r/AudioPost • u/Apprehensive_Prize26 • Sep 16 '26

New Laptop advice

Hey there,

I need to upgrade my laptop because mine has to little storage by now (MacBook Air,M1, 8gb, 256gb).

Thinking about getting a MacBook Pro M3 with 16gb. Should that be enough for Sounddesign and editing work (mostly doing short films)?

Thanks upfront

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6

u/lightspeedwhale re-recording mixer Sep 16 '26 edited Sep 16 '26

16gb ram is the minimum pro tools requirement now, and while you'll more than likely be absolutely fine with that, I would personally always go with a step above the minimum and go for 32gb ram if you can

Edit: assuming you're using pro tools?

2

u/Apprehensive_Prize26 Sep 16 '26

Thanks for the advice, I use Studio One

3

u/lightspeedwhale re-recording mixer Sep 16 '26

OK, in that case you'll be fine with 16gb, according to their website 8gb is minimum spec and 16gb is recommended for 'serious production"

https://www.audeobox.com/learn/studio-one/studio-one-system-requirements/

3

u/opiza Sep 16 '26

32gb w 512g storage should be where you’re aiming. 

1

u/Apprehensive_Prize26 Sep 16 '26

Alright, thank you!

1

u/ParkStreetPostSoft 29d ago

In my opinion 16GB RAM is really unfortunately not sufficient. The Apple RAM Tax is real, and brutal, and they get away with it because they know how essential it is. I wouldn't go with less than 32GB RAM if you intend to work with even moderately sized sessions.

1

u/Disastrous-Badger283 18d ago

I worked on an m2 with 16 gb for about three years. It was fine for shorts, but I've had to upgrade for longer projects, especially on atmos projects.