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    RAM Upgrade for Macbook Unibody worth it?

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by frostbit3, Apr 24, 2010.

  1. frostbit3

    frostbit3 Notebook Evangelist

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    Hey guys, I've got my first Macbook Unibody that i've had for a little over a week now, and I love it (First Apple computer period). I've been using it with Parallels and everything's been running great, however I'm beginning to wonder if I'll get better performance with more RAM. I haven't really looked at the RAM usage of OS X right now, however I do know that with Linux the amount of RAM you're currently using isn't really relevant, it's swap space that's relevant. So with that said, is it really worth the extra $100 for the 4GB of RAM, or is it pretty much pointless right now?

    Also, I don't do anything graphic intensive except for gaming in Windows (bootcamp) every once in a while, in OS X I use Parallels all of the time, so it may come in use there, but again that's what I'm asking for.

    Thanks!
     
    frostbit3, Apr 24, 2010
    #1
  2. chris-m

    chris-m Notebook Evangelist

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    I would want 4GB if I were running Windows in Parallels.

    Windows/Parallels can get painfully slow on my machine, with 2GB.
     
    chris-m, Apr 24, 2010
    #2
  3. doh123

    doh123 Without ME its just AWESO

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    4gb will help a ton for virtual machines... more dedicated to the virtual machine while still having plenty for the main OS. Like chris-m, I wouldn't run one with less than 4gb in a machine.

    8gb of ram is nice, but overkill for the price at the moment, but 4gb of ram is pretty cheap.
     
    doh123, Apr 24, 2010
    #3
  4. blue68f100

    blue68f100 Notebook Virtuoso

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    If your running Parallels you will want a min of 4gig for best performance. If I recall it perfers 1.5 gig of ram. If parallel is all your running it will be fine with 2 gig , but if you run apple apps you should upgrade to 4gig.
     
    blue68f100, Apr 24, 2010
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  5. frostbit3

    frostbit3 Notebook Evangelist

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    I guess I should add that I've got an SSD in my Macbook, so my Virtual machines are pretty fast. I understand that the SSD isn't going to make up for the less RAM, but with as fast as everything runs on this macbook I hardly have any delay with parallels.

    I've got my macbook setup to where if I open a .docx document it automatically opens it with Word in Windows 7 via Parallels. If my Win7 is suspended and I click on any word document, I don't wait very long and Microsoft word is open and completely usable.
     
    frostbit3, Apr 24, 2010
    #5
  6. RogueMonk

    RogueMonk Notebook Deity

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    Get the RAM. Enough said.
     
    RogueMonk, Apr 24, 2010
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  7. Greg

    Greg Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    As soon as I read that you will be using virtual machines...

    You will benefit from the extra RAM, of that there is no doubt.
     
    Greg, Apr 24, 2010
    #7
  8. round_guy

    round_guy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Couldn't agree more. Having more RAM is better, especially if you often use Parallels.
     
    round_guy, Apr 24, 2010
    #8