Should i upgrade my ram? Late 2011 MBP Low-end.

[Kwindu]

Hi,

I have some issues on my macbook, when im running either starcraft or world of warcraft in the backgrund.

Then everything just runs bad and slow.

Do you think that upgrading from 4 to either 8 or 16gb will help me? And what upgrade should I do? Money is not really an issue since its so little, but dont want 16, if its not needed.

Or is it something else? Andway to check if i should get more Ram or another problem? its fully upgraded with Mountain Lion.

 

[Ledgem]

Hi,

I have some issues on my macbook, when im running either starcraft or world of warcraft in the backgrund.

Then everything just runs bad and slow.

Do you think that upgrading from 4 to either 8 or 16gb will help me? And what upgrade should I do? Money is not really an issue since its so little, but dont want 16, if its not needed.

Or is it something else? Andway to check if i should get more Ram or another problem? its fully upgraded with Mountain Lion.

Open Activity Monitor and click on the "System Memory" tab. What you're interested in is the "Swap used" and "Page outs." What are your values? If you have every program running that you normally do, you can also look at the "free" RAM area. How much RAM is free?

There's no general rule and everyone is bound to have different limits, but if your swap is in the gigabyte range, you would most definitely benefit from more RAM. If it's in the low hundreds of megabytes, I would also suggest that you could benefit. However, if the swap is very small (less than 100 MB) and/or your free RAM is 1.5 GB of higher, a RAM upgrade might not help you.

As to how much RAM to go with, I would anticipate that 8 GB would be more than enough. If you do multimedia-intensive work or use virtual machines, 16 GB might be a worthwhile upgrade.

 

[T5BRICK]

OSX will use just about all the RAM you can give it. I'd just go for 16GB and then you won't have to worry about upgrading RAM again.

 

[Kwindu]

Damn, when I opened the Acivity and checked the ram (first time ever)

When im playing and listening to music, my avaliable ram is from 0-20mb, thats damn little!

So i guess thats why my computer sucks when a game is in the background

Only question is now, 8 or 16gb?

 

[Jaykee]

Well, at the end of the day its completely your choice, what do you need?

But really, how cheap 16GB of RAM is these days, you'd be crazy not to, it's well worth it, you'll never need more RAM than that

 

[Kwindu]

The late 2011 Model supports 16gb right? Just to make sure.

I found these Crucial with these specification: 2x 8GB, 204pin, PC3-10600(1333MHz) Will they be a good pickup? Think I read that the macs use 204pin.

Any other models you like? please link em

 

[Jaykee]

Yes the Late 2011 Model definitely supports 16GB of RAM, Crucial is a trustworthy brand, just look around on the websites for reviews, alot of people state their age/model of what they put it into. Good luck!

EDIT: http://www.amazon.com/Micron-Crucial-204Pin-SODIMM-PC3-10600/dp/B005LAYH3K

People on here have installed into the Late 2011 Model, seems they have had good results with this exact product!

You will be good with makes like Crucial, Corsair, Patriot etc.

 

[Kwindu]

Thanks for the quick help

I just purchased the 16GB Kit from Corsair, they had some Mac Memory that I found some great reviews on, cant wait to install these badboys.

 

[Jaykee]

Enjoy your new upgrade! If you haven't ever messed inside your MacBook, I'd recommend using Anti Static equipment, just to make sure you don't fry anything. In my life, I've only really messed around with PC Equipment and and I've never fried anything yet. But messing inside a Macbook, I'll definitely take every safety precaution I can. Just a heads up, enjoy!

 

[mgartner0622]

^ As long as you follow the instructions you'll be perfectly fine.

 

[Coldmode]

Thanks for the quick help

I just purchased the 16GB Kit from Corsair, they had some Mac Memory that I found some great reviews on, cant wait to install these badboys.

Enjoy your new speedy computer. As other posters have said, just follow the instructions and installation will be a breeze.

 

[davidlv]

Just another confirmation that 16GB does work in the late 2011 MBP.
I went down to a local DOSV shop, asked for a 4 x 2 set, the clerk talked me into a 8 x 2 chip set, only a few bucks more. The chips I got were made by Patriot (Taiwan), work just fine, and it is very nice not to have to even think about running out of RAM!

 

[vpro]

Upgrade the heck out of it.

 

[Ledgem]

I'm using a late 2011 with 16 GB of RAM, clocked at 1600 Mhz. It's supported just fine. The only thing you'd need to be careful of is to buy the correct voltage. It's 1.5v, instead of the newer 1.35v. Also, be aware that while many manufacturers sell "Mac memory" (and charge extra for it), any laptop memory will do. There's nothing special about Mac memory.

16 GB will probably be fine for you for the life of the computer, but it's worth noting that the chipsets in our systems have a technical maximum limit of 32 GB. You can't currently buy individual 16 GB sticks to reach that limit, but who knows if they'll come out over the next few years?

 

[chmodme]

I'm using a late 2011 with 16 GB of RAM, clocked at 1600 Mhz. It's supported just fine.

Your system profiler shows the RAM being clocked at 1600 Mhz?

I've got an 8,2 version, guessing that's mid to late 2011, and though I have 16GB of RAM installed, it is down-clocked to the stock 1333. I'm fine with it as I need the RAM...but you are saying your system is clocking at the higher rate?

That's very fortunate!

chmodme.