Apple offers a huge range of confusing memory choices across its line-up of Mac computers.

But is it worth shelling out eye-watering sums on as much as possible?

What Is RAM / Unified Memory?

An iMac, showing the default macOS wallpaper, on a desk alongside a clock, pencil holder, plant, keyboard, and mouse.

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Permanent storage is generally larger, cheaper, and slower than temporary storage.

your machine uses temporary storage when it runs programs, to speed things up.

This makes it even faster, but it also prevents you from changing it later on.

An iPad, Apple Watch and Mac Placed Together

Apple

Sinceyou cannot upgrade the RAM in a modern Mac, youll need to choose carefully.

Compared to a PC, this might seem like too small an amount.

If your Mac is running low on memory, it may use swap space to boost resources.

MacBook Air running Minecraft Java Edition

This is permanent storage space that the OS temporarily recommissions as main memory.

Depending on which Mac youre buying, both or either of these options will be available.

Having twiceor three timesthe amount of memory doesnt mean your Mac will be two or three times faster.

mac mini m2 on a desk with apple studio display

Apple

But it may last longer with more memory.

Even a recent game likeBaldurs Gate 3 is playable with just 8 GB.

For future-proofing, and multitasking more apps alongside your daily drivers, 32 GB will be a great investment.

A Mac Studio display showing 3D rendering in Autodesk Maya

Apple

In 2021, YouTube channel Max Tech compared two Macbook Pros with these memory configurations.

You should be absolutely certain youre going to make good use of that additional memory before taking the plunge.

The same goes for AI model training and some other data-processing programming tasks.

So, overall, the answer to this complex question is still it depends.