Replies

"Good to know that it’s actually cheaper my way now, lol."

Might not be cheaper today, but it was a couple weeks ago. RAM prices change by the hour, it seems. RAM's as much a commodity as oil today.

But perhaps contrary to what you've heard, Apple's prices are actually quite reasonable, considering what you're getting. The RAM for the machine you're considering is top-end in terms of speed and physical density. And Apples' prices for it are definitely competitive. You might do better elsewhere, you might not. It's worth shopping around, as installation is super-easy. But you won't be leaving much on the table if you let them install it, and it'll be covered under the AppleCare warranty (which I highly recommend in any case).

Your heavy use of Photoshop suggests your RAM dollars will be well-spent in any case. In my case, I use virtual machines all the time, and that's RAM-aholic usage too. You'll never regret having too much RAM!