Quick question. I have the early 2011 13" macbook Pro (upgraded 500GB hard drive) with 4 GB of RAM. I am not a hardcore video editor, i just want to splice together and do some minor editing of home movies using iMovie. Will I need to upgrade to the 8 GB ram for this, or 4 will suffice? Thanks.
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Macbook Pro 2011 13" 4 GB ram for iMovie
- Thread starter jimray
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You should be able to do that with 4GB quite well. To determine if you can benefit from more RAM, launch Activity Monitor and click the System Memory tab at the bottom to check your page outs. Page outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and track page outs under your normal workload (the apps, browser pages and documents you normally would have open). If your page outs are significant (say 1GB or more) under normal use, you may benefit from more RAM. If your page outs are zero or very low during normal use, you probably won't see any performance improvement from adding RAM.
Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
i have an early 2011, base model 13", and i have used imovie off and on with no problems. however, i just upgraded to 8gb of crucial ram (good price), and though i haven't used imovie yet, my machine is a bit snappier. i say do it regardless of imovie.
Before I upgraded my RAM I used iMovie and it works just fine with 4GB of RAM. I had no problem using it, and I use it exactly as you want to, just casual editing of home movies and what not. I didn't really experience any lag or anything like that so I would say your good to go. Although if you did want to upgrade RAM it can be done pretty cheap, just a thought.
Is there something I'm missing with this RAM upgrade. The apple store wants $420 for 8GB Ram, and yet I can get Corsair 8GB for $70.
So i don't have to use Apple RAM?
I've installed RAM in Desktop PCs and other notebook computers before. Is it a simple process to install the RAM in the Macbook pro?
So i don't have to use Apple RAM?
I've installed RAM in Desktop PCs and other notebook computers before. Is it a simple process to install the RAM in the Macbook pro?
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- Apple does not manufacture RAM and charges more than you would pay with other reputable RAM providers.
- Some great sources for Mac-compatible RAM are OWC, Crucial and newegg.com.
- Installation of user-installable parts such as RAM does not void the Apple Warranty or the AppleCare Protection Plan, unless you damage something in the process.
- MR Guide to Buying RAM
- MR Guide to Understanding Intel Mac RAM
- MR Guide to Matched RAM on Intel Macs
- MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory
- MacBook: How to remove or install memory
- iMac: How to remove or install memory
- Mac mini: How to remove or install memory
- By visiting EveryMac.com: Actual Maximum RAM
- By selecting your model on the Crucial Memory Advisor Tool to find RAM information
- By using Mactracker
- By entering your serial number here to find specs for your model.
(Be aware that some models can use more RAM than Apple shows. Check EveryMac to verify actual usable RAM.)