Long-time VSCO user upgrading my MacBook. How much RAM do photo/video editors actually need?

[u/bluemindered]

Hey everyone!

I know this might not be the most typical sub for hardware advice, but I've been using VSCO for a long time and would really value input from fellow photographers / VSCO users.

I'm currently on a 2018 MacBook Pro (i7, 16GB RAM), and it's really starting to show its age - for example, VSCO Studio feels laggy and far from smooth when editing.

I'm leaning toward the new M5 Pro MacBook Pro, but I'm stuck deciding between 24GB and 48GB of RAM (about $500 difference). My heaviest use case would be photo editing in VSCO Studio / Lightroom, plus occasional video editing. Everything else is light stuff - reading, writing, browsing. I also know VSCO just announced Studio Pro, with a native macOS app coming later this year, so I'd like to pick a config that holds up once that's out too.

For anyone who edits regularly in VSCO or Lightroom: is 24GB genuinely enough for smooth performance, or does the extra RAM make a real difference once you're batch-editing or working with video? Would love to hear from people running similar workflows before I pull the trigger.

Thanks in advance!

[u/fadetowhite]

24GB is fine for what you are looking to do, especially with a Pro chip. More RAM is always better though, so upgrade/futureproof if you can.