I'm sorry to ask such a PC question on a Mac forum...I'm about to buy a mini but first need to determine whether to buy 512 or 1gb. Does anyone know how to check pageouts on a pc running windows xp? I want to check on how much memory I use on this ol' bugger before I spend the extra dough. Also...I know X uses more memory than XP, but how much approximately, given that I do internet, Word, iTunes, basic photo editing, etc. Any help is much appreciated, I'm very excited to switch!
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Checking pageouts
- Thread starter midnitevulture
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Don't know about the PC side, but given what you will be using your Mini for I'd suggest 512MB might well be enough.
And as user-upgrades of RAM on a Mini will void your warranty then you will either need to pay for the upgraded chip as a BTO option at the time of purchase, or pay for an authorised tech to install it (OWC come to mind in the US).
1GB is very appealing, but you will need to decide if the extra expense for it is justifiable, and only you can do that.
And as user-upgrades of RAM on a Mini will void your warranty then you will either need to pay for the upgraded chip as a BTO option at the time of purchase, or pay for an authorised tech to install it (OWC come to mind in the US).
1GB is very appealing, but you will need to decide if the extra expense for it is justifiable, and only you can do that.
deebster said:
AFAIK, upgrading the RAM on the mac mini will only void your warrenty if you break something inside, as reported here.
Ya, and I would go with 512MB in your situation... it isnt that much cheaper to do it yourself (atleast in Canada), and trust me. You will need the 512. OS X needs more than 256 to run anything more than one app at a time IIRC.
I found a GB stick online for $40 more than a 512 and people have told me that it's a compatible one. The real cost for doing it is that I'll have to crack the mini open myself and risk screwing up somehow. But my thinking is that if I will EVER see a performace increase due to the increased memory, then it's worth it. I just dont know if i would ever use more than 512 running multiple internet windows (firefox or safari, whichever one takes less memory / works faster), MS office, iTunes, iPhoto and AIM. If this is the maximum I'll ever be pushing it, will I ever even hit the 512 cieling?
midnitevulture said:
You can't say that you can get a GB stick for $40 more than a 512 without telling us all where...
Doing lots of editing in iPhoto could be a reason to up your RAM. Depending on the quality of the pics you have (meaning the resolution of the pic, not the subjective quality)
Or using any video editing software is another good reason.
I agree with deebster, 512 MB is probably enough for you. Given an unlimited budget, of course get 1 GB, but it's probably not going to benefit you much. Nothing you listed would require massive amounts of RAM unless your images are all very high resolution. Let's say OS X takes up 150 MB of RAM when it boots. That gives you only about 100 MB remaining. But adding another 256 MB doesn't just double the amount of free RAM you have. Now, with 512 MB installed, you have about 3.5x (350 MB) the available amount you had with the stock machine.