HACKER Q&A
📣 _bxg1

Have RAM needs leveled out the way processing power has?


I'm planning on the next laptop I buy remaining solid for at least the next 5 years, hopefully more. With the kinds of tasks I do, 8GB only just gets the job done right now and 16GB is comfy. I'm trying to decide whether to bump it up to 32GB to be safe.

It just feels like the increases in RAM on laptops (and the need for it?) have slowed in recent years. I bought an $1,800 laptop ten years ago with 8GB RAM. Today, a laptop around the same price has 16GB. Seems like a 2x increase over ten years is much slower than things used to progress. So then, will 16GB last me another 5+?


  👤 moondev Accepted Answer ✓
Generally "planned future-proofing" never works, but I would configure as much memory as you can.

> It just feels like the increases in RAM on laptops (and the need for it?) have slowed in recent years

Are you sure? Both the 16" macbook pro and Dell XPS now support up to 64GB.

https://www.dell.com/en-us/shop/dell-laptops/new-xps-15-7590...

https://www.apple.com/macbook-pro-16/specs/