Late 2013 rMBP 13" Memory Questions

[rmarinheira]

Hi!
Late 2013 13" 2.g Ghz, 8GB, 512 SSD here.
Have some questions related to memory.
What will be the usual free memory values?
Is it normal to have swap file amount with 8Gb of memory? My usage is not that intensive...
I attach a screenshot so you can take a look at the figures...

 

[TheEnthusiast]

Everything you see is normal. There is no usual RAM usage since that is dependent upon how you typically use the computer. Also, for some reason, OS X does use swap even when it does not need to. As a long you don't notice any slowdowns, you're fine.

 

[rmarinheira]

I am just wondering if I could benefit of 16Gb RAM instead keeping 8Gb.
I'm still within the 14 day period in which I could exchange my mac, but honestly, I do not know if these 8Gb will be enough, since Mavericks has a whole new way of handling memory and it seems difficult to get to a consensus about the readings in activity monitor...

 

[episcientist]

I also have a small amount of swapping/compression with my 8GB model and consistently fluctuate between 4-8GB "used" with non-intensive usage. IIRC the "used" RAM doesn't accurately reflect usage but rather allocation. Mavericks is setting aside RAM for open processes and then freeing them up as needed for active processes. Instead look at the memory pressure graph - green is good, yellow indicates compression, red indicates swapping.

 

[Weaselboy]

I am just wondering if I could benefit of 16Gb RAM instead keeping 8Gb.
I'm still within the 14 day period in which I could exchange my mac, but honestly, I do not know if these 8Gb will be enough, since Mavericks has a whole new way of handling memory and it seems difficult to get to a consensus about the readings in activity monitor...

If that screen shot was taken after using your Mac as you typically do for a while, then no... you do not need more memory. As long as the memory pressure area at the bottom there is green, you are in good shape.

Here is an article that explains how Activity Monitor works in Mavericks.

 

[5to1]

If its the swap used you're worried about, even my 16GB shows 525MB.