Anyone try 10.8 with 2GB RAM?

[artguy10]

We have a 20" iMac that we got around the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. It came with 1GB RAM. I installed Snow Leopard on it when it came out, and performance was snappy (but we didn't do virtualization, Adobe CS, or heavy multitasking). I upgraded it to 2GB RAM. Now, I'm wondering if I should install 10.8. I know it's more memory-hungry than 10.6 (but less so than 10.7).

I'm not interested in hearing from people with 4 or 8 GB RAM saying that you need more RAM to do anything. Is there anyone out there who actually has used ML with 2GB RAM (and not with a SSD)?

Specifically, how does it compare to Snow Leopard?

 

[PurrBall]

I find 4 GB painful. Don't do it.

 

[brand]

I have it installed on a Unibody MacBook with only 2GB of RAM and it is excruciatingly painful.

 

[JS82712]

2GB ram is def. not enough; just look at how much RAM safari uses

 

[artguy10]

I have it installed on a Unibody MacBook with only 2GB of RAM and it is excruciatingly painful.

Brand, do you do a lot of multitasking? We will do relatively light work (web, email, dvd, sometimes a word document).

I have 4GB on a unibody (although with an SSD) and ML works very well. I don't care about 4GB, I am asking about 2GB. And specifically, I'm asking how it compares with Snow Leopard. If 2GB on 10.8 is slow for you but 10.6 was also slow, then it doesn't tell me anything.

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2GB ram is def. not enough; just look at how much RAM safari uses

I dont' use Safari, I use Chrome. And for all I know ML manages RAM so it takes advantage of all the RAM you have even if it could do fine with less.

2GB Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion comparisons?

 

[mackid1993]

We have a 20" iMac that we got around the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. It came with 1GB RAM. I installed Snow Leopard on it when it came out, and performance was snappy (but we didn't do virtualization, Adobe CS, or heavy multitasking). I upgraded it to 2GB RAM. Now, I'm wondering if I should install 10.8. I know it's more memory-hungry than 10.6 (but less so than 10.7).

I'm not interested in hearing from people with 4 or 8 GB RAM saying that you need more RAM to do anything. Is there anyone out there who actually has used ML with 2GB RAM (and not with a SSD)?

Specifically, how does it compare to Snow Leopard?

It's about as Memory hungry as Lion, which imo was about as bad as Snow Leopard. For $50 you can jump up to 8GB, which will make a huge difference.

 

[artguy10]

It's about as Memory hungry as Lion, which imo was about as bad as Snow Leopard. For $50 you can jump up to 8GB, which will make a huge difference.

Thanks, but first off, the iMac's memory bays have a 2-GB-per-slot limit and 2 slots. Plus I checked and it would cost more like $60 to get a 4GB upgrade, so if I need it, then it's not worth it to get 10.8.

Second off, I know that Lion at least officially required double the RAM of Snow Leopard, and I've heard people talk about ML using about 20% less RAM than Lion.

So...

 

[mojo50]

I have a 2 GB MBA, 2011 with ML installed and it is working beautifully. I am not a "power user", but just use my laptop for e-mail, surfing, movies etc. I find that it is faster than Lion.

Sorry, I've never had Snow Leopard on this laptop, but ML definitely is fine for my use. That being said, I'm not a gamer, and I don't usually have more than 3 tabs open in Safari.... but I want people to know that ML for the casual user is fine. Just my .02!

 

[artguy10]

I have a 2 GB MBA, 2011 with ML installed and it is working beautifully. I am not a "power user", but just use my laptop for e-mail, surfing, movies etc. I find that it is faster than Lion.

Sorry, I've never had Snow Leopard on this laptop, but ML definitely is fine for my use. That being said, I'm not a gamer, and I don't usually have more than 3 tabs open in Safari.... but I want people to know that ML for the casual user is fine. Just my .02!

Thanks. I'm still a bit concerned however because your MacBook Air uses flash memory which performs better than a hard drive in case virtual memory is used. Just curious, can you open Activity Monitor for me and on the Memory tab at the bottom tell me what it says by Free, Wired, Active, Inactive, and Used?

 

[mojo50]

Thanks. I'm still a bit concerned however because your MacBook Air uses flash memory which performs better than a hard drive in case virtual memory is used. Just curious, can you open Activity Monitor for me and on the Memory tab at the bottom tell me what it says by Free, Wired, Active, Inactive, and Used?[/QUOTE

 

[artguy10]

Thanks mojo50, so it looks like you have a good amount of free ram. I also noticed that you have a small amount of page outs (memory was read from internal storage) and swap used is kind of big. I'll try to compare that to SL, thanks again.

 

[Critterbug]

I'm using 2 GB RAM w/Lion

We have a 20" iMac that we got around the end of 2008 or beginning of 2009. It came with 1GB RAM. I installed Snow Leopard on it when it came out, and performance was snappy (but we didn't do virtualization, Adobe CS, or heavy multitasking). I upgraded it to 2GB RAM. Now, I'm wondering if I should install 10.8. I know it's more memory-hungry than 10.6 (but less so than 10.7).

I'm not interested in hearing from people with 4 or 8 GB RAM saying that you need more RAM to do anything. Is there anyone out there who actually has used ML with 2GB RAM (and not with a SSD)?

Specifically, how does it compare to Snow Leopard?

I've asked this a couple of times, but it seems nobody here hasn't stayed with the 2 GB except us.
Mostly I've got advice to upgrade ram, which I will do, though I think I'll go with ML first to see what's what, and let you know.
Right now, I've got Lion running, and it's much slower than SL. I almost went back, but after a wipe and clean install, things run better. Here's a view of my activity monitor. I've got most of what I use open, so it's a typical stat.
I've got the Core 2 Duo 2.26GHZ DDR3 MBP mid 2009. Hope this helps.

 

[artguy10]

I've asked this a couple of times, but it seems nobody here hasn't stayed with the 2 GB except us.
Mostly I've got advice to upgrade ram, which I will do, though I think I'll go with ML first to see what's what, and let you know.
Right now, I've got Lion running, and it's much slower than SL. I almost went back, but after a wipe and clean install, things run better. Here's a view of my activity monitor. I've got most of what I use open, so it's a typical stat.
I've got the Core 2 Duo 2.26GHZ DDR3 MBP mid 2009. Hope this helps.

Thank you. I actually find your results a little concerning. Your hard drive is being used for about 4GB worth of RAM, so in your case an upgrade would really help. Maybe the clean install improved things because you had more space on the HDD?

I have heard ML uses less ram than Lion, so yes please try it out and report back!

 

[Drew017]

It's totally odd that I have a totally different experience with 2GB of RAM...

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OP, I have OS X Mountain Lion on my MacBook (2GB) and my experience has been quite good. It's just as fast as Snow Leopard was, and I'd definitely recommend it!

 

[Small White Car]

I've got most of what I use open, so it's a typical stat. I've got the Core 2 Duo 2.26GHZ DDR3 MBP mid 2009. Hope this helps.

You've got over 3 GB of page ins and page outs. Now, I can't say for sure that that's bad since I don't know when you last reset, but it's definitely a huge red flag. I'd bet money that you do need more RAM.

 

[artguy10]

It's totally odd that I have a totally different experience with 2GB of RAM...

----------

OP, I have OS X Mountain Lion on my MacBook (2GB) and my experience has been quite good. It's just as fast as Snow Leopard was, and I'd definitely recommend it!

Okay, that's a bit of hope. Might I ask if you have an SSD or an HDD and what your Activity Monitor reports as far as page outs and swap usage? (And if those numbers are high how long it was since you restarted?)

 

[Critterbug]

You've got over 3 GB of page ins and page outs. Now, I can't say for sure that that's bad since I don't know when you last reset, but it's definitely a huge red flag. I'd bet money that you do need more RAM.

I have ordered the ram, but since I am curious, and can't be the only one in the same boat with the OP, I'm going to try ML first. It probably won't be any worse than Lion. That was a big bump from SL.
Since the wipe and clean install, while it's slow opening apps, and loading large pages, it's livable. Way better than any windows computer I ever owned!!!

 

[artguy10]

It's totally odd that I have a totally different experience with 2GB of RAM...

----------

OP, I have OS X Mountain Lion on my MacBook (2GB) and my experience has been quite good. It's just as fast as Snow Leopard was, and I'd definitely recommend it!

I have ordered the ram, but since I am curious, and can't be the only one in the same boat with the OP, I'm going to try ML first. It probably won't be any worse than Lion. That was a big bump from SL.
Since the wipe and clean install, while it's slow opening apps, and loading large pages, it's livable. Way better than any windows computer I ever owned!!!

I'm also curious, let me know how it goes!

 

[macbook yes]

I have 2GB of RAM running ML. I upgraded from SL and I feel it is slower but still usable. I was planning on upgrading eventually anyway, so I just went ahead and ordered 8GB. It should be here in a few days so I hope it speeds up my computer.

 

[artguy10]

I have 2GB of RAM running ML. I upgraded from SL and I feel it is slower but still usable. I was planning on upgrading eventually anyway, so I just went ahead and ordered 8GB. It should be here in a few days so I hope it speeds up my computer.

Thanks.

 

[Drew017]

Okay, that's a bit of hope. Might I ask if you have an SSD or an HDD and what your Activity Monitor reports as far as page outs and swap usage? (And if those numbers are high how long it was since you restarted?)

I'm on an HDD (though I plan on getting an SSD soon )

Here's Activity Monitor with Safari open-

BTW I just restarted, so it's not totally accurate.

 

[artguy10]

I'm on an HDD (though I plan on getting an SSD soon )

Here's Activity Monitor with Safari open-

BTW I just restarted, so it's not totally accurate.

Cool, that actually looks good. Is it very different after you run other software?

 

[IllmasterMath]

From a late 2008 MacBook. Works well enough for me, but I don't keep a lot open.

 

[Blue Sun]

I've asked this a couple of times, but it seems nobody here hasn't stayed with the 2 GB except us.
Mostly I've got advice to upgrade ram, which I will do, though I think I'll go with ML first to see what's what, and let you know.
Right now, I've got Lion running, and it's much slower than SL. I almost went back, but after a wipe and clean install, things run better. Here's a view of my activity monitor. I've got most of what I use open, so it's a typical stat.
I've got the Core 2 Duo 2.26GHZ DDR3 MBP mid 2009. Hope this helps.

I recommend upping that to 8GB of RAM - fairly cheap these days.

 

[Critterbug]

ML Installed

SNAPPY!!!
I have to say that so far ML is just as fast as SL was, maybe faster. No problems installing, made a USB recovery disk as well.
I'm impressed. So much better than Lion so far. Will keep you up to date if anything changes, but I'm blown away. Yeah, just 2 GB RAM, and it's like a new computer.