I bought my first macbook should I bump the memory to 4 gig?

[heavy2healthy]

I bought my first mac, the $799 macbook at microcenter. Got to learn the os been a windows guy(taking a seminar at the apple store next Sat). Im used to automatically bumping ram.Is it needed on the the macbook? Thanks

 

[spinnerlys]

Not really, unless you have a lot of applications open.

Look at Activity Monitor > System Memory and see how much is free an inactive.

If you have not much inactive RAM, it might be time to buy some RAM.

But know, that the Mac came with 2 x 1GB sticks, so you have to buy 2 x 2GB sticks.


I currently have 19 applications open, not many CPU or RAM intensive and I still have 1.12GB free out of 4GB RAM.



Also have a look at the following links, as the information presented there might be helpful in your future endeavours into Mac OS X and could clear up initial confusion and may even prevent harm to your system or your files.

Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts

Mac Beginner's Guide

Finding Mac Software

List of Mac Software

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[MrCheeto]

Welcome to the Mac world, step one, forget everything Microsoft has forced into your mind and made you take for granted.

MacOS X runs GREAT on 2gb! Nothing more is needed unless you're an extreme multitasker.

No disk defrags, no anti-spyware/virus, no drivers, forget all that nonesense and just follow your instincts.

 

[ljx718]

I bought my first mac, the $799 macbook at microcenter. Got to learn the os been a windows guy(taking a seminar at the apple store next Sat). Im used to automatically bumping ram.Is it needed on the the macbook? Thanks

i would if you would like to run VM

 

[newmacboyoutube]

Not now

Upgrade in 6 months or so, when you will need 2GB. 1GB will let you pass on day to day apps today, but later on when 2GB will be minimum, you may want to upgrade to 4GB

 

[flopticalcube]

Upgrade in 6 months or so, when you will need 2GB will be the minimum for macs.
Right now, you can survive with 1GB😱

Have you tried doing anything on Snow Leopard with 1GB? Do you know what the OP is doing with his Mac? 2GB IS the current minimum in new Macs.

 

[tooz]

2GB is fine for me, until I want to use iMovie. Then I have to close EVERYTHING else, and it still freezes occasionally. If you are going to do any movie editing, go for 4.

That said, wait until you feel you really need it. There's really no point in getting 4GB's just in case. It's that easy to swap and prices are usually always on the way down

 

[Kingcodez]

For me, with leopard, 2gb was fine, except when you actually wanted to use the system, everything needs to be closed or else it will run super slow. Go with 4gb and don't look back.