Enough RAM for Comfortable Daily Use w/Early Intel machines

[mslilyelise]

My most recent Macs that I acquired late last year are the ones in my signature. When I received them, both had 4GB of memory and were running High Sierra. And while this met the requirements, I was noticing there were some times when the machine would just pause, then continue. For instance, in Safari, switching between messages in Messenger, or waiting for FB to load.

I managed to score an 4GB x 2 set of RAM for the MacBook, so it now has 8, and the big iMac has four slots, two empty, so I put the 4Gb from the MacBook into the iMac and voila. 8GB of RAM in both machines for $50.

You would not believe the improvement. Or, maybe you would. I already had an SSD in the MacBook, but the brief hesitations are gone. The iMac can run Cities Skylines on low settings! The MacBook is snappier and more responsive than my partner's three year old ASUS (which also has 8GB and an SSD).

In short, stuff as much RAM as you can in these old machines. If you're running older versions of MacOS I'm sure 4GB is fine, but as a daily driver, 8GB made a huge difference in the MacBook. Something neat I discovered, is under Activity Monitor, you can see how much memory tabs in Safari are using. Just having one Facebook tab and Messenger tab is 1GB memory right there. So if you're switching between Safari and other apps in daily use, that extra memory is a big help. Just thought I'd share in case those of you using Early Intel machines as daily drivers were on the fence about memory upgrades.

 

[Amethyst1]

In short, stuff as much RAM as you can in these old machines.

Amen to that.

 

[AL1630]

With Sierra and Firefox with a couple tabs and youtube open, my MacBook with 4gb installed is hitting about 3.5gb used and it bogs down. It could really use an upgrade, only problem is getting the DIMMs. I'll have to look around at the local used electronics store to see if they've gotten some more RAM since I was in there last.

 

[mslilyelise]

With Sierra and Firefox with a couple tabs and youtube open, my MacBook with 4gb installed is hitting about 3.5gb used and it bogs down. It could really use an upgrade, only problem is getting the DIMMs. I'll have to look around at the local used electronics store to see if they've gotten some more RAM since I was in there last.

It's definitely worth looking into. OWC has the memory for your 'Book. If any of your tabs are Facebook related they are probably consuming tons of memory. Not sure if Firefox is heavier in memory usage than Safari, but you're likely safer with Firefox on Sierra. I haven't switched yet, probably should as High Sierra is EOL.

 

[Amethyst1]

OWC has the memory for your 'Book.

Grossly overpriced as usual? And if the MacBook in question uses DDR2, the 4 GB SO-DIMMs needed to bring it past 4 GB are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

 

[mslilyelise]

Grossly overpriced as usual? And if the MacBook in question uses DDR2, the 4 GB SO-DIMMs needed to bring it past 4 GB are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

Yeah, available, but not cheap. I'll admit I didn't check off-hand, but I've used OWC in some instances where I needed old hardware upgrades. Was able to upgrade a G4 iMac to 1GB of memory and a 160GB PATA drive through them, years and years ago, so it was the go-to suggestion.

I found my 4GB x 2 kit via MemoryExpress up here in Canada for $50, but that's DDR3/1066.

 

[TheShortTimer]

Good advice. I've noticed over the years that many of my lower specced machines actually were actually unshackled with RAM upgrades and the replacement of stock HDDs with mediocre RPMs. You can never have enough RAM and as a journalist posed to a reader in the letters page of a computer magazine as far back as the 90s, regarding his unexpanded machine, what's the point of having the expansion opportunities on hand if you're not making use of them?

On the subject of Early Intel MacBooks, it's a damn shame that the first generation are limited to 2GB as their maximum capacity but Snow Leopard and a suitable Linux distro offer a good combination in that scenario.

With Sierra and Firefox with a couple tabs and youtube open, my MacBook with 4gb installed is hitting about 3.5gb used and it bogs down. It could really use an upgrade, only problem is getting the DIMMs. I'll have to look around at the local used electronics store to see if they've gotten some more RAM since I was in there last.

It's definitely worth looking into. OWC has the memory for your 'Book. If any of your tabs are Facebook related they are probably consuming tons of memory. Not sure if Firefox is heavier in memory usage than Safari, but you're likely safer with Firefox on Sierra. I haven't switched yet, probably should as High Sierra is EOL.

I find that Firefox has become increasingly sluggish and even on my i5 2011 MBP with just hardly any other programs running, it can become a huge resource hog to the point where I have to close and then reopen it for normal performance to be restored. Safari has never caused this issue. Firefox just seems to worsen in this respect with each release.

Grossly overpriced as usual? And if the MacBook in question uses DDR2, the 4 GB SO-DIMMs needed to bring it past 4 GB are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

Yeah, I've never purchased anything from OWC - nothing against them personally, it's just that I know that I can find the same items elsewhere and considerably cheaper but I suppose there's the peace of mind that comes with their brand name reputation which can be important for many people. I purchased a (Micron) 4GB module for my MB 5,2 from a Chinese seller for £25 GBP - including shipping and the only issue was the predictably long waiting time for it to arrive to the UK.

 

[retta283]

Unfortunately my 2006 Macs that I love are capped at 3GB usable memory, so they suffer on the web. Not that expensive to max them out though as a result, and a lot of them have cross-compatible RAM so even donor machines you can take RAM from and put in something else. 3GB is not really enough for the Web if you're a hardcore user. I get a lot of beachballs, even with my medium use.

 

[eyoungren]

I tend to get my ram from eBay. If it's an exceptionally large amount, such as 32GB ram when I bought my MacPro, I politely ask @LightBulbFun to do an eBay search for me. That 32GB cost me $50 (including shipping) and replaced the 8GB ram the MP came with.

When I got my first Mini it came with 2GB ram. 8GB (it's max) was ordered shortly after that for $33. The new Mini (1GB ram) I got 4GB for at $14.

I'll upgrade the ram on the MP at some point, but I need to upgrade the CPU first.

 

[RogerWilco6502]

if the MacBook in question uses DDR2, the 4 GB SO-DIMMs needed to bring it past 4 GB are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

I've run into this with my Mid '09. I love the thing to death, but I can't find a good price on 4GB SO-DIMMs sadly. My Early '08 has 6GB however and I really enjoy using that, I just need to find a good battery for it so I can take advantage of the full 2.4GHz processor.

 

[AL1630]

I find that Firefox has become increasingly sluggish and even on my i5 2011 MBP with just hardly any other programs running, it can become a huge resource hog to the point where I have to close and then reopen it for normal performance to be restored. Safari has never caused this issue. Firefox just seems to worsen in this respect with each release.

I agree. It got REALLY bloated by 2016/17, then they released quantum and it was a lot better, but I think it's slowly been getting worse since 57 came out. It's not like chrome is anywhere close to as lean as it was a few years ago either though. Unfortunately none of the browsers that are around right now seem really great or are obviously better than the competition.

By the way, does anyone know why the 4GB SODIMMs for macbooks are so expensive? Did they just not produce a lot of them back then and that's why they're rare now? The 2GBs are a fraction of the cost and seemingly way more common.

 

[TheShortTimer]

I agree. It got REALLY bloated by 2016/17, then they released quantum and it was a lot better, but I think it's slowly been getting worse since 57 came out. It's not like chrome is anywhere close to as lean as it was a few years ago either though. Unfortunately none of the browsers that are around right now seem really great or are obviously better than the competition.

It's a shame because I've been using Mozilla's offerings since 2004 after discovering how insecure Windows is by default and that Internet Explorer should not be used by anyone who values their Internet security.

By the way, does anyone know why the 4GB SODIMMs for macbooks are so expensive? Did they just not produce a lot of them back then and that's why they're rare now? The 2GBs are a fraction of the cost and seemingly way more common.

It took me two attempts to obtain one for my MB 5,2 at a reasonable price and both attempts involved East-Asian based sellers on eBay because the Western vendors wanted an arm and a leg for the same product. The first purchase was lost (stolen) in the post so I had to start from square one. Hopefully I never have to buy another one!

 

[Project Alice]

With Sierra and Firefox with a couple tabs and youtube open, my MacBook with 4gb installed is hitting about 3.5gb used and it bogs down. It could really use an upgrade, only problem is getting the DIMMs. I'll have to look around at the local used electronics store to see if they've gotten some more RAM since I was in there last.

It's definitely worth looking into. OWC has the memory for your 'Book. If any of your tabs are Facebook related they are probably consuming tons of memory. Not sure if Firefox is heavier in memory usage than Safari, but you're likely safer with Firefox on Sierra. I haven't switched yet, probably should as High Sierra is EOL.

Grossly overpriced as usual? And if the MacBook in question uses DDR2, the 4 GB SO-DIMMs needed to bring it past 4 GB are prohibitively expensive, unfortunately.

I get ram from DMS. They have a good warranty and are guaranteed to work.
I’ve only gotten one stick that was DOA for my Pismo and they replaced it right away.
I’ve got their ram in most my systems that I’ve upgraded the ram in. Fair pricing as well in my opinion.
They’re also able to get ram for very vintage machines.


I hate OWC. Extremely overpriced. They’re as bad as the iBook guy on eBay IMO.

 

[Riviera122]

I went from 4GB (Apple's limit) to 6GB (the actual limit) in my '07 MacBook Pro and definitely noticed an improvement in performance (running InDesign, Firefox, Spotify). Recommended also!

 

[MultiFinder17]

I've used an early 2008 20" iMac in my office at school for the past four years. The first year I had it, I had 4GB of RAM in it and it was... Alright. I primarily use it for Office and a few web apps, and it was decent. Three years ago I got my hands on a cheap 4GB DDR2 stick (got lucky on eBay and got one for $10 or so!) to bring it to 6GB, and it was notably better. I've bene using it like that for the past three years, and it's been a wonderful, reliable little performer.

That said, I do have a habit of maxing out my machines if possible. I've got 8GB in my 2008 15" MBP, 8GB in my 2009 mini, 16GB in my 2010 white MacBook, 16GB in my 2010 21" iMac, and 32GB in my 2010 27" iMac. There is no such thing as too much RAM in my book

 

[Amethyst1]

There is no such thing as too much RAM in my book

And there's the piece of mind of not having to consider spending money on more RAM if the machine is maxed out.

 

[TheShortTimer]

And there's the piece of mind of not having to consider spending money on more RAM if the machine is maxed out.

For some!

Somewhat off-topic...This was my first sampler: it came with 2MB as standard so I soon had the RAM upgraded to give me a bit more sampling time to play with. A well known UK record producer and arranger who owned the same sampler and its predecessor (and shall remain nameless) asked why I'd felt the need to do that as he'd never bothered with expanding the RAM. I pointed out that 2MB doesn't get you very far with a 16-bit stereo sampler that's fixed at a 44.1 Khz sampling rate - even if you switch to mono for everything.

Rather bemused at my approach, he explained that the solution is to sample your desired record with the SL-1200/1210 turntable set to full speed (45 RPM if the record is 33RPM) and full pitch so that it plays faster into the sampler thereby consuming less sample time and then correct the sampled sound by readjusting the sample back to its original speed and pitch within the onboard editor, if desired.

Whilst this method was a godsend working with the earlier generation of samplers that had non-expandable RAM - and very little RAM at that and it also gave birth to the sound of several genres including Drum & Bass, I was astounded that he'd rather go through that process every single time he wanted to sample something instead of just spending what was a pittance for the SIMMS! Besides, I was also sampling from other sources such as my TV - which had no option to speed up the audio in that manner. 😂

 

[mslilyelise]

I've used an early 2008 20" iMac in my office at school for the past four years. The first year I had it, I had 4GB of RAM in it and it was... Alright. I primarily use it for Office and a few web apps, and it was decent. Three years ago I got my hands on a cheap 4GB DDR2 stick (got lucky on eBay and got one for $10 or so!) to bring it to 6GB, and it was notably better. I've bene using it like that for the past three years, and it's been a wonderful, reliable little performer.

That said, I do have a habit of maxing out my machines if possible. I've got 8GB in my 2008 15" MBP, 8GB in my 2009 mini, 16GB in my 2010 white MacBook, 16GB in my 2010 21" iMac, and 32GB in my 2010 27" iMac. There is no such thing as too much RAM in my book

These machines really do stand the test of time if they're properly kitted out. I considered getting 16GB for my 2010 white MacBook, it was $90 instead of $50 (CDN) for 8GB and the machine isn't for gaming or pushing limits so I went with 8GB. Missed my chance at some bragging rights!

 

[mdgm]

My 2009 Minis both came from the factory with 4GB RAM. I did a CTO upgrade to get 4GB installed in my early 2009 Mini in the factory. I'm concerned that if I open it up I'm likely to break something so I'm sticking with 4GB (if the coin battery dies I may reconsider). I did the EFI update years ago that would enable it to handle 8GB RAM.

 

[mslilyelise]

My 2009 Minis both came from the factory with 4GB RAM. I did a CTO upgrade to get 4GB installed in my early 2009 Mini in the factory. I'm concerned that if I open it up I'm likely to break something so I'm sticking with 4GB (if the coin battery dies I may reconsider). I did the EFI update years ago that would enable it to handle 8GB RAM

If you haven’t opened one of those Minis before it can be quite scary. I’ve done a couple of them (my 2006 Core Duo only came with 512 Mb of memory!) and a friend’s machine as well. I used a plaster spudger, which is more or less the tool Apple used to open them too. It’s gonna make a lot of plastic snapping sounds as you loosen the case that may make you nervous but if you’re gentle you’ll be fine.

OWC sells the Apple tool for the job and it’s literally just a plastic spudger. See: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/9226761/

Theres lots of YouTube videos out there to walk you through it too, if you wanna try. I’m sure with a tool and the guidance of a good video most folks can handle it. Best of luck if you give it a try. 🙂

 

[AL1630]

If you haven’t opened one of those Minis before it can be quite scary. I’ve done a couple of them (my 2006 Core Duo only came with 512 Mb of memory!) and a friend’s machine as well. I used a plaster spudger, which is more or less the tool Apple used to open them too. It’s gonna make a lot of plastic snapping sounds as you loosen the case that may make you nervous but if you’re gentle you’ll be fine.

OWC sells the Apple tool for the job and it’s literally just a plastic spudger. See: https://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/9226761/

Theres lots of YouTube videos out there to walk you through it too, if you wanna try. I’m sure with a tool and the guidance of a good video most folks can handle it. Best of luck if you give it a try. 🙂

Yep. I've done it before too. The first time was pretty scary but it looks worse than it is.

 

[MysticCow]

Mac OS X has been RAM-hungry since the PowerPC days. I saw the old MacWorld or MacAddict (I really think it was MacWorld) chart for Photoshop usage, and gaining more RAM had a greater effect than a faster processor. It literally leveled the playing field for slower G4's.

So I'd go for as much RAM as your machine can take if the max is under 8 GB. To me, 8 is the magic number for now, but that will surely change to 16 GB as time marches on and things get more bloated...