More RAM....BIG improvement

I know I had this question in my mind and saw some discussion about it but I thought I'd answer the question scientifically for all new users who may have the same question.
When running itunes on a dual core Pentium 2.0ghz with 1gb or RAM, it was noticeably slow and switching between applications when itunes was "thinking" was a slow process with multiple seconds between flips.
I recently upgraded to 4GB of RAM on my machine and the difference is like night and day. Clearly (for those that had the question) 1GB of RAM when running itunes and windows XP (let alone the RAM hog that is VISTA) is not enough if you are easily annoyed by slow processing). Not sure what an upgrade to 2GB will do but with RAM being so cheap now (under $50 for 2-2GB sticks) it's well worth it...

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I have 1 GB RAM on an '07 MacBook Pro. 1) How do I check remaining memory? 2) I have Microsoft office 2004 - do I need to buy more RAM to upgrade to '11? 3) I need a new battery ... Is it worth the $$ to buy a new battery, RAM and Microsoft office 2011?

I have a MacBook Pro from '07 with 1 GB of memory. The battery is shot and my AppleCare has run out. I just upgraded the OS to 10.6.8. But a few questions:
1 - How do I even check how much memory I have left on this computer?
2 - How do I check how many battery cycles are left?
3 - I want to upgrade to Microsoft Office '11 because I don't have Adobe Acrobat to creat pdf's and I need to be able to do this for school... Instead of buying acrobat, I figured I would just upgrade to Office '11 because I can generate pdf's from Word. Roughly how much RAM does Office '11 take up?
4 - Does Apple still make batteries for this computer (from '07)? How much do they cost?
5 - How much does 1 more GB of memory cost?
AND lastly -- is it even worth it to spend the $ on more RAM, a new battery and Office '11?
Or does it make more sense to just get a new computer entirely? (trying to avoid this).
ANY help would be sooo appreciated! Thanks.

1 - How do I even check how much memory I have left on this computer?
If you're asking how to check to see if you need more RAM, open Activity Monitor and go to the System Memory tab, then compare page outs and page ins. If page outs is 10% or more of page ins, you probably need more RAM.
2 - How do I check how many battery cycles are left?
There's no limit on the number of battery cycles, it's just that the more cycles you've used the more "worn out" your battery gets. You've got a 4-year-old machine, and if it's still got the original battery, it's probably about time for a replacement battery. You can check battery health using System Profiler... look at the Power section under Hardware.
3 - I want to upgrade to Microsoft Office '11 because I don't have Adobe Acrobat to creat pdf's and I need to be able to do this for school... Instead of buying acrobat, I figured I would just upgrade to Office '11
You don't need Office 2011 to create PDFs. Any application capable of printing can create PDFs on a Mac. Just choose File -> Print, but instead of clicking the Print button in the print dialog, click the PDF button and choose Save As PDF in the menu that appears.
4 - Does Apple still make batteries for this computer (from '07)? How much do they cost?
5 - How much does 1 more GB of memory cost?
I'll "ditto" sig's answers to these.
AND lastly -- is it even worth it to spend the $ on more RAM, a new battery and Office '11?
Or does it make more sense to just get a new computer entirely? (trying to avoid this).
If Office 2004 is still working fine for you, stick with that and don't incur the costs of Office 2011. As to the RAM, only add more if the test I mentioned above indicates that you need it. If you buy more RAM when you don't really need it, you won't see much (if any) performance improvement. That just leaves the battery... and if the machine is still doing what you need it to do and you don't really need a new machine for anything, you could definitely buy a new battery and get a few more years out of it.

How much will more RAM speed up my iBook?

I am looking to upgrade my RAM.
I know that speed is a multi-factor question. I need to know what's important and what pitfalls to avoid.
I have an 12" iBook G4, 1.2GHz, 512 RAM (256 card, 256 internal). I recently installed a 120.0GB Western Digital "Scorpio" 5400RPM 9.5MM SuperSlim Notebook Drive with 8MB Data buffer.
I am choosing between a 512 or 1g RAM upgrade. My questions are:
1) How much will this speed up my computer? 2) Is the 1g really twice as fast? 3) with my specs?
I read a post where some poor cat had upgraded RAM, but didn't feel the difference in iPhoto.
My specs read pc2100 (pc2700 compatible). Will my specific machine work faster with pc2700? Comptick (which has an awesome battery price) has a 1g RAM upgrade for $189, which is pc2100. Apple's $300 1g is pc2700.
What do I need to know about the bus rate so that I don't slow things up there?

1) How much will this speed up my computer?
There is no way we can quantify this for you. It depends on your usage pattern (i.e. what application you use, how many applications open at a time, etc.).
2) Is the 1g really twice as fast?
Most certainly the answer is no. If lack or RAM was causing delays in processing, adding more RAM will alleviate those delays and make your computing experience smoother and more enjoyable. But changing your RAM from 768 MB to 1.256 GB won't double the speed of your iBook.
3) with my specs?
?? What is the question?
I read a post where some poor cat had upgraded RAM, but didn't feel the difference in iPhoto.
For the most part, iPhoto is disk intensive not RAM intensive. Therefore upgrading RAM will only improve certain aspects of iPhoto (such as photo editing).
Will my specific machine work faster with pc2700?
No, the PC2700 will operate at PC2100 speeds.
Current RAM prices from Mac knowledgeable vendors offering lifetime warranties can be found at RamSeeker.com and DealRam.com.
What do I need to know about the bus rate so that I don't slow things up there?
Nothing. Just buy PC2100 or PC2700 RAM and relax.

Opinions - time for a new computer? need more RAM, Time Machine back up full - get new computer?

I am in a quandary. My early 2008 iMac needs more Ram. I could upgrade from 2gb to 4gb for around $60. My 1T external hard drive for Time Machine is full and I do not relish the idea of it erasing old data if I continue to use it this way, but then I am shelling out more money for a new hard drive. Can get new 3T hd for about $200. Is it worth it to shore up my computer? I have recently upgraded OS to ML and it is really starting to act sluggish. I hate the idea of having to transfer everything over to a new Mac and therefore new OS. I need a working computer every day for business for my husband, so it would be impossible to go without a computer while things are being transferred over - and how long would it take for me to do that. Plus, will files and photos be transferred over exactly as I have organized them? I have spent a lot of time organizing bookmark folders in Safari, mailboxes in Mail and albums and folders in iPhoto. Don't want to start from scratch again. Also don't like the idea that the new iMacs don't have a slot for dvds and cds, playing and burning. I do a lot of this kind of thing. So then I would need to buy a separate thing for doing this as well as the computer itself. Have wondered how many things have changed from ML to Maverick. Another big learning curve???
Would really appreciate any thoughts and opinions. I am a senior citizen and don't know how to sort through this. One thing I think about is that I don't know how much longer I will be living and able to do computer work. I know everything is a risk, but would like some advice even if it is only an opinion.

It's probably time for a new machine. You won't have to start from scratch. Migration Assistant will bring over all of your data and apps (some may need to be re-activated using product keys). Depending on how much you actually have, a few hours should be all it takes over Ethernet.
Time Machine should continually erase the oldest backups when it needs space for new ones.
You might want to do both. Upgrade the RAM in the old machine to the max it will take, and buy a new machine as well. If your husband really needs a machine available all the time for business, having a 'spare' is a good thing.
Check out what's available in the refurb store. They are virtually indistinguishable from new retail stock and come with a full warranty. You can save hundreds.
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/specialdeals/mac

Aging g4 just keeps going but is more ram worthwhile?

I have a g4 that was purchased in 2000. I have never had a problem with it and probably haven't turned it off 50 times since I bought it. My question is that I can't afford a new computer but is it worth putting more RAM in it now in view of it's age? I run heavy apps on it (i.e., adobe and open-source). Currently I have 756 total RAM. My understanding is that with OS X I can go as high as 2GB so is it worth it? I know I have been extremely lucky with how this computer has performed.
The only other option I might consider is a Mac Mini with 4GB of RAM but everything I've read says that this is not a "production" machine. I am a graphic/web designer so performance is important (yeah, I know, so why am I using a dinosaur?).

Hi, helloiamamac -
There's no factual way to answer that question, only opinion.
When using OS 9, since you already have more than 512MB of RAM, adding more will not help much, as long as you are not running out of RAM under your current usage patterns. If you had less than 512MB, you could see (subjectively) an improvement in OS 9 by adding more. OS 9 can address a max of 1.5GB of RAM.
If you are using OSX, then adding more can help, specifically by reducing or eliminating the need for the OS to use swap space on the disk (a form of virtual memory). No data is read faster than data in RAM. Although fast processors (which you do not have) can manage swapping data from disks much better, it's still not as fast as reading from RAM. OSX can address a max (on your machine) of 2.0GB of RAM.
That machine, a G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) model, has four RAM slots (it was the last machine prior to the G4 MDDs which has more than three slots); each slot is rated for a max RAM module size of 512MB. Four of those give the machine's max total of 2.0GB.
You stated your machine has "756 total RAM" - might that be 768MB instead? 768MB is usually the result of one 512MB module and one 128MB module, although it could also be three 256MB modules (or some other combo of modules). In order to get 2.0GB of RAM in it, the minimum number of 512MB modules you would need is three; the max is four. You would need to balance the cost of those vs. the cost of a newer machine, one with more RAM than you have now.
By "newer" machine I am suggesting that instead of a brand new machine, you look at ones older than new, but newer than yours. Some of the G4 MDDs are going for good (i.e., low) prices, perhaps even lower than the cost of adding RAM to your machine. G5s are another possibility, provided you do not need to boot to OS 9.

Will adding more RAM to my Power Mac G5 make a difference?

I have a Power Mac G5 (Late 2005) with 1 GB of RAM, which is how I ordered it. Sometimes when I am viewing large (large viewing size) video files with Quicktime, the video files get a little choppy from time to time, especially when I have many other applications open. Will adding more RAM fix this or is it not really necessary? Also, does Leopard improve this problem? I am currently using Tiger.

Hey Tim
I'm definitely not an expert - but more Ram makes a huge difference. I'm not sure if more Ram will specifically solve your Quicktime issues or whether upgrading your graphic card is really the answer. Those more knowledgeable should jump in here. Buying Ram from 3rd parties, like OWC (making sure you do have the right compatible Ram), will improve your performance immediately. I noticed the difference when maximizing the RAm on my G4. It cannot hurt. 4GB of Ram for my G5 cost less than $200. I think Ram is the biggest bang for the buck.
Do you really need to get Leopard? The performance of Tiger on the G5 for me is solid. Seems like Tiger is optimized at this point for the G5 processor chips. Why muck around with all the potential problems you read about on these forums. Check out the Adobe forum and hear some of their nightmare stories. Who has this amount of time to waste on fixing what shouldn't need fixing in the first place. Just a thought - hope I'm not out of line for chiming in on this.
Since your model can take 8GB of Ram, indulge yourself and maybe buy another 4GB of matched Ram and if it doesn't solve your Quicktime issues, I'll bet it will make you happy with everything else.
Mike

Upgrade: more Ram or SSD ?

I am using a Mac mini 2009 with 2 GB Ram Mac OS 10.5.8
It looks like there are two options to upgrade my Mac.
1. upgrade the Ram from 2 GB to 4 GB
2. replace the internal hard drive with SSD
I just want to improve the overall performance.
Which one would you recommend?
Thank you.

Of course, the ultimate prize would be to upgrade both, but for overall performance, go SSD.
The difference is so noticeable and rewarding.
I had an early 2008 MB Pro 15" which I'd used a Cardbus SSD in the Expresscard slot for over a year. Now I have a current model MB Pro 15" which I do love, but in many respects it's no faster than my old one with the SSD.
If you are planning to do a lot of video editing and transcoding, image editing, etc. then the SSD has less noticeable improvement and is better served by better CPU and more RAM. But if you're consuming content, using social networking, importing and managing lots of files, databases, etc. then SSD it is. Reboots, launching multiple applications, Cmd+Tab(bing) between apps are all accelerated greatly by SSD.
An interesting idea, I've seen positive reacting to the new hybrid drives form Seagate which combine SSD with traditional HD storage. This way you still get 500GB but also, SSD and lower cost. In fact, then you could buy the RAM too!

What will I notice with more RAM? or FCE HD?

Right now FCE2 seems to be laboring between tasks. Since I just upgraded to the intel it is kind of a disappointment because my g4 Ibook never blinked (at all)... I like the new mac but seems like the old one handled more with less processor and same ram... Is it the older FCE2 or do I need more RAM? Would like to get dialed in for performance... so I can get more work done...

FCE2 is running under Rosetta. Since it is not a Universal Binary program it will not work as well as FCE3. 512 Mb ram is not much even for running FCE3. You would get better performance with more RAM. RAM is very cheap right now, I paid $39.00 US for a 1 GB stick recently. More RAM would help your FCE2 run better. You would also find it improves a lot of other things on your Mac.

Share more RAM with GMA 950

would be possible to share more RAM with the GMA 950 ? I have 2 GB ram and 64Mb is shared with graphic card.Let's say i would like to share 128MB will this help to something ? If yes, where i can do it? I know how to do it on PC but dunno about mac. Thanks

Yes, it would be nice but Intel graphics are set to use only so much Ram even if you have some to spare. It would not provide any better performance even if you could. Because of the design of the chip its not capable of doing a lot of with games for example. The new chip x1300 from Intel which is on the newest MacBooks will use more Ram and can play some games like Far Cry with lower resolutions and slower frame rates. But some say its still pretty good. One of the big problems is that game studio's design games for Nvidia and ATI cards and don't even consider anything else. That's is to bad for those of use who by laptops.

More RAM or memory needed to run Windows-- AutoCAD 2010 on my mac?

Hi all,
I have researched for days and have still not been able to find an answer, last time I was here I was thoroughly impressed with the help, so I'm back!
I have a MacBook 5,1, basic model 2 Ghz, 2GB, 65.7 GB free on my hard drive. I run parallels to use Windows XP to use AutoCAD 2010. I borrowed a friends Mac, a larger "better" model and was instantly jealous at the speed his computer was able to do the same tasks my computer takes when I have Windows/AutoCAD running.
So my question is.. would more RAM help with the speed and overall function of my computer? Would more memory help? A combo of both? Also where is a reliable place to purchase what I may need? The best (and most cost effective) advice for my computer would be GREATLY appreciated!
oh, would upgrading to Snow Leopard help as well? I am currently running just Leopard as far as I can tell (10.5.8). Also would this require me to reinstall all programs on my computer?
Thanks in advance,
Laura

The short answer to your question is a resounding YES! RAM and memory are the same thing, but having more of that would most definitely improve your performance at almost everything.
Upgrading to SL may help a little, but not nearly as much as more RAM. I'm not positive, but I think that model maxes out at 4GB, so that should be your goal. If it's 8GB, even better. The more RAM you have, the better things will be with a memory hungry app like AutoCAD.

Can't install more RAM, what will help?

OK need a bit of help.
My elderly iMac has been a bit problematic lately, spinning beach balls, laggy, that chuggy noise which I always think is Spotlight indexing... (can't think of a more technical way to describe it!). I've just nosed around and saw a thread saying take a look in Activity Monitor at System Momory. This is what mine shows.
The thread I looked at kept saying 'are there a lot of pageouts, without actually defining what 'A lot' of page outs were! Nosed a bit more and think I may have too many page outs?
Now, thing is, I'm maxed out on RAM, in fact this machine should only take 4GB but I managed to get it to accept 6MB, after doing some research and finding it was possible. So, I can't install any more RAM. Am also on Mountain Lion.
I have to trundle on with this Mac for a while longer. What can I do to improve my page outs and general speed of machine? Is it purely not having lots of applications open at once? I'm a designer so have CS6 installed, and use InDesign, Illust. and Photoshop. Is there anything I can do to get a bit more life out of this trusty warrior? Everything else on it works just fine.
I'm not 100% techie, but can usually sort out my mac problems if someone explains clearly!
Spec of iMac: Alu 2.8GHz C2D 6GB SDRAM (should only take 4GB SDRAM but found out that it can take 6) 1TB HD

There is excessive swapping of data between physical memory and virtual memory. That can happen for two reasons:
You have a long-running process with a memory leak (i.e., a bug), or
You don't have enough memory installed for your usage pattern.
Tracking down a memory leak can be difficult, and it may come down to a process of elimination.
When you notice the swap activity, open the Activity Monitor application and select All Processes from the menu in the toolbar, if not already selected. Click the heading of the Real Mem column in the process table twice to sort the table with the highest value at the top. If you don't see that column, select
View ▹ Columns ▹ Real Memory
from the menu bar.
If one process (excluding "kernel_task") is using much more memory than all the others, that could be an indication of a leak. A better indication would be a process that continually grabs more and more real memory over time without ever releasing it. Here is an example of how it's done.
The process named "Safari Web Content" renders web pages for Safari and other applications. It uses a lot of memory and may leak if certain Safari extensions or third-party web plugins are installed. Consider it a prime suspect.
Another process often implicated in memory leaks is "inkjet8," which is a component of the HP printing softwre. If it's present, force-quit the process in Activity Monitor to solve the problem temporarily. If you don't use an HP printer, remove the software. Otherwise, if the problem is recurrent, update the software (which may not help) or contact HP support.
If you don't have an obvious memory leak, your options are to install more memory (if possible) or to run fewer programs simultaneously.
The next suggestion is only for users familiar with the shell. For a more precise, but potentially misleading, test, run the following command:
sudo leaks -nocontext -nostacks process | grep total
where process is the name of a process you suspect of leaking memory. Almost every process will leak some memory; the question is how much, and especially how much the leak increases with time. I can’t be more specific. See the leaks(1) man page and the Apple developer documentation for details.

Allocating more RAM for LiveType

I have a G5, dual 1.8 gHz with 2 gigs of RAM and I was wondering if there was a way I could get LiveType to use more RAM - I have iDVD, photoshop, indesign, bridge, adium, mail and Camino browser running, too, and I'm using roughly 700 megs of RAM...
If I can utilize the other 1300 megs of RAM, won't that speed up the rendering and previewing (and just plain working) for LiveType?

Hi(Bonjour)!
RAM is alike a top of table furniture where you lay your working tools to do a job.
Despite the table top is big enough, the more you have tools on it, the more it will take to grab tool. You have to locate them in a bunch of others.
It's generally not a good idea to open multiple applications when you do a RAM intensive job, like working with Livetype.
With this habit, your RAM can be fragmented and the swapping content from real RAM chips to your HD (that's the way virtual memory works) take processing and caching time.
By the way, in the early days of Mac OS X, there were "memory leackage" bug that slowly "eated" the free memory.
Believe me, it's better to open only the needed application, from a cold start of your computer.
Michel Boissonneault

Benefit of more RAM

Hello,
My current desktop system (Quad Phenom II 3,4GHz, / on SSD, /home on HDD) is equipped with 8 GB RAM and no swap. I'm thinking about upgrading to 16GB of RAM. Reason is mainly some memory hungry CFD post-processing software I want to run. I wonder how the rest of the system would benefit from this upgrade? Will the system benefit from the larger disk caches etc. or will be there no effect at all? (KDE is my desktop environment)
Thx!

Osiris wrote:Maxing out regarding the actually used memory by applications, no! But since linux uses the spare memory for caches e.g. it might still have an effect.
When you're not using your memory heavy software you're not getting anywhere near 8 GB (cache included), and when you're actually using it I doubt that you give a damn about cache. Theoretically what you described is correct, but since you already have 8 GB's, then I doubt increasing it any further would have any real effect. It would be much more noticeable if you had say 2 GB's and were considering upgrading to 4 GB, even if you weren't regurarly using all of your 2 GB. So my advice would be to get more RAM only if you actually need it, i.e. if you're regurarly running out while using your CFD software.
karol wrote:You are using SSD for / so I'm not sure if there will be a noticeable improvement in e.g. system responsiveness but RAM is cheap nowadays so getting more of it (if the board supports it) shouldn't be a problem.
Why SSD, you're thinking about heavy swapping? While they're fast, SSD transfer rates still can't be compared to DDR3 speed. Moreover, while I consider the panic around poor SSD longevity (limited write cycles in particular) largely exaggerated, it is still based on truth, and a lot of swapping is one thing you want to avoid.
edit: meh scratch that, I misread your post. Swap is not what you meant, but still might be a thing to consider.
Last edited by meph (2012-03-07 22:25:04)

Will more RAM help handle large Excel files?

Hi everyone,
I know this message may be better suited to the Office for Mac Forums website, but the site hasn’t been able to validate me as a new user so far (it's been weeks of trying!), and I’m therefore unable to ask a question. So I have to resort to annoying you here.
I run Excel 2008 (12.1.7) on a 8-core Mac Pro (early 2008) with 6 Gb of RAM (OS 10.5.6). I encounter a lot of problems working with big files, such as a 385 Mb file comprised of over 600,000 row and 50 columns of mostly data (only a few columns are filled with simple formulas).
After loading the file (which took quite a while), the Activity Monitor indicated that Excel was using 1.12 Gb of Real memory an 2.11 Gb of Virtual, while 3.66 Gb of RAM was free. When I then attempted to create a PivotTable with this data, the amount of memory used by Excel gradually rose to 1.94 Gb of Real an 2.93 Gb of Virtual (2.85 Gb of Free memory was still available) while reading the data. At this point I then got a message stating that there’s not enough memory. I had to resort to breaking the file up into smaller ones to analyze the data, which is quite annoying.
I was told that being a 32-bit application, Excel 2008 was limited to handling 4 Gb of RAM. But I thought that 4 Gb being way more than the size of the file on disk, and having 6 Gb of RAM on my machine, I shouldn’t have any problem working with it. Obviously I was wrong. Can someone please clarify what’s going on here? Would more RAM significantly help?
Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Yes, I bet the Windows version of Excel is better. I think it’s definitely time to try it.
When you say “having 8 DIMMs”, do you mean filling up the 8 memory slots, or having 8 Gb? I believe I remember seeing that 10 Gb was the sweet spot, with all 8 memory slots occupied. Is that right? And what brand of RAM do you like currently, still OWC?
Thank you Hatter.

Imovie Export Time Better with More RAM ?

I have an Imac, one before latest release, 3.06 CPU and 2 Gig RAM. A 17 minute video is exporting right now using H.264 and 1920 x 1080 settings and Imovie is telling me that it will take 3 hours. Also, the source video and the exported file are both on an exernal firewire drive (which I know was a mistake).
Question, if I installed 2 gigs more RAM, would it make a big difference ?

I'm a strong advocate for maximizing RAM, but It won't shave that much time of the processing. It still takes a long time to process hd. You will feel the RAM while you work and use multiple applications. It will take out the lag. However, becareful on choosing the RAM. A friend of mine went a really inexpensive route and wound up with conflicts and problems. Its not worth the dollar savings...

IOS7 uses more RAM?

Does IOS7 use more RAM than 6.1.3? I used to have 190s MB free RAM (battery doctor) on my ipad mini which has 502 MB RAM, but after updating to IOS7 it dropped down to 100 MB even after I killed all apps on the multitasking, switched to Airplane mode, Reduced Motion and Airdrop off (if it helps).

Try a restart and see if you memory improves. There might be some old files hanging on

More RAM....BIG improvement

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