Issues with Running Dimensions on Macbook Pro

The challenge of running Adobe Dimension on a 2020 MacBook Pro isn't the RAM, but rather the graphics.  Assuming it's the MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2020, Four Thunderbolt 3 ports), then it has integrated Intel Iris Plus Graphics.   The minimum recommended system for Adobe Dimension (Mac or Windows) includes having dedicated graphics.

If it was the slightly older MacBook Pro (16-inch, 2019) which has dedicated AMD Radeon Pro 5300M or 5500M graphics, then she'd already have a great laptop for Adobe Dimension.

On her MacBook Pro, launch Adobe Dimension and then go to Help > System Requirements to get a System Requirements Check.

I'm guessing that her MacBook will not pass the VRAM check.  If it happens to come back all good, then some other issue affecting performance is happening.

Even if her MacBook Pro passes, it may still be worth trading her MacBook Pro in for a newer, Apple Silicon-based model.  The other applications she's using (Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, InDesign, and After Effects - and maybe Premiere Pro) are all Apple Silicon native and run extremely well on any of the Apple Silicon MacBooks.  The above system check is from a 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 8GB/512GB.

While Adobe Dimension is not Apple Silicon native, it is supported.

If "having performance issues" means that it takes an image a long time to render, that is to be expected from less expensive hardware.

Here's a list of how long the image below took to render with Adobe Dimension at "Medium" quality on a variety of systems (approximate hardware price included based on when the hardware was new):

• 2 minutes 36 seconds on a $7,000 2017 iMac Pro 64GB/2TB with Radeon Pro Vega 56 8 GB
• 3 minutes 16 seconds on a $1,800 2019 HP Omen 15-inch laptop 16GB/1TB RTX 2070 Super Max Q
• 3 minutes 35 seconds on a $3,500 2021 16-inch MacBook Pro M1 Max 32GB/1TB
• 4 minutes 7 seconds on a $1,500 2020 13-inch MacBook Pro M1 8GB/512GB

If trading in her current MacBook Pro, I'd opt for an M1 or M2 with at least 16GB of RAM and then as much Flash storage as fits your budget.  If you have not done so already, check with her campus student bookstore to see if there is any special pricing (sometimes schools have negotiated something better than the standard Apple educational pricing).

Try to use Stager as it is on roadmap in Adobe 3D ecosystem. 

she is right and wrong, her 2020 Mac has a pathetically small amount of Ram and anything with more Ram is better than nothing... however Dimenion is FINISHED and Adobe isn't spending any effort to update their software to run well on M1 chips

to be clear, M2 chips are on the way but spending $$$ on those will still be a mistake... honestly her best option is to move to a cheap Windows 10 laptop with 16G Ram, I3 or I7 {not I5 or I9} chip and a Dedicated {not Integrated} Graphics Card... in Australia they average $400-$800 and easily outperform Mac for 3X the cost but if she has her little heart set then wait for the M2 and pick up a cheaper M1... it will still be lousy on any Adobe software but will handle other "newer" software

p.s, [by design] Mac systems use the Cpu, Windows systems use the Gpu... 32G Ram on a Mac performs about the same as 16G Ram on Windows or to say it another way Mac system need more Ram to do the same task