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4gb ram??

midwestfisherma

midwestfisherma

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 25, 2012
431
68
S.E. Mich
I can't believe that Apple still insists on sending these units out with a paltry 4GB of RAM!! For a base of $1K plus these should come with 8GB of RAM as the standard. WTF Apple???

End rant.....thanks
 
It is a consumer laptop. I own the 2010 model with 2GB of RAM, and RAM is never the bottleneck for me. Between light gaming (Portal 2, League of Legends, Flash based internet games), watching movies, surfing the web, and writing, there is always RAM headroom. If you are doing heavy photography work, sure, the MBA might not have enough RAM, but Apple never advertised it as a professional computer.

It is a 1000$ computer, but there has always been an Apple tax. If you want to complain about Apple, I guess this is the place most people do it, so go ahead. I just don't think this is an exclamation point worthy topic.

Matt
 
It looks like the ram-thread season started early this spring.
Did I mention future proofing against the raising ram demands of web browsing and heavy word processing.

All these people buying these useless machines ...
 
Last edited:
4GB of RAM has been plenty for me; I have never had a problem with memory on either of my MBAs based on my usage patterns. Truly, I have had other laptops with more RAM and they weren't nearly as smooth or efficient as my MBA. It is hands down the best notebook computer I've ever owned, RAM notwithstanding.

Sometimes I question whether or not some people even really know what RAM is for.
 
For me, 4GB is plenty - Because my MBA is my second Mac used only when I'm mobile. My DeskTop Mac Pro has 24GB, and that's where my main work is done.

Lou
 
RAM is the most overhyped facet of computing technology. If you are experiencing paging to disk with what you currently have or plan on running a virtual machine on a routine basis, then more RAM might be worth it. If you aren't, you probably will never notice the extra RAM.

I am typing this on an Acer Aspire that came with 4 GB. I routinely used 1 GB at most. I put in 8 GB. I still use 1 GB at most. It was pointless. Yes, there are people who need more than 4 GB, but if you are one of those, you'll know it.
 
Orr said:
It's a year-round activity.
Click to expand...
There seems to have been somewhat of a winterbreak this time.

Let me add at is point, that all mba with 2gb still seem to run buttery smooth.
It used to be that ram helped a lot, but over the last years ram demand has been stagnating and by the time more than 4gb is necessary your cpu, gpu and the rest of your machine will be hopelessly outdated.

Still, having the maximum amount of ram is truly desirable since it will bring good luck and fortune.
So says confucius.
 
midwestfisherma said:
You miss the point entirely!
Click to expand...

How so? I quoted you exactly. You said, "I can't believe that Apple still insists on sending these units out with a paltry 4GB of RAM!!". Many of the machines go out with 8GB RAM. It's entirely up to the customer how much RAM to purchase. For many (probably most), 4GB is enough. Increasing the standard RAM would raise the price of the machine. Customers that want 8GB buy 8GB. It's really simple.
 
chabig said:
How so? I quoted you exactly. You said, "I can't believe that Apple still insists on sending these units out with a paltry 4GB of RAM!!". Many of the machines go out with 8GB RAM. It's entirely up to the customer how much RAM to purchase. For many (probably most), 4GB is enough. Increasing the standard RAM would raise the price of the machine. Customers that want 8GB buy 8GB. It's really simple.
Click to expand...

His point is that a 1k machine with a form factor that is largely unchanged from 2008 is a bit pricey to only come with 128gb hard drive and 4GB RAM.

My response would be that Apple has always been overpriced for what you get in terms of performance, but their service is fantastic and the build quality is better than a lot of competitors. My only computer to last more than 3 years has been a MacBook, so the Apple cost is worth it in that regard.

If you can find a more powerful machine that is made by a company with a better reputation for customer service and can outlast many competitors all while being cheaper, let us know! I would certainly be interested in saving some cash!
 
I have 4GB in mine, it's a 2010 and that's the most it supports. It's fine until I run parallels, then it drags a bit. If I only got the 2GB model I'd be hating life... Actually scratch that, I'd just be $1300 poorer because I'd have already upgraded.
 
2IS said:
I have 4GB in mine, it's a 2010 and that's the most it supports. It's fine until I run parallels, then it drags a bit. If I only got the 2GB model I'd be hating life... Actually scratch that, I'd just be $1300 poorer because I'd have already upgraded.
Click to expand...

Minor correction: the 2010 actually works with up to 16GB, 4GB is just what Apple says is supported.
 
Jacksonc said:
Minor correction: the 2010 actually works with up to 16GB, 4GB is just what Apple says is supported.
Click to expand...

I think you're confused. MacBook Air's have the memory modules soldered onto the motherboard and they were available in 2GB and 4GB flavors for the 2010 models. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not user replaceable/upgradable.
 
2IS said:
I think you're confused. MacBook Air's have the memory modules soldered onto the motherboard and they were available in 2GB and 4GB flavors for the 2010 models. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not user replaceable/upgradable.
Click to expand...

Yes. Somehow I thought I was on a different thread. :confused:
 
2IS said:
I think you're confused. MacBook Air's have the memory modules soldered onto the motherboard and they were available in 2GB and 4GB flavors for the 2010 models. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not user replaceable/upgradable.
Click to expand...

No he is right. You said "supports".... The Nvidia Geforce 320M chipset SUPPORTS 16GB of RAM. We know this because the MBP's using that same chipset support up to 16GB of RAM. Apple only OFFERED 2GB or 4GB.

Sematics sure, but technically Jacksonc is right whether s/he realized it or not.

For reference here's everymac's page on one of the 2010 MBP's showing 16GB supported: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...o-2.4-aluminum-13-mid-2010-unibody-specs.html
 
paulrbeers said:
No he is right. You said "supports".... The Nvidia Geforce 320M chipset SUPPORTS 16GB of RAM. We know this because the MBP's using that same chipset support up to 16GB of RAM. Apple only OFFERED 2GB or 4GB.

Sematics sure, but technically Jacksonc is right whether s/he realized it or not.

For reference here's everymac's page on one of the 2010 MBP's showing 16GB supported: http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...o-2.4-aluminum-13-mid-2010-unibody-specs.html
Click to expand...

No, he isn't and neither are you. I didn't buy a chipset. I bought a laptop. A 2010 MBA, and it only supports a max of 4GB of ram. Please learn the distinction between chipset and laptop before posting nonsense and backing yourself up with a link to a completely different product.
 
midwestfisherma said:
I can't believe that Apple still insists on sending these units out with a paltry 4GB of RAM!! For a base of $1K plus these should come with 8GB of RAM as the standard. WTF Apple???

End rant.....thanks
Click to expand...

I work in IT and 4GB is enough for me. with my 11in i5 Air I use:
Word
Excel
Chrome 5-10 tabs
Safari with Netflix
Skype
World of Warcraft

I have no problems at all.

----------
2IS said:
No, he isn't and neither are you. I didn't buy a chipset. I bought a laptop. A 2010 MBA, and it only supports a max of 4GB of ram. Please learn the distinction between chipset and laptop before posting nonsense and backing yourself up with a link to a completely different product.
Click to expand...

No the hardware will support up to 16GB, but Apple will only OFFER what it wants. Saying Apple only SUPPORTS up to 4GB implies that you can add more than 4GB.

Supporting and offering are different terms.
 
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