Worth Upgrading Now?

I have a new 13" MBP with 4GB of RAM. Is it worth maxing it out right now to 8GB? I know more RAM is always better but not sure how much of a speed increase I will see especially since I don't do any video editing or any heavy demanding programs. Would the upgrade help with game performance?

More is always good and as i suggest to others is if you have the funds now then do it now. In saying that though, with a 13" MBP 8GB would be a tad over the top.

I have the same model and with PS CS5, iPhoto, surfing, and with a few other aApps open i have never seen any lag. Even rendering in CS5 it has never been buggy or anything. I have thought to go up another 2GB RAM but really i have no need ATM so will save my $
My understanding is it will make the gaming experience better, but as Mac's arnt made for gamers then what is out there will justify what you have in your machine now.
But as i said if you can afford it get it now.
Dont buy through  as with what they charge you could nearly buy a new machine or eevn a SSD ... Now that is worth spending money on lol

Goto OWC ~ MacSales and follow the prompts for inputting your machine specs and they will do the rest for you. Highly recommended as i live in Aust and use this company and have never had a problem.

Cheers

Cool - thanks for the info! I see 3 different prices for the 8GB - is one better then the other?

The cheap set has 90 day warranty, where as the NuRAM and OWC branded RAM have lifetime warranty.
I'd go with either of the top 2, and probably pay the extra $12 for the OWC branded one. Why, I don't know, just a gut feeling

There's also Computer memory upgrades for Apple MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (13-inch DDR3) MC374LL/A Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com for a bit more of a premium, which is a bit of a RAM of choice for many, but really think OWC's RAM is of equal quality, and the company has a great track record of customer service.

Thanks for the info - for about $100 it doesn't seem that bad at all to upgrade

NewMacUser5 said:

Thanks for the info - for about $100 it doesn't seem that bad at all to upgrade

Click to expand...

I'd be shocked if it had any effect. If you're using heavy hitter apps like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro, that might be one thing. But the average Joe isn't going to use more than 2GB, possibly 4GB in cases where you're running a virtual machine.

Before you spend your cash, do this...

Open up ALL of your favorite apps at once. Then, open Activity Monitor (Applications => Utilities folder). Take a look at the pie chart at the bottom. If you're seeing that a decent portion is green, you don't need more memory.



A common misconception is that memory makes a computer faster, and that's just not true. If a computer needs more memory and you add it, it will function more efficiently. But adding memory when it's not needed is a waste.

^^ the only time I run into problems, or suffer lag, is when I'm making multi track recordings, and it's still not a RAM (or lack of RAM) issue, but more so a slow HD issue
.... If it were me, I'd make the first investment a 7200RPM HD since you already have 4GB RAM.

SSD would help with game loading times. I don't think you will need over 4GB of RAM to game. Especially if it's just casual gaming.

cwa has a good point - but also look at the swap usage. If it under a few hundred mb most of the time - then more RAM won't help. You should also be looking at Page In/Outs - these are the reads and writes to swap.

The way memory works is most stuff running is in RAM. It is when you start running low on RAM that the computer starts moving stuff to swap - which is on your disk drive. (This is also why everyone recommends to keep ~20% free hard drive space - so that there is space for swap) Your disk drive is significantly slower than your RAM - this is where slowdown can occur - when you run out of RAM and start using swap. Here is a more detailed explanation
Bits about Bytes: Is my Mac using too much memory???
I have found unless I am running a Virtual Machine 4GB was enough. When I run a VM things bog down fast - so I upgraded to 8GB and it has helped immensely.

I went with OWC's NuRAM and it has been working great. I've had it now for ~3 months.

IvanLasston said:

but also look at the swap usage. If it under a few hundred mb most of the time - then more RAM won't help. You should also be looking at Page In/Outs - these are the reads and writes to swap.

The way memory works is most stuff running is in RAM. It is when you start running low on RAM that the computer starts moving stuff to swap - which is on your disk drive. (This is also why everyone recommends to keep ~20% free hard drive space - so that there is space for swap) Your disk drive is significantly slower than your RAM - this is where slowdown can occur - when you run out of RAM and start using swap. Here is a more detailed explanation

Click to expand...

Ivan Mate this is one of the best explanations i have seen as to how and why RAM is used, (for the not technically minded) and i didnt even have to look at the *more detailed* version Brilliant
Thanks for that.