Not enough RAM

[Mirrorball]

I admit my Macbook Pro is old (early 2008 model), but it has 4 GB RAM. All current Macbook Air models have at most 4 GB, some have only 2, so 4 GB ought to be enough.

But for me it is not. I have fond memories of a time (good Leopard/Snow Leopard days) I could open any number of windows simultaneously and never worry. Recently I've stopped using Mail to save memory, because Google Chrome is almost always running, and it's one of the biggest offenders RAM-wise, so why not use Gmail's web interface, which is excellent. Every time I open a program, I have to count the number of programs that are currently running to see if I should close a few. Never have too many large PDFs open in Preview.

Sometimes I check things in Activity Monitor. CPU mostly idle, disk very slow as always (oh well), and fairly often no free memory. Are the days of 4 GB being enough over? Or am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have tips to reduce RAM memory usage?

 

[GGJstudios]

Sometimes I check things in Activity Monitor. CPU mostly idle, disk very slow as always (oh well), and fairly often no free memory. Are the days of 4 GB being enough over? Or am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have tips to reduce RAM memory usage?

Your MBP can take up to 8GB of RAM.

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

This may also help: Performance Tips For Mac OS X

 

[Mirrorball]

Current uptime is "23 days, 9:46" and page outs are at 4.52 GB. Even if it's not a lot for 23 days, I guarantee it's because nowadays I never have too many programs running. I've learned how many are too many. And BTW my Macbook Pro doesn't support more than 4 GB. It's too old for 8 GB, I can't upgrade it.

But I've created this topic more to know if it's a common occurrence and whether I have unrealistic expectations.

 

[Richdmoore]

http://eshop.macsales.com/memory/maxram

OWC lists either 6gb or 8gb as the max ram for a late 2008 Macbook Pro, depending on the size of the laptop.

 

[GGJstudios]

And BTW my Macbook Pro doesn't support more than 4 GB. It's too old for 8 GB, I can't upgrade it.

Yes, it can support 8GB if it's a Late 2008 unibody 15" MBP, 6GB if it's a 17". You can find specs on all Apple products, including maximum RAM:

• 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.)

 

[Mirrorball]

For real? Apple's website says 4 GB max (http://support.apple.com/kb/SP4 -- " two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB"). Is it not accurate?

 

[GGJstudios]

For real? Apple's website says 4 GB max (http://support.apple.com/kb/SP4 -- " two SO-DIMM slots support up to 4GB"). Is it not accurate?

Read the bold text in my last post.

 

[Mirrorball]

Read the bold text in my last post.

Thanks. So it supports up to 6 GB. It's an *early* 2008 model, my mistake.

 

[throAU]

Are the days of 4 GB being enough over? Or am I doing something wrong? Does anyone have tips to reduce RAM memory usage?

8gb of ram is about $50.

4gb is "enough" for very basic usage these days, but if you want anything more than that, 8gb or 16gb is the current sweet spot for what most people would do (16gb is probably a bit overkill, but it is cheap).

 

[GGJstudios]

8gb of ram is about $50.

4gb is "enough" for very basic usage these days, but if you want anything more than that, 8gb or 16gb is the current sweet spot for what most people would do (16gb is probably a bit overkill, but it is cheap).

As the OP already indicated in the post just before yours, theirs is an Early 2008 MBP, which supports a maximum of 6GB of RAM.

 

[Peace]

Stop using google chrome.

 

[throAU]

As the OP already indicated in the post just before yours, theirs is an Early 2008 MBP, which supports a maximum of 6GB of RAM.

Granted... was making a general statement in response to the comment of "are the days of 4gb being enough" being over (i.e., the part of his post that i quoted) - not in reference to his specific machine.

4gb had a good run, i ran happily with 4gb in my general purpose machines for several years. but, time moves on, costs come down, and if your machine can handle it, 8 or even 16gb is very cheap in terms of bang for buck now, even in a laptop.

I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone buying a new machine with 4gb (or less! i can't believe apple are selling MBAs with 2gb - hardwired, and non-upgradable, still).

 

[Mirrorball]

Stop using google chrome.

I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone buying a new machine with 4gb (or less! i can't believe apple are selling MBAs with 2gb - hardwired, and non-upgradable, still).

I've been thinking about retiring my current computer next year and was unsure whether I should buy a MBA or a 13" MBP. I'm unsure no more.

 

[throAU]

I've been thinking about retiring my current computer next year and was unsure whether I should buy a MBA or a 13" MBP. I'm unsure no more.

By next year, there will be MBAs with 8gb or more available - if not as standard, at least as an option.

Mark my words - Lion needs at least 4gb and preferably more to run well, and ram is DRASTICALLY cheaper now than it was when the current 2011 airs came out - essentially, 16gb is the same price as 8gb was, and at apple's buy price likely not much more than 4gb was at that time).