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Mixing RAM

M

mikeycol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 5, 2012
3
0
Hi, I have just ordered the 2012 mac mini with 2.3ghz i7 and fusion drive, but could I get some advice on RAM

I use the computer for photo processing in light room, often with 8gb of photos from one shoot being modified at once, I would like to have safari and itunes plus various other applications open at the sametime. I also do web design and publishing so its likely photoshop and indesign will be open at the sametime with numerous safari tabs, word etc.

I have kind have reached the conclusion that 16 might not be needed, would 8 do the job?

Or could i just buy 8gb from crucial and install it with the factory installed apple 2gb stickb, giving me 10gb? Would this mix work ad be compatible together, please excuse my lack of knowledge on this point
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
mikeycol said:
Hi, I have just ordered the 2012 mac mini with 2.3ghz i7 and fusion drive, but could I get some advice on RAM

I use the computer for photo processing in light room, often with 8gb of photos from one shoot being modified at once, I would like to have safari and itunes plus various other applications open at the sametime. I also do web design and publishing so its likely photoshop and indesign will be open at the sametime with numerous safari tabs, word etc.

I have kind have reached the conclusion that 16 might not be needed, would 8 do the job?

Or could i just buy 8gb from crucial and install it with the factory installed apple 2gb stickb, giving me 10gb? Would this mix work ad be compatible together, please excuse my lack of knowledge on this point
Click to expand...
If you can afford it, one approach is to just go with 16GB to ensure you don't have to worry about maxing out your RAM for a while. To determine if you can benefit from more RAM, launch Activity Monitor and click the System Memory tab at the bottom to check your page outs. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and track page outs under your normal workload (the apps, browser pages and documents you normally would have open). If your page outs are significant (say 1GB or more) under normal use, you may benefit from more RAM. If your page outs are zero or very low during normal use, you probably won't see any performance improvement from adding RAM.

Using Activity Monitor to read System Memory and determine how much RAM is being used
 
M

mikeycol

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 5, 2012
3
0
Sorry, I should have mentioned, I live in Colombia and am back in the UK for a week in a couple of weeks, during this time I will pick up the computer and the memory. Therefore I won't have time to do these tests, order and install, I will have to make the order now and pick it all up when I'm home, hence I'm trying to make a best guess now so everything is ready.
 
GGJstudios

GGJstudios

macrumors Westmere
May 16, 2008
44,545
943
mikeycol said:
Sorry, I should have mentioned, I live in Colombia and am back in the UK for a week in a couple of weeks, during this time I will pick up the computer and the memory. Therefore I won't have time to do these tests, order and install, I will have to make the order now and pick it all up when I'm home, hence I'm trying to make a best guess now so everything is ready.
Click to expand...
In that case, go with 16GB to be sure, especially since it's not that expensive.
 
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