Ram on MacBook Pro Retina

About to buy a 15 inch MacBook Pro with Retina display. 2.6Ghz standard machine from Amazon which is around £400 cheaper than from Apple. Downside, I'd prefer 16Ghz of RAM but I have to get that configuration from the Apple Store. That's quite a lot of cash for an extra 8Ghz of RAM that I may not even need.

Main use: General work, RAW photo files processed in Photoshop and Aperture, Up to 200 MB Illustrator files with mapping data and, further down the line, video editing, but the latter is a hobby for now.

A few years down the line, I can live with running just one or two apps at a time to prolong the life of my machine but I'm hoping to get 3 or 4 years out of this.

Advice welcome though the more I type the more I think I'm going to have to raid the piggy bank...............

RAM on the retina models is not upgrade-able. This is a serious downside IMO, and actually a complete deal breaker on the retinas for me. The simple fact is that as we move along, more and more RAM is required, both by applications and the operating system. So, the only advice I have is to max it out now, or skip the retina panel.

Cheers Mike. I agree, it's very annoying that you can't upgrade later.