Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

when will we see 16GB RAM in MBP?

mdatwood said:
Right now I have Adium, Google Chrome, iTunes, MacVim, iTerm and a rails server running and I'm showing 2.59GB used. If I need to do any work in xcode or PS there goes another 1+ GB used depending on the project I open. I also work with .net using a win7 VM...another 2GB gone.

8GB is the minimum amount of RAM I can get by with right now given my type of work.
Click to expand...

New user here too...where do I go to see how much RAM is being used?
Jack
 
You want to go to the Activity Monitor which can be found in the Utilities sub-folder in the Applications main-folder

You should also download the iStat Widget as it allows you to monitor everything, and, you can set iStat so it always shows in the front no matter what else you open.
 
NickZac said:
You want to go to the Activity Monitor which can be found in the Utilities sub-folder in the Applications main-folder

You should also download the iStat Widget as it allows you to monitor everything, and, you can set iStat so it always shows in the front no matter what else you open.
Click to expand...
Good advice I have used iStat for years. It is great and it's free. You can download iStat Pro here. Highly recommended:
 
Another question concerning RAM. I have a 2008 MBP with 2.4 processor and 4G RAM. I am not a 'heavy' user as far as music/video/pictures etc. From what I've read in here so far, it seems that upgrading from 4 to 8 would be of little or no value to me?
Thanks again,
Jack
 
You gotta remember that there will be trade offs when asking for more features like this. I have a Dell M6500 for work, which has 3 harddrives and 16gb of ram. It is a 17" laptop, but it is like 15lbs. I'm sure apple could cram another harddrive and 2 more ram slots in the 17 and probably the 15 MBP but then it would thicken the laptop and weigh it down. Also my battery is lucky the last me 2 hours when doing actual work, the battery is kind of small because of all the extra stuff in here plus it has to power it. It's a powerful machine and it is portable enough for me to bring home everyday (I'm on call 24x7) but it is kind of a hassle.

Would you trade in 5+hrs of battery life for 8gb more ram?
Would you be willing to gain 5+lbs for 8gb more ram?

Obviously these are exaggerations, but you understand my point.
 
reebzor said:
You gotta remember that there will be trade offs when asking for more features like this. I have a Dell M6500 for work, which has 3 harddrives and 16gb of ram. It is a 17" laptop, but it is like 15lbs. I'm sure apple could cram another harddrive and 2 more ram slots in the 17 and probably the 15 MBP but then it would thicken the laptop and weigh it down. Also my battery is lucky the last me 2 hours when doing actual work, the battery is kind of small because of all the extra stuff in here plus it has to power it. It's a powerful machine and it is portable enough for me to bring home everyday (I'm on call 24x7) but it is kind of a hassle.

Would you trade in 5+hrs of battery life for 8gb more ram?
Would you be willing to gain 5+lbs for 8gb more ram?

Obviously these are exaggerations, but you understand my point.
Click to expand...

If I understand correctly, you are saying that I would not only see little difference with the 8gb but also lose battery time?
 
jackajesusfreak said:
If I understand correctly, you are saying that I would not only see little difference with the 8gb but also lose battery time?
Click to expand...

Having more RAM does not decrease battery life unless more modules are used. 2x4GB provides the same battery life as 2x2GB, the only difference is that 4GB modules have twice as dense memory chips.
 
jackajesusfreak said:
If I understand correctly, you are saying that I would not only see little difference with the 8gb but also lose battery time?
Click to expand...

Basically, yes. To make room for more ram slots, they would have to put a smaller battery in it. If they wanted to maintain the same battery level, they'd have to put a bigger battery in there and it would make the laptop weigh more.

I'm sure all of these design concepts get tossed around when Apple is designing the machines and they probably decided people would prefer a sleek, thin, light laptop that is maxed out at 8gb. Most people that use MBP's don't use more than 8gb of ram.

Apple likes to have a very small variety of machines that they offer and in doing this it is impossible for them to cater to everyone's needs and desires.
 
old-wiz said:
Just to comment, the spec sheet is for the Mobile version. Desktop versions can access 24GB ram.
Click to expand...

We are talking about MacBook Pros, so mobile processors seemed appropriate. To get more than 8GB of ram in a MBP will require CPU/chipset support and suitable 8GB DIMMs.
 
mulo said:
loose the damn optical drive, and wham, 4 ram slots, 2 hard drives and a larger battery. win win win
Click to expand...

i like your thinking. Lose the optical drive, and 4 ram slots, with 8gb dimms for each for a whopping 32Gigs of RAM! Space can also be used for discrete graphics, 2 MBA style SSDs, and larger battery in the space vacated by the HDD.

My dream MBP:

2 x 3.2 Ghz i7 quad core with hyperthreading (8 real cores, 16 virtual cores)
32 GB RAM
2x1TB Stick SSD
4GB Graphics chip
15 hour battery life
8 lightpeak ports
1680x1050 resolution in the 13" one
2560x1600 in the 17" MBP

All that starting at $1099

the possibilities are endless when you lose the ODD!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back