Ram Question

[harleymhs]

Hey Guys.. Silly question.. But I need to ask... I have a Macbook Pro i5 2.3 with a 256GB SSD.. I was going to add 8GB total ram to this but before I did it I wanted some opinions. Will there be a difference with web surfing, emails and some photo viewing in iphoto? Will it boost the general proformance of the laptop where under regular use one would see a difference from the stock 4GB to the 8GB? Thanks!

 

[ct2k7]

Hey Guys.. Silly question.. But I need to ask... I have a Macbook Pro i5 2.3 with a 256GB SSD.. I was going to add 8GB total ram to this but before I did it I wanted some opinions. Will there be a difference with web surfing, emails and some photo viewing in iphoto? Will it boost the general proformance of the laptop where under regular use one would see a difference from the stock 4GB to the 8GB? Thanks!

What other apps do you use? You might see a performance increase. Depends how many apps and such you have open at a time.

On my MacBook Air, 4GB RAM, I currently have open: Safari (7 tabs), Outlook, Mail.app, Skype, Linkinus, iTunes, Zend Studio, and Zend Server running in the background. It's going well, not slow - very responsive.

I'll be going to the extreme with 16GB RAM, already got my 480GB SSD - but that's only because I use and reuse virtual machines on the go.

 

[Legion93]

What other apps do you use? You might see a performance increase. Depends how many apps and such you have open at a time.

I'll be going to the extreme with 16GB RAM, already got my 480GB SSD - but that's only because I use and reuse virtual machines on the go.

480GB SSD?! 16GB RAM?! Surely those alone are worth over £1000 on its own! Why not just get an Alienware or something? Damn those specs are insane but it is a matter of windows vs OSX.

OWC offers 16GB memory for $600 which is quite insane, I'm not aware of other brands/manufacturers that do 8GB small modules. Just out of curiosity, what is your SSD? I've got a Vertex 3 (which is like the fastest SSD currently).

 

[heisenberg123]

Hey Guys.. Silly question.. But I need to ask... I have a Macbook Pro i5 2.3 with a 256GB SSD.. I was going to add 8GB total ram to this but before I did it I wanted some opinions. Will there be a difference with web surfing, emails and some photo viewing in iphoto? Will it boost the general proformance of the laptop where under regular use one would see a difference from the stock 4GB to the 8GB? Thanks!

a good way to see if you need more RAM is in activity monitor then system memory look where it says page outs it should be 0 or close too

if you dont restart to often i would restart that use you machine normally than check the page outs after a few hours

 

[Naimfan]

On my MacBook Air, 4GB RAM . . .

I'll be going to the extreme with 16GB RAM, already got my 480GB SSD - but that's only because I use and reuse virtual machines on the go.

And how, pray tell, will you be going to 16 GB RAM on an Air? That's the only possible reading of your post, because it is the only computer mentioned. Needless to say, an Air does not support 16 GB. Did you mean a MBP?

 

[GGJstudios]

Will there be a difference with web surfing, emails and some photo viewing in iphoto? Will it boost the general proformance of the laptop where under regular use one would see a difference from the stock 4GB to the 8GB?

Launch Activity Monitor and look at the System Memory tab at the bottom. If your "Page Outs" are zero or minimal under normal use, you're not maxing out the RAM that you have, and additional RAM will have no effect on performance. Be aware that the Page Outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and then track page outs under your normal workload.

 

[Legion93]

And how, pray tell, will you be going to 16 GB RAM on an Air? That's the only possible reading of your post, because it is the only computer mentioned. Needless to say, an Air does not support 16 GB. Did you mean a MBP?

I second that. I just realised the poster say on his MacBook air. I think he definitely meant a MacBook pro, a typo maybe. Besides if you want power why opt for the MBA in the first place?

 

[ct2k7]

480GB SSD?! 16GB RAM?! Surely those alone are worth over £1000 on its own! Why not just get an Alienware or something? Damn those specs are insane but it is a matter of windows vs OSX.

OWC offers 16GB memory for $600 which is quite insane, I'm not aware of other brands/manufacturers that do 8GB small modules. Just out of curiosity, what is your SSD? I've got a Vertex 3 (which is like the fastest SSD currently).

Yep, most of the apps I need are on Mac... including Xcode

I've looked out for manufacturers with 8GB modules, but totting it up, OWC comes up as the cheapest in the combination, once shipping is added (assuming I evade VAT).

I've got an OCZ Vertex 3 Brand new, but there's one thing I haven't got yet... the MacBook Pro. :/ It's due to arrive on the 3rd November.

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Launch Activity Monitor and look at the System Memory tab at the bottom. If your "Page Outs" are zero or minimal under normal use, you're not maxing out the RAM that you have, and additional RAM will have no effect on performance. Be aware that the Page Outs are cumulative since your last restart, so the best way to check is to restart your computer and then track page outs under your normal workload.

I second that. I just realised the poster say on his MacBook air. I think he definitely meant a MacBook pro, a typo maybe. Besides if you want power why opt for the MBA in the first place?

I will clarify, I was comparing my use on the MacBook Air, to the use on the MacBook Pro. Assuming that there are no OS pattern differences in RAM use, I would have those apps open in a MBA with no issues. Translate to MBP, I would hope that the situation is pretty much the same.

The MBA is for super portability, when I need to go see clients, but MBP is for when I work on the couch, in the garden, near the swimming pool or somewhere just not at my desk

 

[Legion93]

I've got an OCZ Vertex 3 Brand new, but there's one thing I haven't got yet... the MacBook Pro. :/ It's due to arrive on the 3rd November.

How ironic! Coincidentally I haven't ordered my MBP yet. I ordered a Vertex 3 60GB for £99 and 8GB memory from Crucial. I'm still awaiting delivery but I will order my new 13" MBP just released the 2.8GHz core i7 model in a few days time. My momentus XT hybrid 500GB for storage will go in the optibay and the vertex 3 in the main HDD bay for SATA 3 speeds!

I can't wait for my new MBP! In the meantime, do the new MacBook Pro's support 16GB RAM anyway? I mean if it did Apple would have an upgrade option for it on their online store, no?

 

[GGJstudios]

I can't wait for my new MBP! In the meantime, do the new MacBook Pro's support 16GB RAM anyway?

Yes, they do.

I mean if it did Apple would have an upgrade option for it on their online store, no?

Not necessarily. Historically, there have been many models that could use more RAM than Apple reported.

You can find specs on all Apple products:

• By visiting EveryMac.com
• 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 or MacTracker to verify.)

 

[shortcut3d]

480GB SSD?! 16GB RAM?! Surely those alone are worth over £1000 on its own! Why not just get an Alienware or something? Damn those specs are insane but it is a matter of windows vs OSX.

OWC offers 16GB memory for $600 which is quite insane, I'm not aware of other brands/manufacturers that do 8GB small modules. Just out of curiosity, what is your SSD? I've got a Vertex 3 (which is like the fastest SSD currently).

This is an amazing setup. I went with the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G for 480GB SSD and found Corsair 8GB sticks on Newegg.com for $400 USD for the pair.