Anyone serious about software development should most definitely upgrade to 32GB of RAM.
For me, I run the following when I write and test code:
- 2x Typescript watch Node.js services
- 1-2x React Node.js servers
- Go server
- VS Code
- Chrome tabs + Chrome dev tools
- Communication channels including Slack, Whatsapp, Discord
- TablePlus database tool
- Notion for note-taking
My M1 Pro with 16GB of RAM struggles sometimes with stutters – especially when Typescript does its thing. I noticed that I’m almost always beyond 16GB of RAM usage and swaps are always used.
If you do software development for a living, and you plan to keep the machine for a while, go for 32GB of RAM at minimum.
I planned to wait until M3 before I upgrade but I’m considering upgrading if/when M2 Pro hits and getting a 32GB machine instead.
