RAM vs CPU - who wins?

[NorthantsPete]

So I just bought two mac minis

One is a 2014 with 4GB ram, 1.4Ghz
The other is a 2011 with 8GB 2.3Ghz i5

Now, Im running this primarily as a low power file and plex server, Ive started setting up the 2011 mac and its already using 4.6GB RAM - this says to me I would be better off with the 8GB device as it will end up paging to disk all the time (disk being what need to serve up). Yes the CPU benchmarks arent as high but i doubt it will bottleneck?

I must admit im finding them very snappy for their age - then again my server im replacing was also 10+years old.

Thanks

 

[Ricje]

MacOS will try to use as much ram as possible so, even if you where at more than 50% usage, there may not be a problem with the 4GB model, look at the memory pressure in system monitor and, if it’s not red, and the performance is enough, you‘ll be ok.

If ram become a problem and 8GB is not enough, the 2011 mini ram can be upgraded to 16GB without problem. As for the 2014, the ram is soldered on the main board so, no upgrade possible for this one.