Is 2GB of RAM enough?

Calot said:

Well, you must ONLY use Safari with ONE tab open.

I am currently listening to music, have 3 tabs open in safari, and when I open the Mac App store it shows that I'm using 2.72 GB of RAM.

Sure, 2Gb is enough, if you only check your e-mail or watch SD videos in Youtube.

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That is not right, there is somethng wrong with your computer if you're using that much RAM for that.

Also worth noting that youtube uses flash, and upgrading your RAM won't affect the way it runs. Your CPU and video will be the drivers of that and whether it can adequately process SD or HD

Calot said:

Well, you must ONLY use Safari with ONE tab open.

I am currently listening to music, have 3 tabs open in safari, and when I open the Mac App store it shows that I'm using 2.72 GB of RAM.

Sure, 2Gb is enough, if you only check your e-mail or watch SD videos in Youtube.

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Oh well. I guess my Air is magic, then, since I do way more and surf the web with dozens of tabs (2GB 2011 here) with no issues. Not sure why people have a fascination with seeing how much RAM is being used. I have never done that, and don't care to- if things are working well, why care about the numbers?

Zackmd1 said:

I have been using a 2010 macbook air 2gb ram for the last 2yrs and while yes it doesn't choke on normal tasks I wish every day I had more! Comparing my mba to my friends mbp 2009 with 4gb I was surprised to see how much more fluid transitions and mission control were on his compared to mine. My advice is 4gb minimum!

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I think your problem is your C2D processor, not the RAM.... since I have no such issues with transitions and Mission Control (mine is an i5), even when compared to my sister's MBP (C2D) 2009 with 8 GB of RAM.

Not enough. Get more RAM

Lets face it, Mac users always start with "oh, its just gonna be web browsing" and then when you get this awsesome machine you start Skydiving with it, 2GB is not enough

Bez59 said:

Hi, I am planning on getting a MacBook Air for my wife for christmas and i'm not sure if 2gb of ram will be enough or if i should get one with 4gb.

She will only be using it for web browsing and playing games like family farm and dragon city on facebook.

Will 2gb be enough?

If i got one with 2gb and it wasn't enough can i upgrade it or is it not replaceable?

Thanks.

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Order it with 4 - they are not upgradable.

If she tries to use it with 2 GB she might end up throwing it at you.

Sure 2gb ram is enough for her use. No question 'bout it. Is 4gb preferable? Of course, but the question whether 2gb will do or not, it's definitely enough..

Lukewarmwinner said:

Sure 2gb ram is enough for her use. No question 'bout it. Is 4gb preferable? Of course, but the question whether 2gb will do or not, it's definitely enough..

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I agree with this post, from direct experience using a MBA with that spec, both for more demanding functions and similar activities to Bez59's description. It's not ideal but it's pretty workable, especially if the MBA is mainly used as an Internet appliance.

myrtlebee said:

Oh well. I guess my Air is magic, then, since I do way more and surf the web with dozens of tabs (2GB 2011 here) with no issues. Not sure why people have a fascination with seeing how much RAM is being used. I have never done that, and don't care to- if things are working well, why care about the numbers?



I think your problem is your C2D processor, not the RAM.... since I have no such issues with transitions and Mission Control (mine is an i5), even when compared to my sister's MBP (C2D) 2009 with 8 GB of RAM.

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Well my friends macbook pro was running a core 2 duo at 2.26ghz so I didnt think it would make that much of a difference. (both are running SSD's by the way)

2GB for basic usage would be ok with Snow Leopard. Lion/Mountain Lion you really want 4GB, even for your basic stuff IMO.

2IS said:

Lion/Mountain Lion you really want 4GB, even for your basic stuff IMO.

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Nah. I'm running ML on 2GB as smooth as butter. Haven't had any issues whatsoever.

Calot said:

Yeah OH MY GOD YOU'RE RIGHT!

SOMETHING IS WRONG!

14000 songs is wrong.



Mongoloid

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Unless you're playing the all of them at once i'm not sure what your point is.

Reported for use of derogatory language by the way.

myrtlebee said:

Nah. I'm running ML on 2GB as smooth as butter. Haven't had any issues whatsoever.

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Yes. I'll stick with my suggestion. You'll just need to make friends with the fact not everyone is going to agree with you. I'm glad it's working out for you, it wouldn't for me and I'm not that heavy a user.

2IS said:

Yes. I'll stick with my suggestion. You'll just need to make friends with the fact not everyone is going to agree with you. I'm glad it's working out for you, it wouldn't for me and I'm not that heavy a user.

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You say "it wouldn't for me".... yet how do you know? Do you own a 2011 11" MBA with 2GB RAM as I do?

You claimed it doesn't work well with Lion or ML, and that is not true. One can have opinions, but one cannot make up facts. I am using 2GB with Mountain Lion and it is fine. No problems, that's a fact.

You're free to post your opinion, but if I feel the urge to refute it, I will, and can, do that as well. You'll just need to "make friends with that fact".

myrtlebee said:

You say "it wouldn't for me".... yet how do you know? Do you own a 2011 11" MBA with 2GB RAM as I do?

You claimed it doesn't work well with Lion or ML, and that is not true. One can have opinions, but one cannot make up facts. I am using 2GB with Mountain Lion and it is fine. No problems, that's a fact.

You're free to post your opinion, but if I feel the urge to refute it, I will, and can, do that as well. You'll just need to "make friends with that fact".

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Have that same machine here and works with no issue too, i run parallels and office plus several services always online and delivers.

If the money for extra 2gb is no problem go for it either way she will be fine.

Because the base model now has 4GB of RAM, I would say that Apple is saying that 4GB should be the minimum to run well for a few years. 2GB is plenty to do what is described and with no OS upgrades it will run smoothly for years most likely. However if someone is future proofing their laptop then at this point 4GB should be the minimum. That is not saying that 2GB is not enough, as it clearly is, but that 4GB will take you further into the future. An Apple laptop is an investment and I don't want to pay that every two years.

Johnny Alien said:

Because the base model now has 4GB of RAM, I would say that Apple is saying that 4GB should be the minimum to run well for a few years. 2GB is plenty to do what is described and with no OS upgrades it will run smoothly for years most likely. However if someone is future proofing their laptop then at this point 4GB should be the minimum. That is not saying that 2GB is not enough, as it clearly is, but that 4GB will take you further into the future. An Apple laptop is an investment and I don't want to pay that every two years.

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Exactly. Today it will work just fine, but a year down the road on a new osx...you would be pushing it.

mattopotamus said:

Exactly. Today it will work just fine, but a year down the road on a new osx...you would be pushing it.

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Thats were apple have everyone, you dont need to update just because....

For her needs its fine if extra money is no issue go for 4gb if not its no problem.

Switchback666 said:

Thats were apple have everyone, you dont need to update just because....

For her needs its fine if extra money is no issue go for 4gb if not its no problem.

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That is one thing apple does. With each update, be it Mac or OSX, your machine takes a hit. Android on the other hand makes an old phone feel faster with a new OS.

myrtlebee said:

You say "it wouldn't for me".... yet how do you know? Do you own a 2011 11" MBA with 2GB RAM as I do?

You claimed it doesn't work well with Lion or ML, and that is not true. One can have opinions, but one cannot make up facts. I am using 2GB with Mountain Lion and it is fine. No problems, that's a fact.

You're free to post your opinion, but if I feel the urge to refute it, I will, and can, do that as well. You'll just need to "make friends with that fact".

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Because I returned a 2GB model after owning it for 2 days. I wanted a 4gb model with the 128gb SSD but it was BTO only. I didn't want to wait for it so I thought I could get by on 2gb (which had the cheaper 128gb options I wanted) well it was clear that wasn't going to cut it so I returned it and ordered the 2gb one.

I ended my first post with IMO and it was based on my experience. You can't refute that, trying to refute my own experience by using you as an example is retarded. What works for you isn't going to work for everyone. Its one thing to say you think 2gb is plenty, its another to say or imply everyone who doesnt agree with you is wromg. Get over yourself.

Funny you mention fact when youre the one attempting to pass off real facts by ignoring real memory usage and using a very subjective metric, (how you "feel" its running.) 2gb is enough isn't a fact. You think 2gb is enough for you might be, but you are not everyone, everyone is not you. Like I said, get over yourself.

2IS said:

I ended my first post with IMO and it was based on my experience. You can't refute that, trying to refute my own experience by using you as an example is retarded. What works for you isn't going to work for everyone. Its one thing to say you think 2gb is plenty, its another to say or imply everyone who doesnt agree with you is wromg. Get over yourself.

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Sigh... that's not what I was saying. I was saying that you claimed OSX Lion and Mountain Lion don't work well with 2GB. The fact is, they do. It's not a matter of opinion. It's either they do or they don't. Whether you think 2GB is enough to run certain applications or is enough to "future proof" for future OSX iterations is another matter. I have already conceded that 2GB is not optimal for iMovie and iPhoto. I think at this point I will continue tending to my turkey seeing as it understands me more than you seem to.

"work well" is subjective.


however, as someone else pointed out, buying a machine for about a grand and crippling it with 2gb of non-upgradable memory when the cost to go to 4gb is perhaps 5-10% of purchase price is pretty stupid.

myrtlebee said:

Sigh... that's not what I was saying. I was saying that you claimed OSX Lion and Mountain Lion don't work well with 2GB. The fact is, they do. It's not a matter of opinion. It's either they do or they don't. Whether you think 2GB is enough to run certain applications or is enough to "future proof" for future OSX iterations is another matter. I have already conceded that 2GB is not optimal for iMovie and iPhoto. I think at this point I will continue tending to my turkey seeing as it understands me more than you seem to.

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It actually IS a matter of opinion and as stated above, IS subjective. Paging out to the drive (even if it's an SSD) is not my idea of working well. I gave my opinion based on my experience, you gave yours. I'm not going to agree with you, I know better.

Stating that you know better is also subjective

Switchback666 said:

Stating that you know better is also subjective

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Help me out... What's your point?

2IS said:

Help me out... What's your point?

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Im joking mate

throAU said:

however, as someone else pointed out, buying a machine for about a grand and crippling it with 2gb of non-upgradable memory when the cost to go to 4gb is perhaps 5-10% of purchase price is pretty stupid.

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Paying 5-10% of purchase price for something which will not demonstrate commensurate value for the person paying the money is pretty stupid.