That's nice.
I don't have the same experience.
On my 32GB machine I've had chrome using over 2Gb by itself easy.
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Is 4GB ram enough for the new 13" rMBP?
- Thread starter Nilok64
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That's nice.
I don't have the same experience.
On my 32GB machine I've had chrome using over 2Gb by itself easy.
The question is: Y r u not just getting an iPad??
4gigs of ram for what u do is bizarre overkill.
with modern ssds 4gigs is sufficient for 99% of all users.
8gb is more for pros and to satisfy a well established urge from the hdd times, where low ram meant ur machine was swapping to a turning disc that made loud noises, was blinking and looks on the inside like a record player with a thick steel record spinning.
Your grammar matches your knowledge of how much RAM most users use, 4GB is very borderline right now in 1 to 2 years it'll be too little. Having 8GB of RAM does not make you a "power user". If 4GB of RAM was sufficient for 99% of all users why would only one of Apple's rMBPs ship with it by default? I need a lot of power and I'm about to get a new rMBP with 16GB of RAM, 8GB is within a year of being very borderline for me.
To the OP: If you plan on keeping this computer for five years I would definitely get 8GB of RAM. I would however spend a bit more and get the new low 13" and spend the extra $100 and get 8GB of RAM this way you have a very nice GPU boost and a bunch of RAM to last.
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4gb definitely seems sufficient for my use on a 2012 MBA, however I will be purchasing a haswell rMBP on monday and I am definitely leaning toward the 8gb 1499 config.
I am guessing the retina display will eat up more memory than the air's display. Also, with a better processor, I wouldn't want the ram to be a bottleneck.
I am guessing the retina display will eat up more memory than the air's display. Also, with a better processor, I wouldn't want the ram to be a bottleneck.
English is not my mother tongue and this is not an english class.
Don't try to be smart.
For the OP ur advice is bad and here is way:
For his intended use a macbook pro is without a doubt overkill.
He can easily watch movies, write text, emails and surf the web on an iPad.
Most macbook pro models come with 4gb ram by default. (all mba, the cmbp and the rmbp base model)
Most pro modells come with 8gb and thats what the "pro" stands for.
Even 2gb on the old mba models is still perfectly fine. Ive never read any reports on here that anyone was unsatisfied with 4gb. Even lighter video editing in iMovie is effortless with 4gb.
Its not about analyzing how much each program is using.
The question is: do u notice any difference?
Apple wouldn't sell most of its lineup with 4gb ram if that wouldn't be enough for the foreseeable future to come.
Ram used to be a huge factor in computer performance. Depending on your needs it still is. If you are a power user and you do video editing with cgi and rendering then 4gb will not cut it for you. U should then get 8gb or better 16gb.
I can't see many other things that would require more then 4gb.
You can just get by with 4GB today, but the OP wants to keep this computer for ~5 years. In 5 years 4GB will be like what 1.5GB is today (not good at all).
Well, you can hear that I'm not satisfied with 4GB (I'm barely satisfied with 8GB and I can't wait to upgrade to 16GB).
I would say just get 4GB if you could upgrade later, but you can't.
Sorry about the grammar joke, your grammar is fantastic in one sentence and then full of texting abbreviations. It's just a little jarring.
doesn't work like that anymore with ram
I had 4gb on my 2006 macbook, and now I have 8gb on my 2008 macbook
See what I am saying. Memory usage has leveled off. Especially with mavericks.
i use abbreviations to write faster.
I am honestly curios what u r doing that makes 4gb insufficient.
Yesterday I purchased a rmbp haswell with 8gb/256gb and a mba 13" 4gb/256gb
the mba is used by my gf for publishing, video editing (no cgi) and the usual tasks. I got them on a special deal and i really wanted the haswell.
what problems do u encounter with 4gb/8gb ram?
r u using ssd?
i have to add that we've been using those machines for the last 12 hours now and there are no hick ups.
I am always running 10 apps at a time and got approx. 20 tabs open in safari. I am a multitasking fan.
I bought 4 years of insurance for my mbp and i am planning on using it for at least 5.
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If it was my money I would go with 8GB - I had put 8GB in both of my Macs. But I only need that 8GBs on rare occasions and even then I tend to use 6GB at most. But with classic MBPs I could put in aftermarket RAM and so it wasn't much of a braine. Besides, 4GBs were sometimes insufficient, especially on my 13" Mac.
But then again my girlfriend is just fine with 2GB of RAM in her white MB and my mom is okay with 4GB in her MBA. And they mostly use their Macs for Word, iTunes, web browsing and photo tinkering in Picasa.
Therefore 4GB + Mavericks + SSD should really be enough for Nilok, even for the years to come of watchng movies, iTunes and web.
when u say 4gb wasn't enough. do u mean there was lag?
mavericks seems to always use ram even when idle.
so how do u notice that u r running out ram?
Is 4GB ram enough for the new 13" rMBP?
Mavericks has made RAM usage go down, but you are proving my point, you have a 2008 MacBook with 8GB of RAM and a 2006 MacBook with 4GB. You want the OP to get a new computer with 4GB of RAM (that you can't upgrade) to last for ~5 years in 2013!?
I need a lot more power then the OP, but I routinely have 12+ apps open (including Photoshop, Parallels with a VM running, Safari with 10+ tabs) and I need to be switching between apps with no delay as I can be switching between apps a lot.
VMs can use so much RAM and I can't wait to give mine 6GB of RAM and have everything run smooth as silk.
I don't have an SSD (I know this will help some), I've been holding out for a rMBP (I have a mid 2010 MBP) which I'm going to get in the next few weeks and I want it to be running very fast for at least 3 years.
Mavericks has made RAM usage go down, but you are proving my point, you have a 2008 MacBook with 8GB of RAM and a 2006 MacBook with 4GB. You want the OP to get a new computer with 4GB of RAM (that you can't upgrade) to last for ~5 years in 2013!?
I need a lot more power then the OP, but I routinely have 12+ apps open (including Photoshop, Parallels with a VM running, Safari with 10+ tabs) and I need to be switching between apps with no delay as I can be switching between apps a lot.
VMs can use so much RAM and I can't wait to give mine 6GB of RAM and have everything run smooth as silk.
I don't have an SSD (I know this will help some), I've been holding out for a rMBP (I have a mid 2010 MBP) which I'm going to get in the next few weeks and I want it to be running very fast for at least 3 years.
Most people use more power than the op. he really just needs an iPad or base mba at best.
I need more power too. I do not accept any delays when switching apps.
VMs do need more ram. But VMs are specialized software. Most people never use VMs.
U r emphasis on ram derives from ur use of an hdd.
But I have to say that my mac mini has got an hdd and 4gigs ram too and I don't want to spend 80,- on extra ram cause he is like greased lighten, too.
PCIE Ssd is a whole different story. On my new mba with 4gb there are no delays whatsoever when swithing between apps.
on the rmbp i don't bother closing apps either. no delays there.
I read that a lot of folks on this forum use VMs. I would be curios y?
Even if it works as advertised, hardware always better than software to emulate hardware
Firstly, I had Lion then
To answer your question - when I had Photoshop, Indesign, Bridge, iTunes, Safari, Word opened and servers connected it had gotten very slow sometimes. One time it was Safari being unresponsive (when going through tabs), the other time it was InDesign "beach balling".
The RAM was being maxed or almost maxed out in Activity Monitor. It was on rare occasions I must admit - mostly because of Safari or huge files handled by InDesign. Nevertheless getting 8GB wasn't pricey, so I didn't hesitate and upgraded.
This was especially bothering on the 13" MBP (lack of dGPU?), but I went with upgrading both 13" and 15". I sold the 2 x 4GB I had left - for a symbolic price, but better than nothing.
Obviously it all depends on what you need your Mac for. If you handle big Photoshop (100MB+) or InDesign files then I would suggest getting 8GB for a comfortable work.
And like I said, if OP is going to use iTunes, Safari and such then 4GB will probably be enough.
Firstly, I had Lion then
To answer your question - when I had Photoshop, Indesign, Bridge, iTunes, Safari, Word opened and servers connected it had gotten very slow sometimes. One time it was Safari being unresponsive (when going through tabs), the other time it was InDesign "beach balling".
The RAM was being maxed or almost maxed out in Activity Monitor. It was on rare occasions I must admit - mostly because of Safari or huge files handled by InDesign. Nevertheless getting 8GB wasn't pricey, so I didn't hesitate and upgraded.
This was especially bothering on the 13" MBP (lack of dGPU?), but I went with upgrading both 13" and 15". I sold the 2 x 4GB I had left - for a symbolic price, but better than nothing.
Obviously it all depends on what you need your Mac for. If you handle big Photoshop (100MB+) or InDesign files then I would suggest getting 8GB for a comfortable work.
And like I said, if OP is going to use iTunes, Safari and such then 4GB will probably be enough.
Did u use an ssd then?
Seems like u where doing a lot of intense things at once.
Especially without ssd that will probably max out ur ram.
But if u just use photoshop even 2gb of ram should suffice, even with super large files 500mb+.
The Iris will use (share) the system memory for the graphics. This may not be a problem on 4Gb MBAs, but may be a problem for the rMBP.
If it would be a problem wouldn't the devs at apple already thought about that.
There must be a reason apple is relasing a rmbp with 4gb.
The only reasoning behind this is money. Last years rMBP 13 came with 8GB standard. They are probably reducing specs to bring price down and make the machine more mainstream, which seems to be working as a lot are considering it over the air.
What is all this talk of ssds in relation to ram? paging to ssd is still many times slower than ram access and ideally with 8GB you should have next to no virtual ram access at all (I usually make mine tiny with enough ram on Windows).
of course ram is way faster than ssd.
still, if u should really run out of ram it can be paged to ssd and the speed difference is barely noticeable.
that 4gb is a marketing trick is correct to a certain degree.
nevertheless apple wouldn't sell a machine that doesn't work impeccably.
they have to consider their public image.
I repeat this: i never heard of anyone with common use complaining about ram.
if u run VMs and rendering and photoshop large files at the same time well i highly recommend packing ram. But how many people do this?
For example: The OP wants the most basic functions. With those needs 4gb ram will probably last him more than half a decade.
If your needs are that light, wonder why a MBP is needed at all. Would think an air or even tablet would be more suitable.
Of course the chromebook pixel is very similar, expensive high res machine with only 4GB ram that can only run webapps. So there is a market. Oh and until recently the samsung ativ plus 9 came with 4GB max.
Of course the chromebook pixel is very similar, expensive high res machine with only 4GB ram that can only run webapps. So there is a market. Oh and until recently the samsung ativ plus 9 came with 4GB max.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys.
I forgot to mention that I will also be running Windows 8 in either parrallels or bootcamp and will be doing light photo editing in Photoshop. I may also use it for video editing (youtube) eventually.
Also, I just want to confirm that either way (going with 4gb or 8gb) I'll be better off with the Haswel over the Ivybridge model?
I forgot to mention that I will also be running Windows 8 in either parrallels or bootcamp and will be doing light photo editing in Photoshop. I may also use it for video editing (youtube) eventually.
Also, I just want to confirm that either way (going with 4gb or 8gb) I'll be better off with the Haswel over the Ivybridge model?
4GB of RAM will be enough for everyone, forever...
... but seriously: I personally ordered the 13" rMBP with 16GB of RAM. I would probably be fine with 8GB but
I think this move was smart because it helps them to keep the base model cheaper and sell more of them. It's a weird move for us but for people who don't even know what "a RAM" is it will be fine. Who knows what RAM is will probably opt for 8 or 16 gigabytes.
TL;DR: If you're not sure between the 4 or 8 GB go for 8 GB of RAM...you're buying a Pro machine not an Air after all, and we're in 2014!
... but seriously: I personally ordered the 13" rMBP with 16GB of RAM. I would probably be fine with 8GB but
- You can't add more RAM later
- If the OS is smart enough it will try to use all the resources the computer has, so I hope it will use all the unused memory to cache stuff I could need to access later. But this is just what an OS would do in an ideal world, I have no idea what OS X will do with my RAM.
- I preferred to not risk to regret my choice later
I think this move was smart because it helps them to keep the base model cheaper and sell more of them. It's a weird move for us but for people who don't even know what "a RAM" is it will be fine. Who knows what RAM is will probably opt for 8 or 16 gigabytes.
TL;DR: If you're not sure between the 4 or 8 GB go for 8 GB of RAM...you're buying a Pro machine not an Air after all, and we're in 2014!