Upgrading from 4 to 8 GB

[Shredder-]

So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. I really need to get more ram, question is: what ram should I avoid? Are there any no-no's?

Im thinking about getting these
any thoughts on them?

they will work with a macbook pro 13" late 2011 right?

 

[snaky69]

So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. I really need to get more ram, question is: what ram should I avoid? Are there any no-no's?

Im thinking about getting these http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Venge...6705092&sr=8-1&keywords=corsair+vengeance+8gb

any thoughts on them?

they will work with a macbook pro 13" late 2011 right?

Any RAM with the correct speed and form factor will work just fine. What you posted is desktop RAM and will not fit in your computer.

You need 204-pin, DDR3 1333MHz RAM. Your computer will accept up to 16GB (2x8GB)


Edit: your first link won't work as it is 240-pin (desktop) RAM. Your second link will work but is likely to downclock itself to 1333MHz

 

[Shredder-]

Any RAM with the correct speed and form factor will work just fine. What you posted is desktop RAM and will not fit in your computer.

You need 204-pin, DDR3 1333MHz RAM. Your computer will accept up to 16GB (2x8GB)


Edit: your first link won't work as it is 240-pin (desktop) RAM. Your second link will work but is likely to downclock itself to 1333MHz

Cheers man, I actually realized it was a desktop ram, hence the edit
but regarding the downclocking - will this be an issue? if so, what ram do you recommend?

 

[Fishrrman]

[[ So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. ]]

I could be completely wrong about this, but adding RAM might not improve "CPU usage" -- that has more to do with the inherent processing power of your CPU than it does with how much RAM is installed.

Again, I could be wrong...

 

[snaky69]

[[ So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. ]]

I could be completely wrong about this, but adding RAM might not improve "CPU usage" -- that has more to do with the inherent processing power of your CPU than it does with how much RAM is installed.

Again, I could be wrong...

No, you would be totally right.

Except that using the CPU at 70-80% is not maxing it out, thus that's not likely to be causing the skipping.

Say, if the OP is running out of RAM to process the audio effects, then the computer would start using the hard drive as RAM, and the hard drive is orders of magnitude slower than RAM, which could cause skipping audio.

OP, just use the crucial RAM app available here: http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/MacOS.aspx

It'll tell you exactly the specs you're looking for. Once that's done, simply find RAM from a reputable company that fits your needs and budget with those specs in mind.

 

[Shredder-]

No, you would be totally right.

Except that using the CPU at 70-80% is not maxing it out, thus that's not likely to be causing the skipping.

Say, if the OP is running out of RAM to process the audio effects, then the computer would start using the hard drive as RAM, and the hard drive is orders of magnitude slower than RAM, which could cause skipping audio.

OP, just use the crucial RAM app available here: http://www.crucial.com/systemscanner/MacOS.aspx

It'll tell you exactly the specs you're looking for. Once that's done, simply find RAM from a reputable company that fits your needs and budget with those specs in mind.

so let me get this straight - getting more RAM wouldnt improve my situation?

 

[simonsi]

so let me get this straight - getting more RAM wouldnt improve my situation?

Your car isn't fast enough, so you are going to put more gas in the tank - same logic. Not an accurate analogy but demonstrating the flawed logic....

More RAM <may> help but only if that is the problem...70-80% cpu isn't maxxing it out so more analysis needed I think, or you could chuck RAM at it and see...

 

[Altemose]

so let me get this straight - getting more RAM wouldnt improve my situation?

During a typical audio work session. Fire up Activity Monitor and post the screen shot on the RAM (Memory) usage.

 

[snaky69]

so let me get this straight - getting more RAM wouldnt improve my situation?

It'll only improve it if you're running out of it in the first place.

Using a lot of effects in audio software takes up quite a bit of RAM, so it is possible you need more. Without a screenshot of your activity monitor while you're experiencing skipping, it's hard to say.

Since you're only using 60-70% of the processor, my guess is that you're probably correct in assuming RAM is the culprit.

 

[yjchua95]

[[ So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. ]]

I could be completely wrong about this, but adding RAM might not improve "CPU usage" -- that has more to do with the inherent processing power of your CPU than it does with how much RAM is installed.

Again, I could be wrong...

Nope, you could be right. Both RAM and CPU could be his limiting factor.

I'd say that the OP probably needs a quad-core i7 (with 8 threads) because audio production is heavily multithreaded, plus 8-16GB of RAM.

 

[Altemose]

Nope, you could be right. Both RAM and CPU could be his limiting factor.



I'd say that the OP probably needs a quad-core i7 (with 8 threads) because audio production is heavily multithreaded, plus 8-16GB of RAM.

That would be the ideal scenario. However, since it is using 70-80% CPU usage isn't that across one core? If I remember correctly, if you have two cores in OS X the highest possible usage is 200%. I may be wrong though.

 

[yjchua95]

That would be the ideal scenario. However, since it is using 70-80% CPU usage isn't that across one core? If I remember correctly, if you have two cores in OS X the highest possible usage is 200%. I may be wrong though.

OTOH you might be right as well. On quad core i7s the maximum is 800%, while dual-core/quad-core i5s and dual core i7s are 400%.

However I believe that the OP is talking about usage through all cores (if he read it off through iStat, it's across the entire processor). Activity monitor will present it thread by thread though.

 

[irnchriz]

So Im working in audio softwares and my sounds really clipping because the CPU goes up to 70-80% usage. I really need to get more ram, question is: what ram should I avoid? Are there any no-no's?

Im thinking about getting these
any thoughts on them?

they will work with a macbook pro 13" late 2011 right?

Buy a 2x8gb 16GB kit if you can stretch your budget to it. Will make a big difference and stop write outs to disk. I have 16GB in all of my Macs now and Mavericks performs much better. 8GB is fine but you still see Macericks doing memory compression and small write outs to disk.

 

[Shredder-]

Buy a 2x8gb 16GB kit if you can stretch your budget to it. Will make a big difference and stop write outs to disk. I have 16GB in all of my Macs now and Mavericks performs much better. 8GB is fine but you still see Macericks doing memory compression and small write outs to disk.

that is way out of my price range unfortunately.

 

[Jambalaya]

I just bought a single 8gb stick for my girlfriends late 2011 MBP (same as yours), so she will have 2+8 = 10. This was cheaper than a 2 x 4gb kit and she has more RAM that way. It works fine, people will tell you (correctly) that matched pairs are better but for most of us it makes no notable difference. You will notice a big improvement in general performance and usability by adding more RAM. I bought Corsair as that worked well when I upgraded my Mini but there are many good makes (Crucial, Kingston ..) just get the right type as noted above. Good luck

Edit: by the way the trickiest part of the whole operation was by far was removing the screws holding the back case on. Make sure you have a proper screwdriver and take care and expect one or two screws to be very tight/jammed. Plenty of threads on the internet about stripped heads on the screws.

 

[Shredder-]

I just bought a single 8gb stick for my girlfriends late 2011 MBP (same as yours), so she will have 2+8 = 10. This was cheaper than a 2 x 4gb kit and she has more RAM that way. It works fine, people will tell you (correctly) that matched pairs are better but for most of us it makes no notable difference. You will notice a big improvement in general performance and usability by adding more RAM. I bought Corsair as that worked well when I upgraded my Mini but there are many good makes (Crucial, Kingston ..) just get the right type as noted above. Good luck

Edit: by the way the trickiest part of the whole operation was by far was removing the screws holding the back case on. Make sure you have a proper screwdriver and take care and expect one or two screws to be very tight/jammed. Plenty of threads on the internet about stripped heads on the screws.

I have the exact same model, MBP late 2011 - what ram did you end up buying? was it the 12800 DDR3 ones? 1333 mhz?

will this work? even though i currently have the 1333 mhz one?

 

[Altemose]

I have the exact same model, MBP late 2011 - what ram did you end up buying? was it the 12800 DDR3 ones? 1333 mhz?

will this work? even though i currently have the 1333 mhz one?

It will work fully but will down clock to the Logic Board's speed (1333 MHz).

 

[SisterRay]

Hi,

I found that putting in an SSD improved performance a lot more than upgrading from 4 to 16Gb of RAM.

 

[Altemose]

Hi,

I found that putting in an SSD improved performance a lot more than upgrading from 4 to 16Gb of RAM.

That is because when it pages out a SSD is a lot faster than a hard drive. It still is half the speed of regular DDR3 RAM though on the high end SSDs even.

 

[alphaod]

Clipping is likely due to paging out disk, so increased RAM should definitely help.

I don't do professional audio, but I have friends who do and they have older Core 2 machines with tons of RAM and they seem to be able to work fine with complex instruments and tracks.

 

[raptor402]

Hi,

I'm using a pair of Corsair Vengeance 4GB 1600MHz DIMMs in my mid-2010 MBP, thereby underclocking the memory to 1066MHz. I haven't experienced any issues at all.

If you have the funds, also consider upgrading to an SSD. You'll love the speed difference. Plus, your paging will become extremely fast, should you ever require it.

Of course, the best way to gauge your current RAM situation would be to fire up Activity monitor and check the memory tab. If you have less than 200MB of unused memory, you're running out of RAM. However, considering that you're processing audio on 4GB RAM, that's definitely the case.

Best of luck.
Raptor

 

[Jambalaya]

I have the exact same model, MBP late 2011 - what ram did you end up buying? was it the 12800 DDR3 ones? 1333 mhz?

will this work? even though i currently have the 1333 mhz one?

I bought DDR3 1333Mhz - which is the quoted RAM for that generation of MBP's. FYI the single 8GB stick was about 30% cheaper than 2 x 4GB and as I said we now have 10GB instead of 8 that way.

I also think the RAM you linked will work as it will run at the lower clock speed, if you cannot find the 1333Mhz then I suppose paying a little extra for the faster RAM is still OK

Re: other posters recommending an SSD @Shredder said budget was a factor and 8GB RAM is quite cost effective upgrade, I think 4 is too little these days and 16 overkill for most of us. SSD later perhaps

 

[Shredder-]

Maybe I shouldve said that before, but im already using an SSD, which im very fond of

 

[Shredder-]

Just to clarify:

Are the vengeance corsair RAM stable? I got a samsung SSD because I were told the corsair ones could be unstable (but provide better speed) - am I in the same riskzone with corsair vengeance RAM?

and a really dumb question: a samsung SSD wont interfere with having corsair ram, will it?

 

[snaky69]

Just to clarify:

Are the vengeance corsair RAM stable? I got a samsung SSD because I were told the corsair ones could be unstable (but provide better speed) - am I in the same riskzone with corsair vengeance RAM?

and a really dumb question: a samsung SSD wont interfere with having corsair ram, will it?

Corsair makes good RAM.

Mixing and matching of brands won't matter, go right ahead.