Question about upgrading RAM.

[deuk1219]

My 2010 iMac (check my signature) sometimes lags a bit when some other applications are running in the background. I am planning to get a RAM upgrade. Do any of the other 2010 quad-core iMac owners with 4GB ram lag?

I am asking this because a few weeks ago, the glass of the iMac cracked and had to replace the glass at the Apple Store. No problems with LCD or anything else (as far as I know). The glass cracked because it hit the leg of my table while I was trying to orgranize my room. Could my iMac lag at times because of this? Could my hard drive be damaged by the impact?

Or could it be because my iMac has 4GB of ram and I run like 5~10 programs running in the background? My iMac lags when I try to shut down the computer. It tries to close all the programs but its slow and takes up about like 30 seconds. I have to force quit all the programs before shutting down.

Should I get the RAM upgrade and see the how much it improved?

 

[simsaladimbamba]

It is most likely the RAM, but to check:

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Have a look at Activity Monitor (Applications / Utilities /) and check the "System Memory" tab to see what your "Page ins:", "Page outs:" and "Swap used:" are.

image below uses sorting by CPU as an example

Further reading:

Mac OS X: Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
Making The Most of Activity Monitor
What Is Activity Monitor (or How to Take Your Mac's Pulse)​

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And Amazon or Newegg are good places to get more, two 4 GB modules should not cost more than 50 USD, thus you have 12 GB RAM in total with the already two 2 GB modules present.

Maybe have a look at Advanced Search to find similar threads:

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[deuk1219]

Thank you. Will see when I get home!

 

[rkaufmann87]

In Activity Monitor check the System Memory tab and look for the amount of FREE RAM. As a general rule of thumb if it shows below 500MB it would probably benefit from a RAM upgrade.

 

[deuk1219]

I just checked and it looks like its in the 300~700 range. Will upgrade! Thank you guys~