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Computer lag, more RAM?
Hey guys, I'm not a computer whiz, but I have a problem. I'm running a Macbook 13" with stock specs and I am experiencing lag in the computer when I'm running Photoshop, Safari and iTunes at the same time. I will be running such programs in the future together, with addition of others and I want to know how to make the lag stop...
My guess would be to add more RAM, but I'm not that great with computers, so I don't know if this is the solution and just wanted to confirm. I currently have 2GB of RAM if that's helpful... |
I'm not too familiar with that model, but I can run Photoshop, Winamp, Firefox, RuneScape, and MSN at the same time without any lag. 2GB of RAM too.
So RAM's not a big problem. I'm also not familiar with OS X, but my guess is that you probably need a reformat. I'll look into it more though. |
I have a macbook so maybe I can help.
How long have you had it? And lag in what way, as it just stops for a few seconds or will take ages to open them and such. |
It's about 2 years old. And the lag is like slow to respond sort of. Like when I've got everything open, opening new tabs, scrolling down a page, or using tools in Photoshop or even clicking different playlists and stuff in iTunes has a slight delay before it reacts.
The computer runs fine without Photoshop open, or with just photoshop, so it seems that all together it is too much to handle? |
It's probably bottlenecking at either you processor or when accessing your hard drive, not necessarily at your RAM. What kind of processor is it?
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2 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
It isn't amazing, it's the stock one. |
More RAM would help some, but it'll still probably slow down on occasion because of that dual core processor. Photoshop and iTunes are pretty taxing on system resources, especially at the same time. Safari is, as well, especially with a large download/browsing history/bookmarks combo. Have you noticed if there's any sound like something is starting to spin after it locks up for a bit? That could mean your hard drive is the bottleneck.
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If you can afford it, I would definitely suggest upgrading to 4GB if you are specifically working with Photoshop. the extra RAM can take some of the load off of the HDD (specifically the space that photoshop temporarily defaults for scratch space, unless you've changed the preference settings to use a specific place)
the other plus is that when you're not working in photoshop, it can make the computer seem a little more peppy in everyday tasks. |
@donavannj
Nah no spinning sounds. Apart from the fan which goes pretty full out. @Gerri Shin I probably will see if I can get a bit more RAM. Thanks a lot guys! |
Eh, I'm running much the same processor and with the same amount of RAM with more programs then you named. However, I'm unsure of the severity of the lag, I get it when I'm trying to get into photoshop after being on my browser or something of the likes. However, PS is a RAM killer. Try having as few tabs open in it as you can, or get a portable version. iTunes as stated is also like this, but, I find the biggest issue to be when going into photoshop/swapping windows or trying to view my desktop. So try reducing the number of tasks in PS.
The issue is, putting RAM into a laptop isn't as easy as a desktop, however, I'm unsure how Mac's are composed. But reduce Photoshop tasks, it eats up a big chunk of my speed a lot of the time. |
All those problems are pretty much exactly what I'm facing, so it's obviously the same issue.
My dad's got a bit of a history with fixing computers, and he's added RAM to a Mac laptop before, so that's not a worry. The other thing is, I do want to get into Illustrator and some 3D rendering programs which I'm sure are just as heavy duty as Photoshop, however, at times I plan to use them in tandem, which means at the same time... I know that sounds pretty stupid, but it has made me consider investing in a desktop for such tasks which I might do instead of upgrading the RAM on this laptop. |
Illy will be fine, anything like C4D or any 3D rendering program, will probably be very laggy on your laptop. Have you tried using 3D in photoshop (if you have CS4/5)? If that's any way laggy at all, any 3D software will just be awful, given your specs. Unless you have a graphics card which blows the rest of your specs out of the water.
3D design is pretty much completely reliant on a good graphics card, as I'm aware of what you wish to do. |
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Here's the thing. If that's the white/black Macbook from 2006 with the Intel graphics, then you face two issues - You'll need to check how much ram it can take and the Intel graphics are not going to cope with 3D work of any sort. Can we get more in the way of specs? |
This is the Oct 2008 Aluminium Macbook by the way.
Processor 2.0 GHz or 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo (P7350/P8600) Memory PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM (1066 MHz) 2 GB Graphics Integrated Nvidia GeForce 9400M with 256 MB shared with main memory Hard drive Serial ATA 5400-rpm 160 GB or 250 GB 5400-rpm I just copy and pasted these, I don't really know if there's anything else I should add? |
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I have to make it clear that installing more ram does not fix issues most of the time. I say that because the amount of people who just think that more ram will make a slow computer fast staggers me. They come into work asking for more ram, when the computer is a. virus infected; b. bottlenecked by a slow CPU; c. has a bloated install, courtesy of both HP/Dell/Acer and their own stupidity. |
Speaking honestly, the only other thing that could speed up your system other than RAM would be to replace your HDD with an SSD, though to get one over 80GB becomes rather expensive for those on a tight budget. (and even 80GB SSDs are still about $120+ for a good one) so you may want to hold off on an SSD for the time being until they become common enough and the price starts going down.
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Well I'm considering getting a iMac desktop for my 18th birthday + me chipping in some money too, so I can use that for all my Photoshopping and 3D art and stuff.
Thanks a lot guys! I'll definitely look into an extra 2GB of RAM and if I get it let you know if the issue gets any better or stays the same. |
You could stand to have a better processor. I don't think more RAM is going to help in this case.
That's my recommendation, anyway. |
http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee207/mattimogalli/Screenshot2010-12-05at110013PM.png
I don't really know what this means, but also, just after I uploaded this it started to lag a bit more and its sitting on 1.31 for "Page Outs" and 1.35 for "Swap Used". |
Hi.
moments, from your Mac's RAM distribution I can see that the problem lies in your free RAM and also in your page-outs. 15.7 MB free is not enough to sustain your computer on. You can boost this up by doing a few things, though; Firstly, unless you really need it open, quit Preview. This will give you at least some space to work with. (edit: Preview seems to be hogging a fair amount of CPU power too. :x) At the time of posting this screenshot, had your computer been booted for a long time? The page-ins count is pretty high given that a Mac that has been only just boosted should only have a couple of hundred MB (looking at mine now, which has been up for about an hour, I have only 203 MB of page-ins). From the looks of it, given how low Hiroshi Sotomura's Inactive Memory (which stores information about opened applications so that they are easier to open again) is, his was also only recently booted. I have only half the Inactive Memory currently in use than you do, so perhaps rebooting immediately before using Photoshop would be helpful for clearing out information from other applications which you aren't actually using. What's most worrying about your RAM usage, though, is the page-outs. This count is the amount of stuff your RAM has had to send back to the Hard Drive because it can't contain it. On a Mac with adequate RAM, this should normally sit on or close to 0. The fact that your page-outs (information sent from the hard drive to the RAM) are equal to nearly half of your page-ins, shows that your RAM can't support what you're trying to do. I would not be surprised if this is what's causing your lag; the RAM having to constantly send information back to the Hard Drive. Your Wired Memory is oddly large too, but this is allocated to the system itself and should be left alone. It's nothing too major. tl;dr, your RAM can't hold the amount of information it's being sent, and is having to return a large amount of it to the Hard Drive, which is where I believe your lag is coming from. An upgrade is seeming necessary. From that screenshot, I cannot say that a better processor will help you, but I am almost certain that more RAM will. By the way, are you running low on Hard Drive space at all? |
First off, thanks so much for such an excellent response, it was really helpful and I understood everything you said which is good.
I must say, I think it's been a couple of days since I last rebooted my computer... As for my hard drive space; I've got plenty. There's just over 80GB free space on the Hard Drive. |
In that case, the hard drive is definitely not an issue. I was just wondering if the RAM was having difficulty sending page outs because the hard drive was running low on space, but this is evidently not the case.
Glad it was helpful anyway. ^^ |
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