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Try opening and editing a 30 megapixel file in Photoshop while running other applications and then get back to me...

If you're working with a bunch of 30 MP images, why do you even have other applications open? :confused:

When I'm working with 20 GP images, I do not have other applications taking up my precious resources just so I can prove my computer can handle it.
 
If you're working with a bunch of 30 MP images, why do you even have other applications open? :confused:

When I'm working with 20 GP images, I do not have other applications taking up my precious resources just so I can prove my computer can handle it.

Well maybe a Mail app and a chat window would be obvious candidates but you're right, it seems like many people do this just to benchmark their machines. That's also probably why 95% of owners aren't even aware such heated discussions exist.
 
I have the same machine as you.

Try a non HiDPI resolution on your rMBP. There is a app that will change the resolution to a non HiDPI one. I am running non HiDPI 1680x1050, and I am saving allot of memory compared to running the default HiDPI resolution.

With great intrepidation I purchased my base rMBP (256 SSD, 8 GB RAM) because it was on sale at Best Buy a couple of weeks ago with 18 months zero interest financing...and they just happened to have one in stock. I had already decided that I would have greater peace of mind with 16 GB RAM, but after being reassured that I could return my purchase if it didn't perform as expected (as a side note, boy has Best Buy changed their return policy!), I couldn't resist.

Bottom line, at least for me, is that the base machine performs well...until I open Aperture and work in it for a bit...then let the paging out begin. As a side note, I always close out all other programs except sometimes I have iTunes open and I listen to music while working. I also notice a lag in performance when this starts. So, I am giving serious consideration to returning it and going with 16 GB. Bottom line is that if you are a regular Aperture user, you might want to consider the upgrade...love the program, but it is a total RAM hog.
 
I previously owned the mid 2012 15' rMBP 16gb.

Just got the early 2013 15' rMBP 8gb. I was debating between 8gb or 16gb for this machine and, after reading this forum plus never used more than 8gb on my old machine, I decided to go for the 8gb.

I run the same softwares on both machine and I noticed that the fan goes on a lot more often on the 8gb vs the 16gb. On the 16gb, I never had any "page out" and rarely heard the fan. Should I upgrade to the 16gb for safety measures?
 

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WindowServer process is such a memory hog at retina resolutions, 482.2 MB that is allot.


I previously owned the mid 2012 15' rMBP 16gb.

Just got the early 2013 15' rMBP 8gb. I was debating between 8gb or 16gb for this machine and, after reading this forum plus never used more than 8gb on my old machine, I decided to go for the 8gb.

I run the same softwares on both machine and I noticed that the fan goes on a lot more often on the 8gb vs the 16gb. On the 16gb, I never had any "page out" and rarely heard the fan. Should I upgrade to the 16gb for safety measures?
 
I would go with 16GB. Its a cheap way of futureproffing.

You never know what application might come your way. My sister would easily bypass 8GB with photoshop.

And with an SSD+Extra ram you can run a virtual machine and it will feel as fast as native.
 
I have the same question. Looking to make the leap from a Dell Inspiron 1525 to the MacBook Pro. Looking at the 512SSd and either 8GB or 16GB...

I do a lot of photography and a lot of photoshopping and then your usual ever day stuff...
 
My sister would easily bypass 8GB with photoshop.

Strange. I'm bypassing 8GB just using Chrome and Activity Monitor. 4GB of inactive memory. Mountain Lion eats RAM for breakfast :eek: it could be just my machine though. My previous MacBook with 2GB RAM wouldn't surpass 1.5GB, and this was with light multitasking (Chrome, Mail, Word, Outlook open).
 
Strange. I'm bypassing 8GB just using Chrome and Activity Monitor. 4GB of inactive memory. Mountain Lion eats RAM for breakfast :eek: it could be just my machine though. My previous MacBook with 2GB RAM wouldn't surpass 1.5GB, and this was with light multitasking (Chrome, Mail, Word, Outlook open).

Depending on who you ask it's either Mountain Lion having efficient memory management (meaning OS X is using all available resources to make programs run as efficiently as a possible...i.e. what good is having free RAM sitting there doing nothing?) or poor memory management. In either case it's not your machine, it's ML.

The only thing you should really be concerned about is your real world performance and your page outs in Activity Monitor. If you're starting to see heavy page outs in your every day workload and degraded performance you may need more RAM.
 
Think ahead

Hey,

The ram isn't upgradable on these, so buy maxing out the ram you make it future proof.

My wife and I gave both our early 2008 15 inches MBP to our twins sons, the MBP works very well still but we upgraded the ram.

You can't do that with a rMBP, a few years from now you might want to replace it and what if 8 GB if a minimum in say 2016? The amount you would pay now to max out the memory would more than pay for itself in resale value.

And there are some ressources hungry applications out there, some developer creates applications that uses as much resources as your system will allow. So 8 GB might be more than enough now but 2-3 years from now? I rarely have only 1 application running at the time, don't know about you.

I bought the 2012 cMBP and upgraded the stock hdd with an ssd and while I was in there I maxed out the memory too. If I had bought the rMBP I would have maxed it out to make sure that at that price it could last me a long time.
 
Depending on who you ask it's either Mountain Lion having efficient memory management (meaning OS X is using all available resources to make programs run as efficiently as a possible...i.e. what good is having free RAM sitting there doing nothing?) or poor memory management. In either case it's not your machine, it's ML.

The only thing you should really be concerned about is your real world performance and your page outs in Activity Monitor. If you're starting to see heavy page outs in your every day workload and degraded performance you may need more RAM.

Thanks :) so it's a software thing.

I doubt I'll have a need for more RAM for a while yet. Not getting any page outs at all and if I do it'll be insignificant since the SSD is so much faster than a traditional HDD.
 
Just bought the new base rMBP last night. New to Mac's after years on Windows. Yes I use Android and need to learn how to flash ROMs on my GNex on the rMBP which is cause for a whole different topic.

Anyway, I wanted upgraded RAM but after reading this thread it's obvious I don't need it. I don't do any intensive Photoshop or programs of that nature, just light Photoshop work. Even today I noticed iTunes and Chrome took 6 GB of RAM. Which caused me concern Any ideas if that is normal? I want to say it is, but I have no clue.

The system is great and while the learning curve is moderate after many, many years of Windows use I'm getting the hang of it. So I agree unless you do heavy amounts of work with intensive programs 8GB of RAM is more than enough for the average user.
 
Anyway, I wanted upgraded RAM but after reading this thread it's obvious I don't need it. I don't do any intensive Photoshop or programs of that nature, just light Photoshop work. Even today I noticed iTunes and Chrome took 6 GB of RAM. Which caused me concern Any ideas if that is normal? I want to say it is, but I have no clue.

Strange. If it were 16GB of RAM you had in your machine then I'd consider that normal. It's a software thing; ML allocates as much RAM as it can for resources to use, so there's little wasted. Even then, I'm still sitting on too much free RAM (right now, I have 13GB just sitting there doing nothing). But I need the extra RAM for the Adobe Creative Suite I'll be running, in addition to VMs I may use in the future.

Check your inactive RAM, perhaps? That was the primary user of my RAM the first time I booted up. Used 9GB, 4 of which was inactive. If it is indeed your inactive RAM seemingly taking up the available space, don't worry too much. It'll automatically be allocated elsewhere if needed. Just watch those page outs, but likely you won't be able to see a noticeable hit in performance since the SSD is many times faster than a traditional hard drive of old.
 
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