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Is it worth upgrading the memory in my Apple Mac?
- By Chief Editor
- Published 5 Jun 2008
- Computers (PC/MAC)
- Unrated
Memory upgrades are one of the most common upgrades performed by
computer users; but is it worth upgrading your computer's memory (RAM)?
For this article, we upgraded the memork in an Apple MacBook Pro from 2Gb to 4Gb. This involved removing the two 1Gb memory chips which came with the MacBook Pro, and replacing them with two 2Gb RAM chips from Cruical.
The times below show the time it took to run various tests on the 2Gb MacBook Pro:
Time taken to reach login screen after switching on - 39 Seconds
Time taken to reach desktop after typing in password - 15 seconds
Time taken to load Photoshop CS3 - 16 seconds
Time taken to load Dreamweaver CS3 - 16 seconds
Time taken to load Safari web browser - 2 seconds
(Safari was then closed)
Time taken to open 700k image in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
Time taken to perform lens correction in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
The times below show the time it took to run various tests after we had upgraded the RAM in the MacBook Pro to 4Gb:
Time taken to reach login screen
after switching on - 41 Seconds
Time taken to reach desktop after typing in password - 3 seconds
Time taken to load Photoshop CS3 - 17 seconds
Time taken to load Dreamweaver CS3 - 15 seconds
Time taken to load Safari web browser - 2 seconds
(Safari was then closed)
Time taken to open 700k image in Photoshop CS3 - 2 seconds
Time taken to perform lens correction in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
As you can see from the results above, the timings both before and after the upgrade are broadly similar. Except, that is, for the time taken to display the desktop which was 15 seconds before the upgrade and 3 seconds after the upgrade to 4Gb of RAM!
Conclusion:
This is not a scientific test of course, but the results of the upgrade seem disappointing at first glance.
However, over the next few weeks we noticed an improvement in the Macbook Pro's performance, especially when multiple "heavy duty" applications were in use at the same time (such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver).
We would recommend upgrading the memory in your MacBook Pro if you are a user of such "heavy duty" applications, or if you regularly use multiple computer programs at the same time.
For this article, we upgraded the memork in an Apple MacBook Pro from 2Gb to 4Gb. This involved removing the two 1Gb memory chips which came with the MacBook Pro, and replacing them with two 2Gb RAM chips from Cruical.
The times below show the time it took to run various tests on the 2Gb MacBook Pro:
Time taken to reach login screen after switching on - 39 Seconds
Time taken to reach desktop after typing in password - 15 seconds
Time taken to load Photoshop CS3 - 16 seconds
Time taken to load Dreamweaver CS3 - 16 seconds
Time taken to load Safari web browser - 2 seconds
(Safari was then closed)
Time taken to open 700k image in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
Time taken to perform lens correction in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
The times below show the time it took to run various tests after we had upgraded the RAM in the MacBook Pro to 4Gb:
Time taken to reach login screen
Time taken to reach desktop after typing in password - 3 seconds
Time taken to load Photoshop CS3 - 17 seconds
Time taken to load Dreamweaver CS3 - 15 seconds
Time taken to load Safari web browser - 2 seconds
(Safari was then closed)
Time taken to open 700k image in Photoshop CS3 - 2 seconds
Time taken to perform lens correction in Photoshop CS3 - 3 seconds
As you can see from the results above, the timings both before and after the upgrade are broadly similar. Except, that is, for the time taken to display the desktop which was 15 seconds before the upgrade and 3 seconds after the upgrade to 4Gb of RAM!
Conclusion:
This is not a scientific test of course, but the results of the upgrade seem disappointing at first glance.
However, over the next few weeks we noticed an improvement in the Macbook Pro's performance, especially when multiple "heavy duty" applications were in use at the same time (such as Photoshop and Dreamweaver).
We would recommend upgrading the memory in your MacBook Pro if you are a user of such "heavy duty" applications, or if you regularly use multiple computer programs at the same time.