I have a macbook late 2009 (6, 1) and I asked, about a month ago, on these forums if I could purchase 8 even though apple recommends 6. Recently(starting about two weeks ago) I've noticed that everything seems to be becoming a little slower. I'm wondering if the extra RAM is causing this? At first it seems to show improvement. This is the only thing I can feel the connection could lead to.
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Did I put to much RAM in?
- Thread starter LennonLenford
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You can't put too much RAM in. If you put in more than your Mac can use, it will simply disregard the excess. In your case, your MacBook can use 8GB.
You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:
- By visiting EveryMac.com
- By using Mactracker
- By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model. (Be aware that some models can use more RAM than Apple shows. Check EveryMac or MacTracker to verify.)
For performance issues, there are a few things you can check:
- Check your Login Items under System Preferences > Accounts to see what you have automatically launching.
- Also check /Library/LaunchAgents/ and /Users/yourusername/Library/LaunchAgents/ for items launching at startup
- Look at what widgets you may have running.
- Launch Activity Monitor and change "My Processes" at the top to "All Processes". Then look to see what may be consuming system resources.
- Take a look at the System Memory tab at the bottom of Activity Monitor to see if you have excessive "page outs", a sign that you may benefit from more RAM.
- Make sure you're not running any 3rd party antivirus app, as many of those will drain resources, reducing performance. They're not needed to protect your Mac.
I only upgraded to 8gbs so it should be working fine, but I feel like I can only connect my problems to that. It says it's only used 7.2mbs of page outs so that shouldn't be a problem right?
This is what it looks like in activity monitor btw:
This is what it looks like in activity monitor btw:
Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so to properly assess them, restart your computer and track page outs under your normal workload. If they're minimal, as they appear to be, you're not routinely maxing out your RAM.
So does that cause problems and should I just downgrade again? By the way, to be more specific, the problem lies mainly in the games I play such as Starcraft II and League of Legends. The frame rate has dropped from 2-10 fps on average even though my internet connection is excellent, always been the same, and the only change i've made to my computer is the RAM about 4 months ago.
Increasing RAM would improve performance, not degrade it. Did you look at the other troubleshooting steps I posted?
Yes I did everything. The only thing I'm running is iTunes helper on startup and I don't have anything that seems to be using any of my CPU that would cause other programs to be bogged down. For widgets I figure you mean dashboard which I have none open except one calculator.
From what you've posted so far, I see no reason for decreased performance. It's certainly not your added RAM.
This is very strange :/ And I really don't know what to do. I really appreciate the help you've given me so far, and I'm sorry if I bothered you.
It's no bother at all. That's what this forum is for. You could always try reverting to your original RAM, but I really can't see the RAM being a contributing factor. If the RAM was faulty, I would expect it wouldn't boot up at all, rather than slowing performance. If the RAM isn't faulty, the only impact on performance should be an improvement. You might try reinstalling the games/apps that you're having a problem with. You can check your internet connection speed at www.speedtest.net.
There you go. I have a feeling this isn't the problem though, due to the fact I played these games before and there wasn't a problem. I also reinstalled each one before I posted on these forums(League of Legends three times).
I actually might have an idea on why this issue is occurring. My ram says there is only 50-150 mb's free when playing my game yet there is a ton that's inactive still. Why isn't my machine using the inactive RAM?
It will use it if it needs it. The fact you still show free RAM indicates it's not maxing out your RAM.
Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
That makes sense. I thought that, but I was currently watching a video and it confused a little on the whole "how ram works". This is upsetting.
Be careful where you get information. There's a lot of misinformation posted on the web. Read the link I posted for factual information about Mac OS X memory readings.
I'm just wondering if this is one with a discreet gpu or integrated graphics, and what ram you purchased specifically. Most ram is ok. Some has minor issues. I see an activity monitor screenshot, but would you take one when you're experiencing issues? I asked about this because the integrated graphics models share ram with the main memory, and you mentioned framerate issues, but I couldn't find any memory controller bug references on this.
If I'm playing a game, and the CPU is only being used on average 30%, I'm just opening up folders on my desktop, and I have plenty of sufficient RAM, shouldn't all these NOT be the problem:
1. Connection speed
2. CPU
3. RAM
Folders open up much slower when I'm in a game yet I have sufficient everything stated above. (Why would you need the internet to open up a folder
?). Just trying to pinpoint the problem.
Edit: My CPU seems to be lowering the slower things get. Does that even make sense? Shouldn't the CPU use increase? And it does this when things are not slowing down, but once they start slowing down the CPU uses less and less.
Edit 2: If this helps anymore, I purchased my RAM from http://eshop.macsales.com/.
1. Connection speed
2. CPU
3. RAM
Folders open up much slower when I'm in a game yet I have sufficient everything stated above. (Why would you need the internet to open up a folder
?). Just trying to pinpoint the problem.Edit: My CPU seems to be lowering the slower things get. Does that even make sense? Shouldn't the CPU use increase? And it does this when things are not slowing down, but once they start slowing down the CPU uses less and less.
Edit 2: If this helps anymore, I purchased my RAM from http://eshop.macsales.com/.
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Two things come to mind (and they could both be wrong).
1) If your cpu utilization goes down as your system slows down, that's not very rare. It just means that the CPU isn't the cause of the slow down.
It could be waiting for the hard drive to deliver a file; which makes sense that you said the system got very slow when you tried to use finder AND the game was playing.
2) You could be out of Video Ram. The graphics card has its own memory. If that is out of ram (like it is full of textures, meshes, calculations for a video game), then then the system is going to look slow because the graphics card is busy.
1) If your cpu utilization goes down as your system slows down, that's not very rare. It just means that the CPU isn't the cause of the slow down.
It could be waiting for the hard drive to deliver a file; which makes sense that you said the system got very slow when you tried to use finder AND the game was playing.
2) You could be out of Video Ram. The graphics card has its own memory. If that is out of ram (like it is full of textures, meshes, calculations for a video game), then then the system is going to look slow because the graphics card is busy.