Get 16GB for Matlab. 8GB will fight you.

Yes, 16GB is pretty much required for anything beyond tiny toy simulations.

Matlab loves memory. Even loading a decent dataset, doing matrix operations, or running loops with intermediate results can eat up RAM quickly. With 8GB, you’ll hit swap, the system slows down, simulations take forever, and you might crash. 16GB gives you breathing room. If you can, go 32GB for larger models or parallel computing. But 16GB is the real minimum.

Don’t cheap out on RAM for a machine that’s supposed to do work.