2012 imac connecting to Mac Mini

Question

Level 1

8 points

2012 imac connecting to Mac Mini

I have an imac 21.5 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 - 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 (Late 2012 model)

Graphics NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M 512 MB

The 8GB of ram is being used as soon as I turn the computer on - I am using the basics plus Creative Suites In-Design, Dropbox, Google drive, Firefox, BusyCal, Microsoft Office. I have not upgraded from 10.9.5 as I imagine I would have an even bigger issue as every new version uses more ram.

I am unable to upgrade my Ram due to the unit and ram size being fixed in this model - so I wondered if I could attach a Mac Mini 2014 - see specs below.

(3.0GHz Dual-Core Intel Core i7 (Turbo Boost up to 3.5GHz) , 16GB 1600MHz LPDDR3 SDRAM, not sure of storage option)

1. Can I easily attach the Mac mini and have a much faster experience with the programs I am using?

2. Or do I need to try and sell the imac I own and buy the 32 GB Imac retina?

3. Another option?

Thanks,

Anna

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), null

Posted on Mar 14, 2015 11:53 AM

Reply

Answer 1

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,492 points

Mar 14, 2015 12:54 PM in response to yWonderWorks

Are you having a specific problem? Beginning with Mavericks the OS uses all of the memory it can and releases ram to applications as they need it to keep things running smoothly. That's a good thing, you WANT your computer taking advantage of the available resources, it's up to OS X to distribute those resources. That said you ARE using some resource hungry apps but as long as you're not trying to run multiple apps at any one time you should be ok. I don't believe it's possible to connect the two computers in order to utilize the ram and processor speed of both working as one.

Use Activity Monitor and watch the memory pressure as you work with your iMac, that'll give you a real indication of wether you need a computer with more ram or not. How to use Activity Monitor - Apple Support

Reply

Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

216,118 points

Mar 14, 2015 1:05 PM in response to yWonderWorks

Do you have all of those apps open at the same time? Yosemite will use what ever memory is available no matter how many apps are open. Any unused memory is wasted memory. It gets released as other apps are launched and need it. Unless you are having SWODs (spinning wheel of death) with those apps you shouldn't be worried.

Download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here (and recommended by Apple Support personnel) in the ASC to help identify the more obvious culprits. It will give information on memory usage as well as potential issues with unwanted software.

Reply

Answer 3

yWonderWorks Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 17, 2015 8:31 PM in response to SeaPapp

Thanks for the info - I did not realize that change happened with Maverick - makes sense. I had seen the issue in activity monitor and will now educate myself on its functions to a greater degree. I am definitely using a bunch of those apps together as my work flow switches back and forth between them a great deal. File / close. 🙂

Again thanks,

Anna

Reply

Answer 4

yWonderWorks Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 17, 2015 8:41 PM in response to Old Toad

yes, SWOD - Report below. Sugar Sync 84% processor?? - the way I back up my files to offsite location. Seems crazy hungry app.??

Thanks,

A

Problem description:

SWOD

EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

Report generated March 17, 2015 at 8:36:34 PM PDT

Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

Hardware Information: ℹ️

iMac (21.5-inch, Late 2012) (Technical Specifications)

iMac - model: iMac13,1

1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core

8 GB RAM Upgradeable

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1600 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Good - Handoff/Airdrop2 supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ℹ️

NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software: ℹ️

OS X 10.9.5 (13F1066) - Time since boot: 3 days 1:28:45

Disk Information: ℹ️

APPLE HDD HTS541010A9E662 disk0 : (1 TB)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (598.56 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: ℹ️

LaCie Porsche Mobile for Mac 2 TB

LaCie (disk1s1) /Volumes/LaCie : 1.80 TB (1.18 TB free)

LACIE SHARE (disk1s2) /Volumes/LACIE SHARE : 200.04 GB (199.46 GB free)

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

Gatekeeper: ℹ️

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

/Applications/LaCie Desktop Manager.app

[not loaded] com.LaCie.ScsiType00 (1.2.13 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.jmicron.driver.jmPeripheralDevice (2.0.4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.lacie.driver.LaCie_RemoteComms (1.0.1 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.oxsemi.driver.OxsemiDeviceType00 (1.28.13 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

/Library/Extensions

[loaded] net.telestream.driver.TelestreamAudio (1.1.1 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Maxtor.driver.PowSecDriver (4.2.8) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.cy.iokit.Morpheus (1.4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.dymo.usbprinterclassdriver.kext (1.1 - SDK 10.5) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.globaldelight.driver.BoomDevice (1.1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.maxtor.iokit.IOFireWireMxBt (4.2.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.netgear.driver.NetgearFSRSupport (3 . 0 . 0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.netgear.driver.NetgearHSRSupport (3 . 0 . 0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.netgear.driver.NetgearQMISupport (1 . 1 . 0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.netgear.driver.qmiNetDriver (1.2.4 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.screenrecycler.driver.ScreenRecyclerDriver (1.4.13 - SDK 10.4) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraDIPSupport (1 . 0 . 0 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraFSRSupport (3.0.0 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraHSRSupport (3.0.0 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraIPDirect (1.1.5 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

[loaded] com.sierrawireless.driver.SierraVSP (1.1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

Startup Items: ℹ️

MxBtDaemon: Path: /Library/StartupItems/MxBtDaemon

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

Launch Agents: ℹ️

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.CS5ServiceManager.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.intego.backupassistant.agent.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.netgear.switchTool.plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.sierrawireless.SwitchTool.plist [Click for support]

Launch Daemons: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]

[unknown] com.dymo.pnpd.plist [Click for support]

[not loaded] com.econtechnologies.ChronoAgentRemote.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Click for support]

[running] com.intego.BackupAssistant.daemon.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.mozy.restoremanager.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plist [Click for support]

User Launch Agents: ℹ️

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[failed] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]

[running] com.seagate.mediasync.plist [Click for support]

User Login Items: ℹ️

Boom UNKNOWN (missing value)

iTunesHelper Application (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Garmin Express Service Application (/Applications/Garmin Express.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Garmin Express Service.app)

ChronoSyncBackgrounder Application (/Library/Application Support/ChronoSync/ChronoSyncBackgrounder.app)

Google Drive Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)

BusyCalAlarm UNKNOWN (missing value)

Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2 Application Hidden (/Library/Printers/Canon/IJScanner/Utilities/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2.app)

Dropbox Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

Caffeine Application (/Applications/Caffeine.app)

Wondershare Helper Compact Application (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/Helper/Wondershare Helper Compact.app)

TuneupMyMac UNKNOWN (missing value)

Things Helper Application (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/Things Sandbox Helper/Things Helper.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.40.2.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

DYMO NPAPI Addin: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

DYMO Safari Addin: Version: Unknown - SDK 10.5 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update ( Updated 3/17/15) - ANNA

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.40.2.0 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.8 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.0.4.0 Release - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

EPPEX Plugin: Version: 4.1.0.0 [Click for support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 14.9.0 - SDK 10.7 Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

npVidyoWeb-00060: Version: VidyoWeb 1.0.3.00060 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

npVidyoWeb-00065: Version: VidyoWeb 1.0.5.00065 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

bjninstallplugin_2.6.255.8: Version: bjninstallplugin 2.6.255.8 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.0 [Click for support]

bjnplugin_2.6.255.8: Version: bjnplugin 2.6.255.8 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 [Click for support]

rbjnplugin_2.85.47.8: Version: rbjnplugin 2.85.47.8 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

rbjninstallplugin_2.85.47.8: Version: rbjninstallplugin 2.85.47.8 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

Safari Extensions: ℹ️

Evernote Web Clipper

RoboForm

Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️

EcammAudioLoader: Version: 1.0.3 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

CallRecorder: Version: v2.5.13 - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]

3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

ChronoAgent [Click for support]

Flash Player [Click for support]

FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE) [Click for support]

Growl [Click for support]

Time Machine: ℹ️

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 400.78 GB

Destinations:

LaCie [Local]

Total size: 1.80 TB

Total number of backups: 51

Oldest backup: 2014-10-03 00:32:42 +0000

Last backup: 2015-03-18 02:30:05 +0000

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 1.80 TB > (Disk used 400.78 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

84% SugarSync

4% WindowServer

4% Dropbox

1% fseventsd

1% mds

Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

919 MB firefox

301 MB SugarSync

297 MB WindowServer

258 MB Mail

223 MB mds_stores

Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

440 MB Free RAM

3.43 GB Active RAM

3.13 GB Inactive RAM

1.20 GB Wired RAM

2.61 GB Page-ins

161 MB Page-outs

Reply