might pull from the MBP worth in terms of resale?)
The resale value is usually just under half the larger kit. I'd estimate $60 or so. Overall, the upgrade cost is around half of what Apple's is.
I'd actually say that if you aren't bothered about the big screen on the laptop, get the 15" MBP, anti-glare, 4GB RAM and a 256GB SSD. If you need a big screen while working, get an external IPS display. Apple's laptop screens aren't great quality.
You can get a 23" 1080p IPS for $290:
http://www.amazon.com/ViewSonic-VP23...8718904&sr=8-4
If it's better to go with the 8 GB, is Apple's $200 upgrade price really as outrageous as people here seem to believe?
The "complaints" are from when upgrades were $500.
There's no sense in buying RAM from Apple ever, anyway. Macsales.com will always be cheaper.
I've been using a 17-inch for the past 7 years as my only machine (with no external), and it's been fine. Someday, if/when I ever stop traveling so much, a smaller MBP + external might be more of a viable option for me.