stevejobsfan0123

Q: Sierra RAM requirement

First Second post in the Sierra community!

 

Just a note... although Sierra requires just 2GB of RAM, I would strongly advise anyone to upgrade to 4GB of RAM at the bare minimum if possible, hopefully more, before upgrading to macOS Sierra.

Posted on Sep 20, 2016 9:46 AM

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Q: Sierra RAM requirement

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  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 20, 2016 9:59 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 9 (72,134 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 20, 2016 9:59 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    Adding to SJF's post as info only.

     

    The 2 places I’ve seen recommended most to buy reliable RAM are below. I have purchased RAM several times from Other World Computing and have always been very satisfied with the product and service. They have on-line instructions on how to replace the RAM. OWC has also tested RAM above what Apple states is the maximum. I now have 6GB installed on an early 2008 iMac supposedly limited to 4 GB and noticed an improvement.

     

    Crucial

     

    Other World Computing 

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Sep 20, 2016 10:11 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123
    Level 7 (29,298 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 20, 2016 10:11 AM in response to stevejobsfan0123

    Good point. Those same requirements also state that you need 8.8 GB of available storage to install.

     

    Technically, both the RAM and storage requirements are true. Sierra will install and run with 2 GB RAM and 8.8 GB storage, but it will be a horrible experience. The machine will run horribly slow. Then, in a few minutes when you run out of free disk space, it will grind to a halt. From other reports here on Apple Support Communities from people who have run out of disk space, recovery may not even be possible. You would have to erase your hard drive at a minimum. You would not be able to restore from backup because that would fill up your hard drive again.

     

    For the best Sierra experience, I recommend 8 GB RAM and an SSD.

  • by eakurnosov,

    eakurnosov eakurnosov Sep 23, 2016 12:27 PM in response to etresoft
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 12:27 PM in response to etresoft

    but i have 8gb and 512ssd and my macbook is so slow and i wrote about my problem here Sierra: eat all my RAM (8gb) - what do you can suggest me to fix it? thx u.

  • by etresoft,

    etresoft etresoft Sep 23, 2016 1:18 PM in response to eakurnosov
    Level 7 (29,298 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 23, 2016 1:18 PM in response to eakurnosov

    Hello eakurnosov,

    Get rid of that program you are using to check. Your Mac does not need to be "cleaned".