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Another RAM upgrade thread

B

Baconstripss

macrumors member
Original poster
Mar 19, 2011
64
0
Hey Guys. I know this has been discussed countless times, but not quite in context with the new Yosemite OS.

I'm running public beta (non dev.) on OS X Yosemite and experiences sloppy performance. I did do that before when running Mavericks, though not as much. I know this i probably due to Yosemite still being beta and not having the best memory utilization.

Now my question is, would you guys recommend upgrading to 8 or 16 gb RAM?

My machine is a early 2011 MBP 13", 2,3 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4GB RAM. I already upgraded to a SSD. I'm mainly using it for browsing and watching movies. I do have the money to go for 16GB but taking in mind that machine is 4 years old, is it worth to pay double the money for 16 GB? Will the CPU limit the performance before 16 GB is even needed?

Thanks in advance!
 
Baconstripss said:
Hey Guys. I know this has been discussed countless times, but not quite in context with the new Yosemite OS.

I'm running public beta (non dev.) on OS X Yosemite and experiences sloppy performance. I did do that before when running Mavericks, though not as much. I know this i probably due to Yosemite still being beta and not having the best memory utilization.

Now my question is, would you guys recommend upgrading to 8 or 16 gb RAM?

My machine is a early 2011 MBP 13", 2,3 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4GB RAM. I already upgraded to a SSD. I'm mainly using it for browsing and watching movies. I do have the money to go for 16GB but taking in mind that machine is 4 years old, is it worth to pay double the money for 16 GB? Will the CPU limit the performance before 16 GB is even needed?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

If that's truly all you do on your computer then you're not likely to be limited by your CPU for years still, the i5 in that machine is plenty capable of handling browsing and movie watching.

Why do you want to upgrade to 16GB? Do you actually run out of RAM on occasions?
 
Premature to spend ANY money based on beta software. Wait until the public upgrade is available and see after that.
 
RAM won't limit performance

Your RAM will only impact performance if you are using it all, 4gb will be fine for web browsing and movies, yosemite will work with 2GB. I personally like 8gb so I can leave things open but i really don't need it for my use.
 
If you're not a power user like me running CS6 etc who needs 16Gb then you could always go to 8Gb which is far cheaper for a pair of 4's.
 
Baconstripss said:
My machine is a early 2011 MBP 13", 2,3 GHz Intel Core i5 with 4GB RAM. I already upgraded to a SSD. I'm mainly using it for browsing and watching movies. I do have the money to go for 16GB but taking in mind that machine is 4 years old, is it worth to pay double the money for 16 GB? Will the CPU limit the performance before 16 GB is even needed?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I'd say its a waste of money if you're only browsing and watching movies. If you see high memory pressure in the activity monitor then maybe upgrade to 8gb, but 16gb is overkill.
 
snaky69 said:
If that's truly all you do on your computer then you're not likely to be limited by your CPU for years still, the i5 in that machine is plenty capable of handling browsing and movie watching.

Why do you want to upgrade to 16GB? Do you actually run out of RAM on occasions?
Click to expand...

Using memory scope with ONLY Safari open with 3 tabs I got 250 mb RAM free. A couple more "normal-use" apps open and I'm down to 10-25 mb RAM free. What I like about Apple is that everything runs smoothly, so that's why I wanna upgrade. I know 8 GB RAM will probably be enough, I just thought about 16 for future proofing.

2x4 GB RAM will cost me about 120$ and 240$ for 2x8 GB so it's not so money isn't really that big of an issue.
 
Baconstripss said:
Using memory scope with ONLY Safari open with 3 tabs I got 250 mb RAM free. A couple more "normal-use" apps open and I'm down to 10-25 mb RAM free. What I like about Apple is that everything runs smoothly, so that's why I wanna upgrade. I know 8 GB RAM will probably be enough, I just thought about 16 for future proofing.

2x4 GB RAM will cost me about 120$ and 240$ for 2x8 GB so it's not so money isn't really that big of an issue.
Click to expand...
I don't know where you're getting your prices but that's bloody expensive!

Here, this'll fit your MBP for a whole lot less.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820191523

This might come out cheaper with the free shipping taken into account:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT2CP51264BF160B/dp/B005LDLVAO
 
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Baconstripss said:
Using memory scope with ONLY Safari open with 3 tabs I got 250 mb RAM free. A couple more "normal-use" apps open and I'm down to 10-25 mb RAM free. What I like about Apple is that everything runs smoothly, so that's why I wanna upgrade. I know 8 GB RAM will probably be enough, I just thought about 16 for future proofing.

2x4 GB RAM will cost me about 120$ and 240$ for 2x8 GB so it's not so money isn't really that big of an issue.
Click to expand...

Mavericks runs RAM differently, it will keep data in RAM until it needs more space so it is quite normal for RAM to appear "full" irrespective of how much you have installed. Be guide by the RAM pressure graph, if green you don't need more RAM.

Think of it as a teenager's bedroom floor, it gradually fills up with stuff that might be useful, but if something important needs to be fitted in, they will clear <just> enough space for it really quickly....
 
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Playing movies is very demanding. You will need at least 16gb ram.
And then if you want to write emails at the same time I'd recommend a maxed quadcore.

For heavy webbrowsing a nMP with 64gb ram is a must.
 
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