yWonderWorks

Q: 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 11:54 AM

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Q: 2012 imac connecting to Mac Mini

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  • by Mike Sombrio,

    Mike Sombrio Mike Sombrio Mar 14, 2015 12:54 PM in response to yWonderWorks
    Level 6 (17,234 points)
    Apple Watch
    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

  • by Old Toad,Solvedanswer

    Old Toad Old Toad Mar 14, 2015 1:05 PM in response to yWonderWorks
    Level 10 (141,242 points)
    Mac OS X
    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.

    OTsig.png

  • by yWonderWorks,

    yWonderWorks yWonderWorks Mar 17, 2015 8:31 PM in response to Mike Sombrio
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 17, 2015 8:31 PM in response to Mike Sombrio

    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

  • by yWonderWorks,

    yWonderWorks yWonderWorks Mar 17, 2015 8:41 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (0 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