max your ram!

progmacprogmac
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
so my wife and i are pretty normal computer users. we use fast user switching between 'sides' and spend most of our time browsing the internet, using itunes, and iphoto. our 2.4ghz imac (aluminum, late 2007) would feel slower than i thought it should sometimes. with 1.5gb ram, i figured, it can't be that...that's a ton of memory and we aren't particularly intense users.



but i figured with ram being so cheap i'd go ahead and max it out to 4gb. WOW THE DIFFERENCE. An immediate, perceptible difference was noticed by both of us.



While it seems a little unsettling that 1.5gb ram isn't enough to quickly handle routine operations, i'm thrilled about how the imac feels with 4gb.



so get yourself a new computer -- you don't need to buy one, just max out the ram!



btw, i bought 2 x 2gb sodimm ddr2 pc 5300, crucial brand, off newegg for $62 shipped.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    backtomacbacktomac Posts: 4,579member








    I have no problem using all my ram. I wish my iMac would recognize more. Seems like I'm getting more page outs running with SL than I did with Leopard.



    YMMV
  • Reply 2 of 8
    j.mizzi11j.mizzi11 Posts: 6member
    Hi, I just bought my 13" MacBook Pro which contains 4GB of RAM and I must say that up till last Sunday 4GB with windows 7 was horrible. I'm new to MAC and use intense applications such as the Adobe Suite and I must say 4GB is quite a good piece of thing to have. Wish I had 8GB though ... but most MAC users tend to disagree
  • Reply 3 of 8
    1337_5l4xx0r1337_5l4xx0r Posts: 1,558member
    Quote:

    but most MAC users tend to disagree



    Really?!
  • Reply 4 of 8
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    Yeah, what do you mean? We'd all agree here...If you have the funds and the need, then of course 8 gigs is better than 4 gigs. For hefty apps like Adobe's it could be noticeable.



    hmm I'm still on Leopard.. So ya'll are saying Snow L. likes more RAM than Leopard? Good to know. Leopard is good on my Macbook with 1 gig of RAM but I'll make sure to get at least 4 gigs for my next Macbook which I'll probably get sometime in the next 6 months...
  • Reply 5 of 8
    hmurchisonhmurchison Posts: 12,438member
    Great ...now take the next step and buy a SSD for your boot drive.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    j.mizzi11j.mizzi11 Posts: 6member
    i can run dreamweaver, flash, illustrator & photoshop (all CS4) + other apps pretty comfortably with 4GB ram, maybe if i run maya too it will be a different story
  • Reply 7 of 8
    calaverascalaveras Posts: 13member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by j.mizzi11 View Post


    Hi, I just bought my 13" MacBook Pro which contains 4GB of RAM and I must say that up till last Sunday 4GB with windows 7 was horrible. I'm new to MAC and use intense applications such as the Adobe Suite and I must say 4GB is quite a good piece of thing to have. Wish I had 8GB though ... but most MAC users tend to disagree



    Win 7 runs great on my 2 year old laptop with 3gb ram. It was just as peachy on 2gb.

    Win 7 is much better at memory management than vista. Leopard I find to need at least 1gb to even function. 2-4gb to get anything done.

    Not a windows fanboy, I am totally agnostic on these things.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    kingofsomewherehotkingofsomewherehot Posts: 4,182member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by calaveras View Post


    Leopard I find to need at least 1gb to even function. 2-4gb to get anything done.



    Would that be the same Leopard that's running on my 5 year old PowerBook G4 and "getting everything done" with only 1.5 GB of RAM?



    I'd sure like to see you quote some sources about how with less than 2 GB of RAM Leopard won't be able to get anything done.



    Tool.
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