MacBook Pro 4 RAM Recommendation

HughGuessWho · May 7, 2026

I have always be a PC user but my current computer keeps reminding me how outdated it is with every new iteration of Lightroom and Photoshop. I am considering purchasing my first Mac computer as it seems to be the gold standard these days. I've settled on the MacBook Pro 16 but am unsure as to how much RAM is needed for layer heavy editing. I understand that MACs handle RAM differently than Windows PC. Any insight on the MacBook Pro and the amount of RAM needed for smooth operations would be greatly appreciated.
TIA

Rickbb · May 7, 2026

Max it out, no one ever complained about having too much.

zombiesniper · May 7, 2026

I'm running 16gb on my 5 year old MacBook Pro with no issues but if you can afford it get more in order to future proof it.

HughGuessWho · May 8, 2026

zombiesniper said:
I'm running 16gb on my 5 year old MacBook Pro with no issues but if you can afford it get more in order to future proof it.

Thank you for your input. They are currently offering 25gb or 48 gb for a $400 increase with the RAM market being what it is. I don't want to purchase on the cheap and hope this laptop will last for a while. Do you think it would be worth the extra $400 to go with the 48gb or would that be an overkill?
Thanks again your assistance.

Rickbb · May 8, 2026

Every time an app updates it needs more ram to run than before the update. With AI software being integrated into LR and Photoshop more will always be better. Otherwise, you will be back to this same issue in a couple of years.

48GB might be overkill for today, but in 2 years you will be glad you have it. Before I retired, we started putting 32GB in all new PC's, (up from 16), and they were only being used for traditional office stuff, not graphics intensive software. Complaints about slow PC's dropped dramatically.