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I'm pleased that the Pro's base memory starts at 16 GB, but surprised they top out at 32 GB: > ...the new MacBook Pro starts with 16GB of faster unified memory

I'm pleased that the Pro's base memory starts at 16 GB, but surprised they top out at 32 GB: > ...the new MacBook Pro starts with 16GB of faster unified memory with support for up to 32GB, along with 120GB/s of memory bandwidth... I haven't been an Apple user since 2012 when I graduated from college and retired my first computer, a mid-2007 Core2 Duo Macbook Pro, which I'd upgraded with a 2.5" SSD and 6GB of RAM with DDR2 SODIMMs. I switched to Dell Precision and Lenovo P-series workstations with user-upgradeable storage and memory... but I've got 64GB of RAM in the old 2019 Thinkpad P53 I'm using right now. A unified memory space is neat, but is it worth sacrificing that much space? I typically have a VM or two running, and in the host OS and VMs, today's software is hungry for RAM and it's typically cheap and upgradeable outside of the Apple ecosystem.

jsheard 2y ago
> I'm pleased that the Pro's base memory starts at 16 GB, but surprised they top out at 32 GB: That's an architectural limitation of the base M4 chip, if you go up to the M4 Pro version you can get up to 48GB, and the M4 Max goes up to 128GB.
- FireBeyond 2y ago
  The "base level" Max is limited at 36GB. You have to get the bigger Max to get more.
- latortuga 2y ago
  The new mac mini also has an M4 Pro that goes up to 64GB.
deleted 2y ago
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Octoth0rpe 2y ago
The max memory is dependent on which tier M4 chip you get. The M4 max chip will let you configure up to 128gb of ram
- MaxDPS 2y ago
  It looks like the 14 core M4 Max only allows 36GB of ram. The M4 Pro allows for up to 48GB. It's a bit confusing.
post-it 2y ago
I haven't done measurements on this, but my Macbook Pro feels much faster at swapping than any Linux or Windows device I've used. I've never used an M.2 SSD so maybe that would be comparable, but swapping is pretty much seamless. There's also some kind of memory compression going on according to Activity Monitor, not sure if that's normal on other OSes.
- thimabi 2y ago
  Yes, other M.2 SSDs have comparable performance when swapping, and other operating systems compress memory, too — though I believe not as much as MacOS. Although machines with Apple Silicon swap flawlessly, I worry about degrading the SSD, which is non-replaceable. So ultimately I pay for more RAM and not need swapping at all.
  - post-it 2y ago
    Degrading the SSD is a good point. This is thankfully a work laptop so I don't care if it lives or dies, but it's something I'll have to consider when I eventually get my own Mac.
- lynguist 2y ago
  No it's true. Apple has hardware accelerated compressed swapping. Windows has compressed swapping. And Linux is a mess. You have to manually configure a non-resizable compressed zram, or use it without compression on a non-resizable swap partition.
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redundantly 2y ago
The M4 tops off at 32 GB The M4 Pro goes up to 48 GB The M4 Max can have up to 128 GB
- SparkyMcUnicorn 2y ago
  It doesn't look this cut and dry. M4 Max 14 core has a single option of 36GB. M4 Max 16 core lets you go up to 128GB. So you can actually get more ram with the Pro than the base level Max.
- ldoughty 2y ago
  It seems you need the M4 Max with the 40-core GPU to go over 36GB. The M4 Pro with 14‑core CPU & 20‑core GPU can do 48GB. If you're looking for ~>36-48GB memory, here's the options: $2,800 = 48GB, Apple M4 Pro chip with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU $3,200 = 36GB, Apple M4 Max chip with 14‑core CPU, 32‑core GPU $3,600 = 48GB, Apple M4 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU So the M4 Pro could get you a lot of memory, but less GPU cores. Not sure how much those GPU cores factor in to performance, I only really hear complaints about the memory limits... Something to consider if looking to buy in this range of memory. Of course, a lot of people here probably consider it not a big deal to throw an extra 3 grand on hardware, but I'm a hobbyist in academia when it comes to AI, I don't big 6-figure salaries :-)
  - brailsafe 2y ago
    Somehow I got downvoted for pointing this out, but it's weird that you have to spend an extra $800 USD just to be able to surpass 48gb, and "upgrading" to the base level Max chip decreases your ram limit, especially when the M4 Pro on the Mac Mini goes up to 64gb. Like... that's a shit load of cash to put out if you need more ram but don't care for more cores. I was really hoping to finally upgrade to something with 64gb, or maybe 96 or 128 if it decreased in price, but it's they removed the 96 and kept 64 and 128 severely out of reach. Do I get 2 extra CPU cores, build a budget gaming PC, or subscribe to creative suite for 2.5 years!?
- deleted 2y ago
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fckgw 2y ago
On the standard M4 processor. If you move the M4 Pro it tops out at 48gb or moving to the M4 Max goes up to 128gb.
- 41995701 2y ago
  Weird that the M4 Pro in the Mac mini can go up to 64GB. Maybe a size limitation on the MBP motherboard or SOC package?
  - _diyar 2y ago
    Probably just Apple designing the pricing ladder.
  - donavanm 2y ago
    It looks like different versions of the ‘Pro’ based on core count and memory bandwidth. Im assuming the 12c Mini M4 Pro has the same memory bandwidth/channels enabled as the 14c MBP M4 Pro, enabling the 64GB. My guess would be related to binning and or TDP.
- Tepix 2y ago
  The 96GB RAM option of the M3 Max disappeared.
deleted 2y ago
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MaysonL 2y ago
Interesting tidbit: MacBook Airs also now start at 16GB. Same price!

jsheard 2y ago

> I'm pleased that the Pro's base memory starts at 16 GB, but surprised they top out at 32 GB: That's an architectural limitation of the base M4 chip, if you go up to the M4 Pro version you can get up to 48GB, and the M4 Max goes up to 128GB.

FireBeyond 2y ago
The "base level" Max is limited at 36GB. You have to get the bigger Max to get more.
latortuga 2y ago
The new mac mini also has an M4 Pro that goes up to 64GB.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

Octoth0rpe 2y ago

The max memory is dependent on which tier M4 chip you get. The M4 max chip will let you configure up to 128gb of ram

MaxDPS 2y ago
It looks like the 14 core M4 Max only allows 36GB of ram. The M4 Pro allows for up to 48GB. It's a bit confusing.

post-it 2y ago

I haven't done measurements on this, but my Macbook Pro feels much faster at swapping than any Linux or Windows device I've used. I've never used an M.2 SSD so maybe that would be comparable, but swapping is pretty much seamless. There's also some kind of memory compression going on according to Activity Monitor, not sure if that's normal on other OSes.

thimabi 2y ago
Yes, other M.2 SSDs have comparable performance when swapping, and other operating systems compress memory, too — though I believe not as much as MacOS. Although machines with Apple Silicon swap flawlessly, I worry about degrading the SSD, which is non-replaceable. So ultimately I pay for more RAM and not need swapping at all.
- post-it 2y ago
  Degrading the SSD is a good point. This is thankfully a work laptop so I don't care if it lives or dies, but it's something I'll have to consider when I eventually get my own Mac.
lynguist 2y ago
No it's true. Apple has hardware accelerated compressed swapping. Windows has compressed swapping. And Linux is a mess. You have to manually configure a non-resizable compressed zram, or use it without compression on a non-resizable swap partition.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

redundantly 2y ago

The M4 tops off at 32 GB The M4 Pro goes up to 48 GB The M4 Max can have up to 128 GB

SparkyMcUnicorn 2y ago
It doesn't look this cut and dry. M4 Max 14 core has a single option of 36GB. M4 Max 16 core lets you go up to 128GB. So you can actually get more ram with the Pro than the base level Max.
ldoughty 2y ago
It seems you need the M4 Max with the 40-core GPU to go over 36GB. The M4 Pro with 14‑core CPU & 20‑core GPU can do 48GB. If you're looking for ~>36-48GB memory, here's the options: $2,800 = 48GB, Apple M4 Pro chip with 14‑core CPU, 20‑core GPU $3,200 = 36GB, Apple M4 Max chip with 14‑core CPU, 32‑core GPU $3,600 = 48GB, Apple M4 Max chip with 16‑core CPU, 40‑core GPU So the M4 Pro could get you a lot of memory, but less GPU cores. Not sure how much those GPU cores factor in to performance, I only really hear complaints about the memory limits... Something to consider if looking to buy in this range of memory. Of course, a lot of people here probably consider it not a big deal to throw an extra 3 grand on hardware, but I'm a hobbyist in academia when it comes to AI, I don't big 6-figure salaries :-)
- brailsafe 2y ago
  Somehow I got downvoted for pointing this out, but it's weird that you have to spend an extra $800 USD just to be able to surpass 48gb, and "upgrading" to the base level Max chip decreases your ram limit, especially when the M4 Pro on the Mac Mini goes up to 64gb. Like... that's a shit load of cash to put out if you need more ram but don't care for more cores. I was really hoping to finally upgrade to something with 64gb, or maybe 96 or 128 if it decreased in price, but it's they removed the 96 and kept 64 and 128 severely out of reach. Do I get 2 extra CPU cores, build a budget gaming PC, or subscribe to creative suite for 2.5 years!?
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

fckgw 2y ago

On the standard M4 processor. If you move the M4 Pro it tops out at 48gb or moving to the M4 Max goes up to 128gb.

41995701 2y ago
Weird that the M4 Pro in the Mac mini can go up to 64GB. Maybe a size limitation on the MBP motherboard or SOC package?
- _diyar 2y ago
  Probably just Apple designing the pricing ladder.
- donavanm 2y ago
  It looks like different versions of the ‘Pro’ based on core count and memory bandwidth. Im assuming the 12c Mini M4 Pro has the same memory bandwidth/channels enabled as the 14c MBP M4 Pro, enabling the 64GB. My guess would be related to binning and or TDP.
Tepix 2y ago
The 96GB RAM option of the M3 Max disappeared.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

MaysonL 2y ago

Interesting tidbit: MacBook Airs also now start at 16GB. Same price!