I Upgraded my Mac mini's Memory

[Hessel89]

So I just upgraded my Mac mini's memory from 8GB to 32GB and I wouldn't expect to say this but this actually makes a HUUUUGE difference. I'm have an LG Ultrafine 5K hooked up to my Mac mini and while the graphics may still not be as smooth as on an iMac it's certainly a lot closer. The launchpad is smoother, mission control, the dock, swiping desktops, and pressing fullscreen. it's all gone up. It appears to me that MacOS isn't so much heavy on the GPU, but much more on the CPU and the memory. Funny that I'm coming to this only after 9 years of heavy Mac usage.

 

[redheeler]

Going from 8 GB to 16+ GB also means an increase in the VRAM available to the Intel integrated GPU. This is likely what made the most difference driving a 5K display.

 

[jasnw]

So, do you need to go all the way to 32GB to get this level of performance, or is there some spot between 8 and 32 GB where the gain in performance vs. addition GB flattens out? Any tests on this out there?

 

[vanc]

Attach an eGPU and all the UI sluggishness would be gone.

 

[Boyd01]

Going from 8 GB to 16+ GB also means an increase in the VRAM available to the Intel integrated GPU.

That also crossed my mind, but according to everymac, it doesn't matter

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i3-3.6-late-2018-specs.html

Video Card: Intel UHD Graphics 630 VRAM Type: Integrated
Details: This model has an Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics processor that shares memory with the system.

Standard VRAM: 1.5 GB Maximum VRAM: 1.5 GB
Details: The Intel UHD Graphics 630 processor in this model reserves up to 1.5 GB of system memory for video function.

 

[kohlson]

I think what @redheeler is saying is that if you have 8GB, and 1.5GB goes to video, that leaves 6.5GB for OS/app usage. If you're trying to use more than that, performance will be affected. Adding more RAM reduces or eliminates any contention here.

Were you able to use Activity Monitor to see any Memory Pressure with 8GB installed?

 

[ktcifone]

I went with 32 out of the box. 2-3 years from now 32GB sticks will be cheap and if needed will upgrade.
my 2018 is my 3rd mini starting with an early 2010 server.

Took both the 2010 and 2012 apart never had a problem.

Over time I think i spend a lot less time and money then building my own systems.

Consumer systems start to show their age after 4+ years, so i look at it as an investment and the potential of USBc opens up the expandability for a few years keeping the compute resource segmented as you can with the mini.
Looking forward to the potential of the pro as the mini just scratches the surface of the potential.

9+ year Apple consumer 20+ year UNIX/Linux admin.

I spend enough time fixing computers every day and I will say I haven't spent much time mucking with my systems over the last 9+ years.

 

[DomC]

I think what @redheeler is saying is that if you have 8GB, and 1.5GB goes to video, that leaves 6.5GB for OS/app usage.

So with 32gb of RAM does video still take the 1.5 or is it somehow proportional to the installed RAM?
And can the amount be adjusted?

 

[Hessel89]

So, do you need to go all the way to 32GB to get this level of performance, or is there some spot between 8 and 32 GB where the gain in performance vs. addition GB flattens out? Any tests on this out there?

I think it will flatten out at 16GB in normal use cases. In fact It appears as though 8Gb is actually too little for MacOS to run smoothly. I'm running nothing else besides 3 safari tabs right now and my memory usage is still 8,15 GB. When I was using 8Gb my swap was always being utilized.
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I went with 32 out of the box. 2-3 years from now 32GB sticks will be cheap and if needed will upgrade.

I got mine for only €220,- so definitely worth the ''tinkering'' as you like to call it. Besides what does it matter, You put them in once and they will remain there for years to come.
[doublepost=1545424013][/doublepost]

Going from 8 GB to 16+ GB also means an increase in the VRAM available to the Intel integrated GPU. This is likely what made the most difference driving a 5K display.

Yes. The way I see it is more memory means that MacOS doesn't have to dynamically keep changing the amount of ''VRAM'' in exchange for other tasks that require RAM.
[doublepost=1545424362][/doublepost]

So with 32gb of RAM does video still take the 1.5 or is it somehow proportional to the installed RAM?
And can the amount be adjusted?

I think the 1,5 GB is the maximum amount. It will fluctuate depending on other tasks that require RAM.

 

[Ploki]

That also crossed my mind, but according to everymac, it doesn't matter

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/mac_mini/specs/mac-mini-core-i3-3.6-late-2018-specs.html

Video Card: Intel UHD Graphics 630 VRAM Type: Integrated
Details: This model has an Intel UHD Graphics 630 graphics processor that shares memory with the system.

Standard VRAM: 1.5 GB Maximum VRAM: 1.5 GB
Details: The Intel UHD Graphics 630 processor in this model reserves up to 1.5 GB of system memory for video function.

it matters if system starts paging.

 

[Boyd01]

it matters if system starts paging.

Ah, I see, that could slow things down. Would it actually swap the VRAM to disk? redheeler suggested that the graphics chip would use more RAM if it were available, which is something different.

I was thinking of the 2012 Mini, where if you had the base 4gb RAM then 512MB was allocated to VRAM. But if you increased RAM to 8gb or more, VRAM increased to 768MB.

 

[Ploki]

Ah, I see, that could slow things down. Would it actually swap the VRAM to disk? redheeler suggested that the graphics chip would use more RAM if it were available, which is something different.

I was thinking of the 2012 Mini, where if you had the base 4gb RAM then 512MB was allocated to VRAM. But if you increased RAM to 8gb or more, VRAM increased to 768MB.

I don't know, but VRAM is not the only thing necessary for smooth GUI, CPU and system RAM are also used, and if any of the components start lagging (system RAM due to paging), the UI would lag

 

[tedson]

I have yet to upgrade my RAM. Initially, I was thinking of putting in 32GB(2x16GB) but now I think I may just put in 16GB(2x8GB). Even with 8GB of RAM, I'm not seeing any swap space used and the memory pressure is in the green range. I have simple needs, web browsing, mail, text editing and some Xcode development. I don't do photo, audio or video editing so 32GB seems like overkill to me.

 

[kohlson]

With the exception of text code development, perhaps even 4GB would be fine. We have a 2011 13-MBA with 4GB - running 10.13. For mail, web, and video it works fine.

 

[Boneheadxan]

This is great to hear! I got my mini yesterday and with 8GB RAM. I wasn't sure what was causing the sluggishness with my 4K display attached. Compared to my 2016 MBP running the 4K display I could definitely feel the lag. I will eventually get an eGPU but it's great to hear that RAM can sort this issue out.

 

[Ploki]

With the exception of text code development, perhaps even 4GB would be fine. We have a 2011 13-MBA with 4GB - running 10.13. For mail, web, and video it works fine.

it ships with 8GB minimum tho, i doubt someone will go out of their way to open it just to downgrade to 4gb.

 

[Fishrrman]

redheeler wrote:
"Going from 8 GB to 16+ GB also means an increase in the VRAM available to the Intel integrated GPU."

Ploki wrote in #10:
"it matters if system starts paging."

I'll reckon that THIS is "the key".
Adding RAM doesn't increase the amount of VRAM available.
It DOES increases the amount of system memory.

Perhaps some of the "slowdowns" or "choppiness" some 2018 users have seen is due to system memory "swaps" due to the fact that with an 8gb Mini, only 6.5gb or so is available for system memory...

 

[RyanC1384]

I just upgraded mine from 8GB to 32GB this morning and I agree it's making a HUGE difference - that said - I need help. Ever since the upgrade I can now hear a very faint (and annoying) squeal sound when something engages in the machine. Prior to the upgrade there was no noise at all coming from the Mac mini - now this sound is faint but hurting my ears.

Any advice on what I should do??

 

[Kamolas]

I was thinking of the 2012 Mini, where if you had the base 4gb RAM then 512MB was allocated to VRAM. But if you increased RAM to 8gb or more, VRAM increased to 768MB.

With 16GB it increases to 1,5GB (at least on High Sierra)

I have yet to upgrade my RAM. Initially, I was thinking of putting in 32GB(2x16GB) but now I think I may just put in 16GB(2x8GB). Even with 8GB of RAM, I'm not seeing any swap space used and the memory pressure is in the green range. I have simple needs, web browsing, mail, text editing and some Xcode development. I don't do photo, audio or video editing so 32GB seems like overkill to me.

Then you should be fine with 8GB. Save your money. Upgrade later if you need and when RAM prices drop.

 

[dspdoc]

Attach an eGPU and all the UI sluggishness would be gone.

That statement is blatantly false. I have a Vega 64 connected to a Core X box and it absolutely does not get rid of all UI sluggishness. There are many inherent limits of using a eGPU. Namely the fact that the horsepower cannot be fully utilized properly to drive your display.

 

[Hessel89]

Perhaps some of the "slowdowns" or "choppiness" some 2018 users have seen is due to system memory "swaps" due to the fact that with an 8gb Mini, only 6.5gb or so is available for system memory...

exactly my point.
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I just upgraded mine from 8GB to 32GB this morning and I agree it's making a HUGE difference - that said - I need help. Ever since the upgrade I can now hear a very faint (and annoying) squeal sound when something engages in the machine. Prior to the upgrade there was no noise at all coming from the Mac mini - now this sound is faint but hurting my ears.

Any advice on what I should do??

Maybe some speck of dust or sand got in between the fan? Cos what your describing sounds exactly like my neighbor's broken airconditioner.
[doublepost=1545509597][/doublepost]

With the exception of text code development, perhaps even 4GB would be fine. We have a 2011 13-MBA with 4GB - running 10.13. For mail, web, and video it works fine.

No. maybe on Snow Leopard but not on a modern Mac with MacOS Mojave. The system alone will use more then 4GB. let alone with iCloud services running in the background.
[doublepost=1545509848][/doublepost]

That statement is blatantly false. I have a Vega 64 connected to a Core X box and it absolutely does not get rid of all UI sluggishness. There are many inherent limits of using a eGPU. Namely the fact that the horsepower cannot be fully utilized properly to drive your display.

glad to see someone actually refute that. I haven't bought my eGPU yet but I highly doubted it would solve the UI sluggishness. That said an eGPU can be a great tool (if you need it).

 

[RyanC1384]

It's no speck of dust or sand - it seems to be where a connection is made.