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4GB enough for my usage?
- Thread starter bgro
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Nah, I meant that my 2010 MBP has 8gb and is slow as hell when I have a lot of tabs w/ videos open. I guess I'll go with 8!
Thanks
Good observation, and it isn't any more necessary than it was a few years ago. If anything, people might need less memory these days than they did a few years ago. Vista was a complete pig and so was Lion. Current versions of Windows and OS X will run better in the same amount of memory than those beasts.
The idea that software keeps getting bigger and uses more and more memory every single year is outdated.
The problem is that memory keeps getting bigger and cheaper, so the lowest end machines you can buy these days have 4GB of RAM. So people think that you can only do minimal, low-end things with such computers and just assume that you need more RAM. But these people are just looking at lists of specs in a store and making guesses without understanding the technology involved.
YMMV, depending on what you do.
Solid Works 2013 ran great on my i3 with 4 GB of RAM.
Updated to Solid Works 2014, and an assembly with only 20 parts or so gives me "Low Memory Error. Do you still want to manipulate the part? If you do, Solidworks will probably crash". And it does crash. Over an over. Dropped 16 GB in it and now I don't have that problem.
So the assertion that you need less memory today than a few years ago is true only by your usage standards. If you are doing 3D modeling, or video processing and image manipulation, it is definitely not true.
Which really doesn't help the OP, as he is inquiring about an OS X machine. I run win7 on VM Fusion on my 2012 MBA. I am very glad I have 8 GB of memory, as what I do would not work with only 4 GB.
Yeah it's definitely dependent on your usage which is why I started this thread. Really wanted to see what people with the same usage were using. If I was running a VM then I would definitely not feel comfortable with 4GB
Indeed, I should have emphasized that people might need less memory than they used to.
Of course the amount of memory you need depends on the particular software you run and the files you work with.
I'm just trying to point out that it isn't a rule that memory requirements for everything will always gradually increase, the same way that, say, parts in your car engine will gradually wear out.
A gigabyte today still contains exactly the same amount of information as a gigabyte 10 years ago.
I was in a similar dilemma 12 days back with great offers on both MacBook air and pro retina 2014 models. But end of the day, the retina screen and 8gb RAM propelled me to buy the pro.
I terms of weight, it's very minimal for you to notice unless you are always on the go. I too wanted to buy a laptop for 4/5 years usage and thus decided to go with 8gb ram considering future software updates and uncertainty of future multi-tasking needs
I had a 2010 11" MBA (that I have since given to my Mom) with 4gb RAM and never had an issue. I did a lot of video encoding (coding avi and mkv files to m4v for my AppleTV using either iVi or even handbrake and the 11" Air did just fine). Revved up the fans quite a bit but never had any other issues. I often had several Safari tabs open while using MS Office and listening to iTunes. No issues. 4gb is just fine for most anything you will do on an Air.
There's an old adage in computing. "What Intel giveth, Microsoft taketh away." Meaning that after all the gains in hardware advancements, the software companies would make more complex applications and the consumer would end up with a net wash. For the most part it still holds true. What also remains true is that a computer with lower specs will last longer performance wise if the user doesn't have to run the latest software.
An old C2D MacBook Pro running 10.6.8 with 2 GB of RAM can still be a serviceable machine even running applications like Photoshop assuming the user is running an older version. Same with 3D modeling. By your own admission, the 2013 version ran fine with 4GB. it was only when you upgraded your software that your hardware felt wanting.
Been running the Air for 2 days now and it seems like 4GB has been more than enough for my needs. I had Excel, GarageBand, Messages, and Mail open and it was only using ~3GB of the 4. I didn't experience any slowdown at all.
However, I woke up this morning with an alert that the 2014 Pro Retina Model 8GB/256GB model was on sale at Best Buy for $1199. So I'm going to end up returning the Airt and upgrading to the Pro. The screen, extra RAM, and processing power not to mention the futureproofing of the system seem to be a good deal for the extra ~$300.
But anyone doubting whether 4GB is enough for the applications/usage listed in the OP, it seems to be more than enough.
However, I woke up this morning with an alert that the 2014 Pro Retina Model 8GB/256GB model was on sale at Best Buy for $1199. So I'm going to end up returning the Airt and upgrading to the Pro. The screen, extra RAM, and processing power not to mention the futureproofing of the system seem to be a good deal for the extra ~$300.
But anyone doubting whether 4GB is enough for the applications/usage listed in the OP, it seems to be more than enough.
4 gigs is enough. I currently have 5 tabs open with safari, playing music on spotify, messages app open, photo and map open and it runs perfectly smooth. I also do photo editing and it can easily do it smoothly with everything opened. The only time I close apps is when I edit video on imovie. But even with 4 gigs it edits video smoothly. There is only a little lag with more intensive video editing.
This computer is extremely fast for its specs. The SSD is what does it. If this had a normal HD it would probably be a dog.
This computer is extremely fast for its specs. The SSD is what does it. If this had a normal HD it would probably be a dog.
Yea it was a one day Easter sale. They actually had it for the same price one day last week also, only for a few hours if I remember correctly. Set an alert on slickdeals, best buy has been running a lot of MacBook sales to get rid of the older models. I imagine there's more to come.