SD Card for processing room?

[Vegerot]

So, I am on my sisters new computer (I'll have to wipe the history after this), and I noticed how slow it was, and I thought that was weird because this one is newer then my one downstairs and that she barely has anything on it so why would it go more slowly? I looked at About This Mac and it said its maximum is only 4 Gigabytes (I have had my iMac for years now and I still got 50 Gigabytes left). So I went to my room, pulled out my camera and laughed at the fact that the little SD card I help in my hand could hold 2X more then this massive computer. I am downloading a REALLY big update on my one downstairs so it's gonna be a few hours so I'm using this one. But this one is going REALLY slow because she has a lot of games on it. So it there a way to use my SD to let the computer "spread out" at all?!?!!!!!!!

 

[robbieduncan]

You cannot use SD cards as RAM. They are massively slow compared to RAM (hundreds, if not thousands of times slower).

 

[rprebel]

I looked at About This Mac and it said its maximum is only 4 Gigabytes (I have had my iMac for years now and I still got 50 Gigabytes left).

That's the amount of RAM, not the HD space. There's a subtle difference.

 

[spinnerlys]

RAM (memory) vs. HDD (storage)
What is Computer Memory? RAM vs Hard Drive

Go to your computer and select "About This Mac" and see for yourself, that you do not have 50GB of RAM.

What your sister's "About This Mac" told you with the "4GB" entry was that she has 4GB of RAM.
You have a big HDD (something entirely different and 30 to 60 times slower than RAM), which has 50GB of storage capacity left.
Your sister's new Mac will have even more free HDD capacity left. Btw, why did you not apply the same method to your computer, when going for "About This Mac" on your sister's Mac, but not doing so on yours?

 

[Vegerot]

That's the amount of RAM, not the HD space. There's a subtle difference.

Yes, but if you use a lot of room on your computer then the computer has less room to do its super advanced calculations, making it go more slowly.

P.S. I'm DEFINITELY gonna use this more often. Like 30 seconds after I posted this I got like 5 replies!!!

 

[spinnerlys]

Yes, but if you use a lot of room on your computer then the computer has less room to do its super advanced calculations, making it go more slowly.

While that may be true in some areas, RAM is not the same as HDD. Look at the links I provided.

And again, what does your "About This Mac" have to say about "Memory"?

And if RAM fills up due to many open documents and applications you will feel a slowdown. And if the HDD fills up, which is not recommended, as it is recommended to leave 10 to 20 percent of the HDD's capacity free (50 to 100 GB free on a 500GB HDD), you can also get slow downs.

Again, RAM is not the same as HDD.

P.S. I'm DEFINITELY gonna use this more often. Like 30 seconds after I posted this I got like 5 replies!!!

Then have a look here:

MRoogle is a good tool to search these fora for already existing threads about questions you have. It might be able to answer you quicker than waiting for an answer.

"How to maximise your MacRumors troubleshooting experience" created by mad jew in 2006​

 

[rprebel]

It doesn't work that way. Sure, if the HD is completely full then it can cause some problems. Not enough room for swap files is the first thing that comes to mind. So long as there's ~10% of total HD space remaining, everything should be fine.

 

[Vegerot]

Thanks guys! In one of the articles it said that it was for newbies. I am actually really good with Macs(but couldn't use a PC for my life! lol) and I'm kinda laughing at myself right now because I didn't know that!

I got another question. Can you by like, RAM cards(like SDs or USBs) that you can just stick into your computer's USB or SD slot and give it more memory?

 

[robbieduncan]

I got another question. Can you by like, RAM cards(like SDs or USBs) that you can just stick into your computer's USB or SD slot and give it more memory?

No.

 

[spinnerlys]

Thanks guys! In one of the articles it said that it was for newbies. I am actually really good with Macs(but couldn't use a PC for my life! lol) and I'm kinda laughing at myself right now because I didn't know that!

I got another question. Can you by like, RAM cards(like SDs or USBs) that you can just stick into your computer's USB or SD slot and give it more memory?

No, as USB would be limiting that. USB has a maximum transfer rate of 35MB/s, modern RAM can have up to 6000 MB/s and more, 170 times that of USB.

You can upgrade your RAM via modules though, just post what exact Mac you have and how much RAM you have installed, and we can tell you, if you can get more RAM.


Look for the Model Identifier here (#3) and report back.

 

[Vegerot]

No, as USB would be limiting that. USB has a maximum transfer rate of 35MB/s, modern RAM can have up to 6000 MB/s and more, 170 times that of USB.

You can upgrade your RAM via modules though, just post what exact Mac you have and how much RAM you have installed, and we can tell you, if you can get more RAM.


Look for the Model Identifier here (#3) and report back.

Hardware Overview:

Model Name: iMac
Model Identifier: iMac10,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 3.06 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Bus Speed: 1.07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: IM101.00CC.B00
SMC Version (system): 1.52f9
Serial Number (system): YD030K2C5PC
Hardware UUID: D5744452-238E-5F65-A546-5EAFC2083B9F

 

[spinnerlys]

Then you can install up to 16GB RAM, as you currently have two 2GB sticks inside the Mac, you will have two empty slots for either two 2GB or two 4GB sticks.
http://www.macsales.com and http://www.newegg.com offer good RAM for good prices, if you reside in the USA.

 

[Vegerot]

O.k.!