SP7 i5 8gb vs 16gb

[scottfish]

Looking for some honest opinions here.

I'll be multitasking, but not doing any photo or video editing (or gaming) as my desktop handles that load. Does 16gb of RAM pay in a Surface Pro 7, or will 8gb do?

I always wonder when there is such a cliff in pricing if there's something I am not getting. Thank you for any insights.

 

[spicypadthai]

8 GB will probably be fine but it depends what you mean by "multi-tasking". Also, if you normally have 10+ browser tabs open, then 16 is probably worth it. Every tab consumes 100+ MB and often closer to 200 MB. Just check Task Manager on your current system under a normal load to see how much memory you're using.

 

[anon(5327127)]

Well, if you did stuff with Virtual machines you'd 100% go for 16Gb. I did, but that's because I grabbed it from eBay for £900 (new). Please remember that Superfetch will cache a few things. When you come to sell the Surface, a 16Gb model should hold a little more value.

 

[scottfish]

Solid advice here.
- I rarely have that many tabs open. One of the main reasons I wanted a surface is as a replacement for an iPad Air 2, and that really was a single task machine.
- Usage will really be mainly as a tablet around the house and a light use (word processing, browsing, note-taking) at the office and about.
- My one concern is that I may use VDI for work from time to time (I have a work laptop, but may hop in from the surface occasionally). Wondering if that is worth a 20-25% premium.

As far as task manager on my desktop (Ryzen 2700x w/ 16gb RAM), I am seeing myself rarely surpass 35% usage even with VDI going, so I guess this was a good exercise in finding out I was trying to over beef up due to FOMO.

***Edit***
Ended up grabbing an i5 8gb this weekend as Micro Center had a bundle w/ black type cover for $699. Seems like 8gb is definitely enough for my workload. Thanks for teh guidance.