Added new RAM, how to test for perf. upgrade?

jessearljessearl
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I upgraded my PB G4 15'' from 512mg of RAM with a 1gb RAM chip from Kingmax for a new total of 1.25gb of RAM.



Is there a program I can use to test how much the upgrade has improved performance to the standard performance of this machine?



I'm asking because I can't actually tell at the moment if anything has "improved," per se.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Adding RAM merely allows a previously under resourced machine to run closer to its actual potential. Adding RAM won't speed your machine up in any way, it will just allow you to juggle more balls at the same time, without your machine grinding to a halt.



    If you are running several memory hungry applications concurrently, then you will notice that the machine becomes a lot more responsive after a memory upgrade. You'll be able to switch back and forth between applications without the hard disk chugging away.



    So the best benchmark for you, is to work as you normally would and see if the machine is any more responsive. If the answer is yes, then you've invested wisely. If the answer is no then you've wasted your money.



    Benchmarking programs like Xbench are very little use in these kinds of situations.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    jessearljessearl Posts: 103member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Messiah

    Adding RAM merely allows a previously under resourced machine to run closer to its actual potential. Adding RAM won't speed your machine up in any way, it will just allow you to juggle more balls at the same time, without your machine grinding to a halt.



    If you are running several memory hungry applications concurrently, then you will notice that the machine becomes a lot more responsive after a memory upgrade. You'll be able to switch back and forth between applications without the hard disk chugging away.



    So the best benchmark for you, is to work as you normally would and see if the machine is any more responsive. If the answer is yes, then you've invested wisely. If the answer is no then you've wasted your money.



    Benchmarking programs like Xbench are very little use in these kinds of situations.



    Appreciate the info.
  • Reply 3 of 3
    mac_ken_cheezmac_ken_cheez Posts: 91member
    Also one can take a look at the Activity Monitor (utilities) while the biggest memory user apps are running. Things like Photoshop, Maya, or any audio editing or video software or the sorts.



    But the final answer is in performance, and not having a warning pop up saying that you will need to close an app because you don't have the ram to keep it open. (been a long time without seeing that one)



    To make a long story short and without knowing what you use the box for, the amount of ram you have should be set for anything one can do with the box.
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