QFT. I was running my Win 7 and Win 8 in 2 separate VM's along with my normal stuff - including Photoshop and I was using 13.5 GB or RAM. I have 16 GB
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Do I need 8GB of RAM?
- Thread starter MacBookPro13"
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I really dont see why anyone wouldn't upgrade. 8 gigs of RAM is around $50 with next day shipping and the easiest thing to install. OP said he might be getting into Photoshop. Might as well beef up your system now before that time comes.
Lion does require more memory than SL, this is evident in both usage and the minimum requirements. However, if we take Firefox out of the equation, you shouldn't really need more memory. 4GB will definitely be sufficient for most.
That said, memory is cheap, nothing wrong with upgrading to 8GB if you are definitely going to need it!
You're free to do whatever you want with your computer.
That doesn't mean you need everything. 8 GB of RAM would be useless for your use. But if you can spend some money on it, go for it.
That doesn't mean you need everything. 8 GB of RAM would be useless for your use. But if you can spend some money on it, go for it.
MacBookPro13";12661043 said:
check your activity monitor when you have most of these apps that you use, open. a common sign if you need more RAM is when you get page outs on your mac or you have absolutely close to or no RAM left.
It's cool to see how fast things changed in the tech world. While 4GB is probably still more than adequate for the average user, to some, it's getting to the point where they'll need to actually consider 8GB especially if you're running Lion. With Snow Leopard, I was more than comfortable using 4GB with VMWare but with Lion, I get a lot of page outs (in the thousands).
Since Lion I found I was paging out and using the swap file with 4GB whereas I never noticed it before with Snow Leopard. I'm running a small business with my laptop and typically have Office and Adobe suites open along with iTunes and a few browser tabs.
I recently upgraded to 8gb and noticed an instant improvement in performance. I got some Samsung ram that is 1.35 volt instead of the usual 1.5 volt so maybe it will improve battery life a bit? I don't know if that little voltage would make a difference.
BTW, Fry's has the ram on sale again. It's 1600mhz but I put it in my 17" mid-2010 MBP and it just down-clocked it to 1067. It's definitely worth it for $36.99
I recently upgraded to 8gb and noticed an instant improvement in performance. I got some Samsung ram that is 1.35 volt instead of the usual 1.5 volt so maybe it will improve battery life a bit? I don't know if that little voltage would make a difference.
BTW, Fry's has the ram on sale again. It's 1600mhz but I put it in my 17" mid-2010 MBP and it just down-clocked it to 1067. It's definitely worth it for $36.99
Umm, no? I do fine with 4gb and Parallels. It's not like I'm running a video editing software on my Windows partition.
Actually, Palpatine does need that extra memory. I'm not sure if he's still doing it but he used to manipulate PDF's that were up to 1GB, for work. He'd bring his MBA to its knees...
With that said, I don't think the OP needs more than 4GB right now, and I would take an SSD+HDD or hybrid drive over a memory upgrade. But memory is cheap, therefore an inexpensive mistake to make and helps extend the life of your computer. A couple years from now that extra 4GB should be handy.
OP, the only reason you may want to get RAM is because it is so cheap that if you find a good deal and anticipate doing something like using CS5.5 (or 6) down the road. I have done a lot of 'armchair testing' with my current and older MBP with 4 vs. 8 vs. 16 GB of RAM and if the RAM is not currently being used, then the difference in upgrading is not noticable and even benchmarks remain about the same. However, if you are currently maxing the RAM and then upgrade it, then the difference is huge. I only see the difference of the 16 GB I have now when I have something like Illustrator, Photoshop, SQL, ABBYY, SAS, SPSS, the Office Suite, 5 internet tabs, iTunes, and a virtual windows portal open...all at once.
The information you provided is very useful, but the way in which you conveyed it is not. This is a form in which you are here to help others, not mock them.
The information you provided is very useful, but the way in which you conveyed it is not. This is a form in which you are here to help others, not mock them.