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Is anyone considering a RAM upgrade?
- Thread starter MasterHowl
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I'm certainly going to upgrade to 8GB. Currently running at 2GB on my MPB, Lion just feels a bit slow. Also, I'm currently making a feature length documentary, so the speed increase will be very welcome.
Does anyone know if RAM upgrades will make the battery run for longer?
TC, I found 8GB of RAM for £60 over at Crucial.com.
Does anyone know if RAM upgrades will make the battery run for longer?
TC, I found 8GB of RAM for £60 over at Crucial.com.
In theory more ram = less page outs = less hard drive reads/writes = better battery!
In reality, it won't have any noticeable effect on your battery performance.
Depending on your computer will dictate the affordability, plus one's budget. Some models its more expensive and also why max out the ram, i.e., spend money when there is no perceived benefit.
If I have plenty of free ram and my page outs are low. Why drop a hundred or more when there will be no benefit.
I'm strongly considering upping my MBP's RAM to 8GB. 4GB is still usable for my video & picture editing, though my MBP does get pretty laggy.
EDIT: I could be wrong here; read three posts down. Leaving original message here for posterity.
This will sound like a cop-out, but it depends on your use patterns--how long the computer was on, what tasks you were doing, etc.
Say, for instance, you opened a large file in Photoshop, which required you to use your swap file. Your system slowed down for a bit, but after that, everything was fine. In that case, you really don't need to upgrade--you only ran out of memory for a brief period of time.
On the other hand, if your system was constantly swapping out memory, that means it was maxed out all day. In that case, upgrading your RAM would be more beneficial. If you notice frequent slowdowns on your computer, then your scenario is closer to this case.
Your page outs aren't terribly high. You might notice some difference, but I don't think it would be huge. If your goal is simply to eliminate page outs, then go for it, though you should know that it's always possible to exhaust your RAM, no matter how much you have. It just becomes less and less likely the more you have.
Really, what matters is if the perceived difference in speed is worth the cost to you. But if you're seeing page outs frequently in SL, then I would recommend upgrading for Lion.
tl;dr Couldn't hurt
This will sound like a cop-out, but it depends on your use patterns--how long the computer was on, what tasks you were doing, etc.
Say, for instance, you opened a large file in Photoshop, which required you to use your swap file. Your system slowed down for a bit, but after that, everything was fine. In that case, you really don't need to upgrade--you only ran out of memory for a brief period of time.
On the other hand, if your system was constantly swapping out memory, that means it was maxed out all day. In that case, upgrading your RAM would be more beneficial. If you notice frequent slowdowns on your computer, then your scenario is closer to this case.
Your page outs aren't terribly high. You might notice some difference, but I don't think it would be huge. If your goal is simply to eliminate page outs, then go for it, though you should know that it's always possible to exhaust your RAM, no matter how much you have. It just becomes less and less likely the more you have.
Really, what matters is if the perceived difference in speed is worth the cost to you. But if you're seeing page outs frequently in SL, then I would recommend upgrading for Lion.
tl;dr Couldn't hurt
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Nope. My iMac is already maxed out at ... 16GB.
Actually if you have a 2011 iMac you can go up to 32GB i think.
As for the OP i'm quite content with my 8GB but it's nice to know i can go up to 16GB later on when things are cheaper.
This is not correct. You will always have page outs and having page outs does NOT mean you are running out of memory. It doesn't even mean you are swapping to disc. What you want to look at is how many page outs you have compared to page ins. It's the ratio that matters. If the number of page outs are nearing or exceeding half of the number of page ins, you have an issue - as in you need more memory. If it is nowhere near that, you have plenty of memory for how you use it.
Could be you're right. I'm just going by what I read here and other places:
http://www.interrupt19.com/2009/06/15/os-x-memory-usage-explained/
http://www.interrupt19.com/2009/06/15/os-x-memory-usage-explained/
It's a bit of an over simplification of what is going on. Best is to look at the ratio of page in/page out. If page out is a very small number compared to page in, you don't have anything to worry about. For instance, right now I have 712 page outs versus 612,000 page ins, so nothing to worry about. However, if I would have in excess of 300,000 page outs, I'd be looking for more memory (if it could take more) or a different computer.
it may be just me but lion GM feels a bit sluggish on my mid-2007 20" iMac running on 2G of RAM. will it make a difference if i upgrade to 4G?
Ouch. I feel the same with mine. Seriously considering iMac for next Apple now that they have 4 RAM slots. The entry model is quite good value but with only 500GB you have the privilege of paying
300 more for 1TB and there no way I am going to try putting in a HD upgrade on those iMacs. Have you seen the take apart!!. One solution with the entry iMac is to connect a boot HD with THUNDERBOLT....When they are cheaper. But I guess just when you buy it
bring out that small headless iMac for 1500 with two HD bays. You know the one, the one we have been looking for for years.
The entry model is quite good value but with only 500GB you have the privilege of paying
You can't. The new iMacs only support drives with Apples frameware.
Hopefully someone will come up with a walk around though.
I've got myself 2x4gb crucial ram and an intel 320 ssd both of which i am putting in when lion arrives. Been wanting to upgrade for a while now and with the ram at 70 there was no reason not to. Combined with the ssd i am expecting a lot of perfomance increase
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I'm maxed out at 3 GB on my mini, so no.
I'm maxed out at 3 GB on my mini, so no.
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I'm seriously considering upgrading my RAM from 4GB. I have had some people say that Lion uses more memory, and some have said otherwise. I found a deal for $60 for 8GB which'll expire soon, so I need to make a decision before I get to actually try out Lion. Hmm ...
