Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
Is this normal for a Mac to use this much RAM? I am brand new to Mac so I do not have much experience with it. When I use Xcode along with Safari it goes down to under 100MB of free RAM.
I have a Windows 7 computer that also has 4GB of RAM and only goes above 2GB when I am running VMWare and that is with 8 chrome tabs. In safari in this screenshot I have 5 open. I am comparing to 7 and am curious if it' normal, thanks.
MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.4), Mid 2012
Yes, this is normal. OS X requires 2 GBs leaving you with 2 GBs for applications and other software. You might consider installing more RAM. However, the memory management system is unlikely to ever truly run out of memory unless you run far too many applications concurrently.
About OS X Memory Management and Usage
Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
Performance Guidelines- Memory Management in Mac OS X
A detailed look at memory usage in OS X
Understanding top output in the Terminal
The amount of available RAM for applications is the sum of Free RAM and Inactive RAM. This will change as applications are opened and closed or change from active to inactive status. The Swap figure represents an estimate of the total amount of swap space required for VM if used, but does not necessarily indicate the actual size of the existing swap file. If you are really in need of more RAM that would be indicated by how frequently the system uses VM. If you open the Terminal and run the top command at the prompt you will find information reported on Pageins () and Pageouts (). Pageouts () is the important figure. If the value in the parentheses is 0 (zero) then OS X is not making instantaneous use of VM which means you have adequate physical RAM for the system with the applications you have loaded. If the figure in parentheses is running positive and your hard drive is constantly being used (thrashing) then you need more physical RAM.
Adding RAM only makes it possible to run more programs concurrently. It doesn't speed up the computer nor make games run faster. What it can do is prevent the system from having to use disk-based VM when it runs out of RAM because you are trying to run too many applications concurrently or using applications that are extremely RAM dependent. It will improve the performance of applications that run mostly in RAM or when loading programs.
Yes, this is normal. OS X requires 2 GBs leaving you with 2 GBs for applications and other software. You might consider installing more RAM. However, the memory management system is unlikely to ever truly run out of memory unless you run far too many applications concurrently.
About OS X Memory Management and Usage
Reading system memory usage in Activity Monitor
Performance Guidelines- Memory Management in Mac OS X
A detailed look at memory usage in OS X
Understanding top output in the Terminal
The amount of available RAM for applications is the sum of Free RAM and Inactive RAM. This will change as applications are opened and closed or change from active to inactive status. The Swap figure represents an estimate of the total amount of swap space required for VM if used, but does not necessarily indicate the actual size of the existing swap file. If you are really in need of more RAM that would be indicated by how frequently the system uses VM. If you open the Terminal and run the top command at the prompt you will find information reported on Pageins () and Pageouts (). Pageouts () is the important figure. If the value in the parentheses is 0 (zero) then OS X is not making instantaneous use of VM which means you have adequate physical RAM for the system with the applications you have loaded. If the figure in parentheses is running positive and your hard drive is constantly being used (thrashing) then you need more physical RAM.
Adding RAM only makes it possible to run more programs concurrently. It doesn't speed up the computer nor make games run faster. What it can do is prevent the system from having to use disk-based VM when it runs out of RAM because you are trying to run too many applications concurrently or using applications that are extremely RAM dependent. It will improve the performance of applications that run mostly in RAM or when loading programs.
My MacBook pro is only a few days old....does it void the warranty if I add more RAM before the 1 year warranty runs out?
No it does not. Read the user manual, there are instruction on how to add RAM and change the HDD.
No. Your user manual should have a section on how to add additional memory.
I have seen where Apple says the Mid 2012 MBP can handle 8GB RAM but I've also seen where it can handle 16GB...
Provided the RAM is installed Correctly and no User Damage is caused the Warranty still stands.
It is Important to get the Correct and Matching RAM for your Mac.
Installing RAM...
MacBook http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1651
A good source of RAM is Here > http://www.macsales.com/
It can have 16GB.
Is it true that more RAM hurts battery life?
16 GBs is a maximum, just not "supported" by Apple for those models stipulated to use only 8 GBs as a maximum.
More RAM means more power consumption, so there will be a hit on battery life. Most likely between 10-15 minutes at most.
No more ram does not affect battery life...the power necessary to maintain a charge on ram is immeasuarbly small by most users' standards. You will not see a change in battery life from additional memory.
This may sound kind of weird but I don't understand your long post about memory consumption.....is it possible for you to dumb it down even more? Sorry.
Based on what you saw should I add more RAM or am I good? I have seen the free go below 100MB and like I said I have been a Windows user my whole life and am a student majoring in Network Admin. I am trying to decide if it's worth keeping the MBP or returning it and getting a Windows laptop.... thoughts on this also if you don't mind?
I appreciate all the help.
Get a Windows computer.
Looks like Kappy and I can take off on a debate on energy consumption of ram...but for no real purpose in the real world. I still maintain that for the typical user the additional energy use of a reasonable amount of unused memory will not be noticable in battery charge life. You can always take that to extremes but I really can't see there being a real measurable affect for most users.
But we can have some entertaining academic discussions on this subject 🙂
Haha, you think I'm too dumb to use a Mac?
New To Mac
