Would adding RAM speed up my Mac Pro?

Question

Would adding RAM speed up my Mac Pro?

I own a 2007 Mac Pro with 2 x 3 GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors.

Probably since moving to Lion OS10.7.3 (now) I have noticed it seems to be slower. Also I am getting more page reloads in Safari (where the page goes white for a second or so then re-loads) This may be that I am trying to do too many things at the same time.

I currently just have 4 x 1GB of memory. Would adding more RAM, eityher an extra 4 or 8GB have a significant effect on the speed? Or has the time come to pay a lot of money for a new machine (either a new Mac Pro if they get updated this spring or an iMac?

Thanks...

Posted on Feb 7, 2012 10:01 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Camelot

Level 9

54,333 points

Feb 7, 2012 10:09 PM in response to richardjamesc

It's hard to say without more data, but in general more memory is good.

You should start, though, by checking /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app

This will give you an idea of the load on your machine, both from a CPU and memory perspective. It should indicate whether you're stressing for CPU cycles (warrants an upgrade) or memory (need more memory).

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Answer 2

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Feb 7, 2012 10:16 PM in response to richardjamesc

With respect to the Activity Monitor and memory usage you should read this,

Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor

Key values to look at are page ins, outs, and swaps used. If you are doing a lot of paging you may need more memory.

Also when you use Activity Monitor make sure you select "All Processes" for the Show popup menu at the top.

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Answer 3

Feb 7, 2012 10:30 PM in response to Camelot

Thanks - that's really helpful. I hadn't thought of using Activity monitor to check use of virtual memory. It looks like I do need more RAM - This is going to be a whole lot cheaper than getting a new Mac. Cheers

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Answer 4

Feb 7, 2012 10:31 PM in response to X423424X

Thanks for the good advice - am looking at all processes now. Page outs seem to be quite an issue here so will probably go for more memory and see how it goes. Thanks

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Answer 5

X423424X

Level 6

14,265 points

Feb 7, 2012 10:36 PM in response to richardjamesc

If you decide on ram I recommend OWC. Here's a link to their page for your 2007 mac pro. You can see the table of possibilities and prices.

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Answer 6

Feb 7, 2012 11:04 PM in response to X423424X

Thanks for the advice - I'm in the UK so will probably go for Crucial who seem to be good over here. Cheers.

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Answer 7

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

Feb 8, 2012 1:16 AM in response to richardjamesc

Also Kingston over in UK

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Answer 8

Lovro

Level 1

8 points

May 18, 2012 5:54 PM in response to X423424X

What are kind of "normal" values:

I have MBP, mid 2010, 2.4 GHz, 4 GB Ram.

And virtual memory is: 220 GB,

Page in: 3.3 GB

Page out: 1.73 GB

Swap: 2.35 GB

For me this seams huge... But I have no clue what normal is. Bcs I'm considering buying more RAM.

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Answer 9

Camelot

Level 9

54,333 points

May 18, 2012 9:38 PM in response to Lovro

What are kind of "normal" values:

Impossible to tell - everyone is different. Besides, you didn't include the most important element, which is how long your machine has been running since the last reboot.

You see, he page in/out numbers are cumulative. Paging out 1.7GB of data is insignificant if the machine has been up for weeks or months, but if it's been up for a few minutes then it might be cause for concern.

So what's more relevant than the absolute numbers is the rate of change.... page outs rising quickly means your system doesn't have enough memory to run all the current tasks/apps, but it's normal to have some on any system.

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Answer 10

The hatter

Level 9

60,980 points

May 19, 2012 6:06 AM in response to Lovro

You are better off asking in MBP forum for what other users with similar hardware.

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