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High Temperature Memory Module A1
- Thread starter whatlifeforme
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That is certainly not too hot. Check activity monitor to try to see what may be slowing things down.
kernel_task is the most memory intensive; it is currently using around 500mb. I have 4gb. I just formatted my computer with a fresh install of mavericks, and it is still slow. I only have a few tabs open in safari and chrome.
I was thinking of replacing with 16gb ram. My cpu is the next bottleneck, but i think more ram would be a big step or an ssd. If i replaced my ram with new ram, would it change those temps that i am seeing? when it says memory module a1, it means one of the actual memory sticks is hot correct?
I was thinking of replacing with 16gb ram. My cpu is the next bottleneck, but i think more ram would be a big step or an ssd. If i replaced my ram with new ram, would it change those temps that i am seeing? when it says memory module a1, it means one of the actual memory sticks is hot correct?
That isn't too hot for memory and (too) hot memory would just crap out with errors, not cause the machine to run slow. There is only a temp sensor on the one memory slot, no sensor at all on the other.
As you have been advised, see what is using cpu to see what is making the machine slow.
As you have been advised, see what is using cpu to see what is making the machine slow.
is there any kind of benchmark / hardware stress test tool that will tell me where any bottlenecks are in my hardware causing lowered performance?
If you have a new install of OS X, it's very likely your system resources are being used for "set-up" activities, such as indexing your drive and other tasks. How long has it been that you've been running on the new OS?
You may or may not see any improvement in performance by adding RAM. It depends on the memory requirements of your typical workload. It's unlikely you'll see any change in temps by adding RAM.
Your temps are well within the safe and normal operating range. I wouldn't worry about temps at all, based on your readings.
IMO, the reading is anomalous. It's very weird that RAM should be hotter than the CPU. I would do a memory test using the built-in apple diagnostics overnight, see if it turns something out. On the other side, problems with RAM should result in a kernel panic, not slowdown.
i took to a apple authorized repair shop. They ran tests on the memory and the hard drive, and it passed. However, they said there might be a software issue, and that "drop box was slowing down the computer."
Warranty only covers hardware not software, so I would need to pay $100 for them to "fix it," and with the $100 that they would charge, i could instead buy 16gb of ram and format with mavericks again, although it is time consuming for me.
I just don't know how it would be software if I just reinstalled and literally have installed nothing but dropbox, spotify, VLC, and setup my icloud, imessage, mail
I might take to my university IT department to see if they can help.
However, i felt like they were just trying to get $100 out of me for nothing but a simple format. What do you think?
I need music, youtube, word, and tons of tabs for research articles for writing class papers for college. I usually keep about 4 workspaces open (browser in one, different word documents in the others).
Warranty only covers hardware not software, so I would need to pay $100 for them to "fix it," and with the $100 that they would charge, i could instead buy 16gb of ram and format with mavericks again, although it is time consuming for me.
I just don't know how it would be software if I just reinstalled and literally have installed nothing but dropbox, spotify, VLC, and setup my icloud, imessage, mail
I might take to my university IT department to see if they can help.
However, i felt like they were just trying to get $100 out of me for nothing but a simple format. What do you think?
I need music, youtube, word, and tons of tabs for research articles for writing class papers for college. I usually keep about 4 workspaces open (browser in one, different word documents in the others).
I agree. If the problem was inherent with Dropbox, all Dropbox users would be experiencing the same thing. I would back up, reformat the drive and reinstall all the apps, then restore the user files from your backup.
You might get more useful feedback if you provided some details about your system. For example if it's an older machine with an HDD then I'd say that's almost certainly your problem. If the HDD is on its way out it will start to cause serious system performance issues. In many cases disk access can be a "blocking" event that the software has to wait for, so if the disk is having issues the whole system can feel like it's constantly getting "stuck."
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While it is running slow you need to post the activity monitor cpu page in full. That will tell you what is running.
If you have reinstalled then Spotlight WILL likely be indexing the drive, that can cause an impression of slowness for a couple of days.
Also, what is slow? VLC playing video? Music? everything about the interface? Are you getting beach balls?
If you have reinstalled then Spotlight WILL likely be indexing the drive, that can cause an impression of slowness for a couple of days.
Also, what is slow? VLC playing video? Music? everything about the interface? Are you getting beach balls?
It is 15 Inch early 2011 mbp (purchased it in august of 2011 though, new).
-2 GHz Intel Core i7
-4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3
-500 GB 5,400 rpm HDD (i think); i know its not an ssd, and pretty sure its not 7,200 rpm.
-Intel HD Graphics 3000 384 MB
I don't think its my HDD though because it is occurring with programs that are already open and in the memory.
If i have chrome with 6-7 tabs (research articles and youtube videos, maybe pandora). Then, I have like 3-4 instances of word running each on separate workspaces.
When i switch between workspaces, or tabs on chrome, there is a delay. Also, pdfs are slow to load. There are a few other problems that i will have to remember.
Has everything worked fine earlier?
When did the problems start to appear?
What happened to Mac during that time?
When did the problems start to appear?
What happened to Mac during that time?
i am not sure. it seems that it has always been a bit slow. i suppose when i upgraded to mavericks it got worse.
I'd bet my left hand that SSD will fix everything for you. It's probably dying hard drive but might be connector.
If you have access to other newer hard drive or SSD (from friends etc.) - try it.
the apple authorized repair store I took my computer to (not an actual apple store), ran tests on the hard drive and it passed. However, that means it is working normal for a 5,400rpm. There may be nothing wrong with the drive, but 5,400rpm drives in general are slow in current times.
Thus, although problems occur when applications are just in memory, i do think an ssd would help. hmm. memory or ssd upgrade...?
the apple authorized repair store I took my computer to (not an actual apple store), ran tests on the hard drive and it passed. However, that means it is working normal for a 5,400rpm. There may be nothing wrong with the drive, but 5,400rpm drives in general are slow in current times.
Thus, although problems occur when applications are just in memory, i do think an ssd would help. hmm. memory or ssd upgrade...?
SSD. No brainer.
But an SSD is a big fix, its like fixing your car by buying a Ferrari....instead of potentially changing a spark plug...
Chrome is a resource hog, pdfs need to load from HDD or the web so will be slower depending on their size.